El País

Type	Daily newspaper
Format	Tabloid
Owner	PRISA
Founder	José Ortega Spottorno
Publisher	Ediciones El País, S.L.
Editor-in-chief	Javier Moreno
Associate editor	Lluis Bassets
Founded	May 4, 1976 (1976-05-04)
Political alignment	Center-Left, Social Democratic
Language	Spanish
Headquarters	Madrid, Spain
Circulation	369,707 daily in 2011[1]
Sister newspapers	Cinco Días, Diario AS
ISSN	0213-4608
Official website	www.elpais.com

El País ( listen (help·info); literally The Country) is the highest-circulation daily newspaper in Spain^[1], and one of three Madrid dailies considered to be national newspapers of record for Spain (along with El Mundo and ABC).^{[citation needed]} El País, based in Madrid, is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA.

Its headquarters and central editorial staff are located in Madrid, although there are regional offices in the principal Spanish cities (Barcelona, Seville, Valencia, Bilbao, Santiago de Compostela) where regional editions are produced. El País also produces a world edition that is printed and distributed in Latin America.^[2]

History[link]

El País was founded by a team at PRISA which included José Ortega Spottorno and Carlos Mendo.^[3] The paper was designed by Reinhard Gade and Julio Alonso. It was first published on 4 May 1976,^[4] six months after the death of dictator Francisco Franco, and at the beginning of the Spanish transition to democracy. It was the first pro-democracy newspaper within a context where all the other Spanish newspapers were influenced by Franco's ideology. El País filled a gap in the market and became the newspaper of Spanish democracy, for which role El País was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award for Communication and the Humanities in 1983, at a time when the transition from Franco's dictatorship to democracy was still developing. The paper's first Director (until 1988) was Juan Luis Cebrián, who came from the daily newspaper Informaciones. Like many other Spanish journalists of the time he had worked for the Diario Pueblo (People's Daily) which was a mouthpiece for the Francist sindicato vertical.

Its reputation as a bastion of Spanish democracy was established during the attempted coup d'etat by Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Tejero of the Guardia Civil on 23 February 1981. During the uncertain situation of the night of 23 February 1981, with all the members of parliament held hostage in the Congress building and with tanks on the streets of Valencia, and before the state television station could transmit a speech by King Juan Carlos I condemning the coup, El País published a special edition of the newspaper called 'El País, for the Constitution'. It was the first daily paper on the streets that night with a clear pro-democracy position calling on citizens to demonstrate in favour of democracy. It was widely discussed in the news media that the then director of El País, Juan Luis Cebrián, telephoned the then director of Diario 16, Pedro J. Ramírez, in order to propose that both newspapers work on a joint publication in defence of democracy and Ramírez refused, claiming that he would prefer to wait a few hours to see how the situation developed. Diario 16 was not published until after a television broadcast by the king. Along with its commitment to democracy before the attempted coup of 23 February 1981, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party's election victory in 1982 with an absolute majority and its open support for the government of Felipe González,^{[citation needed]} meant that El País consolidated its position during the 1980s as the Spanish newspaper with the most sales ahead of the conservative leaning ABC.

Both the rigorous journalistic standards and the fact that it was the first Spanish newspaper to establish internal quality control standards have increased the standing of El País. It was also the first Spanish daily to create the role of Reader's Advocate (equivalent to the Press Ombudsman in Britain) and in publishing a "Style Guide" that has become a benchmark for quality amongst journalists.^[5] El País has also established a number of collaborative agreements with other European newspapers with a social democrat viewpoint. In 1989 El País participated in the creation of a common network of information resources with La Repubblica in Italy and Le Monde in France. Since October 2001 an English language supplement of El País has been included in the Spanish version of the International Herald Tribune.

At the beginning of the 1990s El País had to face a new political and journalistic challenge. The increasing political tensions caused by corruption scandals involving the socialist government of Felipe González polarized both the Spanish political classes and the press of the left and right wings. Since that time, both the Partido Popular and the media aligned with it have accused El País and the other companies owned by PRISA^[6][7] along with Sogecable^[8][9] of supporting the interests of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). Despite this El País has managed to maintain its position as the best selling generalist daily in Spain, although its lead over El Mundo has been reduced.

On September 26, 2007 the paper published the Bush-Aznar memo, a leaked transcript of a closed-door meeting between presidents Bush and Aznar shortly before the invasion of Iraq.^[10]

During the premiership of the PSOE's José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero El País published several articles criticising or opposing the policies of the Zapatero government.^{[citation needed]} This provided opportunities for new entrants to represent the centre left, such as the appearance of the daily newspaper Público.

Appearance[link]

The appearance of El País is characterized by its sobriety, both in the treatment of information and in its esthetics. Most pages contain five columns that are arranged in a neat and clear manner with distinct journalistic sub-categories. Photographs and graphics play a secondary, supporting role to the written word. The newspaper has had the same design from its foundation until the end of 2007, with hardly any changes (it only used black and white photographs, although the current format includes colour and more imaginative design, mainly in the varied supplements), and the same Times Roman font.^[11]

The format of the newspaper was revamped on 21 October 2007 with changes to its printed form, its digital presence on the internet and its historical motto of 'Independent morning daily' was changed to 'Global Spanish language newspaper'.^[12] Other notable changes are the inclusion of the acute accent in its title header and the substitution of Times Roman by Majerit.

Opinion polls cited in El País are all carried out by a separate company called Instituto OPINA.

Electronic edition[link]

In the mid-1990s El País was the second Spanish newspaper to publish an internet edition, El País digital (the first was the Catalan newspaper Avui). On 18 November 2002 it became the first Spanish newspaper to introduce a payment system for access to the contents of its electronic version, which drastically reduced the number of visits to the website, to the extent that El Mundo, which maintained open access to the majority of its contents, became the leading Spanish digital newspaper. After taking this decision El País digital was suspended in 2002 by the OJD for four months because of two serious breaches of OJD regulations.^[13] The El País digital website opened again on 3 June 2005 with free access to the majority of the contents. Subscription was required to gain access to multimedia contents and to the newspaper's archive.

Supplements[link]

El País produces a number of supplements:

• Wednesdays:
  • Futuro, (English: Future) supplement on science.
• Thursdays:
  • Ciberpaís, supplement on computing and electronics, and
  • The New York Times, a Spanish language version of the American original.
• Fridays:
  • EP[3], previously known as El País de las Tentaciones, (English: The Country of Temptations) youth supplement.
  • Ocio, (English: Leisure) supplement on cultural activities.
• Saturdays:
  • Babelia', cultural supplement specializing in literature and
  • El Viajero, (English: The Traveller) on travel.
• Sundays:
  • the magazine El País Semanal (English: El País Weekly) previously called EP[S] on fashion, reports and opinion,
  • Negocios, (English: Business) financial supplement.

The supplement designed for children, Pequeño País (English: Small Country), ceased publication in 2009.

A number of publications issued in installments have also been produced throughout its history:

• Classic and Modern Comics (1987).

Ideology[link]

The paper's ideology has always been defined by a leaning towards Europeanism. Politically it is situated in the centre-left and the left.^[14] El País has repeatedly supported King Juan Carlos I for his contribution to the consolidation of democracy, especially, for his decisive intervention in aborting the coup of 23 February 1981.^[15] The paper is characterized by the amount of space it gives to the reporting of international news, culture and information regarding the economy, as well as Spanish news. It has specific columnists and contributors from different social backgrounds contributing to the democratic and pro-European editorial line of the newspaper.

Criticism of Che Guevara, the "populist left" and the Government of Venezuela[link]

The paper has criticized figures such as Che Guevara and his idea of armed struggle.^[16]

El País has also been critical of the so-called "populist left" in Latin America. In April 2002 it termed the failed coup in Venezuela as a "coup against a tyrant" accusing Hugo Chávez of authoritarianism and of eliminating the separation of powers.^[17] The paper criticized Chávez again regarding the Venezuelan constitutional referendum of 2007 accusing him of holding the referendum without the least "minimal guarantees", of restricting the actions of the National Electoral Council and tampering with the electoral roll.^[18] The Venezuelan government, through the Ministry of Popular Power for Communication and Information considers El País to be one of the Spanish newspapers most critical of the left-wing governments of Cuba, Venezuela, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Bolivia.^[19]

Notable contributors[link]

• Ariel Dorfman
• Juan Carlos Gumucio
• Fernando Krahn^[20]
• Elvira Lindo
• Mario Vargas Llosa
• Javier Marías
• Rosa Montero
• Manuel Rivas
• Eduardo Mendoza
• Empar Moliner
• Javier Pradera
• Ignacio Sánchez-Cuenca
• Maruja Torres
• Eduardo Haro Tecglen
• Pilar Rahola
• Juan José Millás
• Manuel Valls

See also[link]

	Spain portal
	Journalism portal

• Ortega y Gasset Awards

References[link]

External links[link]

• Electronic edition of El País (Spanish)
• Mobile edition of El País (Spanish)
• Global edition of El País (Spanish)
• El País in English with International Herald Tribune
• Libro de estilo de El País (Spanish)
• Premio Príncipe de Asturias de Comunicación y Humanidades 1983 (Spanish)

v t e Daily newspapers published in Spain with circulation over 90,000* News ABC   •   El Correo   •   El Mundo   •   El País   •   El Periódico de Catalunya   •   La Razón   •   La Vanguardia   •   La Voz de Galicia Sports Diario AS   •   Marca   •   El Mundo Deportivo   •   Sport List of all newspapers in Spain with over 5,000 daily paid circulation     (* according to Spanish Oficina de Justificación de la Difusión, 2011)

For Partial Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (PAIS), see Partial androgen insensitivity syndrome; for locks of hair on the sides of the face, see payot; for the village in Azerbaijsn, see Payız; for the newspapers named 'El País', see El País (disambiguation); for the global missionary organization, see Pais Project

Many of today's Pais vineyards are located in the Bío-Bío river valley.

Pais is a red wine grape that has played a prominent role in the Chilean wine industry. Up until the turn of the 21st century, it was Chile's most planted variety until it was overtaken by Cabernet Sauvignon. Today it is most commonly used in the creation of jug wine in the Bío-Bío, Maule and Itata River regions in the south. The grape is sometimes known as Negra Peruana. In Argentina the grape is known as Criolla Chica.^[1]

History[link]

The Pais has one of the longest viticultural history in Chile, believed to have been brought to the region by Spanish conquistadors from Peru during their colonization of the continent in the 16th century. Ampelographers believe that along with the Criolla Grande grape of Argentina and Mission grape of California, that the Pais grape is descended by the Spanish "common black grape" brought to Mexico in 1520 by the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés. That early grape was then cultivated by Spanish missionaries and spread throughout the Americas. The Pais remained Chile's primarily wine grape until the emergence of the Bordeaux wine varietal in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.^[2]

Viticulture and wine[link]

Pais produces a thin bodied, rustic red wine that typically has a light brown coloring. The grape's thin skin does not provide much extract and vineyard owners typically harvest at much higher yields then what would be needed to produce higher quality wines. The grape is valued for vigor and ease of cultivation, producing 8-13 tons per acre even with limited amounts of irrigation. It is mostly consumed domestically but some sweet dessert wines have been exported in the past.^[3]

References[link]

Medal record
Cathy Freeman
Women’s Athletics
Competitor for  Australia
Olympic Games
Gold	2000 Sydney	400 m
Silver	1996 Atlanta	400 m
World Championships
Gold	1997 Athens	400 m
Gold	1999 Seville	400 m
Bronze	1995 Gothenburg	4 × 400 m relay
Commonwealth Games
Gold	1990 Auckland	4 × 100 m
Gold	1994 Victoria	200 m
Gold	1994 Victoria	400 m
Gold	2002 Manchester	4 × 400 m
Silver	1994 Victoria	4 × 100 m

Catherine Astrid Salome "Cathy" Freeman, OAM (born 16 February 1973) is a former Australian sprinter, who specialised in the 400 metres event. She became the Olympic champion for the women's 400 metres at the 2000 Summer Olympics, at which she lit the Olympic Flame.^[1] Freeman was the first ever Aboriginal Commonwealth Games gold medalist at age 16 in 1990. ^[2] 1994 was her breakthrough season. At the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Canada, Freeman won gold in both the 200 m and 400 m. She also won the silver medal in the 1996 Olympics and came first at the 1997 World Champion in the 400 m event. 1998 saw Freeman taking a break from running due to injury. She returned to form with a first place in the 400 m at the 1999 World Championships. She announced her retirement from athletics in 2003.

Freeman was born in Slade Point, Mackay, Queensland, where the local athletics track is now named after her. Her coach throughout her athletic career was Peter Fortune. In 1999, she married Sandy Bodecker, separating in February 2003. In 2009, she married James Murch, with whom she gave birth to a girl in 2011. In 1998, she was awarded Australian of the Year, in 2001 the World Sportswoman of the Year and the Medal of the Order of Australia.

Career[link]

Freeman began athletics at a very young age. Her first coach was her stepfather, Bruce Barber. By her early teens she had a collection of regional and national titles, having competed in the 100 metres, 200 metres and high jump.^{[citation needed]}

In 1987, Freeman moved on to Kooralbyn International School to be coached professionally by Romanian Mike Danila, who become her first real coach and later a key influence throughout her career; he provided a strict training regime for the young athlete.^[3][4][5]

In 1988, She was awarded a scholarship to an exclusive girls' school, Fairholme College in Toowoomba. In a competition in 1989, Freeman ran 11.67s in the 100 metres and Danila began to think about entering her in the Commonwealth Games Trials in Sydney.

In 1990, Freeman was chosen as a member of Australia's 4 x 100 m relay team for the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland, New Zealand. The team won the gold medal, making Freeman the first ever Aboriginal Commonwealth Games gold medallist, as well as one of the youngest, at 16 years old. She moved to Melbourne in 1990s after the Auckland Commonwealth Games. Shortly after moving to Melbourne, Bideau her manager introduced Freeman to athletics coach, Peter Fortune who would become Freeman's coach for the rest of her career. She was then selected to represent Australia at the 1990 World Junior Championships in Athletics in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. There, she reached the semi-finals of the 100 m and placed fifth in the final of the 400 m.

Freeman competed in her second World Junior Championships in Seoul, South Korea. She competed only in the 200 m, winning the silver medal behind China's Hu Ling. Also in 1992, she travelled to her first Olympic Games, reaching the second round of her new speciality event; the 400 metres. At the 1993 World Championships in Athletics, Freeman competed in the 200 m, reaching the semi-finals.

1994 was Freeman's breakthrough season, when she entered into the world's elite for the first time. Competing at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Canada, Freeman won gold in both the 200 m and 400 m. She also competed as a member of Australia's 4x100 m squad, winning the silver medal and as a member of the 4x400 m team, who finished first but were later disqualified. During the 1994 season, Freeman took 1.3 seconds from her 400 m personal best, achieving 50.04 seconds. She also set all-time personal bests in the 100 m (11.24) and 200 m (22.25).

Although a medal favourite at the 1995 World Championships in Athletics in Sweden, Freeman finished fourth.^{[citation needed]} She also reached the semi-finals of the 200 m.

Freeman made more progress during the 1996 season, setting many personal bests and Australian records. By this stage, she was the biggest challenger to France's Marie-José Pérec at the 1996 Olympics.^{[citation needed]} She eventually took the silver medal behind Pérec, in an Australian record of 48.63 seconds. This is still the sixth fastest time ever and the second fastest since 1985.^{[citation needed]} Pérec's winning time of 48.25 was an Olympic record and the third fastest ever.

In 1997, Freeman won the 400 m at the World Championships in Athens, with a time of 49.77 seconds. Her only loss in the 400 m that season was in Oslo where she injured her foot.^{[citation needed]}

Freeman took a break for the 1998 season, due to injury. Upon her return to the track in 1999, Freeman did not lose a single 400 m race, including at the World Championships.^{[citation needed]}

ABC footage and interviews of crowds celebrating Freeman's Olympics win.

Her winning streak continued into the 2000 season, despite Pérec's return to the track. Freeman was the home favorite for the 400 m title at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, where she was expected to face-off with rival Pérec. This showdown never happened, as Pérec left the Games after an encounter with an Australian photographer.^{[citation needed]} Freeman won the Olympic title in a time of 49.13 seconds, becoming only the second Australian Aboriginal Olympic champion (the first was Nova Peris-Kneebone for field hockey in Atlanta).^{[citation needed]} After the race, Freeman took a victory lap, carrying both the Aboriginal and Australian flags. This was despite the fact that unofficial flags are banned at the Olympic Games and the Aboriginal flag, while recognized as official in Australia, is not a national flag, nor recognized by the International Olympic Committee.^{[citation needed]} Freeman also made the final of the 200 m, coming sixth.^[6] In honour of her gold medal win in Sydney, she represented Oceania in carrying the Olympic flag at the opening ceremonies of the next Olympics, in Salt Lake City, joining Archbishop Desmond Tutu (Africa), John Glenn (The Americas), Kazuyoshi Funaki (Asia), Lech Wałęsa (Europe), Jean-Michel Cousteau (Environment), Jean-Claude Killy (Sport), and Steven Spielberg (Culture).^{[citation needed]}

Throughout her career, Freeman regularly competed in the Victorian Athletic League where she won two 400 m races at the Stawell Gift Carnival.^{[citation needed]} Freeman did not compete during the 2001 season. In 2002, she returned to the track to compete as a member of Australia's victorious 4x400 m relay team at the 2002 Commonwealth Games.^{[citation needed]}

Freeman announced her retirement in 2003.^[7]

Since retiring from athletics Freeman has become involved in a range of community and charitable activities. She is an Ambassador of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation.^[8]

Freeman was appointed as an Ambassador for Cottage by the Sea, alongisde celebrity chef Curtis Stone and big wave surfer Jeff Rowley. Cottage by the Sea is one of Australia's oldest charities and each year provides short-term beachside holidays and respite care for more than 900 children and families in need.^[9]

Personal life[link]

Freeman was born in 1973 at Slade Point, Mackay, Queensland to Norman Freeman and Cecelia. She and her brothers Gavin, Garth and Norman (who died after a motor vehicle accident on 16 September 2008) ^[10] were raised there and in other parts of Queensland. She also had a sister named Anne-Marie (1966–1990) who suffered from cerebral palsy and spent much of her life in a home for the disabled. Freeman attended several schools, but was mostly educated at Fairholme College, in Toowoomba.^{[citation needed]} Her parents divorced in 1978.^[11] Freeman has described how she has been influenced by early experiences with racism and also by her Bahá'í faith.^[12] Freeman was raised a Baha'i, and says of her faith, "I'm not a devout Baha'i but I like the prayers and I appreciate their values about the equality of all human kind".^[13][14]

Freeman's mother Cecelia (nee Sibley) was born in the Aboriginal community on Palm Island. Freeman's father Norman's father was Frank Fisher; Norman was raised by his mother Geraldine Roy and his stepfather Claude Freeman ^[11]. Freeman's late grandfather, Frank Fisher was an outstanding rugby player.^[15]

Freeman had a long-term romantic relationship with Nic Bideau, her manager, that ended in acrimony and legal wranglings over Freeman's endorsement earnings.^{[16] [17]} Freeman married Sandy Bodecker, a Nike executive and 20 years her senior, in 1999. After her success in Sydney she took an extended break from the track to nurse Bodecker through a bout of throat cancer between May–October 2002.^[18] She announced their separation in February 2003.

Later that year, Freeman began dating Australian actor Joel Edgerton whom she had initially met at the 2002 TV Week Logies. Their relationship ended in early 2005.^[19]

In October 2006 Freeman announced her engagement to Melbourne stockbroker James Murch.^[20] They married at Spray Farm on the Bellarine Peninsula on 11 April 2009.^[21] Freeman gave birth to Ruby Anne Susie Murch on 8 July 2011.^[22]

In 2008, Freeman participated in Who Do You Think You Are? and discovered that her mother was of Chinese and English heritage. As a result of a 1917 Queensland policy that Aborigines could serve in the military if they had a European parent, her paternal great grandfather, Frank Fisher served in the 11th Light Horse Regiment during WWI.^[23][11]

On her right arm, the side closest to the spectators on an athletics track, she had the words "Cos I'm Free" tattoed mid-way between her shoulder and elbow.^[24]

English textbook[link]

The story of Freeman and her accomplishments in the Olympics were used in an English book known as Sunshine in Japan. The book was used by Japanese junior high schools in their third year. It told of her winning the gold medal at the 2000 Olympics. It then goes on to talk about Australia's Aborigines and then about her personal life. Her story is used as a means to teach relative pronouns to the students.^[25]

Personal bests[link]

Competition record[link]

International competitions[link]

National championships[link]

Circuit performances[link]

Awards[link]

• Australian of the Year 1998^[26]
• Australian Sports Medal 2000^[27]
• Centenary Medal 2001^[28]
• Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) 2001^[29]
• In 2001, Freeman received the Olympic Order from Juan Antonio Samaranch^[30]
• Laureus named Freeman Sportswoman of the Year in 2001
• Arthur Ashe Courage Award 2001
• The Deadlys 2003 – Female Sportsperson of the Year

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• McGreggor, A. (1998) Cathy Freeman; A Journey Just Begun. Milsons Point, Random House Australia. ISBN 0-09-183649-2

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Cathy Freeman

• IAAF profile for Cathy Freeman
• Athletics Australia profile for Catherine Freeman
• Official Website
• The Catherine Freeman Foundation
• Powerhouse Museum collection
• Australian Indigenous Education Foundation

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Dr. Peter C. Doherty	Australian of the Year 1998	Succeeded by Mark Taylor
Preceded by Marion Jones	World Sportswoman of the Year 2001	Succeeded by Jennifer Capriati
Olympic Games
Preceded by Muhammad Ali	Final Summer Olympic Torchbearer Sydney 2000	Succeeded by Nikolaos Kaklamanakis

v t e Winners of the Laureus World Sports Award for Sportswoman of the Year 2000: Marion Jones* · 2001: Cathy Freeman · 2002: Jennifer Capriati · 2003: Serena Williams · 2004: Annika Sörenstam · 2005: Kelly Holmes · 2006: Janica Kostelić · 2007: Yelena Isinbayeva · 2008: Justine Henin · 2009: Yelena Isinbayeva · 2010: Serena Williams · 2011: Lindsey Vonn · 2012: Vivian Cheruiyot Since this award, Jones has admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs. Her award is in doubt.

Gieco in 2005.

Raúl Alberto Antonio Gieco, better known as León Gieco (born on November 20, 1951 on a farm near Cañada Rosquín in northern Santa Fe Province, Argentina) is a pop-folk music composer and interpreter. He is known for mixing popular folkloric genres with Argentine rock, and for lyrics with social and political connotations. This has led to him being called "the Argentine Bob Dylan".

Biography[link]

Leon Gieco was born on November 20, 1951 in Santa Fe Province, Argentina. At 6 years old, Gieco traveled with his family to Rosario due to economic troubles. At age 8, Gieco bought his first guitar on credit, and soon began playing music at local events with his father's band. Throughout his childhood, Gieco played with local bands such as a folkloric group called Los Nocheros (The Night Watchers) and Los Moscos (The Flies), a rock band that gained some popularity within Argentina. In 1965, Gieco traveled to Bolivia as an exchange student. He studied music and played guitar at local festivies.

When Gieco turned 18, he went to Buenos Aires to become a full-time musician. There, he took guitar lessons from Gustavo Santaolalla, who introduced him to important people in the Buenos Aires musical community, such as Raúl Porchetto, Charly García, Nito Mestre, and María Rosa Yorio, members of the Argentine supergroup, Porsuigieco. Gieco was given the opportunity to perform in the Buenos Aires Rock Festival in 1971, 1972, and 1973. In 1973, he recorded his first album, "Leon Gieco" ( it was recorded independently with Santaolalla). En el País de la Libertad ("In the Country of Freedom"), a hit from his album, demonstrated Gieco's concern for change in Argentina, his concern for social justice.

In 1976 Gieco released El Fantasma de Canterville ("The Ghost of Canterville"). The record suffered a great deal of censorship from the military government; he had to change the lyrics of 6 songs and remove 3 others altogether. Nevertheless, the record was a success, and he had concerts not only around Argentina, but also in other countries of South America. Two years later he released IV LP, with one of his most famous songs: Sólo le pido a Dios ("I only ask of God"). Due to the political situation in Argentina, Gieco moved to Los Angeles, California in 1978 for one year.

On December 20, 1979, the Argentine Minister of Education announced the closing of the National University of Lujan in Buenos Aires. Gieco participated in a protest against the closing by singing "La Cultura es la Sonrisa". His lyrics say, "(Culture) only cries in a country where people can't choose it/it only cries its sadness if a minister closes a school..." Gieco was arrested and threatened with death by the military government.

León Gieco in 1980.

In 1981 Gieco started a 3-year, 110,000-kilometre-long series of independent concerts all over Argentina, playing for a total of 420,000 people. He gathered material from the different places he visited during the tour, and recorded the first volume of De Ushuaia a La Quiaca ("From Ushuaia to La Quiaca" in Buenos Aires with various autochthonous musicians in 1985. The following De Ushuaia a La Quiaca 2 and De Ushuaia a La Quiaca 3 were recorded in a mobile studio in different locations of the country.

In 1985, Gieco went to Moscow for the 12th "World Youth and Students' Festival" alongside Juan Carlos Baglietto and Litto Nebbia, representing Argentina. In 1986 and 1987, he held concerts in Germany with his friend Mercedes Sosa, including that of Berlin's Political Song Festival.

Gieco returned to Argentina and performed free concerts, one for 40,000 spectators at the National Flag Memorial in Rosario, and the other for 35,000 people in Buenos Aires. At Boca Juniors' Stadium he had a concert with Pablo Milanés and Chico Buarque, and guest musicians Mercedes Sosa, Fito Páez, Nito Mestre, Juan Carlos Baglietto and Sixto Palavecino. At the end of the year he went on a world tour that included countries such as Mexico, Peru, Brasil, Sweden, Germany and Denmark.

In 1988, Gieco performed in Germany and Austria. Back in Argentina he participated in the final concert of the Amnesty International Human Rights Now! Tour at River Plate Stadium, with Charly García, Peter Gabriel, Bruce Springsteen, Sting, and others.

After eight years of touring, Semillas del corazón ("Seeds of the heart") marked his return to the studio in 1989. That same year he performed at the Teatro Ópera in Buenos Aires with United States folk legend Pete Seeger. The following year, Seeger asked him to join a tour that took him to Washington, D.C., Boston and New York City. There he played with David Byrne, whom he had met in Buenos Aires shortly before.

In 1992, he played with Milton Nascimento, Mercedes Sosa, Os Paralamas do Sucesso, Gilberto Gil and Rubén Rada at the inauguration of the Latin American Parliament in São Paulo. In 1997 he participated in the memorial concert for the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, with bands such as Divididos, La Renga, Los Piojos, and Attaque 77.

Gieco began his most recent national tour for social justice, Mundo Alas, in 2007. Argentine musicians, dancers, singers, and painters, all with disabilities, performed alongside Gieco, expressing their unique talents and communicating with audiences. He gave these artists the opportunity to live out their dreams as he does. Gieco created a documentary from the road tour which was produced in March, 2009. The film features rock music, folk music, and tango, along with Gieco's original hits.

Discography[link]

• León Gieco (1973)
• La Banda de los Caballos Cansados (1974)
• El fantasma de Canterville (1976)
• IV LP (1978)
• Siete años (1980)
• Pensar en nada (1981)
• Corazón americano / El gran concierto (1985)
• De Ushuaia a La Quiaca 1 (1985)
• De Ushuaia a La Quiaca 2 (1985)
• De Ushuaia a La Quiaca 3 (1985)
• Semillas del corazón (1989)
• Ayer y hoy (1989)
• Concierto en vivo con Pete Seeger (1990)
• Mensajes del alma (1992)
• Desenchufado (1994)
• Orozco (1997)
• En el país de la libertad (1999)
• De Ushuaia a La Quiaca 4 (1999)
• 40 obras fundamentales (2000)
• Bandidos rurales (2001)
• Por partida doble (2001)
• El vivo de León (2003)
• De Ushuaia a La Quiaca (re-edition) (2005)
• Por Favor, Perdón y Gracias (2005)
• El Vivo de Leon (2003)
• El Desembarco (2011)

See also[link]

Culture of Argentina