In the 20th and 21st centuries, the Hungarians of second and third generation, as well as the members of the Hungarian diaspora reside mainly in Brazil and Argentina. Several of them dedicate their lives to journalism and translation, as for example Cora Rónai, daughter of Pál Rónai, mentioned among the emigrants of the 20th century. Other are active in politics. Mariana Bíró, daughter of László Bíró, took on his father’s activity and found the School for Inventors. The work of the members of the Atacama Expedition is also outstanding. Although they are not residents in Latin America, since 2014 they are carrying out a constant study in the region of Ojos del Salado, the highest desert on Earth, where they examine the effects of global warming.
Mariana Biró (1932- ) Daughter of László Biró. Founder and current legal representative of the famous kindergarten and elementary school, Escuela del Sol (School of Sun) in Buenos Aires. Founder of the Argentine School for Inventors. At the moment a film about the life of the Biró family is in production. (Argentina)
Juan Carlos Wasmosy (1938- ) Descendant of the Hungarian Vámosy family. He studied to be a civil engineer. In the 1970s he designed the Itaipu Dam, on the border of Paraguay and Brazil, with which he became one of the wealthiest entrepreneurs in Paraguay. Between 1993 and 1998 he became the first freely elected President of Paraguay. The last occasion when there was a bilateral meeting between the Presidents of Paraguay and Hungary took place during his presidency. (Paraguay)
Iván Nagy (1943-2014) ballet dancer. He studied in Hungary, at the State Ballet Institute. His teachers were Irén Bartos and Olga Lepesinskaja. In 1965 he was third in the International Ballet Competition of Varna, after that he was invited to the Washington Ballet. His professional development was unstoppable, he danced at the New York City Ballet, at the American Ballet Theater, and as the partner of the most prestigious ballerinas in the world. After retiring from ballet, he worked as a choreographer at the Ballet of Australia, and later became the artistic director of the City Ballet of Santiago de Chile. (Chile)
Antonio Horvath Kiss (1950- ) senator. He was born in Santiago, he has Hungarian ancestry. At the university he studied plastic arts and engineering. In 2003 he joined the National Renewal party. Since 1990 he has played an active role in political life, was deputy and senator. In 2009 he was elected as a senator in the Coalition for Change. (Chile)
Cora Rónai (1953- ) journalist, daughter of the Hungarian translator Pál Rónai. She started her journalistic career in Brazil, she was a reporter for several famous newspapers. Later she translated books and prepared adaptations for children. She won several journalism and translation awards, in 2001 she started a blog. (Brazil)
Nelson Ascher (1958- ) translator, journalist, poet. He has Jewish ancestors who first emigrated to Israel, and from there to Brazil. Nelson grew up there, wanted to be a writer since childhood. After studying medicine he graduated in business administration. He studied a master in communication. He makes reports for famous Brazilian newspapers, and he also translates and writes poems. (Brazil)
Cássia Kiss (1958- ) actress. Her father, José Kiss is of Hungarian descent, however, the actress was born in Brazil. She appeared in several films, and achieved her greatest success in the films "Bicho de Sete Cabeças" (Brainstorm, 2000) and "Meu Nome Não É Johnny" (My name is not Jhonny, 2008.) She is mother of four children. (Brazil)
Paulo Schiller (1958- ) pediatrician, translator. His parents were Hungarians, they emigrated to Brazil in 1948. He published a book on psychoanalysis, and he translates Hungarian literature into Portuguese (novels of Sándor Márai, György Dragomán, Péter Esterházy, Imre Kertész, Ferenc Molnár, Antal Szerb, Gyula Krúdy). (Brazil)
Daniel Farcas Guendelman (1963- ) politician, deputy. He graduated from the University of Chile, as a public officer and political analyst. As of 1987 he is a member of the political organization “Party for Democracy”. He is currently a deputy in Parliament. (Chile)
Sandra Kogut (1965- ) film director of Hungarian descent. She lived in France more than 10 years, and then, in 2009 she settled in the United States. He studied philosophy in Rio de Janeiro. She began her film career in 1984. Her grandparents escaped to Brazil from the Holocaust, their story inspired her, and this is how her film “A Hungarian Passport” was made. (Brazil)
Leonardo Farkas Klein (1967- ) businessman. Owner of the iron mines of Santa Fe and Santa Barbara. He has Hungarian descent, lives as an “eccentric millionaire”. In 2010 he collected money to support the families of the miners trapped in a collapsed mine. With his wife they spent their honeymoon in Budapest. (Chile)
Adriane Galisteu (1973- ) actress, TV host, model. She has Hungarian ancestors. She became famous when her love, the competitor of Formula 1, Ayrton Senna suffered a fatal accident. About the accident and the anguish of mourning she wrote a book that pays tribute to his deceased life partner, and was also published in Hungarian. It bears the title “My life with Ayrton.” (Brazil)
Bálint Urbán (1984- ) graduated in Portuguese philology and aesthetics at the Faculty of Humanities of the Eötvös Loránd University. He studied Portuguese literature in Faro, at the University of Algarve. He was co-editor of the “Szubmagazin” magazine, and then took on the position of co-editor of the online cultural portal “szub.hu”, and became director of the musical section. He wrote music reviews and conducted research in the following areas: contemporary Portuguese prose, queer theory, underground cultures and the relation between pop music and fashion. Since 2017 he is director of the Hungarian lectorate at the Ceará State University in Fortaleza. (Brazil)
Zsuzsánna Haynalné Kesserű (1938- ) currently she is one of the key figures of the Hungarian community in Argentina. She founded the Book Lovers Club (Könyvbarátok Klubja) in 1976, which still operates today. She is also the director of the library where she receives readers once a week. In the spring of 2005 she resumed the Hungarian Journal of Argentina (Argentín Magyar Hírlap), in which articles are published in two languages, in Hungarian and in Spanish. She is the editor and chief editor of the journal, which is available online as well. (Argentina)
György Jónás (??-??) Film director. He directed documentaries and pedagogical films. His first movie was "A Compadecida" (1969). György Jónás entered film history mainly with his laboratory work. The colors and the photography of his films were unique. He founded the company Laboratório Plychrom (Líder), which specialized in laboratory work related to color films. (Brazil)