Great Mexican imports

Born: Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico | Greatest pop culture contribution: His passionate, smoldering performance as a young Che Guevara in Walter Salles’ “The Motorcycle Diaries” won him a British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) nomination and the hearts of an international array of female admirers.

Born: Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico | Greatest pop cultural contribution: The multi-faceted Hayek is known for many things. Adolescent males surely identify her with her eye candy roles in the Robert Rodriguez flicks “From Dusk Till Dawn” and “Desperado,” and others remember her for her Oscar-nominated turn in “Frida.” Mainstream audiences probably know her best as the onetime executive producer (and occasional performer on) the hit ABC series “Ugly Betty.”

Formed: Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico | Greatest pop cultural contribution: Still the act’s self-titled 2002 debut, but a Kinky live show is not to be missed. Melding traditional Mexican sounds with rock, dance and techno, Kinky’s music is a head trip as much as it is a hip-shaker.

Born: Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico | Greatest pop culture contribution: American audiences are still shivering at the nightmarish look of Del Toro’s eyes-in-the-palms Pale Man in “Pan’s Labyrinth.” His “Pacific Rim,” where huge robot jaegers battled otherwordly kaiju, helped him bring a childhood dream to life.

Born: Autlan de Navarro, Mexico | Greatest pop cultural contribution: A pioneer of Latin rock ‘n’ roll, Santana brought flourishes of Latin jazz to his guitar playing, which possesses an easy-going rhythm to even his most complicated of guitar moves. Check “Oye Coma Va” or “Black Magic Woman” for some of his most recognizable -- and danceable -- guitar maneuvers.

Born: Mexico City, Mexico | Greatest pop cultural contribution: The debates over this one could split the world of pop cultural fandom down the middle. When it comes to Montalbán, there’s the Khan camp (as in “Wrath of” as in “Star Trek”) and there’s the Roark camp, fans of the white-suited mysterious host of “Fantasy Island.” Considering that it takes an actor of considerable skill to steal the scene from William Shatner, we give the edge to Montalbán’s villainous space-farer. If only because he developed the most amazing pectoral muscles for the role.