Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez
- Born
- 29 January 1942 (84 years)
- Place of birth
- Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
- Gender
- Male
Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez (born January 29, 1942) is a Cuban military officer, legislator, and former cosmonaut and the first person of African heritage in space. In 1980, as a member of the crew of Soyuz 38, he became the first Cuban citizen, the first Latin American, the first person of African descent, and the first person from a country in the Western Hemisphere other than the United States to travel into Earth orbit.
