Did Martín Ramírez create art because he was mentally ill? Or did he do it to keep from going insane?

Born in 1895, the Jalisco, México native has been hailed as "one of the greatest artists of the 20th century" by The New York Times. Ramírez, who spent most of his life in mental institutions, was considered an "outsider artist" – art made by someone out of touch with reality.

In 1925, a 30-year-old Ramírez left México to look for work in California, leaving behind his pregnant wife and three kids. After finding employment in mining and railroad construction, Ramírez kept in touch with his family by sending letters, many of them containing drawings in the margins.

By late 1930, the Great Depression left Ramírez both jobless and homeless. A year later, he was detained by San Joaquin County police for erratic behavior and an inability to communicate. Ramírez was committed to Stockton State Hospital for manic depression and was eventually diagnosed as a catatonic schizophrenic.

A self-taught artist who only spoke Spanish, Ramírez spent his days drawing cowboys, trains and churches on whatever he could find, including paper cups and pages torn from books. Instead of using crayons to draw, Ramírez melted them and used the wax as ink. He also used a matchstick as a pen and a tongue depressor as a ruler. Many of his early work was destroyed, as hospital workers were instructed to throw away or burn his drawings.

After being transferred to DeWitt Hospital, Ramírez was visited by Tarmo Pasto, an artist and psychology professor at Sacramento State College who was intrigued by Ramírez's drawings. Pasto spent years observing Ramírez, who rarely spoke while institutionalized and only occasionally answered "sí" to the psych professor's inquiries. Pasto eventually arranged art shows featuring Ramírez's work, but many of the Mexican artist's drawings didn't surface until after the death of Pasto in 1986.

In 2007, New York's American Folk Art Museum opened the first major art show featuring Ramírez's art. That same year, over 140 of his drawings were discovered by Peggy Dunievitz, who had the pieces sitting in her garage for years. The daughter-in-law of Dr. Max Dunievitz, a doctor who also observed Ramírez at DeWitt, Dunievitz says her family nearly threw the drawings away.

Now with over 400 drawings to take in, scholars are drawing connections between the themes in Ramirez's art and his life in México. The churches resemble those he grew up with in Jalisco. The horses were similar to the ones Ramírez learned to ride as a child. The trains and tunnels symbolized distance and isolation. Maybe Martín Ramírez was very much in touch with reality.

Ramírez died at DeWitt State Hospital in 1963. He was 68 years old.

Before Heath Ledger, before Jack Nicholson, The Joker was Latino. In the '60s, Cuban-American Cesar Romero was the first actor to portray Batman's mad arch-enemy on TV and in film.

Born Cesar Julio Romero, Jr. in New York, the self-proclaimed "Latin from Manhattan" was a ballroom dancer in the '20s before venturing into theater and movies in the '30s. After playing "Latin lovers" early in his career, Romero gained national recognition for his role as the Cisco Kid in the 1939 Western The Cisco Kid and the Lady. He eventually went from the silver screen to TV, starring in a popular series titled Passport to Danger, where he played a sophisticated U.S. diplomatic courier who dodges trouble around the globe.

Tall and handsome, the suave Romero also appeared in the original film version of Ocean's 11, featuring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr. But Romero will always be remembered for playing the mischievous Joker in the campy Batman TV series and movie from the '60s. Unlike Heath Ledger's murderous psychopath from The Dark Knight and Jack Nicholson's gangster-turned-schizo from Batman, Romero portrayed the Joker as a fun-loving criminal who loved to watch his enemies – and friends – succumb to elaborate traps. His look – green hair, white face paint and red lipstick – was faithful to the comic, but Romero refused to shave his moustache, which is easily spotted in close ups.

In the '70s and '80s, Romero continued to make TV appearances on shows like Falcon Crest, Murder, She Wrote and Golden Girls. He died in 1994 at the age of 86.

(image via atenguilloonline.com)

Before cell phones, text messages and MySpace, there was la vuelta.

At the center of most cities in Latin America, there's a plaza and on Saturday or Sunday nights, that's where it goes down. The ladies walk counter-clockwise, the men clockwise, all the while flirting and exchanging friendly glances. Guys make the first move, sometimes sprinkling confetti or handing a rose to a girl before asking if she would like to go for a "vuelta" around the plaza. If the girl refuses, she'll politely reply "maybe next time." If she agrees, the two walk around the plaza and possibly take the first steps as lovers for life.

A tradition that dates back to colonial times, la vuelta was "speed dating" before there was dating: a quick way for singles to break the ice not far from the protective eyes of their families. According to Herb Klein of Stanford University: "The Sunday paseo… in small towns and even some larger cities in Latin America was a great way for families to show off their marriageable children."

La vuelta is still popular throughout Latin America, but with a twist: these days, young couples may exchange cell phone numbers, e-mail addresses, or even a kiss.

Latinos didn't sell baseball tickets. Until "Fernandomania."

Following the trail blazed by Caribbean baseball legends like Roberto Clemente, Orlando Cepeda and Juan Marichal, Fernando Valenzuela set off a fan frenzy in 1981 after winning the first eight starts of his rookie season. Nicknamed "El Toro," the pudgy Valenzuela attracted large crowds of Hispanic fans in Los Angeles who wanted to see first-hand his signature screwball and unorthodox delivery: a high leg kick with both arms raised high above his head and a quick glance at the heavens. Manager Tommy Lasorda recalls how Fernandomania soon went mainstream and national: "Every ballpark we went to, they wanted to see this lefty pitcher who looked up in the sky…I still don't know how he did that."

By the end of his first year, the Sonora, Mexico-born Valenzuela helped the Dodgers defeat the feared New York Yankees in the World Series. He was rewarded for his efforts, becoming the only pitcher to win both the Rookie of the Year award and the Cy Young Award in the same season. A six-time all-star, Valenzuela played for the Dodgers until 1990 and spent the rest of the decade fighting for a starting spot on various teams, including the California Angels, Baltimore Orioles and San Diego Padres. In 2005, Valenzuela was named to the MLB Latino Legends team, both for his on-field exploits and for helping to popularize baseball among West Coast Latinos.

Valenzuela is currently a Spanish-language color commentator for Los Angeles Dodgers radio broadcasts. Jaime Jarrín, who has called Dodger games for nearly half a century, experienced "Fernandomania" firsthand: "Fernando turned so many people from Mexico, Central America, South America into fans."

Imagine this. The year is 1945. You live in a small village in central Puerto Rico. You have 10 brothers and sisters. You're blind.

Now imagine that by the time you turn 21, you'll be the most famous Latino artist in the world.

Meet José Feliciano, a virtuoso guitarist and one of the best known singers of the 60s and 70s. After his family moved to New York's Spanish Harlem, Feliciano spent his teens in his room absorbing rock, jazz, folk and Latin music. Signed to RCA Victor at age 18, he blended Spanish and English lyrics as well as Latino and American musical styles to create unique covers of pop hits.

At a time when Hispanics were less than three percent of the U.S. population, Feliciano hit number three on the pop charts with his cover of The Doors' Light My Fire. He was only 21. Two years later, he tempted controversy with a passionate rendition of the U.S. national anthem. At home in American music, he commanded the respect of Southern Whites on the Johny Cash show and Northern Blacks on Soul Train. His acoustic remixes, often embellished with a Latino flourish, forged a path for future crossover artists like Gloria Estefán and Ricky Martin.

By the late 1970s and through the 1980s, his fortunes were more often made in Europe but it's his 1970 bilingual hit Feliz Navidad which has come to define his musical legacy.

"They're clownin' on me 'cause of my language. I have to tell 'em straight up, it's called Spanglish." - "Latin Lingo" (1991)

Formed in 1986 by Louis "B-Real" Freese, Lawrence "DJ Muggs" Muggerud and Senen "Sen Dog" Reyes, Cypress Hill emerged from the predominantly Mexican-American community of South Gate, California to become Latino hip hop's first true superstar outfit. Despite being the first Latino rap group to go platinum, Cypress Hill is best known for helping marijuana go mainstream and introducing rock audiences to hip hop.

Filled with blunted rhymes and murky beats, the trio's 1991 self-titled debut showed life on the streets through a funhouse mirror. Hits like How I Could Just Kill a Man, Hand on the Pump and Latin Lingo bridged the gap between the hardcore gangsta rap of NWA and the jazzy vibes of A Tribe Called Quest. Cypress Hill's distinctive sound – B-Real's nasal flow, Sen Dog's call-and-response choruses and especially DJ Muggs' production – would go on to influence acts as diverse as Dr. Dre, Psycho Realm and La Sinfonía.

"The Hill" released three more studio albums in the '90s – Black Sunday, Cypress Hill III: Temples of Boom and IV – which spawned stoner anthems like Insane In The Membrane, I Wanna Get High and Dr. Greenthumb. In 1999, the group rewarded its loyal Latin American fan base by dropping Grandes Exitos en Español, a compilation of their greatest hits in Spanish. Over the last decade, Cypress Hill has experimented with rock and reggae on songs like (Rock) Superstar, Trouble and Ganja Bus without sacrificing its Latin flavor. Latin Thugs, a horn-drenched track featuring Tego Calderón is one of Cypress Hill's most popular joints.

When asked if Cypress Hill gets the credit it deserves for its contributions to hip hop, B-Real replies: "I think in some regards we do, but in other regards we're definitely looked over on a lot of shit. I don't really care what [critics] think, for me it's what the fans think and feel. That's what matters to me."

Big Pun was only 26 years old when he became the first Latino rapper to go platinum. He was dead by 28.

Born Christopher Rios, the Bronx-native bum rushed rap radio in the '90s with tongue-twisting lyrics and a razor-sharp flow. Bigger than life in every sense, the Nuyorican MC made a star turn on the 1996 Beatnuts classic Off The Books. A year later, Big Pun released his debut single, the X-rated I'm Not a Player. The streets were buzzing about a "Latino Notorious B.I.G." and his follow-up single did not disappoint. The racy Still Not a Player helped his 1998 debut album, Capital Punishment, go double platinum.

But by 2000, Big Pun's battle with obesity was making more headlines than his music. In a span of just two years, he went from 400 to just over 600 pounds. Fellow Terror Squad member and close friend Fat Joe recalls how Big Pun struggled with his weight for over a decade: "For a long time, even though he was a big guy, he could do whatever he wanted… [a]s time went on, however, his health got worse." Big Pun, who often had trouble breathing during interviews, weighed nearly 700 pounds when he died of heart failure.

Rios was survived by his wife and three children. His second album, Yeah Baby, was released two months after his death. It also went platinum.

Years before Shakira shook her hips with the bootylicious Beyonce, Puerto Rico's Iris Chacón was hypnotizing Americans with her traffic-stopping curves.

Born on March 7, 1950, the Boricua bombshell began her career in the late '60s, performing as a dancer in variety shows throughout La Isla Del Encanto. In 1970, Chacón made the jump from the stage to radio with her debut album, Tu No Eres Hombre (You're Not a Man). The record featured the standout single Rey de Amores, but it was her second album, Yo Soy Iris Chacón, which yielded her biggest hit, "Caramelo y Chocolate." Sometimes called "La Vedette de América" (America's Showgirl), Chacón parlayed her popularity as a singer-dancer into a lucrative acting career, performing a syrupy "Caramelo y Chocolate" in the movie Eva, ¿Qué Hace Ese Hombre en Tu Cama? (Eva, What Is That Man Doing in Your Bed?).

Throughout the 70s and early 80s, Chacón hosted a popular weekly TV variety show that aired in 15 Latin American countries. With a legion of Spanish speakers already under her voluptuous spell, a redhead Chacón soon became a household name in the United States. In the mid to late 80s, the triple threat often appeared on American talk shows, including The Merv Griffin Show and Late Night with David Letterman, where she made the cool hosts break a sweat with double entendres and revealing outfits. Her seemingly effortless ability to leave tongues wagging landed her the lead in a now iconic TV commercial for some "tremendo" coolant. (Say it in Spanish.)

Alas, her crossover ended with minor roles in movies like Desperately Seeking Susan and East Side Story as well as regular appearances as Juana in the 90's Nickelodeon show Gullah, Gullah Island. Chacón, now a born-again Christian, recently announced she is working on a movie about her life.

Masters At Work may lack the hits that would make them a household name, but their influence as Latin house DJs goes way beyond the Brooklyn neighborhood where they grew up.

Nuyoricans Kenny “Dope” González and “Little” Louie Vega formed Masters in 1990 after years of playing house and block parties in the Bronx. Vega, the nephew of El Cantante Hector Lavoe, started spinning records at age thirteen. The two were already famous on the Manhattan circuit having DJ'ed at such legendary clubs like Studio 54 and The Palladium.

As a duo, Masters literally synthesized the jazz sounds of '70s New York Latin soul with disco and house, a combination that came to define Latin house with tracks like I Can't Get No Sleep (featuring salsa singer and hottie La India), Pienso En Ti (with Luis Salinas) and the epic Work. As producers, they created material for house diva Barbara Tucker, Jody Watley, Freedom Williams and an up-and-coming actor/rapper by the name of Will Smith. As remixers, they've "Latinized" tracks for Madonna, British funk outfit Jamiroquai and Janet Jackson – and more.

Taking their electronic Latin jazz back to basics, Masters González and Vega formed Nuyorican Soul, a live band with such legendary musicians as Tito Puente and members of the Salsoul Orchestra. Though the pair have also dabbled in solo releases, its their influential output as Masters At Work that has kept them in the mix, both via mix CDs on prestigious labels like Ministry Of Sound and in numerous festival and club appearances throughout Europe and Asia.

Mellow Man Ace was the first hip hop artist to score a hit in Spanglish. His 1989 hit single Mentirosa, a Santana-sampling club jam, had millions singing "Right now you're just a liar, a straight mentirosa, today you tell me something, y mañana otra cosa."

Mellow Man, real name Ulpiano Sergio Reyes, was born in Havana, Cuba and moved to the U.S. in the early 1970s with his family. After a few years on the East Coast, the Reyes family finally settled in the predominantly Mexican-American neighborhood of South Gate, California on the outskirts of Los Angeles. In high school, "Ulpianito" teamed up with Lawrence Muggerud (DJ Muggs), Louis Freese (B-Real) and his older brother Senen Reyes (Sen Dog) to start the rap group DVX (Devastating Vocal Excellence).

But after a few years, his crew's notorious pot smoking and related recreational activities posed a problem for Mellow Man, who had become a born-again Christian. According to the rapper, he "couldn't have one foot in the church and one in the club."

The move to a solo career proved to be more than a moral victory for the caramel-colored, bilingual rapper: his 1989 debut Escape From Havana was a huge commercial success and likely inspired a short-lived boom in Latino rap which catapulted the thuggish ruggish Kid Frost and "Rico Suave" Gerardo to the limelight. A less notable sophomore album followed and Mellow Man was soon dropped from major label Capitol. Meanwhile, his former outfit, DVX, was on its way to becoming the 90's sensation Cypress Hill.

A decade later, Mellow Man has regrouped with older brother Sen Dog to form The Reyes Brothers and in 2006 the pair released Ghetto Therapy – a collection of street joints that combines the lyrical content of Cypress Hill with Mellow Man's rounded corners.