Ulises Hernán de la Cruz Bernardo (born 8 February 1974) is an Ecuadorian retired footballer, who since 2013 has been a member of his country's National Assembly for the governing PAIS Alliance.

He spent his club career at Deportivo Quito, Barcelona S.C., Aucas, Cruzeiro, Hibernian, Aston Villa, Reading and Birmingham City.

De la Cruz has set up a charity, Friends of FundeCruz, in his home village to fund a number of projects serving the local community.

[7] Having made his debut, De la Cruz expressed his delight, playing in the Premier League and soon became a fan favourite at Aston Villa.

[9] He featured more in the 2003–04 season after David O'Leary took over, and an injury to Mark Delaney ensured that de la Cruz could start more games than he had previously; he signed a new contract for the 2004–05 campaign.

[10] During his third season with Aston Villa, de la Cruz became frustrated at his lack of first team opportunities and accused O'Leary of blocking transfers for him.

[14] After a few weeks' training with the club, de la Cruz signed a one-month contract with Birmingham City of the Football League Championship in March 2009.

Due to Ecuador's poor start in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, de la Cruz and his teammate, Ivan Hurtado sharply criticised the coach and the atmosphere in the team.

[24][25] Born in Piquiucho, a small village in the Valle del Chota, one of Ecuador's poorest regions, De la Cruz set up the charity Friends of FundeCruz to fund a number of projects serving the local community, to which he donates about 10% of his salary.