Does Fernando Mendoza speak Spanish? How Miami-born Indiana quarterback stays true to Hispanic heritage originally appeared on The Sporting News Click here to add Sports News as your go-to source.
Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza did it all during the 2026 college football season, becoming the first Hoosier to win the Heisman Trophy. Mendoza led Indiana to a 15-0 record and a berth in the national championship game, with Mendoza’s journey culminating in a fateful setting: his hometown of Miami, where he faced the Hurricanes in the national championship game.
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The Indiana signal-caller grew up less than a mile from the University of Miami campus. For the Mendoza family, however, the connection to the 305 runs deeper than geography—it’s rooted in a tradition that shaped the image he received in Bloomington.
Mendoza, who was born into a Cuban-American family, often attributes his ability to lead a diverse locker room to his bilingual upbringing. During his Heisman acceptance speech, he even took a moment to address his grandparents in Spanish, honoring the sacrifices they had made since arriving from Cuba.
Here’s more information about Mendoza’s bilingual background.
More: Why Fernando Mendoza transferred from Cal to Indiana
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Does Fernando Mendoza speak Spanish?
Mendoza is bilingual and speaks Spanish.
Although he was born in the United States, he is of Cuban-American descent. Four of his grandparents immigrated to the United States from Cuba, and Mendoza often shares what his roots and Spanish language mean to him and his family.
Mendoza said in the interview that while he may not consider himself completely fluent in a technical sense, he is perfectly capable of conversation. He uses Spanish to connect with his family and provide inspiration to the Latino community in college football.
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Where is Fernando Mendoza from?
Mendoza is originally from Miami, Florida, but was actually born in Boston, Massachusetts.
While his family identified deeply with their Cuban-American roots in Miami, his parents, Elsa and Fernando Sr., were living in Boston when he was born. Soon after they moved back to Miami, where Fernando grew up.
Mendoza, though, considers himself a Miami native. He grew up in the Westchester and Coral Gables areas, less than a mile from the University of Miami campus, and attended Christopher Columbus High School. He won the Florida 8A state championship there in 2019 and followed in the footsteps of his father, who was a high school teammate of current Miami coach Mario Cristobal.
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That makes the upcoming national championship at Hard Rock Stadium a true homecoming for him. He’ll be returning to the city where he learned to play football, facing the team he grew up cheering for, just a few miles from the high school where he first made his name.
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Fernando Mendoza Heisman Speech
During his 2025 Heisman Trophy acceptance speech, Mendoza switched to Spanish to address his grandparents, Alberto Espinosa and Alicia Espinosa.
“It took a lot of effort for the love and sacrifice of dad and abuelos,” Mendoza said. “De todo mi corazón, de todas gracias.”
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In English, that would be “For the love and sacrifice of my parents and grandparents, I love you very much. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
He also talked about his family history and how it taught him true leadership.
“You taught me that you don’t need to be loud to be strong, you can be quiet and strong,” Mendoza said. “It’s about choosing hope and believing in yourself when the world doesn’t give you many reasons.”
More: How Fernando Mendoza went from two-star rookie to Heisman Trophy winner
Fernando Mendoza’s grandparents
All four of Fernando’s grandparents were born and raised in Cuba. His maternal grandparents, Alberto Espinoza and Alicia Espinoza, immigrated to the United States from Cuba after the 1959 Cuban Revolution, eventually settling in Miami.
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Mendoza described his grandfather, Alberto, as a “huge advocate” for their family’s history. In 2018, Fernando and his brother Alberto, also a quarterback at Indiana University, returned to Cuba with their grandfather and visited his hometown of Santiago. During their trip, they served local Catholic charities and reconnected with cousins ​​who stayed on the island, an experience Mendoza describes as “transformative.”
Three of his grandparents were from Havana, Cuba, and one was from Santiago, Cuba.
“I’m so grateful for all the hardships they went through and the whole process of being immigrants, starting from scratch and really laying the groundwork,” Mendoza told NBC Sports’ Nicole Auerbach. “It really shows how grateful my brother and I are for the opportunities our grandparents took.”
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