José Maria Cárdenas López[a] (born 2 April 1985) is a Mexican former professional footballer who played as a left-back.

Cárdenas received his first call-up to the Mexico national team in a friendly against Bolivia, scoring his first goal as well in a 5–1 victory.

He made his Primera División debut with Atlante on August 24, 2005 in a 2–2 draw against San Luis during the 2005 Apertura tournament.

During the 2006 Clausura, José María played in all 17 league matches, helping Atlante reach the play-offs.

In total, Cárdenas played 70 matches for Atlante, and scored 5 goals.