Question - can i use que and cual interchangably when referring to people?

Hola Lydia F.

It’s a great question, and I see where the confusion might come from. In your examples, you’re actually comparing que and quienes, not cuál. So just to clarify: cuál is not used to introduce relative clauses (like in your sentences); it’s used mainly in questions or choices (e.g. ¿Cuál prefieres?).

Now, between que and quienes: both can refer to people, but they are not fully interchangeable. Que is the most commonly used relative pronoun and works in most situations — it refers to people or things and can be used in both restrictive and non-restrictive clauses. Quien/quienes, on the other hand, only refers to people and is typically used in non-restrictive clauses (with commas) or after prepositions (like con, a, de).

So both your sentences are grammatically correct, but que is more commonly used in everyday speech. Keep it up — you're asking great questions!

Saludos

Silvia