- published: 15 Jan 2008
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- 1900 Summer Olympics
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1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same year since 1924, and place them in alternating even-numbered years, beginning in 1994. The 1992 Summer Games were the last to be staged in the same year as the Winter Games. Due to the end of the Cold War, these games were the first without boycotts since 1972.
Barcelona, the birthplace of then-IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch, was selected over Amsterdam, Belgrade, Birmingham, Brisbane and Paris in Lausanne, Switzerland, on October 17, 1986, during the 91st IOC Session. It had bid for the 1936 Summer Olympics, losing out to Berlin.
See the medal winners, ordered by sport:
169 nations sent athletes to compete in these Games (the number of competitors for each country below is given in brackets). With the dissolution of the Soviet Union, twelve states formed a Unified Team, while the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania had their own teams. For the first time, Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia-Herzegovina competed as independent nations after separation from Socialist Yugoslavia. Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was banned due to UN sanctions, but individual Yugoslav athletes were allowed to take part as Independent Olympic Participants. It was also the first Olympics since 1964 that a unified Germany competed at the Olympics. This was the Olympic debut for Namibia and the unified team of Yemen, after several separate participations of North and South Yemen. South Africa returned to the Games after 32 years. Four National Olympic Committees didn't send their athletes to compete: Afghanistan, Brunei, Liberia and Somalia.
wn.com/1992_Summer_Olympics -
Aguascalientes
Aguascalientes (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈaɣwaskaˈljentes] (
listen)), officially Free and Sovereign state of Aguascalientes (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Aguascalientes), is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 11 municipalities and its capital city is Aguascalientes.
It is located in North-Central Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Zacatecas to the north and Jalisco to the south. Its name means "hot waters" in Spanish and originated from the abundance of hot springs in the area, the corresponding demonym for the state and its inhabitants is hidrocálido.
The state is located about 480 km (300 mi) from Mexico City.
It covers 5,471 square kilometers (2,112 sq mi) and has a little more than one million inhabitants. Most of its inhabitants live in the densely populated metropolitan area of its capital city.
The state as it is now was created on October 27, 1857 when it was separated from Zacatecas after the tale says that the wife of the governor of the state promised to give a kiss to the President of the time, in exchange for the separation of Aguascalientes from Zacatecas, which explains the shape of a kiss the state has. It bears the name Aguascalientes taken from its largest city and capital also called Aguascalientes.
wn.com/Aguascalientes -
Amsterdam
Amsterdam (English /ˈæmstərdæm/; Dutch: [ˌɑmstərˈdɑm] ( listen)) is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The city's status as the capital of the nation is governed by the constitution. Amsterdam has a population of 790,654 within city limits, an urban population of 1,209,419 and a metropolitan population of 2,289,762. The city is located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country. It comprises the northern part of the Randstad, one of the larger conurbations in Europe, with a population of approximately 7 million.
Amsterdam's name is derived from Amstelredamme, indicative of the city's origin: a dam in the river Amstel. Settled as a small fishing village in the late 12th century, Amsterdam became one of the most important ports in the world during the Dutch Golden Age, a result of its innovative developments in trade. During that time, the city was the leading center for finance and diamonds. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the city expanded, and many new neighborhoods and suburbs were formed. The 17th-century canals of Amsterdam (in Dutch: 'Grachtengordel'), located in the heart of Amsterdam, were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in July 2010.
wn.com/Amsterdam -
Anguilla
Anguilla (
/æŋˈɡwɪlə/ ang-GWIL-ə) is a British overseas territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Saint Martin. The territory consists of the main island of Anguilla itself, approximately 26 km (16 mi) long by 5 km (3.1 mi) wide at its widest point, together with a number of much smaller islands and cays with no permanent population. The island's capital is The Valley. The total land area of the territory is 91 km2 (35 sq mi), with a population of approximately 13,500 (2006 estimate).
Anguilla has become a popular tax haven, having no capital gains, estate, profit or other forms of direct taxation on either individuals or corporations.
Anguilla was first settled by Amerindian tribes who migrated from South America. The earliest Amerindian artifacts found on Anguilla have been dated to around 1300 BC, and remains of settlements date from 600 AD. The date of European discovery is uncertain: some sources claim that Columbus sighted the island in 1493, while others state that the island was first discovered by the French in 1564 or 1565. The name Anguilla derives from the word for "eel" in any of various Romance languages (modern Spanish: anguila; French: anguille; Italian: anguilla; Portuguese: enguia), probably chosen because of the island's eel-like shape.
wn.com/Anguilla -
Antigua and Barbuda
Antigua and Barbuda (
i/ænˈtiːɡə ænd bɑrˈbjuːdə/; Spanish for "ancient" and "bearded") is a twin-island nation lying between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It consists of two major inhabited islands, Antigua and Barbuda, and a number of smaller islands (including Great Bird, Green, Guinea, Long, Maiden and York Islands and further south, the island of Redonda). The permanent population number approximately 81,800 (at the 2011 Census) and the capital and largest port and city is St. John's, on Antigua.
Separated by a few nautical miles, Antigua and Barbuda are in the middle of the Leeward Islands, part of the Lesser Antilles, roughly at 17 degrees north of the Equator. The country is nicknamed "Land of 365 Beaches" due to the many beaches surrounding the islands. Its governance, language, and culture have all been strongly influenced by the British Empire, of which the country was formerly a part.
Antigua was first settled by Archaic Age hunter-gatherer Amerindians, erroneously referred to as Siboney or Ciboney.Carbon-dating has established that the earliest settlements started around 3100 BC. They were succeeded by the Ceramic Age pre-Columbian Arawak-speaking Saladoid people who migrated from the lower Orinoco River.
wn.com/Antigua_and_Barbuda -
Arcos Bosques
Arcos Bosques Torre 1 is a prominent skyscraper in Mexico City. It was designed by Teodoro González. It is 36 stories tall, with 33 levels of office space. It is composed of two parallel columns of 31 floors and 4 more floors at the top joined by a lintel. It is colloquially known as El Pantalón ("The Trousers").
Coordinates: 19°59′01.13″N 102°16′50.95″W / 19.9836472°N 102.2808194°W / 19.9836472; -102.2808194
wn.com/Arcos_Bosques -
Arequipa
Coordinates: 16°23′55.76″S 71°32′12.79″W / 16.3988222°S 71.5368861°W / -16.3988222; -71.5368861
Arequipa (Spanish pronunciation: [aɾeˈkipa]) is the capital city of the Arequipa Region in southern Peru. With a population of 836,859 it is the second most populous city of the country. Arequipa lies in the Andes mountains, at an altitude of 2,335 meters (7,661 ft) above sea level; the former snow-capped volcano El Misti overlooks the city.
The city has many colonial-era Spanish buildings built of sillar, a pearly white volcanic rock, from which it gets the nickname La Ciudad Blanca ("The White City"). Reportedly, it first acquired this nickname in the colonial era, because most of its inhabitants were Creole of Iberian descent. The historic centre of Arequipa was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000, in recognition of its architecture and historic integrity.
Soon after its founding, the city became a major commercial hub of southern Peru, accumulating commercial and administrative functions. In times of the Viceroyalty of Peru it was an important economic hub in southern Peru. It played a significant role in the history of the Republic of Peru, declaring itself "Capital of the Republic" during the government of Montero. Arequipa has also been home of many of the outstanding intellectual and political figures, as well as religious icons, in the country. In recent decades it has become an important industrial and commercial center in Peru, now being the second most industrialized city in Perú.
wn.com/Arequipa -
Argentina
Argentinai/ˌɑrdʒənˈtiːnə/, officially the Argentine Republic (Spanish: República Argentina [reˈpuβlika aɾxenˈtina]), is a country in South America, the continent's second largest by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth-largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations.
Argentina's continental area is between the Andes mountain range in the west and the Atlantic Ocean in the east. It borders Paraguay and Bolivia to the north, Brazil and Uruguay to the northeast, and Chile to the west and south. Argentine claims over Antarctica, as well as overlapping claims made by Chile and the United Kingdom, are suspended by the Antarctic Treaty of 1961. Argentina also claims the Falkland Islands (Spanish: Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, which are administered by the United Kingdom as British Overseas Territories.
A recognised middle power, Argentina is Latin America's third-largest economy, with a "very high" rating on the Human development index. Within Latin America, Argentina has the fifth highest nominal GDP per capita and the highest in purchasing power terms. Analysts have argued that the country has a "foundation for future growth due to its market size, levels of foreign direct investment, and percentage of high-tech exports as share of total manufactured goods", and it is classed by investors as middle emerging economy. Argentina is a founding member of the United Nations, Mercosur, the Union of South American Nations, the Organization of Ibero-American States, the World Bank Group and the World Trade Organization, and is one of the G-15 and G-20 major economies.
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Aruba
Aruba ( /əˈruːbə/ ə-ROO-bə, Dutch pronunciation: [aˈruba]) is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km (approx.) east of Guajira Peninsula (Colombia). Together with Bonaire and Curaçao, it forms a group referred to as the ABC islands of the Leeward Antilles, the southern island chain of the Lesser Antilles.
Aruba is one of the four constituent countries that form the Kingdom of the Netherlands, together with the Netherlands, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten whose citizens share a single nationality: Dutch citizen. Aruba has no administrative subdivisions, but for census purposes is divided into 8 regions. Its capital is Oranjestad. Unlike much of the Caribbean region, Aruba has a dry climate and an arid, cactus-strewn landscape. This climate has helped tourism as visitors to the island can reliably expect warm, sunny weather. It has a land area of 179 square kilometres (69 sq mi) and is densely populated with a total of 101,484 inhabitants at the 2010 Census. It lies outside the hurricane belt. It is also home to the endemic Aruba Island Rattlesnake.
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Atlanta
Atlanta ( /ətˈlæntə/, stressed /ætˈlæntə/, locally /ætˈlænə/) is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia with a 2010 population of 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest in the U.S. It is a major component of a growing southeastern megalopolis known as the Piedmont Atlantic Megaregion. Atlanta is the county seat of Fulton County, and a small portion of the city extends eastward into DeKalb County.
Atlanta began as a settlement located at the terminus of a railroad line, and it was incorporated in 1845. Today, the city is a major business city and the primary transportation hub of the Southeastern United States (via highway, railroad, and air), with Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport being the world's busiest airport since 1998. The World Cities Study Group at Loughborough University rated Atlanta as an "alpha(-) world city." With a gross domestic product of US$270 billion, Atlanta's economy ranks 15th among world cities and sixth in the nation. The city is a center for services, finance, information technology, government, and higher education. Metro Atlanta contains the country's third largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies, and is the world headquarters of The Coca-Cola Company, Turner Broadcasting, The Home Depot, AT&T Mobility, UPS, and Delta Air Lines. As of 2010, Atlanta is the seventh most visited city in the United States, with over 35 million visitors per year.
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Australia
Australia ( /əˈstreɪljə/), officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent as well as the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area. Neighbouring countries include Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north; the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east.
For at least 40,000 years before European settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who belonged to one or more of roughly 250 language groups. After discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606, Australia's eastern half was claimed by Great Britain in 1770 and settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales from 26 January 1788. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades; the continent was explored and an additional five self-governing Crown Colonies were established.
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Azcapotzalco
Azcapotzalco (Classical Nahuatl: Āzcapotzalco [aːskapoˈtsaɬko], from Nahuatl Azcalli ant; Potzulli anthill; co place; literally, "In the place of the ant hills") is one of the 16 delegaciones (boroughs) into which Mexico's Federal District is divided. Azcapotzalco is in the northwestern part of Mexico City. It was a town of its own until it was swallowed up by the burgeoning conurbation of Mexico City.
Today, Azcapotzalco is divided into many colonias (neighborhoods), including Nueva Santa María, Clavería, Electricistas, San Rafael, El Rosario, Villas de Azcapotzalco, El Recreo, Pro-Hogar, Ampliación San Pedro Xalpa, Obrero Popular and Santa Cruz Acayucan.
The historic center of this borough was designated as a "Barrio Mágico" by the city in 2011.
Much of the Spanish Colonial Style architecture is still in use in Azcapotzalco; of particular note is the Church of St. James and St. Philip, with its chapel of the Virgin of Rosario and the associated Dominican monastery.
The chapel contains the following altarpieces:
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Baghdad
Baghdad (Arabic: بغداد, Baġdād, IPA: [bæɣˈdæːd]) is the capital of Republic of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Province. The population of Baghdad as of 2011 is approximately 7,216,040, making it the largest city in Iraq, the second largest city in the Arab World (after Cairo, Egypt), and the second largest city in Western Asia (after Tehran, Iran).
Located along the Tigris River, the city was founded in the 8th century and became the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate. Within a short time of its inception, Baghdad evolved into a significant cultural, commercial, and intellectual center for the Islamic World. This in addition to housing several key academic institutions (e.g. House of Wisdom) garnered the city a worldwide reputation as the "Center of Learning". Throughout the High Middle Ages, Baghdad was considered to be the largest city in the world with an estimated population of 1,200,000 people. The city was largely destroyed at the hands of the Mongol Empire in 1258, resulting in a decline that would linger through many centuries due to frequent plagues and multiple successive empires. With the recognition of Iraq as an independent state (formerly the British Mandate of Mesopotamia) in 1938, Baghdad gradually regained some of its former prominence as a significant center of Arabic culture.
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Baja California
Baja California (English /ˈbɑːhɑː kælɨˈfɔrnjə/, Spanish: [ˈbaxa kaliˈfornja]), officially Free and Sovereign State of Baja California (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California, literally: Lower California), is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico, but before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North Territory of Baja California. It has an area of 70,113 km2 (27,071 sq mi), or 3.57% of the land mass of Mexico and comprises the northern half of the Baja California peninsula, north of the 28th parallel. The state is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean, on the east by Sonora, the U.S. State of Arizona, and the Gulf of California (also known as the Sea of Cortez), and on the south by Baja California Sur. Its northern limit is the U.S. state of California.
The state has a population of 2,844,469 (2005 census), and estimated 3,165,776 (June 2009) much more than the sparsely populated Baja California Sur to the south, and similar to San Diego County on its north. Over 75% of the population lives in the capital city, Mexicali, or in Ensenada and Tijuana. Other important cities include San Felipe, Rosarito and Tecate. The population of the state is composed of Mestizos, mostly immigrants from other parts of Mexico, and, as with most northern Mexican states, a large population of Mexicans of European ancestry, and also a large minority group of East Asian, Middle Eastern and indigenous descent. Additionally, there is a large immigrant population from the United States due to its proximity to San Diego and the cheaper cost of living compared to San Diego. There is also a significant population from Central America. Many immigrants moved to Baja California for a better quality of life and the number of higher paying jobs in comparison to the rest of Mexico and Latin America.
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Baja California Sur
Baja California Sur (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈbaxa kaliˈfornja sur]), officially Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California Sur, literally: South Lower California), is the smallest (by population) of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state on October 8, 1974, the area was known as the South Territory of Baja California. It has an area of 73,475 km2 (28,369 sq mi), or 3.57% of the land mass of Mexico and comprises the southern half of the Baja California peninsula, south of the 28th parallel. It is bordered to the north by the state of Baja California, to the west by the Pacific Ocean, and to the east by the Gulf of California, also known as the "Sea of Cortés." Also, the state has maritime borders with Sonora and Sinaloa to the east across the Gulf of California.
As of 2010, the population was 637,026. The state is home to the tourist resorts of Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo. Its largest city and capital is La Paz, a tourist resort and historic landmark. It includes Loreto, the historic first capital of all three Californias (Baja California Sur, Baja California, and California), the town of Santa Rosalía which is the site of a historic church designed by Gustave Eiffel. The smoke stack of the silver smelters in El Triunfo, Baja California Sur was designed by Gustave Eiffel. Eiffel never visited Baja California Sur, rather his early architectural works were sold as 'cookie cutter' designs and can be seen in hundreds of locations around the world. Although the silver industry ended full scale production in the 1950s the stack and ruins of the silver industry remain as a significant landmark today.
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Bandung
Bandung (pronounced [banˈduŋ]) (Indonesian: Kota Bandung) is the capital of West Java province in Indonesia, the country's third largest city, and second largest metropolitan area in Indonesia with a population of 7.4 million in 2007. Located 768 meters (2,520 ft) above sea level, approximately 140 km south eastern of Jakarta, Bandung has cooler temperatures year-round than most other Indonesian cities. The city lies on a river basin surrounded by volcanic mountains. This topography provides a good natural defense system, which was the primary reason for the Dutch East Indies government's plan to move the colony capital from Batavia to Bandung.
The Dutch colonials first established tea plantations around the mountains in the eighteenth century, and a road was constructed to connect the plantation area to the capital (180 km or 112 miles to the northwest). The Dutch inhabitants of the city demanded establishment of a municipality (gemeente), which was granted in 1906, and Bandung gradually developed itself into a resort city for plantation owners. Luxurious hotels, restaurants, cafes and European boutiques were opened, hence the city was nicknamed Parijs van Java (Dutch: "The Paris of Java").
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Bangalore
Bangalore /ˈbæŋɡəlɔər/, also rendered Bengaluru,[needs IPA] is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City for its gardens and parks and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and fifth-most populous urban agglomeration. Bangalore is well known as a hub for India's information technology sector. It is among the top 10 preferred entrepreneurial locations in the world.
A succession of South Indian dynasties ruled the region of Bangalore until in 1537 AD Kempe Gowda—a feudatory ruler under the Vijayanagara Empire—established a mud fort considered to be the foundation of modern Bangalore. Following transitory occupation by Maratha and Mughal, the city remained under the Mysore kingdom. Bangalore continued to be a cantonment of the British and a major city of the Princely State of Mysore which existed as a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj. Following the independence of India in 1947, Bangalore became the capital of Mysore state, and later Karnataka.
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Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital city of and largest urban area in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (กรุงเทพมหานคร, pronounced [krūŋ tʰêːp máhǎː nákʰɔ̄ːn] ( listen)) or simply Krung Thep ( listen), meaning "city of angels". Bangkok is by far the most densely populated city in Thailand with about 12 million people. Bangkok was a small trading post near the mouth of the Chao Phraya River during the Ayutthaya Kingdom in the 15th century. It eventually grew in size and became the site of two capital cities: Thonburi in 1768 and Rattanakosin in 1782.
Because of its strategic location in Southeast Asia, Siam (later Thailand) acted as a buffer-zone between the French and British colonial empires. Bangkok itself has gained a reputation as an independent, dynamic and influential city. Bangkok is the political, social and economic centre of Thailand, and one of the leading cities in Southeast Asia.
Due to the 1980s and 1990s Asian investment boom, many multinational corporations make their regional headquarters in Bangkok and the city is a regional force in finance and business. Its increasing influence on global politics, culture, fashion and entertainment underlines its status as an Alpha global city. In 2009, it was the second most expensive city in South-East Asia behind Singapore. The city's many cultural landmarks and attractions in addition to its nightlife venues has made it synonymous with exoticism. Its rapid modernization, reflected in the cityscape and the urban society, has left untouched the historic Grand Palace, Wat Arun, Vimanmek Palace Complex and hundreds of Buddhist temples draw about 10 million international visitors each year, second only to London.
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Barbados
Coordinates: 13°10′N 59°33′W / 13.167°N 59.55°W / 13.167; -59.55
Barbados (i/bɑrˈbeɪdɒs/ or /bɑrˈbeɪdoʊs/) is a sovereign island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is 34 kilometres (21 mi) in length and up to 23 kilometres (14 mi) in width, covering an area of 431 square kilometres (166 sq mi). It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres (62 mi) east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about 168 kilometres (104 mi) east of the islands of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and 400 kilometres (250 mi) north-east of Trinidad and Tobago. Barbados is outside of the principal Atlantic hurricane belt.
Barbados was initially visited by the Spanish around the late 1400s to early 1500s and first appears on a Spanish map from 1511. The Spanish explorers may have plundered the island of whatever native peoples resided therein to become slaves. The Portuguese visited in 1536, but they too left it unclaimed, with their only remnants being an introduction of wild hogs for a good supply of meat whenever the island was visited. The first English ship, the Olive Blossom, arrived in Barbados in 1624. They took possession of it in the name of the British king James I. Two years later in 1627 the first permanent settlers arrived from England and it became an English and later British colony.
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Barcelona
Barcelona (English /bɑrsɨˈloʊnə/, Catalan: [bərsəˈɫonə], Spanish: [barθeˈlona]) is the capital of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain, after Madrid, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of 101.4 km2 (39 sq mi). The urban area of Barcelona extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of between 4,200,000 and 4,500,000 within an area of 803 km2 (310 sq mi), being the sixth-most populous urban area in the European Union after Paris, London, the Ruhr, Madrid and Milan. About five million people live in the Barcelona metropolitan area. It is also Europe's largest metropolis on the Mediterranean Sea. It is the main component of an administrative area of Greater Barcelona, with a population of 3,218,071 in an area of 636 km² (density 5,060 hab/km²). It is located on the Mediterranean coast between the mouths of the rivers Llobregat and Besòs and is bounded to the west by the Serra de Collserola ridge (512 m/1,680 ft).
Founded as a Roman city, Barcelona became the capital of the County of Barcelona. After merging with the Kingdom of Aragon, Barcelona became one of the most important cities of the Crown of Aragon. Besieged several times during its history, Barcelona has a rich cultural heritage and is today an important cultural centre and a major tourist destination. Particularly renowned are the architectural works of Antoni Gaudí and Lluís Domènech i Montaner, which have been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The headquarters of the Union for the Mediterranean is located in Barcelona. The city is known for hosting the 1992 Summer Olympics as well as world-class conferences and expositions, including the 1888 Exposición Universal de Barcelona, the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition (Expo 1929), the 2004 Universal Forum of Cultures, and the 2004 World Urban Forum.
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Basseterre
Basseterre ( /bæsˈtɛər/), estimated population 15,500 in 2000, is the capital of the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis in the West Indies. Geographically, the Basseterre port is located at 17°18′N 62°44′W / 17.3°N 62.733°W / 17.3; -62.733Coordinates: 17°18′N 62°44′W / 17.3°N 62.733°W / 17.3; -62.733, on the south western coast of Saint Kitts Island, and it is one of the chief commercial depots of the Leeward Islands. The city lies within the parish of Saint George Basseterre and the southern part of the parish of Saint Peter Basseterre.
Basseterre is one of the oldest towns in the Eastern Caribbean. About the origin of the name see Basse-Terre Island.
Basseterre was founded in 1627 by the French, under Sieur Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc. It served as capital of the French colony of Saint-Christophe, which consisted of the northern and southern extremities of the island of St. Kitts (the centre was yielded to Britain). When Phillipe de Longviliers de Poincy was made the French governor of St. Kitts in 1639, the town turned into a large, successful port, commanding Eastern Caribbean trade and colonisation. De Poincy then quickly made Basseterre capital of the entire French West Indies colony, which included the islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, and remained so until his death in 1660. The city was made capital of the entire island of St. Kitts in 1727, following French expulsion from the island and full British control.
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Beijing
Beijing ( /beɪˈdʒɪŋ/; Chinese: 北京; pinyin: Běijīng, [peɪ˨˩ t͡ɕiŋ˥]), formerly romanized as Peking ( /piːˈkɪŋ/ or /peɪˈkɪŋ/), is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The metropolis, located in northern China, is governed as a direct-controlled municipality under the national government, with 14 urban and suburban districts and two rural counties. Beijing Municipality is surrounded by Hebei Province with the exception of neighboring Tianjin Municipality to the southeast.
Beijing is China's second largest city by urban population after Shanghai and is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's largest state-owned companies. Beijing is a major transportation hub in the national highway, expressway, railway and high-speed rail network. Beijing's Capital International Airport is the second busiest in the world by passenger traffic.
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Beirut
Coordinates: 33°53′13″N 35°30′47″E / 33.88694°N 35.51306°E / 33.88694; 35.51306
Beirut (Arabic: بيروت Bayrūt, Greek: Βηρυττός, Latin: Berytus, French: Beyrouth, Hebrew: ביירות Beyrut) is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. As there has been no recent population census, the exact population is unknown; estimates in 2007 ranged from slightly less than 1 million to slightly more than 2 million. Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coast, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport. The Beirut metropolitan area consists of the city and its suburbs. The first mention of this metropolis is found in the ancient Egyptian Tell el Amarna letters, dating from the 15th century BC. The city has been inhabited continuously since then.
Beirut is Lebanon's seat of government and plays a central role in the Lebanese economy, with many banks and corporations based in its city centre, Hamra Street, Rue Verdun and Ashrafieh. The city is the focal point of the region's cultural life, renowned for its press, theatres, cultural activities and nightlife. After the destructive Lebanese Civil War, Beirut underwent major reconstruction, and the redesigned historic city centre, marina, pubs and nightlife districts have once again made it a tourist attraction. Beirut was named the top place to visit by The New York Times in 2009, and as one of the ten liveliest cities in the world by Lonely Planet in the same year.
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Belgium
Belgium (i/ˈbɛldʒəm/ BEL-jəm), officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO. Belgium covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres (11,787 sq mi), and it has a population of about 11 million people. Straddling the cultural boundary between Germanic and Latin Europe, Belgium is home to two main linguistic groups, the Dutch-speakers, mostly Flemish (about 60%), and the French-speakers, mostly Walloons (about 40%), plus a small group of German-speakers. Belgium's two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region, officially bilingual, is a mostly French-speaking enclave within the Flemish Region. A German-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in the political history and a complex system of government.
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Belize
Belizei/bəˈliːz/ (formerly British Honduras) is a country located on the north eastern coast of Central America and it is the only country in the area where English is the official language, although Kriol and Spanish are more commonly spoken. Belize is bordered to the north by Mexico, south and west by Guatemala, and to the east by the Caribbean Sea. Its mainland is about 290 kilometres (180 mi) long and 110 kilometres (68 mi) wide.
With 22,960 square kilometres (8,860 sq mi) of land and a population of only 333,200 inhabitants (2010 est.), Belize possesses the lowest population density in Central America. The country's population growth rate of 2.21% (2008 est.), however, is the highest in the region and one of the highest in the western hemisphere. Belize's abundance of terrestrial and marine species, and its diversity of ecosystems give it a key place within the globally significant Mesoamerican Biological Corridor.
Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages and it is the only nation in the region with a British colonial heritage but as a part of the Western Caribbean Zone, it also shares a common heritage with the Caribbean portions of other Central American countries. In general, Belize is considered to be a Central American nation with strong ties to both the Caribbean and Latin America. Belize is a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), and Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana (SICA).
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Belmopan
Belmopan ( /ˌbɛlmoʊˈpæn/), estimated population 20,000 is the capital city of Belize.
Belmopan is located at 17°15′N 88°46′W / 17.25°N 88.767°W / 17.25; -88.767, at an altitude of 76 metres (250 ft) above sea level. Belmopan was constructed just to the east of Belize River, 80 km (50 mi) inland from the former capital, the port of Belize City, after that city's near destruction by Hurricane Hattie in 1961. The government was moved to Belmopan in 1970, and its National Assembly Building is designed to resemble a Pre-Columbian Maya temple.
After Hurricane Hattie, with winds of up to 300 kilometres per hour (190 mph), destroyed approximately 75% of the houses and business places in low-lying and coastal Belize City, the government of the day proposed to encourage and promote the building of a new capital city. This new capital would be situated on better terrain, would entail no costly reclamation of land, and would also provide for an industrial area. In 1962, a committee chose the site now known as Belmopan is located 82 kilometres (51 mi) west of the old capital of Belize City.
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Benito Juárez, D.F.
Benito Juárez is one of the 16 delegaciones (boroughs) into which Mexico's Federal District is divided. It is a largely residential area, located to the south of historic center of Mexico City, although there are pressures for areas to convert to commercial use. It was named after Benito Juárez, president in the 19th century. The borough has the highest socioeconomic index in the country as it is primarily populated by the middle and upper middle classes. The borough is home to a number of landmarks such as the World Trade Center of Mexico, the Estadio Azul, the Plaza México and the Polyforum Cultural Siqueiros.
The borough is in the north center of the Federal District of Mexico City, just south of the oldest section of the city. It borders the boroughs of Miguel Hidalgo, Cuauhtémoc, Coyoacán, Iztapalapa, Iztacalco and Álvaro Obregón. The borders are formed by two rivers, the La Piedad and the Churubusco, as well as the following streets: Presidente Adolfo López Mateos (Anillo Periférico), 11 de Abril, Avenida Revolución, Puente de la Morena, Viaducto Miguel Alemán, Calzada de Tlalpan, Santa Anita, Atzayacatl, Plutarco Elías Calles and Barranca del Muerto. Many of the names of the rivers, streets and neighborhoods have their origin in the pre Hispanic period.
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Berlin
Berlin ( /bɜrˈlɪn/; German pronunciation: [bɛɐ̯ˈliːn] ( listen)) is the capital city of Germany and one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.5 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city and is the second most populous city proper and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union. Located in northeastern Germany, it is the center of the Berlin-Brandenburg Metropolitan Region, which has 5.9 million residents from over 190 nations. Located in the European Plains, Berlin is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. Around one third of the city's area is composed of forests, parks, gardens, rivers and lakes.
First documented in the 13th century, Berlin was the capital of the Kingdom of Prussia (1701–1918), the German Empire (1871–1918), the Weimar Republic (1919–1933) and the Third Reich (1933–1945).Berlin in the 1920s was the third largest municipality in the world. After World War II, the city became divided into East Berlin—the capital of East Germany—and West Berlin, a West German exclave surrounded by the Berlin Wall (1961–1989). Following German reunification in 1990, the city regained its status as the capital of Germany, hosting 147 foreign embassies.
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Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital (Spanish pronunciation: [boɣoˈta] ( listen)), from 1991 to 2000 called Santafé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district and no longer belongs administratively to that department. Bogotá is the most populous city in the country, with 7.363.782 inhabitants as of 2010. Bogotá and its metropolitan area, which includes municipalities such as Chía, Cota, Soacha, Cajicá and La Calera, had a population of 7,881,156 in 2005.
In terms of land area, Bogotá is the largest city in Colombia, and one of the biggest of Latin America. It figures amongst the thirty largest cities of the world and it is the third-highest capital city in South America (after La Paz and Quito) at 2,625 metres (8,612 ft) above sea level. With its many universities and libraries, Bogotá has become known as "The Athens of South America". Bogotá owns the largest moorland of the world, which is located in the Sumapaz Locality. The city ranked 54th in the 2010 Global Cities Index and is listed as global city of the Beta+ kind by the GaWC.
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Bolivia
Coordinates: 16°42′43″S 64°39′58″W / 16.712°S 64.666°W / -16.712; -64.666 Bolivia (i/bəˈlɪviə/, Spanish: [boliˈβja]) officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia (Spanish: Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia, Quechua: Bulivya Mamallaqta, Aymara: Wuliwya Suyu), is a landlocked country in central South America. It is bordered by Brazil to the north and east, Paraguay and Argentina to the south, Chile to the southwest, and Peru to the west.
Prior to European colonization, the Andean region of Bolivia was a part of the Inca Empire – the largest state in Pre-Columbian America. The Spanish Empire conquered the region in the 16th century. During most of the Spanish colonial period, this territory was called Upper Peru and was under the administration of the Viceroyalty of Peru, which included most of Spain's South American colonies. After declaring independence in 1809, 16 years of war followed before the establishment of the Republic, named for Simón Bolívar, on 6 August 1825. Bolivia has struggled through periods of political instability, dictatorships and economic woes.
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Bonaire
Bonaire ( /bɒˈnɛər/; Dutch: Bonaire, Papiamentu: Boneiru) is a special municipality (officially public body) of the Netherlands, consisting of the Caribbean island of Bonaire and, nestled in its western crescent, the uninhabited islet of Klein Bonaire. Together with Aruba and Curaçao it forms a group referred to as the ABC islands of the Leeward Antilles, the southern island chain of the Lesser Antilles. The name Bonaire is thought to have originally come from the Caiquetio word 'Bonay'. The early Spanish and Dutch modified its spelling to Bojnaj and also Bonaire, which means "Good Air".
Bonaire was part of the Netherlands Antilles until the country's dissolution on 10 October 2010, when the island (including Klein Bonaire) became a special municipality within the country of the Netherlands.
Bonaire's earliest known inhabitants were the Caquetio Indians, a branch of the Arawak who came by canoe from Venezuela in about AD 1000. Archeological remains of Caquetio culture have been found at certain sites northeast of Kralendijk and near Lac Bay. Caquetio rock paintings and petroglyphs have been preserved in caves at Spelonk, Onima, Ceru Pungi, and Ceru Crita-Cabai. The Caquetios were apparently a very tall people, for the Spanish name for the ABC Islands was 'las Islas de los Gigantes' or 'the islands of the giants.'
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Brades
Brades (or Brades Estate; approx. pop. 1,000) is a village and de facto capital of the Caribbean island of Montserrat since 1998. Brades is located in the Carr's Bay/Little Bay vicinity at the northwest end of Montserrat. The official capital Plymouth in the south of the island has been abandoned since 1997 due to the eruption of Soufriere Hills volcano, which buried Plymouth. Interim government buildings have since been built at Brades.
Several names have been suggested for the new capital, which is now being constructed in the Little Bay area. They include Port Diana, in memory of Princess Diana, and St. Patrick's, to commemorate the March 17th uprising and to attract Irish-American tourists.
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Brazil
Brazili/brəˈzɪl/ (Portuguese: Brasil, IPA: [bɾaˈziw]), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: República Federativa do Brasil, listen (help·info)), is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people. It is the only Portuguese-speaking country in the Americas and the largest lusophone country in the world.
Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Brazil has a coastline of 7,491 km (4,655 mi). It is bordered on the north by Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and the French overseas region of French Guiana; on the northwest by Colombia; on the west by Bolivia and Peru; on the southwest by Argentina and Paraguay and on the south by Uruguay. Numerous archipelagos form part of Brazilian territory, such as Fernando de Noronha, Rocas Atoll, Saint Peter and Paul Rocks, and Trindade and Martim Vaz. It borders all other South American countries except Ecuador and Chile.
Brazil was a colony of Portugal from the landing of Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500 until 1815, when it was elevated to the rank of kingdom and the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves was formed. The colonial bond was in fact broken in 1808, when the capital of the Portuguese colonial empire was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, after Napoleon invaded Portugal.Independence was achieved in 1822 with the formation of the Empire of Brazil, a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system. The country became a presidential republic in 1889, when a military coup d'état proclaimed the Republic, although the bicameral legislature, now called Congress, dates back to the ratification of the first constitution in 1824. Its current Constitution, formulated in 1988, defines Brazil as a Federal Republic. The Federation is formed by the union of the Federal District, the 26 States, and the 5,564 Municipalities.
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Bridgetown
The city of Bridgetown ( /ˈbrɪdʒtaʊn/), metropolitan pop 96,578 (2006), is the capital and largest city of the nation of Barbados. Formerly, the Town of Saint Michael, the Greater Bridgetown area is located within the parish of Saint Michael. Bridgetown is sometimes locally referred to as "The City", but the most common reference is simply "Town".
The Bridgetown port, found along Carlisle Bay (at 13°06′22″N 59°37′55″W / 13.106°N 59.632°W / 13.106; -59.632 (Bridgetown port)) lies on the southwestern coast of the island. Parts of the Greater Bridgetown area (as roughly defined by the Ring Road Bypass or more commonly known as the ABC Highway), sit close to the borders of the neighbouring parishes Christ Church and St. James. The Grantley Adams International Airport for Barbados, is located 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) southeast of Bridgetown city centre, and has daily flights to major cities in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and the Caribbean. While there is no longer local municipal government, it is governed as a political constituency within the national Parliament.
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Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City. Along with London's West End theatre, Broadway theatre is widely considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world.
The Broadway theatre district is a popular tourist attraction in New York. According to The Broadway League, Broadway shows sold approximately $1.081 billion worth of tickets in calendar year 2011, compared with $1.037 billion for 2010. Attendance in 2011 was 12.13 million.
New York did not have a significant theatre presence until about 1750, when actor-managers Walter Murray and Thomas Kean established a resident theatre company at the Theatre on Nassau Street, which held about 280 people. They presented Shakespeare plays and ballad operas such as The Beggar's Opera. In 1752, William Hallam sent a company of twelve actors from Britain to the colonies with his brother Lewis as their manager. They established a theatre in Williamsburg, Virginia and opened with The Merchant of Venice and The Anatomist. The company moved to New York in the summer of 1753, performing ballad operas and ballad-farces like Damon and Phillida. The Revolutionary War suspended theatre in New York, but thereafter theatre resumed in 1798, the year the 2,000-seat Park Theatre was built on Chatham Street (now called Park Row). The Bowery Theatre opened in 1826, followed by others. Blackface minstrel shows, a distinctly American form of entertainment, became popular in the 1830s, and especially so with the arrival of the Virginia Minstrels in the 1840s.
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Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( /ˈbweɪnəs ˈɛəriːz/ or /ˈaɪrɪs/,Spanish: [ˈbwenos ˈaiɾes]) is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after Greater Sao Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent. Greater Buenos Aires conurbation, which also includes several Buenos Aires Province districts, constitutes the third-largest conurbation in Latin America, with a population of around thirteen million.
The city of Buenos Aires is not a part of Buenos Aires Province, nor is it the Province's capital, but an autonomous district. In 1880, after decades of political infighting, Buenos Aires was federalised and removed from Buenos Aires Province. The city limits were enlarged to include the towns of Belgrano and Flores (both are currently neighborhoods of the city). The 1994 constitutional amendment granted the city autonomy, hence its formal name: Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires (Autonomous City of Buenos Aires). Its citizens first elected a Chief of Government (i.e. Mayor) in 1996; before, the Mayor was directly appointed by the President of the Republic.
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Cairo
Cairo ( /ˈkaɪroʊ/ KYE-roh; Arabic: القاهرة al-Qāhira, literally "The Vanquisher" or "The Conqueror"), is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Located near the Nile Delta, it was founded in the year 969 A.D. making it 1,043 years old. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life. Cairo was founded by the Fatimid dynasty in the 10th century AD.; but the land composing the present-day city was the site of national capitals whose remnants remain visible in parts of Old Cairo. Cairo is also associated with Ancient Egypt due to its proximity to the ancient cities of Memphis, Giza and Fustat which are nearby to the Great Sphinx and the pyramids of Giza.
Egyptians today often refer to Cairo as Maṣr (Arabic: مصر), the Arabic pronunciation of the name for Egypt itself, emphasizing the city's continued role in Egyptian influence. Cairo has the oldest and largest film and music industries in the Arab World, as well as the world's second-oldest institution of higher learning, al-Azhar University. Many international media, businesses, and organizations have regional headquarters in the city, and the Arab League has had its headquarters in Cairo for most of its existence.
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Cambridge
The city of Cambridge (i/ˈkeɪmbrɪdʒ/ KAYM-brij) is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia, on the River Cam, about 50 miles (80 km) north of London. According to the United Kingdom Census 2001, its population was 108,863 (including 22,153 students), and was estimated to be 125,717 in mid-2010. There is archaeological evidence of settlement in the area in bronze age and Roman times, and under Viking rule Cambridge became an important trading centre. The first town charters were granted in the 12th century, although city status was not conferred until 1951.
Cambridge is most widely known as the home of the University of Cambridge, founded in 1209 and consistently ranked one of the top five universities in the world. The university includes the renowned Cavendish Laboratory, King's College Chapel, and the Cambridge University Library. The Cambridge skyline is dominated by the last two buildings, along with the chimney of Addenbrooke's Hospital in the far south of the city and St John's College Chapel tower.
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Campeche
Campeche (Spanish pronunciation: [kamˈpetʃe]), officially Free and Sovereign State of Campeche (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Campeche), is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. Located in Southeast Mexico, it is bordered by the states of Yucatán to the north east, Quintana Roo to the east, and Tabasco to the south west. To the south it is bordered by the Petén department of Guatemala, to the east by Belize and to the west by the Gulf of Mexico. The state capital, also called Campeche, was declared a World Heritage Site in 1997. The formation of the state began with the city, which was founded in 1540 as the Spanish began the conquest of the Yucatán Peninsula. During the colonial period, the city was a rich and important port, but declined after Mexico’s Independence. Campeche was part of the province of Yucatán but split off in the mid 19th century, mostly due to political friction with city of Mérida. Today, much of the state’s economic comeback is due to the finding of petroleum offshore in the 1970s, which has made the coastal cities of Campeche and Ciudad del Carmen important economic centers. The state has important Mayan and colonial sites but they are not as well known or visited as others in the Yucatán.
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Campeche, Campeche
San Francisco de Campeche (pronounced: [san fɾanˈθisko de kamˈpetʃe]) (Ahk'ìin Pech - /aχkʼiːn˥˧ pʰetʃ/ in Yucatec Maya) is the capital city of the Mexican state of Campeche, located at 19°51′N 90°32′W / 19.85°N 90.53°W / 19.85; -90.53, on the shore of the Bay of Campeche of the Gulf of Mexico. The city's population at the 2005 census was 211,671 people. The municipality for which it serves as the municipal seat had a population of 238,850.
The city was founded in 1540 by Spanish conquistadores as San Francisco de Campeche atop the pre-existing Maya city of Canpech or Kimpech. The Pre-Columbian city was described as having 3,000 houses and various monuments, of which little trace remains.
The city retains many of the old colonial Spanish city walls and fortifications which protected the city (not always successfully) from pirates and buccaneers. The state of preservation and quality of its architecture earned it the status of a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999. Originally, the Spaniards lived inside the walled city, while the natives lived in the surrounding barrios of San Francisco, Guadalupe and San Román. These barrios still retain their original churches; the one in Guadalupe is almost 500 years old.
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Canada
Canada ( /ˈkænədə/) is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean. Spanning over 9,900,000 km2 (3,800,000 sq mi), Canada is the world's second-largest country by total area, and its common border with the United States is the longest land border in the world.
The land that is now Canada has been inhabited for millennia by various Aboriginal peoples. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French colonial expeditions explored, and later settled, along the region's Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years' War. In 1867, with the union of three British North American colonies through Confederation, Canada was formed as a federal dominion of four provinces. This began an accretion of provinces and territories and a process of increasing autonomy; the Canada Act 1982 severed the vestiges of legal dependence on Britain.
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Caracas
Caracas (Spanish pronunciation: [kaˈɾakas]), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English (Spanish: Caraqueños).
Caracas is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range (Cordillera de la Costa). Terrain suitable for building lies between 760 and 910 m (2,493.44 and 2,985.56 ft) above sea level. The valley is close to the Caribbean Sea, separated from the coast by a steep 2200 m (7400 ft) high mountain range, Cerro Ávila; to the south there are more hills and mountains.
El Distrito Metropolitano de Caracas (Metropolitan District of Caracas) includes the Distrito Capital (the capital city proper) and four other municipalities in Miranda State: Chacao, Baruta, Sucre, and El Hatillo. The Distrito Capital had a population of 2,097,350 as of 2009, while that of Distrito Metropolitano was estimated at 4,196,514 as of (2008).
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Casas Grandes
Casas Grandes (Spanish for Great Houses; also known as Paquimé) is the contemporary name given to a pre-Columbian archaeological zone and its central site, located in northwestern Mexico in the modern-day Mexican state of Chihuahua. It is one of the largest and most complex sites in the region. Developed as multi-storied dwellings about 1350 CE after earlier settlement beginning after 1130 CE, the community was abandoned approximately 1450 CE. Regarded as one of the most significant archaeological zones in the northwestern region, Casas Grandes is located in a wide, fertile valley on the Casas Grandes or San Miguel River, 35 miles (56 km) south of Janos and 150 miles (240 km) northwest of the state capital, the city of Chihuahua. The settlement relied on irrigation to support its agriculture. Casas Grandes has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The archaeological zone is contained within the eponymous modern municipio (municipality) of Casas Grandes. The valley and region have been inhabited by indigenous groups for thousands of years.
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Castries
Castries ( /ˈkæstriːz/), population 10,634, aggl. 37,963 (2001-05-12), is the capital city of Saint Lucia, a country in the Caribbean. The district with the same name had a population of 61,341 in 2001-05-22, and stretches over an area of 30.5 square miles (79 km2).
Castries is located in a flood gut and is actually built on reclaimed land. It houses the seat of government and the head offices of many of the businesses both foreign and local. The city's design is in a grid pattern similar to a metropolitan city like New York but on a much smaller scale. It has a sheltered harbour which receives cargo vessels and ferry boats as well as cruise ships. It contains duty free shopping facilities such as Point Seraphine and La Place Carinage; many restaurants which offer varied menus from local to Chinese; supermarkets and many other shopping facilities. The city is well served by a bus system and taxi service.
St Lucia's main post office is located in Castries. Because most parts of the country do not use standard street addresses, mail is largely sent to P.O. boxes. Any mail sent without a town name ends up in the Castries post office.
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Catalonia
Catalonia (English /kætəˈloʊniə/, /kætəˈloʊnjə/; Catalan: Catalunya [kətəˈɫuɲə] or [kataˈluɲa]; Spanish: Cataluña [kataˈluɲa]; Occitan: Catalonha [kataˈluɲɔ]) is an autonomous region of Spain in the north-east of the Iberian Peninsula, with the official status of a "nationality". Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona which is the second largest Spanish city by population after Madrid. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an official population of 7,535,251. Its borders essentially reflect those of the former Principality of Catalonia. It borders France and Andorra to the north, Aragon to the west, the Valencian Community to the south, and the Mediterranean Sea to the east (580 km coastline). The official languages are Catalan, Spanish and Aranese (Occitan).
The name Catalunya (Catalonia) began to be used in the late 11th century in reference to the group of counties that comprised the Marca Hispanica. The origin of the term is subject to diverse interpretations. A theory suggests that Catalunya derives from the term "Land of Castles", having evolved from the term castlà, the ruler of a castle (see castellan). This theory therefore suggests that the names Castile and Catalonia have the same etymology.
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Champs-Élysées
The Avenue des Champs-Élysées (French pronunciation: [av(ə)ny de ʃɑ̃zelize] ( listen)) is a street in Paris, France. With its cinemas, cafés, luxury specialty shops and clipped horse-chestnut trees, the Avenue des Champs-Élysées is one of the most famous streets and one of the most expensive strips of real estate in the world. Several French monuments are also on the street, including the Arc de Triomphe and the Place de la Concorde. The name is French for Elysian Fields, the place of the blessed dead in Greek mythology. The Avenue des Champs-Élysées is known as "The most beautiful avenue in the world", La plus belle avenue du monde in French.
The avenue runs for 1.91 km (1.18 mi) through the 8th arrondissement in northwestern Paris, from the Place de la Concorde in the east, with the Obelisk of Luxor, to the Place Charles de Gaulle (formerly the Place de l'Étoile) in the west, location of the Arc de Triomphe. The Champs-Élysées forms part of the Axe historique.
One of the principal tourist destinations in Paris, the lower part of the Champs-Élysées is bordered by greenery (Carré Marigny) and by buildings such as the Théâtre Marigny and the Grand Palais (containing the Palais de la Découverte). The Élysée Palace is slightly to the north, but not on the avenue itself. Further to the west, the avenue is lined with cinemas, cafés and restaurants, and luxury specialty shops. The Champs-Élysées ends at the Arc de Triomphe, built to honour the victories of Napoleon Bonaparte.
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Chapultepec
Chapultepec Park, more commonly called the "Bosque de Chapultepec" (Chapultepec Forest) in Mexico City, is the largest city park in Latin America, measuring in total just over 686 hectares. Centered on a rock formation called Chapultepec Hill, one of the park's main functions is to be an ecological space in the vast megalopolis. It is considered the first and most important of Mexico City's "lungs", with trees that replenished oxygen to the Valley of Mexico. The park area has been inhabited and held as special since the pre-Hispanic period, when it became a retreat for Aztec rulers. In the colonial period, the Chapultepec Castle would be built here, eventually becoming the official residence of Mexican heads of state. It would remain such until 1940, when it was moved to another part of the park called Los Pinos. Today, the park is divided into three sections, with the first section being the oldest and most visited. This section contains most of the park's attractions including its zoo, the Museum of Anthropology, Rufino Tamayo Museum and more. It receives an estimated 15 million visitors per year. This prompted the need for major rehabilitation efforts which began in 2005 and ended in 2010.
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Chapultepec Castle
Chapultepec Castle (Castillo de Chapultepec in Spanish) is located on top of Chapultepec Hill. The name Chapultepec stems from the Náhuatl word chapoltepēc which means "at the grasshopper's hill". It is located in the middle of Chapultepec Park in Mexico City at a height of 2,325 meters (7,628 ft) above sea level. The site of the hill was a sacred place for Aztecs, and the buildings atop it have served several purposes during its history; including that of Military Academy, Imperial residence, Presidential home, observatory, and presently, the Museo Nacional de Historia.
It is the only Royal Castle in the Americas, as well as the only one in North America that was used to house sovereigns: the Mexican Emperor Maximilian I, and his consort Empress Carlota, during the Second Mexican Empire.
In 1775 Viceroy Bernardo de Gálvez ordered the construction of a country house for himself at the highest point of Chapultepec Hill. Francisco Bambitelli, Lieutenant Colonel of the Spanish Army and engineer, drew up the blueprint and began the construction on August 16 of the same year.
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Chennai
Chennai /ˈtʃɛnaɪ/, formerly Madras /məˈdræs/, is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal, it is a major commercial, cultural, and educational centre in South India, while the port of Chennai is the second largest port in India. As of the 2011 census, the city had 4.68 million residents making it the sixth most populous city in India; the urban agglomeration, which comprises the city and its suburbs, was home to approximately 8.9 million, making it the fourth most populous metropolitan area in the country.
Although the area has been part of successive South Indian kingdoms through centuries, the recorded history of the city began in the colonial times, specifically with the arrival of British East India Company and the establishment in 1644 of Fort St George, an English settlement. The British defended several attacks from the French colonial forces, and from the kingdom of Mysore, on Chennai's way to become a major naval port and presidency city by late eighteenth century. Following the independence of India, Chennai became the capital of Tamil Nadu and a hotbed of regional politics that tended to bank on Dravidian identity of the populace. Chennai had become a bustling metropolis with beautiful classical and colonial European styled buildings, lining the city’s thoroughfares.
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Chiapas
Chiapas (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈtʃjapas]), officially Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the 31 states that, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 118 municipalities and its capital city is Tuxtla Gutierrez. Other important cites in Chiapas include San Cristóbal de las Casas, Comitán, and Tapachula. Located in Southwestern Mexico, it is the southernmost State of Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Tabasco to the north, Veracruz to the northwest and Oaxaca to the west. To the east Chiapas borders Guatemala, and to the south the Pacific Ocean.
In general, Chiapas has a humid, tropical climate. In the north, in the area bordering Tabasco, near Teapa, rainfall can average more than 3,000 mm (120 in) per year. In the past, natural vegetation at this region was lowland, tall perennial rainforest, but this vegetation has been destroyed almost completely to give way to agriculture and ranching. Rainfall decreases moving towards the Pacific Ocean, but it is still abundant enough to allow the farming of bananas and many other tropical crops near Tapachula. On the several parallel "sierras" or mountain ranges running along the center of Chiapas, climate can be quite temperate and foggy, allowing the development of cloud forests like those of the Reserva de la Biosfera el Triunfo, home to a handful of Resplendent Quetzals and Horned Guans.
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Chicago
Chicago (
i/ʃɪˈkɑːɡoʊ/ or /ʃɪˈkɔːɡoʊ/) is the largest city in the US state of Illinois and the third most populous city in the United States after New York City and Los Angeles. The city has around 2.7 million residents. Its metropolitan area, sometimes called "Chicagoland", is the third largest in the United States, with an estimated 9.8 million people. Chicago is the county seat of Cook County, though a small portion also extends into DuPage County.
Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1837, near a portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River watershed. Today, Chicago is listed as an alpha+ global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, and ranks seventh in the world on the 2012 Global Cities Index. The city retains its status as an international hub for finance, industry, telecommunications and infrastructure, with O'Hare International Airport being the second busiest airport in the world in terms of traffic movements. In 2008[update], the city hosted 45.6 million domestic and overseas visitors. Among metropolitan areas, Chicago has the 4th largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world, ranking just behind Tokyo, New York City, and Los Angeles. Chicago is one of the most important Worldwide Centers of Commerce and trade.
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Chichen Itza
Chichen Itza ((
/tʃiːˈtʃɛn iːˈtsɑː/,Spanish: Chichén Itzá [tʃiˈtʃen iˈtsa], from Yucatec Maya: Chi'ch'èen Ìitsha' [tɕʰɨɪʼtɕʼeːn˧˩ iː˧˩tsʰaʲ]; "at the mouth of the well of the Itza"), was a large pre-Columbian city built by the Maya civilization. The archaeological site is located in the municipality of Tinum, in the Mexican state of Yucatán.
Chichen Itza was a major focal point in the northern Maya lowlands from the Late Classic (c.600–900 AD) through the Terminal Classic (c.800–900) and into the early portion of the Early Postclassic period (c.900–1200). The site exhibits a multitude of architectural styles, reminiscent of styles seen in central Mexico and of the Puuc and Chenes styles of the northern Maya lowlands. The presence of central Mexican styles was once thought to have been representative of direct migration or even conquest from central Mexico, but most contemporary interpretations view the presence of these non-Maya styles more as the result of cultural diffusion.
Chichen Itza was one of the largest Maya cities and it was likely to have been one of the mythical great cities, or Tollans, referred to in later Mesoamerican literature. The city may have had the most diverse population in the Maya world, a factor that could have contributed to the variety of architectural styles at the site.
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Chihuahua (state)
Chihuahua (Spanish pronunciation: [tʃiˈwawa]), officially Free and Sovereign State of Chihuahua (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Chihuahua), is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. Its capital city is Chihuahua.
It is located in Northwestern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Sonora to the west, Sinaloa to the southwest, Durango to the south, and Coahuila to the east. To the north and northeast, it has a long line with the U.S.–Mexico border adjacent to the U.S. states of New Mexico and Texas.
Chihuahua is the largest state in Mexico by area, with a mainland area of 247,455 square kilometres (95,543 sq mi), it is slightly larger than the United Kingdom. It is consequently known under the nickname El Estado Grande ("The Big State").
Although Chihuahua is primarily identified with the Chihuahuan Desert for namesake, it has more forests than any other state in Mexico. Due to its variant climate the state has a large variety of fauna and flora. The state is mostly characterized by rugged mountainous terrain and wide river valleys. The Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range, an extension of the Rocky Mountains, dominates the state's terrain and is home to the state's greatest attraction, Las Barrancas del Cobre, or Copper Canyon, a canyon system larger and deeper than the Grand Canyon. On the slope of the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains (around the regions of Casas Grandes, Cuauhtémoc and Parral), there are vast prairies of short yellow grass, the source of the bulk of the state's agricultural production. Most of the inhabitants live along the Rio Grande Valley and the Conchos River Valley.
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Chihuahua, Chihuahua
The city of Chihuahua (Spanish pronunciation: [tʃiˈwawa]) is the state capital of the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It has a population of about 825,327. The predominant activity is industry, including domestic heavy, light industries, consumer goods production, and to a smaller extent maquiladoras.
It has been said that the name derives from the Tarahumara language, meaning "between two waters", other accepted definitions are "place of the holed-rock" or "dry and sandy place". The name itself is older than the Spanish conquest of Mexico. The city was founded on October 12, 1709, by Blas Cano de los Rios and Antonio Deza y Ulloa, a Spanish explorer, as El Real de Minas de San Francisco el Cuéllar. The town was erected a Villa in 1718 with the name of San Felipe el Real de Chihuahua, and the name was shortened in 1823. The location was chosen because it is the intersection of the rivers Chuviscar and Sacramento. It is also the midpoint between the Río Bravo del Norte (Rio Grande) and the then-important mining city of Hidalgo del Parral.
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Chile
Chile (i/ˈtʃɪliː/ or /ˈtʃɪleɪ/), officially the Republic of Chile (Spanish: República de Chile [reˈpuβlika ðe ˈtʃile] ( listen)), is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow strip of land between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far south. Along with Ecuador, it is one of two countries in South America that do not border Brazil. Chilean territory includes the Pacific islands of Juan Fernández, Salas y Gómez, Desventuradas and Easter Island. Chile also claims about 1,250,000 square kilometres (480,000 sq mi) of Antarctica, although all claims are suspended under the Antarctic Treaty.
Chile's distinctive shape—4,300 kilometres (2,700 mi) long and on average 175 kilometres (109 mi) wide—makes it the longest country in the world, north to south, with the fifth lengthiest coastline at over 78 thousand kilometers. The diverse climate of Chile ranges from the world's driest desert in the north—the Atacama—through a Mediterranean climate in the centre, humid subtropical in Easter Island, to an Oceanic climate, including alpine tundra and glaciers in the east and south. The northern desert contains great mineral wealth, principally copper. The relatively small central area dominates in terms of population and agricultural resources, and is the cultural and political center from which Chile expanded in the late 19th century when it incorporated its northern and southern regions. Southern Chile is rich in forests and grazing lands, and features a string of volcanoes and lakes. The southern coast is a labyrinth of fjords, inlets, canals, twisting peninsulas, and islands.
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Chilpancingo
Chilpancingo de los Bravo ([tʃilpanˈsiŋɡo ðe loz ˈβɾaβo]) (also known as Chilpancingo) is the capital and second-largest city of the state of Guerrero, Mexico. It is located at 17°33′0″N 99°30′0″W / 17.55°N 99.5°W / 17.55; -99.5. In the 2005 census the population of the city was 166,796. Its surrounding municipality, of which it is municipal seat, had a population of 214,219 persons. The municipality has an area of 2,338.4 km2 (902.9 sq mi) in the south-central part of the state.
The city is on Mexican Federal Highway 95 which connects Acapulco to Mexico City.
Chilpancingo is where the National Congress met in 1813 to discuss Mexico's future as an independent nation.
On April 27, 2009 an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.6 was centered near Chilpancingo.
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China
China (i/ˈtʃaɪnə/; Chinese: 中国; pinyin: Zhōngguó; see also Names of China), officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is the world's most-populous country, with a population of over 1.3 billion. Covering approximately 9.6 million square kilometres, the East Asian state is the world's second-largest country by land area, and the third- or fourth-largest in total area, depending on the definition of total area.
The People's Republic of China is a single-party state governed by the Communist Party of China. It exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four directly controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing), and two mostly self-governing special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau). Its capital city is Beijing. The PRC also claims Taiwan—which is controlled by the Republic of China (ROC), a separate political entity—as its 23rd province, a claim controversial due to the complex political status of Taiwan and the unresolved Chinese Civil War. The PRC government denies the legitimacy of the ROC.
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Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez (Spanish pronunciation: [sjuˈðad ˈxwaɾes]), formerly known as Paso del Norte, is a city and seat of the municipality of Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Juárez's estimated population is 1.3 million people. The city lies on the Rio Grande (Río Bravo del Norte), south of El Paso, Texas. El Paso and Ciudad Juárez comprise the second largest bi-national metropolitan area on the Mexico - United States border with a combined population of 2.1 million people.
Ciudad Juárez is one of the fastest growing cities in the world despite being called "the most violent zone in the world outside of declared war zones" in 2009. In 2001 the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas published a report stating that in Ciudad Juárez "the average annual growth over the 10-year period 1990–2000 was 5.3%. Juárez experienced much higher population growth than the state of Chihuahua and than Mexico as a whole."
There are four international ports of entry connecting Ciudad Juárez and El Paso, including the Bridge of the Americas, Ysleta International Bridge, Paso del Norte Bridge, and Stanton Street Bridge. These combined allowed 22,958,472 crossings in 2008, making Ciudad Juárez a major point of entry and transportation for all of central northern Mexico. The city has a growing industrial center which is made up in large part by more than 300 maquiladoras (assembly plants) located in and around the city. According to a 2007 New York Times article, Ciudad Juárez "is now absorbing more new industrial real estate space than any other North American city." In 2008, FDi Magazine designated Ciudad Juárez "The City of the Future." In 2011, the State of Chihuahua appointed "Heroica" to Ciudad Juárez. It will only be a symbolic connotation and for promotional purposes in response to the role of this town during the Mexican Revolution. The name of this city remains the same. This year the "maquilas" has already generated 10,000 new jobs for a total of 19 factories located in Ciudad Juárez.
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Ciudad Universitaria
Ciudad Universitaria (University City), Mexico, is UNAM's main campus, located in Coyoacán borough in the southern part of Mexico City. Designed by architects Mario Pani and Enrique del Moral, it encloses the Olympic Stadium, about 40 faculties and institutes, the Cultural Center, an ecological reserve, the Central Library, and a few museums. It was built during the 1950s on an ancient solidified lava bed in Coyoacán called "El Pedregal" to replace the scattered buildings in downtown Mexico City where classes were given. It was completed in 1954 at a cost of approximately $25 million dollar. At the time of its completion it was the largest single construction project in Mexico since the Aztecs. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2007.
Although the University has other buildings in Mexico City (mostly for undergraduate studies and cultural purposes), in other Mexican states and in other countries (such as Canada and the United States), Ciudad Universitaria, known simply as "C.U.", is the prime symbol of the University.
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Colima
Colima (Spanish pronunciation: [koˈlima]), officially Free and Sovereign State of Colima (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Colima), is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It shares its name with its capital and main city, Colima.
Colima is a small state located in the Western Mexico region on Mexico’s central Pacific coast. It shares borders with the states of Jalisco and Michoacán. In addition to the capital city of Colima, the state's main cities include Manzanillo and Tecomán. Despite being the fourth smallest entity in Mexico with the lowest numerical population, the state has one of Mexico’s highest standards of living and lowest unemployment.
The state covered a territory of 5,455km2 and is the fourth smallest federal entity after Tlaxcala, Morelos and the Federal District of Mexico City, with only .3% of the country total territory. The state is located in the middle of Mexico’s Pacific coast, bordered by the states of Jalisco and Michoacán along with the Pacific Ocean. Colima’s territory also includes the Revillagigedo Islands which consist of Socorro, San Benedicto, Clarión and Roca Partida. They are under federal jurisdiction but are considered as part of the municipality of Manzanillo . Politically, the state is divided into ten municipalities . Natural geography divides the state into a northern and southern region. The north has a cooler climate due to the higher mountains. The south is hotter and includes the Pacific Ocean coastline. The Revillagigedo Islands are of volcanic origin which are dispersed along the19° north over an areas of about 400 km. In total, they cover an area of 205km2. The altitude of the state varies from zero at the coastline to 3,839 masl at the crater of the Colima Volcano .
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Colima, Colima
Colima is capital of the state of the same name, a city and municipality located in the center west of Mexico. It is located near the Colima Volcano, which divides the small state from that of Jalisco. Despite being the capital, the city is not the state’s main tourist attraction, eclipsed by Manzanillo and Comala, as it lacks major cultural and historical sites. It is one of the state’s main commerce and distribution centers, with over two thirds of the population employed in commerce and services within the city proper. Outside in the small communities of the municipality, agriculture is still the most important economic activity. The city has been ranked as first as livable small city in Mexico and tenth in Latin America by FDI Intelligence.
The city of Colima is the capital of the state of the same name. It is the second largest municipality after Manzanillo by population. FDI Intelligence, a subsidiary of the Financial Times of London, ranked Colima first in small cities and tenth in Latin America as a place to live. It was evaluated under six categories; economic potential, human resources, cost-benefit ratio, quality of life, infrastructure and favorable business environment.
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Collège de France
Coordinates: 48°50′57″N 002°20′44″E / 48.84917°N 2.34556°E / 48.84917; 2.34556 The Collège de France (French pronunciation: [kɔlɛʒ də fʁɑ̃s]) is the most prestigious higher education and research establishment (Grand établissement) in France. It mainly supports research; it also provides teaching, but to professors and researchers.
It is located Paris, in the 5th arrondissement, or Latin Quarter, across the street from the historical campus of La Sorbonne at the intersection of Rue Saint-Jacques and Rue des Écoles.
It was established in 1530 by King Francis I of France, as an imitation of the Collegium Trilingue in Louvain, at the urging of Guillaume Budé. Of humanist inspiration, this school was established as an alternative to the Sorbonne to promote such disciplines as Hebrew language, Ancient Greek (the first teacher being the celebrated scholar Janus Lascaris) and Mathematics. Initially called Collège Royal, and later Collège des Trois Langues (Latin: Collegium Trilingue), Collège National, Collège Impérial, it was named Collège de France in 1870.
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Colombia
Colombia ( /kəˈlʌmbiə/ kə-LUM-biə, or /kəˈlɒmbiə/ kə-LOM-biə), officially the Republic of Colombia (Spanish: República de Colombia [reˈpuβlika ðe koˈlombja]), is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the northwest by Panama; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean. Colombia has maritime borders with Ecuador, Panama, Venezuela, Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Colombia is the 26th largest country by area and the fourth largest in South America after Brazil, Argentina and Peru. With over 46 million people, Colombia is the 27th largest country in the world by population and has the second largest population of any Spanish-speaking country in the world, after Mexico. Colombia is a middle power, with the fourth largest economy in Latin America, and the third largest in South America. Colombia is famous for the production of coffee, flowers, emeralds, coal, and oil. All of these products make up the primary sector of economy.
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Colonia del Valle
Del Valle is a prestige neightborhood and district of Benito Juarez borough in Mexico City. Famous for its large green areas, parks, monuments, prestigious department stores, boutiques, clubs, international chains of hotels, spas, cafes, bars, chocolate houses, pubs and upscale restaurants, among others. Obligatory reference in the south.
It is one of the main urban subcenters of the city, its area of influence and commercial magnet covers almost entirely to the Benito Juarez and the surrounding areas as Colonia Roma, Colonia Condesa, San Angel, Coyoacan, these belonging to other delegations. Colonia Del Valle means the perimeter between the streets of Viaducto Miguel Aleman north of Av Cuauhtémoc (Area 1 West) east, Barranca del Muerto Circuito Interior / Rio Churbusco / Rio Mixcoac Avenue to the south and Patriotismo to west. Del Valle is a district of Mexico City along with Polanco, Condesa, San Angel, Interlomas, Jardines Del Pedregal, Lomas de Chapultepec and Santa Fe, part of the axis of maximum development of the capital, the main colonies converge nucleus where mixed use and residential, commercial and corporate, and receive a daily floating population makes use of infrastructure such as parks, shopping centers and roads in these colonies. Its area of influence covers in all its area, colonies that are within the district, "Del Valle" are the Colony Napoles, a part of San Pedro de los Pinos, Noche Buena, Xoco, San Jose Insurgentes, Extremadura Insurgentes, Ciudad de Los Deportes, Santa Cruz Atoyac and part of the Narvarte West. Colonia Condesa and Roma in Cuauhtemoc brought.
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Costa Rica
Costa Rica is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and the Caribbean Sea to the east.
Costa Rica, which means "Rich Coast", constitutionally abolished its army permanently in 1949. It is the only Latin American country included in the list of the world's 22 older democracies. Costa Rica has consistently been among the top Latin American countries in the Human Development Index (HDI), ranked 69th in the world in 2011. Also was cited by the UNDP in 2010 as one of the countries that have attained much higher human development than other countries at the same income levels, and in 2011 was highlighted by UNDP for being a good performer on environmental sustainability, and better record on human development and inequality than the median of their region. It was also the only country to meet all five criteria established to measure environmental sustainability. The country is ranked fifth in the world, and first among the Americas, in terms of the 2012 Environmental Performance Index.
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Coyoacan
Coyoacán refers to one of the sixteen boroughs (delegaciones) of the Federal District of Mexico City as well as the former village which is now the borough’s “historic center.” The name comes from Nahuatl and most likely means “place of coyotes,” when the Aztecs named a pre-Hispanic village on the southern shore of Lake Texcoco which was dominated by the Tepanec people. Against Aztec domination, these people welcomed Hernán Cortés and the Spanish, who used the area as a headquarters during the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire and made it the first capital of New Spain between 1521 and 1523. The village, later municipality, of Coyoacan remained completely independent of Mexico City through the colonial period into the 19th century. In 1857, the area was incorporated into the Federal District when this district was expanded. In 1928, the borough was created when the Federal District was divided into sixteen boroughs. The urban sprawl of Mexico City reached the borough in the mid 20th century, turning farms, former lake and forests into developed areas, but many of the former villages have kept their original layouts, plazas and narrow streets and have conserved structure built from the 16th to the early 20th centuries. This has made the borough of Coyoacan, especially its historic center a popular place to visit on weekends.
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Coyoacán
Coyoacán refers to one of the sixteen boroughs (delegaciones) of the Federal District of Mexico City as well as the former village which is now the borough’s “historic center.” The name comes from Nahuatl and most likely means “place of coyotes,” when the Aztecs named a pre-Hispanic village on the southern shore of Lake Texcoco which was dominated by the Tepanec people. Against Aztec domination, these people welcomed Hernán Cortés and the Spanish, who used the area as a headquarters during the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire and made it the first capital of New Spain between 1521 and 1523. The village, later municipality, of Coyoacan remained completely independent of Mexico City through the colonial period into the 19th century. In 1857, the area was incorporated into the Federal District when this district was expanded. In 1928, the borough was created when the Federal District was divided into sixteen boroughs. The urban sprawl of Mexico City reached the borough in the mid 20th century, turning farms, former lake and forests into developed areas, but many of the former villages have kept their original layouts, plazas and narrow streets and have conserved structure built from the 16th to the early 20th centuries. This has made the borough of Coyoacan, especially its historic center a popular place to visit on weekends.
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Cuajimalpa
Cuajimalpa de Morelos (more commonly known simply as Cuajimalpa) is one of the 16 boroughs of Mexico City. Its name comes from the indigenous expression "over sticks of wood". At the 2010 census, it had a population of 186,391 inhabitants, the second-least populous of Mexico City's boroughs (after Milpa Alta).
The historic center of this borough was designated as a "Barrio Mágico" by the city in 2011.
Cuajimalpa's name comes from the Nahuatl word Cuauhximalpan that is composed of "cuauh"(itl) (tree, wood), with the transitive verb "xima", (carpentering, to work, or to polish), followed by a "I" formative and of the preposition "pan" (above, have more than enough, in). The first two elements form "cuauhximal-li" (small chip) that without the formulative suffix "li" (tli aphaeresis, lost the t to be eles between two) and with the posposition it comes to mean "on the wooden chips" and it designates a place where wooden chips are worked.
Although Cuajimalpa's history certainly extends to the pre-Columbian city of Tenochtitlan, still much is unknown about its history prior to the arrival of the Spanish.
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Cuauhtémoc, D.F.
Cuauhtémoc, named after the former Aztec leader, is one of the 16 boroughs of the Federal district of Mexico City. It consists of the oldest parts of the city, extending over what was the entire city in the 1920s. This area is the historic and culture center of the city, although it is not the geographical center. While it ranks only sixth in population, it generates about a third of the entire city's GDP, mostly through commerce and services. It is home to the Mexican Stock Exchange, the important tourist attractions of the historic center and Zona Rosa, and various skyscrapers such as the Torre Mayor and the Mexican headquarters of HSBC. It also contains numerous museums, libraries, government offices, markets and other commercial centers with can bring in as many as 5 million people each day to work, shop or visit cultural sites. This area has had problems with urban decay, especially in the historic center. Efforts to revitalize historic center and some other areas have been ongoing since the 1990s, by both government and private entities.
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Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, (i/ˈkjuːbə/; Spanish: República de Cuba, pronounced: [reˈpuβlika ðe ˈkuβa] ( listen)) is an island country in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city. To the north of Cuba lies the United States (140 km or 90 mi away) and the Bahamas, Mexico is to the west, the Cayman Islands and Jamaica are to the south, and Haiti and the Dominican Republic are to the southeast.
In 1492, Christopher Columbus landed on and claimed the island now occupied by Cuba, for the Kingdom of Spain. Cuba remained a territory of Spain until the Spanish–American War ended in 1898, and gained formal independence from the U.S. in 1902. A fragile democracy, increasingly dominated by radical politics eventually evolved, solidified by the Cuban Constitution of 1940, but was definitely quashed in 1952 by former president Fulgencio Batista, and an authoritarian regime was set up, intensifying and catalyzing already rampant corruption, political repression and crippling economic regulations.Batista was ousted in January 1959 by the July 26 movement, and a new administration under Fidel Castro established, which had by 1965 evolved into a single-party state under the revived Communist Party of Cuba, which holds power to date.
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Cuernavaca
Cuernavaca (Spanish pronunciation: [kweɾnaˈβaka]; Classical Nahuatl: Cuauhnāhuac [kʷawˈnaːwak]"near the woods") is the capital and largest city of the state of Morelos in Mexico. It was established at the archeological site of Gualupita I by the Olmec, "the mother culture" of Mesoamerica, approximately 3200 years ago. It is also a municipality located about 85 km (53 mi) south of Mexico City on the D-95 freeway.
The city was nicknamed the "City of Eternal Spring" by Alexander von Humboldt in the nineteenth century. It has long been a favorite escape for Mexico City and foreign visitors because of this warm, stable climate and abundant vegetation. Aztec emperors had summer residences there, and even today, many famous people as well as Mexico City residents maintain homes there. Cuernavaca is also host to a large foreign resident population, including large numbers of students who come to study the Spanish language.
The name "Cuernavaca" is derived from the Nahuatl phrase "Cuauhnahuac" and means "surrounded by or close to trees". The name eventually was Hispanicized to Cuernavaca because the Spanish could not pronounce the Nahuatl name. The coat-of-arms of the municipality consists of a tree trunk with three branches, with foliage, and four roots colored red. There is a cut in the trunk in the form of a mouth, from which emerges a grey swirl representing speech.
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Culiacán
Culiacán (Spanish pronunciation: [kuljaˈkan]) is a city in northwestern Mexico, the largest city in the state of Sinaloa as well as its capital and capital of the municipality of Culiacán. With 675,773 inhabitants in the city (census of 2010), and 858,638 in the municipality, it is the largest city in the state of Sinaloa. The municipality has a total area of 4,758 km2 (1,837 sq mi).
The city is located in a valley at the confluence of the Tamazula and Humaya Rivers, where the two meet to form the Culiacán River, and is located 55 meters above sea level. It is located in the center of the state with almost equal distance to the other urban centers of the state: Los Mochis to the north, and Mazatlán to the south. In addition, Culiacán is the birthplace and base of the Sinaloa Cartel.
Most people agree that the name Culiacán apparently comes from the word colhuacan, which can mean "palace of snakes", but traditionally the most accepted translation would be "place of those who adore the crooked god Coltzin". Before the Spaniards arrived from Europe, this site had been a small Indian settlement since 628 when Amerindians had first founded it.
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Curaçao
Curaçao (Dutch: Curaçao;Papiamentu: Kòrsou) is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao (Dutch: Land Curaçao, Papiamentu: Pais Kòrsou), which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao ("Little Curaçao"), is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Its capital is Willemstad.
Curaçao is the largest and most populous of the three ABC islands (for Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao) of the Lesser Antilles, specifically the Leeward Antilles. It has a land area of 444 square kilometres (171 square miles). As of 1 January 2009, it had a population of 141,766.
Prior to 10 October 2010, when the Netherlands Antilles was dissolved, Curaçao was administered as the Island Territory of Curaçao (Dutch: Eilandgebied Curaçao, Papiamentu: Teritorio Insular di Kòrsou), one of five island territories of the former Netherlands Antilles. The ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 country code CUW and the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code CW has been assigned to Curaçao.
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Cusco
Cusco ( /ˈkuːzkoʊ/), often spelled Cuzco (Spanish: Cuzco, IPA: [ˈkuθko] or [ˈkusko]; Quechua: Qusqu or Qosqo, IPA: [ˈqɔsqɔ]), is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region as well as the Cuzco Province. In 2007, the city had a population of 358,935 which was triple the figure of 20 years ago. Located on the eastern end of the Knot of Cuzco, its elevation is around 3,400 m (11,200 ft).
Cusco was the site of the historic capital of the Inca Empire and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1983 by UNESCO. It is a major tourist destination and receives almost 2 million visitors a year. It is designated as the Historical Capital of Peru by the Constitution of Peru.
The aboriginal name of this city was Qusqu. Although it was used in Quechua, its origin has been found in the Aymara language. The word itself originated in the phrase qusqu wanka ('Rock of the owl'), attending to the foundational myth of the Ayar Siblings. According to this legend, Ayar Auca (Ayar Awqa) got wings and flew to the site of the future city and transformed into a rock to mark the possession of the land by his ayllu ('linage').
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Cyprus
Cyprusi/ˈsaɪprəs/ (Greek: Κύπρος, Kýpros, IPA: [ˈcipɾos]; Turkish: Kıbrıs, IPA: [ˈkɯbɾɯs]), officially the Republic of Cyprus (Greek: Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία, Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía, IPA: [cipɾiaˈci ðimokɾaˈtia]; Turkish: Kıbrıs Cumhuriyeti, IPA: [ˈkɯbɾɯs dʒumhuɾijeˈti]), is an island country in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria, Lebanon, northwest of Israel and north of Egypt. Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and the Republic of Cyprus is a member state of the European Union.
The earliest known human activity on the island dates back to around the 10th millennium BC. Archaeological remains from this period include the well-preserved Neolithic village of Khirokitia, which has been declared a World Heritage Site with an "enhanced protection" status in the event of armed conflict by UNESCO, along with the archaeological sites of Paphos and the Painted Churches of the Troodos Region. Cyprus is home to some of the oldest water wells in the world.
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Delhi
Delhi (/ˈdɛli/; locally pronounced Dillee or Dehli), officially the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT), is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest metropolis by population in India. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16.7 million inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census. The region has been given special status of National Capital Region under The Constitution (69th Amendment) Act, 1991. There are nearly 22.2 million residents in the greater National Capital Region urban area (which also includes the cities Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon,Sonepat and Faridabad along with other smaller nearby towns).
Delhi is known to have been continuously inhabited since at least the 6th century BCE, though human habitation is believed to have existed since the second millennium BCE. Delhi is also widely believed to have been the site of Indraprastha, the legendary capital of the Pandavas during the times of the Mahabharata. Delhi re-emerged as a major political, cultural and commercial city along the trade routes between northwest India and the Gangetic plain after the rise of the Delhi sultanates. It is the site of many ancient and medieval monuments, archaeological sites and remains.
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Denmark
The Kingdom of Denmark (Danish: Kongeriget Danmark, pronounced [ˈkɔŋəʁiːəð ˈdanmɑɡ̊] ( listen)) is a constitutional monarchy and sovereign state consisting the country of Denmark in northern Europe and two autonomous constituent countries, the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic and Greenland in North America. The kingdom is a unitary state with some power being devolved from Denmark proper to Greenland and the Faroe Islands; this polity is referred to as the Danish Realm. Denmark proper is the hegemonial area, where judicial, executive, and legislative power resides. The Faroe Islands are defined to be a community of people within the kingdom, and the Greenlandic people are defined as a separate people with the right to self-determination.
Denmark is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, located southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. The country consists of a large peninsula, Jutland and many islands, most notably Zealand, Funen, Lolland, Falster and Bornholm, as well as hundreds of minor islands often referred to as the Danish Archipelago.
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Dhaka
Dhaka (Bengali: ঢাকা, pronounced IPA: [ˈɖʱaka]; formerly spelled Dacca, named Jahangirnagar during Mughal era) is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. It is located on the banks of the Buriganga River. Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 16 million in 2011, making it the largest city in Bangladesh. It is the 9th largest city in the world and also 28th among the most densely populated cities in the world. Dhaka is known as the City of Mosques and with 400,000 cycle rickshaws running on its streets every day, the city is also described as the Rickshaw Capital of the World.
Under Mughal rule in the 17th century, the city was known as Jahangir Nagar. It was a provincial capital and a centre of the worldwide muslin trade. The modern city, however, was developed chiefly under British rule in the 19th century, and became the second-largest city in Bengal after Calcutta (presently Kolkata). After the Partition of Bengal in 1905, Dhaka became the capital of the new province of Eastern Bengal and Assam but lost its status as a provincial capital again after the partition was annulled in 1911. After the partition of India in 1947, Dhaka became the administrative capital of East Pakistan, and later, in 1971, the capital of an independent Bangladesh. During the intervening period, the city witnessed widespread turmoil; this included many impositions of martial law, the declaration of Bangladesh's independence, military suppression, devastation during war, and natural calamities.
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Dominica
Dominica ( /ˌdɒmɪˈniːkə/ DOM-i-NEE-kə;French: Dominique; Kali‘na (Carib): Wai‘tu kubuli), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is 750 square kilometres (290 sq mi) and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of 1,447 metres (4,747 ft). The Commonwealth of Dominica had a population of 71,293 at the 2011 Census. The capital is Roseau.
Dominica has been nicknamed the "Nature Isle of the Caribbean" for its unspoiled natural beauty. It is the youngest island in the Lesser Antilles, still being formed by geothermal-volcanic activity, as evidenced by the world's second-largest hot spring, Boiling Lake. The island features lush mountainous rainforests, home of many rare plant, animal, and bird species. There are xeric areas in some of the western coastal regions, but heavy rainfall can be expected inland. The Sisserou Parrot (also known as the Imperial Amazon), the island's national bird, is featured on the national flag. Dominica's economy is heavily dependent on tourism, agriculture and heavy taxation.
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Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic (i/dəˌmɪnɨkən rɨˈpʌblɪk/; Spanish: República Dominicana [reˈpuβlika ðominiˈkana]) is a nation on the island of Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries. Both by area and population, the Dominican Republic is the second largest Caribbean nation (after Cuba), with 48,442 square kilometres (18,704 sq mi) and an estimated 10 million people.
Taínos inhabited what is now the Dominican Republic since the 7th century. Christopher Columbus landed on it in 1492, and it became the site of the first permanent European settlement in the Americas, namely Santo Domingo, the country's capital and Spain's first capital in the New World. Santo Domingo can boast of many firsts in the Americas, including the first cathedral, and castle, both in the Ciudad Colonial area, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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Dongguan
Dongguan (simplified Chinese: 东莞; traditional Chinese: 東莞; pinyin: Dōngguǎn, Mandarin pronunciation: [tʊ́ŋkwàn]; Cantonese: Dung1 gun2; Postal Map Spelling: Tungkuan) is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong province, People's Republic of China.
An important industrial city located in the Pearl River Delta, Dongguan borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the north, Huizhou to the northeast, Shenzhen to the south, and the Pearl River to the west.
It is also home to the world's largest, though mostly empty, shopping mall, New South China Mall. City administration is considered especially progressive in seeking foreign direct investment. The three neighboring municipalities of Guangzhou, Dongguan, and Shenzhen are home to over 25 million residents, accounting for a large proportion of the Pearl River Delta Region's population.
Dongguan ranks behind only Shenzhen, Shanghai and Suzhou in exports among Chinese cities, with $65.54bn in shipment.
Dongguan has no intermediate county level; instead it is divided into:
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Durango
Durango (Spanish pronunciation: [duˈɾaŋɡo]), officially Free and Sovereign State of Durango (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango), is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is located in Northwest Mexico. With a population of 1,632,934, it has Mexico's second-lowest population density, after Baja California Sur. The city of Victoria de Durango is the state's capital, named after the first president of Mexico, Guadalupe Victoria.
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Durango, Durango
Durango (Tepehuan: Korian), officially Victoria de Durango and also known as Ciudad de Durango, is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Durango. It stands at an altitude of 1,890 metres (6,200 ft).
The city was founded on July 8, 1563 by Spanish Basque explorer Francisco de Ibarra. During the Spanish colonial era the city was the capital of the Nueva Vizcaya province of New Spain, which consisted mostly of the present day states of Durango and Chihuahua.
In the 2005 census the city had a population of 463,830 people. According to the results presented in the Second Census of Population and Housing in 2005, the township has a total of 526.659 inhabitants. Its surrounding municipality of the same name, of which it serves as municipal seat, had a population of 526,659 with a projected population of 631,712 by 2010. The municipality has a relatively large land area of 10,041 km² (3,877 sq mi) and includes such outlying communities as El Nayar and Cinco de Mayo.
The city of Durango was built on a wide valley in which a primitive Spanish village named Nombre de Dios was founded. By the 16th century, the first conquerors who crossed through its territory were Cristobal de Onate, José Angulo and Gines Vazquez del Mercado, the latter attracted by the illusion of the existence of a large supply of silver; he had ultimately discovered a special deposit of iron, which now bears his name. In 1562 Don Francisco de Ibarra, the son of one of the celebrated founders of Zacatecas, explored the region and founded the Villa de Guadiana, near the old settlement of Nombre de Dios which soon became known as the Nueva Vizcaya in memory of the Spanish province of where his family came. Due to untamed territory and also to prevent a reduction in population, Ibarra bought a mine that offered the Indigenous peoples and the Spanish explorers work, with the sole condition that they in turn would settle in the new-founded city.
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East Rand
Coordinates: 26°10′38″S 28°13′19″E / 26.17722°S 28.22194°E / -26.17722; 28.22194
The East Rand (known in Afrikaans as the Oos-Rand) is the name of the urban eastern part of the Witwatersrand that is functionally merged with the Johannesburg conurbation. This area became settled by Europeans after a gold-bearing reef discovered in 1886 and sparked the gold rush that gave rise to the establishment of Johannesburg.
The large black townships of the East Rand were the scene of heavy clashes between the African National Congress and the Inkatha Freedom Party before the end of Apartheid.
The region extends from Germiston in the west to Springs in the east, and south down to Nigel, and includes the towns of Boksburg, Benoni, Brakpan, Kempton Park, Edenvale, and Bedfordview.
As part of the restructuring of municipalities in South Africa at the time, the local governments of the East Rand were merged into a single municipality in 1999, called the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, meaning "place of peace."
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Egypt
Egypti/ˈiːdʒɪpt/ (Arabic: مصر, Miṣr, Egyptian Arabic: [mɑsˤɾ] ; Coptic: Ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, Kīmi ; Sahidic Coptic: ⲕⲏⲙⲉ, Kēme), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: جمهوريّة مصر العربيّة (help·info), is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world. Covering an area of about 1,010,000 square kilometers (390,000 sq mi), Egypt is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west.
Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa and the Middle East. The great majority of its over 81 million people live near the banks of the Nile River, in an area of about 40,000 square kilometers (15,000 sq mi), where the only arable land is found. The large areas of the Sahara Desert are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with most spread across the densely populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities in the Nile Delta.
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El Colegio de México
El Colegio de México, A.C. (commonly known as Colmex, English: The College of Mexico) is a prestigious Mexican institute of higher education, specializing in teaching and research in social sciences and humanities. This Institution received the Prince of Asturias Award for Social Sciences in 2001. The library of El Colegio de Mexico (Biblioteca "Daniel Cosío Villegas") is one of the largest academic libraries in Mexico, and it contains one of the most important Latin American collections in social sciences and humanities.
The college was founded in 1940 by the Mexican Federal Government, the Bank of Mexico (Banco de México), the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), and the Fondo de Cultura Económica. After the Spanish Civil War, the President of Mexico Lázaro Cardenas created The House of Spain in Mexico (1938–1940) to host the Spanish intellectuals in exile in that country. Under the direction of renowned intellectual Alfonso Reyes, the House of Spain became a higher education center, and was renamed El Colegio de México in 1940. The College now operates under a 1961 charter that allows the institution to provide college-level teaching in the fields of humanistic knowledge and social and political sciences. In 1976, the university's campus was moved from the Colonia Roma (a historic neighborhood of Mexico City) to its current location.
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El Salvador
El Salvadori/ɛl ˈsælvədɔr/ (Spanish: República de El Salvador, literally 'Republic of The Savior') is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country as well as Central America. El Salvador borders the Pacific Ocean on the west, and the countries of Guatemala to the north and Honduras to the east. Its easternmost region lies on the coast of the Gulf of Fonseca, opposite Nicaragua. As of 2009, El Salvador had a population of approximately 5,744,113 people, composed predominantly of Mestizos.
The colón was the official currency of El Salvador from 1892 to 2001, when it adopted the U.S. Dollar.
In 2010 El Salvador ranked in the top 10 among Latin American countries in terms of the Human Development Index and in the top 3 in Central America (behind Costa Rica and Panama), due in part to ongoing rapid industrialization. In addition, tropical forests and overall forest cover has expanded by nearly 20 percent from the year 1992 to 2010. Making it one of the few countries experiencing reforestation.
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El Tajín
El Tajín is a pre-Columbian archeological site and one of the largest and most important cities of the Classic era of Mesoamerica. A part of the Classic Veracruz culture, El Tajín flourished from 600 to 1200 C.E. and during this time numerous temples, palaces, ballcourts, and pyramids were built. From the time the city fell in 1230 to near the end of the 18th century, no European seems to have known of its existence, until a government inspector chanced upon the Pyramid of the Niches in 1785.
El Tajín was named a World Heritage site in 1992, due to its cultural importance and its architecture. This architecture includes the use of decorative niches and cement in forms unknown in the rest of Mesoamerica. Its best-known monument is the Pyramid of the Niches, but other important monuments include the Arroyo Group, the North and South Ballcourts and the palaces of Tajín Chico. In total there have been 17 ballcourts discovered at this site. Since the 1970s, El Tajin has been the most important archeological site in Veracruz for tourists, attracting over 650,000 visitors a year.
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Ferrari
Coordinates: 44°31′57″N 10°51′51″E / 44.532447°N 10.864137°E / 44.532447; 10.864137
Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947. Throughout its history, the company has been noted for its continued participation in racing, especially in Formula One, where it has had great success. Ferrari road cars are generally seen as a symbol of luxury and wealth.
Enzo Ferrari wasn't initially interested in the idea of producing road cars when he formed Scuderia Ferrari (literally "Ferrari Stable", and usually used to mean "Team Ferrari", it is correctly pronounced [skudeˈriːa]) in 1928 as a sponsor for amateur drivers headquartered in Modena. Ferrari prepared, and successfully raced, various drivers in Alfa Romeo cars until 1938, when he was hired by Alfa Romeo to head their motor racing department.
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Finland
Coordinates: 65°N 27°E / 65°N 027°E / 65; 027
Finlandi/ˈfɪnlənd/ ( Finnish: Suomi; Swedish: Finland (help·info)), officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.
Around 5.4 million people reside in Finland, with the majority concentrated in the southern region. It is the eighth largest country in Europe in terms of area and the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. Finland is a parliamentary republic with a central government based in Helsinki and local governments in 336 municipalities, and an autonomous region of the Åland Islands. About one million residents live in the Greater Helsinki area, which consists of Helsinki, Espoo, Kauniainen and Vantaa, and a third of the country's GDP is produced there. Other larger cities include Tampere, Turku, Oulu, Jyväskylä, Lahti and Kuopio.
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Foshan
Foshan (Chinese: 佛山; pinyin: Fóshān, pronounced [fwɔ̌ ʂán]), is a city in central Guangdong province in southern China. The prefectural area under the city's jurisdiction over an area of about 3,840 km² and a population of 5.4 million of which 1.1 million reside in the city proper (year 2000 figures).
It is shown on some older maps as 'Fatshan', which is a phonetic spelling of the city's Cantonese name. Today many areas of Foshan city are occupied mostly by Chinese migrants coming from different provinces of China and speak only Mandarin, while its native dialect is a Foshan variant of Cantonese.
The town of Foshan is many centuries old, and was famous for its porcelain industry. Now, the third largest city in Guangdong, it has become relatively affluent compared to other Chinese cities, and is home to many large private enterprises. Foshan has recently seen a transformation brought by China's booming economy. Foshan is also famous for its martial arts. It contains numerous Wing Chun schools where many come to train and spar.
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France
France (Englishi/ˈfræns/ FRANSS or /ˈfrɑːns/ FRAHNSS; French: [fʁɑ̃s] ( listen)), officially the French Republic (French: République française [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is often referred to as l’Hexagone ("The Hexagon") because of the geometric shape of its territory. It is the largest western European country and it possesses the second-largest exclusive economic zone in the world, covering 11,035,000 km2 (4,260,000 sq mi), just behind that of the United States (11,351,000 km2 / 4,383,000 sq mi).
Over the past 500 years, France has been a major power with strong cultural, economic, military and political influence in Europe and around the world. During the 17th and 18th centuries, France colonised great parts of North America and Southeast Asia; during the 19th and early 20th centuries, France built the second largest colonial empire of the time, including large portions of North, West and Central Africa, Southeast Asia, and many Caribbean and Pacific Islands.
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Franz Mayer Museum
The Franz Mayer Museum (Spanish: Museo Franz Mayer), in Mexico City opened in 1986 to house, display and maintain Latin America’s largest collection of decorative arts. The collection was amassed by stockbroker and financial professional Franz Mayer, who collected fine artworks, books, furniture, ceramics, textiles and many other types of decorative items over fifty years of his life. A large portion comes from Europe and Asia but most comes from Mexico itself with items dating from the 15th to the 20th centuries. Many pieces in the collection are fine handcrafts, such as textiles and Talavera pottery, and they are important because they are items that often did not survive because most did consider them worth preserving.
The museum is housed in the historic center of Mexico City in the former San Juan de Dios monastery and hospital, an 18th-century structure which was rehabilitated for the museum. In addition to displaying the items Mayer collected, of which only over a quarter is visible, the museum still makes acquisitions, hold workshops, sponsors temporary exhibits and has a café located in the center courtyard/garden.
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Germany
Germany (i/ˈdʒɜrməni/), officially the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland, pronounced [ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant] ( listen)), is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate. With 81.8 million inhabitants, it is the most populous member state and the largest economy in the European Union. It is one of the major political powers of the European continent and a technological leader in many fields.
A region named Germania, inhabited by several Germanic peoples, was documented before AD 100. During the Migration Period, the Germanic tribes expanded southward, and established successor kingdoms throughout much of Europe. Beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation while southern and western parts remained dominated by Roman Catholic denominations, with the two factions clashing in the Thirty Years' War, marking the beginning of the Catholic–Protestant divide that has characterized German society ever since. Occupied during the Napoleonic Wars, the rise of Pan-Germanism inside the German Confederation resulted in the unification of most of the German states into the German Empire in 1871 which was Prussian dominated. After the German Revolution of 1918–1919 and the subsequent military surrender in World War I, the Empire was replaced by the Weimar Republic in 1918, and partitioned in the Treaty of Versailles. Amidst the Great Depression, the Third Reich was proclaimed in 1933. The latter period was marked by Fascism and World War II. After 1945, Germany was divided by allied occupation, and evolved into two states, East Germany and West Germany. In 1990 Germany was reunified.
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Greater Buenos Aires
Greater Buenos Aires (Gran Buenos Aires, GBA, in Spanish) is the generic denomination to refer to the urban agglomeration comprising the autonomous city of Buenos Aires and the conurbation around it, over the province of Buenos Aires—namely the adjacent 24 partidos or municipalities—which nonetheless do not constitute a single administrative unit. The conurbation spreads to the south, west and north of Buenos Aires; to the east the River Plate serves as a natural boundary.
Urban sprawl, especially between 1945 and 1980, created a vast conurbation of 9,910,282 inhabitants in the 24 conurbated partidos, as of 2010, and a total of 12,801,365 including the City of Buenos Aires, a third of the total population of Argentina.
The term "Greater Buenos Aires" is related with other expressions not necessarily well-defined: the "Buenos Aires' conurbation" (Conurbano Bonaerense), the "Greater Buenos Aires Agglomeration" (Aglomerado Gran Buenos Aires), and the "Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires" (Área Metropolitana Buenos Aires, AMBA).
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Greater Mexico City
Greater Mexico City refers to the conurbation around Mexico City, officially called Mexico City Metropolitan Area (Área Metropolitana de la Ciudad de México), constituted by the Federal District—itself composed of 16 boroughs—and 41 adjacent municipalities of the states of Mexico and Hidalgo. For normative purposes, however, Greater Mexico City most commonly refers to the Metropolitan Area of the Valley of Mexico (Zona Metropolitana del Valle de México) an agglomeration that incorporates 18 additional municipalities. As of 2009, Greater Mexico City has a population of 21,163,226, making it the third largest metropolitan area in the world and the most populous metropolitan area in the Americas.
Since the 1940s there have been different proposals to establish the limits of the growing conurbation of Mexico City, and different definitions were used unofficially as the city continued to grow. The Federal Government (represented by the Department of Social Development), the Federal District (Mexico City proper), and the State of Mexico agreed on the official definitions for both the Mexico City Metropolitan Area and the Metropolitan Area of the Valley of Mexico on 22 December 2005 Per the agreement, most urban planning projects will be administered by Metropolitan Commissions.
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Greater Tokyo Area
The Greater Tokyo Area is a large metropolitan area in Kantō region, Japan, consisting of most of the prefectures of Chiba, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Tokyo (at the center). In Japanese, it is referred to by various terms, including the National Capital Region (首都圏, Shuto-ken?), One Metropolis, Three Prefectures (一都三県, Itto Sanken?), and others.
A 2007 UN estimate puts the population at 35,676,000, making it by far the world's most populous metropolitan area. It covers an area of approximately 13,500 km² (5,200 mi²), giving it a population density of 2,642 person/km² - which is somewhat more than twice the population density of Bangladesh. It is the second largest single metropolitan area in the world in terms of built-up or urban function landmass at 7,800 km² (3,000 mi²). Only the New York metropolitan area, at 17,405 km², is larger.
The area has the largest metropolitan economy in the world, with a total GDP (nominal) of approximately US$1.9 trillion (¥165 trillion) in 2008. According to research published by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the agglomeration of Tokyo had a total GDP of US$1.479 trillion in 2008 (at purchasing power parity), ranking again as the largest urban agglomeration GDP in the world.
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Greece
Greecei/ˈɡriːs/ (Greek: Ελλάδα, Ellada, IPA: [eˈlaða] ( listen) historically in Katharevousa and Ancient Greek: Ἑλλάς, Hellas, IPA: [eˈlas] and [helːás] respectively), officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία, Elliniki Dimokratia, IPA: [eliniˈci ðimokraˈtia]), is a country in Southern Europe, politically considered part of Western Europe.Athens is the capital and the largest city in the country (its urban area also including Piraeus). The population of the country is around 11 million.
Greece has land borders with Albania, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the east. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of mainland Greece, the Ionian Sea to the west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the 11th longest coastline in the world at 13,676 km (8,498 mi) in length, featuring a vast number of islands (approximately 1,400, of which 227 are inhabited), including Crete, the Dodecanese, the Cyclades, and the Ionian Islands among others. Eighty percent of Greece consists of mountains, of which Mount Olympus is the highest at 2,917 m (9,570 ft).
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Greenland
Greenland (Kalaallisut: Kalaallit Nunaat, "Land of the Kalaallit";Danish: Grønland) is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe (specifically Norway and later Denmark) for more than a millennium. Greenland is, by area, the world's largest island. With a population of 56,615 (January 2011 estimate) it is the least densely populated dependency or country in the world.
Greenland has been inhabited, though not continuously, by Arctic peoples via Canada for 4500–5000 years. In the 10th century, Norsemen settled on the uninhabited southern part of Greenland. In the 13th century, the Inuit arrived, and in the late 15th century the Norse colonies were abandoned. In the early 18th century, contact between Scandinavia and Greenland was re-established and Denmark established rule over Greenland.
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Grenada
Grenada (i/ɡrɨˈneɪdə/) is an island country and Commonwealth realm consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea. Grenada is located northwest of Trinidad and Tobago, northeast of Venezuela, and southwest of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Grenada is also known as the "Island of Spice" because of the production of nutmeg and mace crops of which Grenada is one of the world's largest exporters. Its size is 344 square kilometres (133 sq mi), with an estimated population of 110,000. Its capital is St. George's. The national bird of Grenada is the critically endangered Grenada Dove.
Grenada was first sighted by Europeans in 1498 during the third voyage of Christopher Columbus to the new world. At the time the indigenous Island Caribs (Kalinago) who lived there called it Camahogne. The Spaniards did not permanently settle on Camahogne. The English failed in their attempt at settlement in 1609.
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Guadalajara, Jalisco
Guadalajara (Spanish pronunciation: [ɡwaðalaˈxaɾa]) is the capital of the Mexican state of Jalisco, and the seat of the municipality of Guadalajara. The city is located in the central region of Jalisco in the western-pacific area of Mexico. With a population of 1,564,514 it is Mexico's second most populous municipality. The Guadalajara Metropolitan Area includes seven adjacent municipalities with a reported population of 4,328,584 in 2009, making it the second most populous metropolitan area in Mexico, behind Mexico City. The municipality is the second most densely populated area in Mexico; the first being Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl in State of Mexico.
The city's economy is based on industry, especially information technology with a large number of international firms having manufacturing facilities in the Guadalajara Metro Area. Other, more traditional industries, such as shoes, textiles and food processing are also important contributing factors. Guadalajara is the cultural center of Mexico, considered by most to be the home of Mariachi music and host to a number of large-scale cultural events such as the International Film Festival of Guadalajara and the Guadalajara International Book Fair and a number of globally renowned cultural events which draw international crowds. It is also home to the Chivas football/soccer team, one of the two most popular in Mexico. This city was named American Capital of Culture in 2005. Guadalajara hosted the 2011 Pan American Games and is currently bidding to host the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics.
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Guadeloupe
Coordinates: 16°15′N 61°35′W / 16.25°N 61.583°W / 16.25; -61.583
Guadeloupe ( /ɡwɑːdəˈluːp/; French pronunciation: [ɡwadəlup]; Antillean Creole: Gwadloup) is a Caribbean island located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres (629 sq. mi) and a population of 400,000. It is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. Its departmental code is "971". As the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe is also an integral part of the Republic. Besides Guadeloupe island, the smaller islands of Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the Îles des Saintes are included in Guadeloupe.
As part of France, Guadeloupe is part of the European Union and the Eurozone; hence, as for all Eurozone countries, its currency is the euro. However, Guadeloupe is not part of the Schengen Area. The prefecture and the capital of Guadeloupe is Basse-Terre. Christopher Columbus named the island Santa María de Guadalupe in 1493 after the Virgin Mary, venerated in the Spanish town of Guadalupe, in Extremadura.
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Guanajuato
Guanajuato (Spanish pronunciation: [gwanaˈxwato], locally: [gwanaˈhwato]), officially Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato), is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 46 municipalities and its capital city is Guanajuato.
It is located in the North-Central Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Jalisco to the west, Zacatecas to the northwest, San Luis Potosí to the north, Querétaro to the east and Michoacán to the south. It covers an area of 30,608 km².
Guanajuato is located between the arid north of the country and the lusher south, and it is geographically part of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, the Mexican Plateau and the Sierra Madre Oriental. It was initially settled by the Spanish in the 1520s due to mineral deposits found around the now capital city of Guanajuato, but areas such as the Bajío region also became important for agriculture and livestock. Mining and agriculture have been the traditional mainstays of the state's economy, but today, about 30% of the state's GDP is accounted for by industry, which includes metals, automobiles, leather goods, processed foods and more.
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Guangzhou
Guangzhou (Chinese: 广州; Mandarin pronunciation: [kwɑ̀ŋʈʂóʊ̯]), known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about 120 km (75 mi) north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port. One of the five National Central Cities, it holds sub-provincial administrative status.
Guangzhou is the third largest city in China and southern China's largest city. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 12.78 million. Some estimates place the population of the entire Pearl River Delta Mega City built up area as high as 40 million including Shenzhen (10.36 million), Dongguan (8.22 million) and most parts of Foshan (7.19 million), Jiangmen (4.45 million), Zhongshan (3.12 million) and a small part of Huizhou adjoining Dongguan and Shenzhen, with an area of about 20,000 square kilometres (7,700 sq mi) (about the size of US state of New Jersey). In 2008 Guangzhou was identified as a Beta World City by the global city index produced by GaWC.
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Guatemala
Guatemala (i/ˌɡwɑːtəˈmɑːlə/ GWAH-tə-MAH-lə), officially the Republic of Guatemala (Spanish: República de Guatemala [reˈpuβlika ðe ɣwateˈmala]), is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast. Its area is 108,890 km2 (42,043 mi2) with an estimated population of 13,276,517.
A representative democracy, its capital is Guatemala de la Asunción, also known as Guatemala City. Guatemala's abundance of biologically significant and unique ecosystems contributes to Mesoamerica's designation as a biodiversity hotspot. The former Mayan civilization was a Mesoamerican civilization, which continued throughout the Post-Classic period until the arrival of the Spanish. The Mayas live in Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, the southern part of Mexico and northern parts of El Salvador.
Guatemala became independent from Spain in 1821, joining the Mexican Empire. After it became an independent country in its own right, it was ruled by a series of dictators, assisted by the United Fruit Company. The late 20th century saw Guatemala embroiled in a 36-year-long civil war. Following the war, Guatemala has witnessed both economic growth and successful democratic elections. In the most recent election, held in 2011, Otto Pérez Molina of the Patriotic Party, won the presidency.
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Guatemala City
Guatemala City (in full, La Nueva Guatemala de la Asunción; locally known as Guatemala or Guate), is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Guatemala and Central America. It is also the capital city of the local Municipio de Guatemala, and Guatemala Department.
The city is located at 14°38′N 90°33′W / 14.633°N 90.55°W / 14.633; -90.55, in a mountain valley called Valle de la Ermita in the south central part of the country Guatemala.
Within the confines of modern Guatemala City is the ancient Maya city of Kaminaljuyu. Kaminaljuyu was first occupied between 1200 and 1000 BC and the city continued to be inhabited for about 2000 years before it was abandoned in the Late Classic Period of Mesoamerican chronology (600–900 AD). It is one of America's most notable archaeological sites. The center of Kaminaljuyu was located a short distance from the oldest part of Guatemala City. However, in the late 20th century, the city grew around the ruins, and, in some cases, over some of the outlying ruins before they were protected.
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Guerrero
Guerrero (Spanish pronunciation: [ɡeˈreɾo]), officially Free and Sovereign State of Guerrero (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Guerrero), is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo.
It is located in Southwestern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Michoacán to the north and west, México and Morelos to the north, Puebla to the northeast and Oaxaca to the east.
The state was named after Vicente Guerrero, one of the most prominent leaders in the Mexican War of Independence and the second President of Mexico. It is the only Mexican state named after a president. The modern entity did not exist until 1849, when it was carved out of territories from the states of Mexico, Puebla and Michoacán.
In addition to the capital city, the state's largest cities include Acapulco, Petatlan, Ciudad Altamirano, Taxco, Iguala, Ixtapa, Zihuatanejo, and Santo Domingo. Today, it is home to a number of indigenous communities, including the Nahuas, Mixtecs and Amuzgos. It is also home to communities of Afro-Mexicans in the Costa Chica region.
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Gulf of California
Coordinates: 28°0′N 112°0′W / 28°N 112°W / 28; -112
The Gulf of California (also known as the Sea of Cortez or Sea of Cortés or Vermilion Sea; locally known in the Spanish language as Mar de Cortés or Mar Bermejo or Golfo de California) is a body of water that separates the Baja California Peninsula from the Mexican mainland. It is bordered by the states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora, and Sinaloa with a coastline of approximately 4,000 km (2,500 mi). Rivers which flow into the Gulf of California include the Colorado, Fuerte, Mayo, Sinaloa, Sonora, and the Yaqui. The gulf's surface area is about 160,000 km2 (62,000 sq mi).
The Gulf is thought to be one of the most diverse seas on the planet, and is home to more than 5,000 species of macro-invertebrates. Home to over a million people, Baja California is one of the longest peninsulas in the world, second only to the Malay Peninsula in Southeast Asia. The Gulf of California is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The International Hydrographic Organization defines the southern limit of the Gulf of California as: "A line joining Piastla Point (23°38'N) in Mexico, and the Southern extreme of Lower California".
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Haiti
Haitii/ˈheɪti/ (French: Haïti [aiti]; Haitian Creole Ayiti [ajiti]), officially the Republic of Haiti (République d'Haïti; Repiblik Ayiti), is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti (land of high mountains) was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island. The country's highest point is Pic la Selle, at 2,680 metres (8,793 ft). The total area of Haiti is 27,750 square kilometres (10,714 sq mi) and its capital is Port-au-Prince. Haitian Creole and French are the official languages.
Haiti's regional, historical, and ethno-linguistic position is unique for several reasons. It was the first independent nation of Latin America and the Caribbean, the first black-led republic in the world, and the second republic in the Americas when it gained independence in 1804 as part of a successful slave revolution lasting nearly a decade. In 2012, Haiti announced its intention to seek associate membership status in the African Union. Haiti is the only predominantly Francophone independent nation in the Americas. It is one of only two independent nations in the Americas (along with Canada) to designate French as an official language; the other French-speaking areas are all overseas départements, or collectivités, of France.
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Haitian people
Haiti is one out of six Francophone countries and territories in the Americas that has a population which refers to themselves as Créole.The term Créole as used in Haïti and the rest of the French West Indies refers to the natives of these areas. Créole natif natal is a term used in Haiti to refer to someone born and raised in that country. 80-85% of Haiti’s population is made up of black Creoles, the descendants of Africans brought to the island in captivity during French colonialism (note this number is sometimes shown as 90-95% as mixed race Haitians of darker skin tones "brown" for example are sometimes counted in this category). The remaining 20-15% are of a racially mixed background. A small percentage of the non-black population consists of white Creoles (Mostly of French, German or Polish ancestry) there are also some Haitians of Arab origin. Haitians of East Asian origin number approximately 400.
The Créole identity is one that unifies Haitians of all races. It’s the language, the music, the food and the culture that connects not only all Haitians but all People of the French West Indies. In Haiti everyone born there is Creole but there are terms to refer to a person or race/racial mix of a person based on a person’s skin color.
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Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton ( /ˈhæməltən/; 2011 population 519,949; UA population 670,580; CMA population 721,053) is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe. On January 1, 2001, the new City of Hamilton was formed through the amalgamation of the former city and the other constituent lower-tier municipalities of the Regional Municipality of Hamilton-Wentworth with the upper-tier regional government. Residents of the old city are known as Hamiltonians. Since 1981, the metropolitan area has been listed as the ninth largest in Canada and the third largest in Ontario.
Hamilton is home to the shared Royal Botanical Gardens, the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, the Bruce Trail, McMaster University and Mohawk College. The Canadian Football Hall of Fame can be found downtown right beside Hamilton City Hall and across town to the east, the Canadian Football League's Hamilton Tiger-Cats play at Ivor Wynne Stadium.
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Havana
Havana (/həˈvænə/; Spanish: La Habana, [la aˈβana] ( listen)) is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of 726.75 km2 (280.60 sq mi) — making it the largest city by area, the most populous city, and the fourth largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean region. The city extends mostly westward and southward from the bay, which is entered through a narrow inlet and which divides into three main harbours: Marimelena, Guanabacoa and Atarés. The sluggish Almendares River traverses the city from south to north, entering the Straits of Florida a few miles west of the bay.
Havana was founded by the Spanish in the 16th century and due to its strategic location it served as a springboard for the Spanish conquest of the continent becoming a stopping point for the treasure laden Spanish Galleons on the crossing between the New World and the Old World. King Philip II of Spain granted Havana the title of City in 1592. Walls as well as forts were built to protect the old city. The sinking of the U.S. battleship Maine in Havana's harbor in 1898 was the immediate cause of the Spanish-American War.
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Helsinki
Helsinki ( listen (help·info); Swedish: Helsingfors, listen (help·info)) is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is 596,233 (31 January 2012), making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is located some 400 kilometres (250 mi) east of Stockholm, Sweden, 300 kilometres (190 mi) west of St. Petersburg, Russia and 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of Tallinn, Estonia. Helsinki has close historical connections with these three cities.
The Helsinki Metropolitan Area includes the city of Helsinki and three other cities: Espoo and Vantaa, which immediately border Helsinki to the west and north, respectively; and Kauniainen, which is an enclave within the city of Espoo. The Helsinki metropolitan area is the world's northernmost urban area among those with a population of over one million people, and the city is the northernmost capital of a EU member state. Altogether 1.1 million people, approximately one in five Finns, live in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area.
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Hermosillo
Hermosillo (Spanish pronunciation: [eɾmoˈsiʎo], formerly called Santísima Trinidad del Pitic and Presidio del Pitic) is a city and municipality located centrally in the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora. It is the capital and main economic center for the state and region. It contains almost all of the state's manufacturing and has thirty percent of its population. The major manufacturing sector is automobiles, which was begun in the 1980s, when Ford built the Hermosillo Stamping & Assembly Plant. The municipality is large, encompassing over 3,800 other communities and reaching to the shores of the Gulf of California. Here, Bahía Kino (Kino Bay) is a major tourism draw for the municipality with plans to expand its tourism infrastructure.
Evidence of the area's first inhabitants date back 3,000 years, much of which are from a site called the San Dieguito Complex, located in the El Pinacate Zone. Evidence of agriculture dates back 2,500 years. In the pre-Hispanic era, this area was inhabited by the Seri, Tepoca, and Pima peoples.
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Hidalgo (Mexico)
Hidalgo (Spanish pronunciation: [iˈðalɣo]), officially Free and sovereign State of Hidalgo (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Hidalgo), is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 84 municipalities and its capital city is Pachuca de Soto.
In 1869, Benito Juárez created the State of Hidalgo. He appointed as capital of the state the city of Pachuca to which was added the name "de Soto" in recognition of Manuel Fernando Soto, who is considered the most important driving force in creating the state. The state was named after Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, the initiator of the Mexican War of Independence.
It is located in Eastern Mexico. Hidalgo is bordered by San Luis Potosí and Veracruz on the north, Puebla on the east, Tlaxcala and México on the south and Querétaro on the west.
The state has a number of relatively intact native cultures such as the Otomi. There are also two notable immigrant cultures, those of the descendents of Cornish miners in the 19th century and a small Jewish enclave which claims to be descended from Sephardi Jews which came to New Spain in the 16th century.
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Hidalgo (state)
Hidalgo (Spanish pronunciation: [iˈðalɣo]), officially Free and sovereign State of Hidalgo (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Hidalgo), is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 84 municipalities and its capital city is Pachuca de Soto.
In 1869, Benito Juárez created the State of Hidalgo. He appointed as capital of the state the city of Pachuca to which was added the name "de Soto" in recognition of Manuel Fernando Soto, who is considered the most important driving force in creating the state. The state was named after Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, the initiator of the Mexican War of Independence.
It is located in Eastern Mexico. Hidalgo is bordered by San Luis Potosí and Veracruz on the north, Puebla on the east, Tlaxcala and México on the south and Querétaro on the west.
The state has a number of relatively intact native cultures such as the Otomi. There are also two notable immigrant cultures, those of the descendents of Cornish miners in the 19th century and a small Jewish enclave which claims to be descended from Sephardi Jews which came to New Spain in the 16th century.
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Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City (Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh; listen), formerly named Saigon (Sài Gòn; listen) is the largest city in Vietnam. It was once known as Prey Nokor, an important Khmer sea port prior to annexation by the Vietnamese in the 17th century.
Under the name Saigon, it was the capital of the French colony of Cochin-china and later of the independent state of South Vietnam from 1955–75. South Vietnam, as an anti-communist state, fought against the communist North Vietnamese and Viet Cong during the Vietnam War, with aid from the United States of America and countries including Australia, New Zealand and South Korea. Saigon fell when it was captured by the communists on 30 April 1975, bringing an end to the War with its enemy's victory. Vietnam was then turned into a communist state with the South overtaken. On 2 July 1976, Saigon merged with the surrounding Gia Định Province and was officially renamed Ho Chi Minh City after Hồ Chí Minh (although the name Sài Gòn is still commonly used.)
The city center is situated on the banks of the Saigon River, 60 kilometers (37 mi) from the South China Sea and 1,760 kilometers (1,090 mi) south of Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.
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Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was at times referred to as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize. The country is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, and to the north by the Gulf of Honduras, a large inlet of the Caribbean Sea.
Honduras was home to several important indigenous cultures, most notably the Maya. Much of the country was conquered by Spain who introduced its predominant language and many of its customs in the sixteenth century. It became independent in 1821 and has been a republic since the end of Spanish rule.
Its size is just over 112,492 km² with an estimated population of almost eight million. Its capital is Tegucigalpa. Its northern portions are part of the Western Caribbean Zone.
It is notable for its production of minerals, tropical fruit, and recently for exportation of clothing for the international market.
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Hong Kong
Coordinates: 22°16′42″N 114°09′32″E / 22.27833°N 114.15889°E / 22.27833; 114.15889
Hong Kong (Chinese: 香港) is one of two special administrative regions (SARs) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is known for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour. With a land mass of 1,104 km2 (426 sq mi) and a population of seven million people, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Hong Kong's population is 95 percent ethnic Chinese and 5 percent from other groups. Hong Kong's Han Chinese majority originate mainly from the cities of Guangzhou and Taishan in the neighbouring Guangdong province.
Hong Kong became a colony of the British Empire after the First Opium War (1839–42). Originally confined to Hong Kong Island, the colony's boundaries were extended in stages to the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 and then the New Territories in 1898. It was occupied by Japan during the Pacific War, after which the British resumed control until 1997, when China resumed sovereignty. The region espoused minimum government intervention under the ethos of positive non-interventionism during the colonial era. The time period greatly influenced the current culture of Hong Kong, often described as "East meets West", and the educational system, which used to loosely follow the system in England until reforms implemented in 2009.
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Hospicio Cabañas
The Hospicio Cabañas in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, a World Heritage Site, is one of the oldest and largest hospital complexes in Spanish America.
The complex was founded in 1791 by the Bishop of Guadalajara in order to combine the functions of a workhouse, hospital, orphanage, and almshouse. It owes its name to Juan Ruiz de Cabañas who was appointed to the see of Guadalajara in 1796 and engaged Manuel Tolsá, a renowned architect from Mexico City, to design the structure.
Tolsá's design was based on classic examples such as Les Invalides in Paris and El Escorial near Madrid. The buildings form a rectangle measuring 164 m by 145 m. These are single-storey structures which are 7.5 m in height. The chapel is twice as high and has a dome rising to 32.5 m. The complex is erected on one level, "so as to facilitate the movement of the sick, the aged, and children."
Following the death of Cabañas in 1823, construction continued until 1829. Although it served for a time as a barracks in the mid-19th century, the hospital lasted well into the 20th century and continued to function until 1980, when the Cabañas Cultural Institute, with affiliated schools for arts and crafts, moved in. The highlight of the interior decoration is a series of monumental frescoes by José Clemente Orozco, including one of his most famed creations, the allegory of The Man of Fire (1936–39).
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Incheon
Coordinates: 37°29′N 126°38′E / 37.483°N 126.633°E / 37.483; 126.633
The Incheon Metropolitan City (인천, 仁川, literally 'wise river' - formerly Inchon; named Jinsen during the time of Japanese rule) is located in northwestern South Korea. The city was home to just 4,700 people when Jemulpo port was built in 1883. Today 2.76 million people live in the city, making it Korea’s third most populous city after Seoul and Busan Metropolitan City. While people have inhabited the area from the New Stone Age, the city’s growth was assured in modern times with the development of its port due to its natural advantages as a coastal city.
Incheon has since led the economic development of Korea by opening its port to the outside world, issuing in the modernization of Korea as a center of industrialization. In 2003, the city was designated as Korea’s first free economic zone. Since then, large local companies and global enterprises have increasingly invested in Incheon Free Economic Zone, including Samsung which chose Songdo International City as its new investment destination for its bio industry.
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India
India (i/ˈɪndiə/), officially the Republic of India (Bhārat Gaṇarājya), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south-west, and the Bay of Bengal on the south-east, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west;China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Burma and Bangladesh to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; in addition, India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia.
Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four of the world's major religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism—originated here, whereas Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived in the 1st millennium CE and also helped shape the region's diverse culture. Gradually annexed by and brought under the administration of the British East India Company from the early 18th century and administered directly by the United Kingdom from the mid-19th century, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence that was marked by non-violent resistance led by Mahatma Gandhi.
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Indianapolis
Indianapolis /ˌɪndiəˈnæpɵlɨs/ (abbreviated Indy /ˈɪndi/) is the capital of the US state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 829,718. It is Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S. Census, is the 12th largest city in the U.S., the second largest city in the Midwest (behind Chicago), the second most populous state capital (after Phoenix, Arizona), and the most populous state capital east of the Mississippi River. Indianapolis is also one of the fastest growing regions in the United States.
For much of its history, Indianapolis has oriented itself around government and industry, particularly manufacturing. Today, Indianapolis has a much more diversified economy, contributing to the fields of education, health care, and finance. Tourism is also a vital part of the economy of Indianapolis, and the city plays host to numerous conventions and sporting events. Of these, perhaps the most well known is the annual Indianapolis 500 and the NHRA U.S. Nationals. Other major sporting events include the Brickyard 400 and the Men's and Women's NCAA Basketball Tournaments. 2012 marked the first time Indianapolis hosted the Super Bowl. Super Bowl XLVI was played at Lucas Oil Stadium, on February 5, 2012 in Downtown Indianapolis. Also held in Lucas Oil Stadium is the Drum Corps International World Championships, and the Music for All Bands of America Grand National Championships.
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Indonesia
Indonesia (i/ˌɪndəˈniːʒə/ IN-də-NEE-zhə or /ˌɪndoʊˈniːziə/ IN-doh-NEE-zee-ə), officially the Republic of Indonesia (Indonesian: Republik Indonesia Indonesian pronunciation: [rɛpʊblɪk ɪndɔnɛsɪa]), is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 17,508 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an elected legislature and president. The nation's capital city is Jakarta. The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Malaysia. Other neighboring countries include Singapore, Philippines, Australia, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Indonesia is a founding member of ASEAN and a member of the G-20 major economies. The Indonesian economy is the world's 17th largest economy by nominal GDP.
The Indonesian archipelago has been an important trade region since at least the 7th century, when Srivijaya and then later Majapahit traded with China and India. Local rulers gradually absorbed foreign cultural, religious and political models from the early centuries CE, and Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms flourished. Indonesian history has been influenced by foreign powers drawn to its natural resources. Muslim traders brought Islam, and European powers brought Christianity and fought one another to monopolize trade in the Spice Islands of Maluku during the Age of Discovery. Following three and a half centuries of Dutch colonialism, Indonesia secured its independence after World War II. Indonesia's history has since been turbulent, with challenges posed by natural disasters, corruption, separatism, a democratization process, and periods of rapid economic change.
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Insular area
An insular area is a United States territory, that is neither a part of one of the 50 U.S. states nor the District of Columbia, the federal district of the U.S. They are called "insular" from the Latin word insula ("island") because they were once administered by the War Department's Bureau of Insular Affairs, now the Office of Insular Affairs at the Department of the Interior. The term insular possession is also sometimes used.
Because those insular areas that are inhabited are unincorporated territories, their native-born inhabitants are not constitutionally entitled to United States citizenship, under the Citizenship Clause.[citation needed] However, Congress has extended citizenship rights to all inhabited territories except American Samoa, and these citizens may vote and run for office in any U.S. jurisdiction in which they are residents. The people of American Samoa are U.S. nationals, but not U.S. citizens; they are free to move around and seek employment within the whole United States without immigration restrictions, but cannot vote or hold office outside of American Samoa.[citation needed]
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Israel
Coordinates: 31°N 35°E / 31°N 35°E / 31; 35
Israel, officially the State of Israel ( /ˈɪzriːəl/ or /ˈɪzreɪəl/; Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Medīnat Yisrā'el, IPA: [me̞diˈnät jisʁäˈʔe̞l] ( listen); Arabic: دَوْلَة إِسْرَائِيل, Dawlat Isrāʼīl, IPA: [dawlat ʔisraːˈʔiːl]), is a parliamentary republic in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan and the West Bank in the east, Egypt and the Gaza Strip on the southwest, and the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea to the south, and it contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area. Israel is defined as a Jewish and Democratic State in its Basic Laws and is the world's only Jewish-majority state.
Following the adoption of a resolution by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 29 November 1947 recommending the adoption and implementation of the United Nations plan to partition Palestine, on 14 May 1948 David Ben-Gurion, the Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization and president of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, declared the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz Israel, to be known as the State of Israel, a state independent from the British Mandate for Palestine. Neighboring Arab states invaded the next day in support of the Palestinian Arabs. Israel has since fought several wars with neighboring Arab states, in the course of which it has occupied the West Bank, Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights. Portions of these territories, including east Jerusalem, have been annexed by Israel, but the border with the neighboring West Bank has not yet been permanently defined.[neutrality is disputed] Israel has signed peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, but efforts to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict have so far not resulted in peace.
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Istanbul
Istanbul (Turkish: İstanbul) is the largest city in Turkey, forming the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With a population of 13.4 million, the city is at the center of the second-largest urban area in Europe after Moscow, and among the world's largest cities by population within city limits. Istanbul's vast area of 5,343 square kilometers (2,063 sq mi) is coterminous with Istanbul Province, of which the city is considered capital. Straddling the Bosphorus—one of the world's busiest waterways—in northwestern Turkey, between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea, Istanbul is a transcontinental city, with one third of its population living in Asia but its commercial and historical center in Europe.
Founded around 660 BC as Byzantium on the Seraglio Point, the city now known as Istanbul developed to become one of the most significant cities in history. For nearly sixteen centuries following its reestablishment as Constantinople in 330 AD, it served as the capital of four empires — the late classical Roman Empire (330–395), the Eastern Roman ("Byzantine") Empire (395–1204 and 1261–1453), the Latin Empire (1204–1261), and the Ottoman Empire (1453–1922). It was instrumental in the advancement of Christianity during Roman and Byzantine times, before the Ottomans conquered the city in 1453 and transformed it into an Islamic stronghold from which the last caliphate ruled. Although the Republic of Turkey established its capital elsewhere, in Ankara, remnants of Istanbul's previous central role still remain highly visible across the city, with palaces and imperial mosques lining its hills.
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Italy
Italyi/ˈɪtəli/ (Italian: Italia [iˈtaːlja]), officially the Italian Republic or the Republic of Italy (Italian: Repubblica italiana), is a unitary parliamentary republic in south-central Europe. To the north, it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia along the Alps. To the south, it consists of the entirety of the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Sardinia–the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea–and many other smaller islands. The independent states of San Marino and the Vatican City are enclaves within Italy, while Campione d'Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland. The territory of Italy covers some 301,338 km2 (116,347 sq mi) and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. With 60.6 million inhabitants, it is the fifth most populous country in Europe, and the 23rd most populous in the world.
Rome, the capital of Italy, was for centuries a political and religious centre of Western civilisation as the capital of the Roman Empire and site of the Holy See. After the decline of the Roman Empire, Italy endured numerous invasions by foreign peoples, from Germanic tribes such as the Lombards and Ostrogoths, to the Byzantines and later, the Normans, among others. Centuries later, Italy became the birthplace of Maritime republics and the Renaissance, an immensely fruitful intellectual movement that would prove to be integral in shaping the subsequent course of European thought.
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Iztacalco
Iztacalco is one of the 16 delegaciones (boroughs) into which Mexico's Federal District is divided. It is located in the center-east of the district and is the smallest of the city’s boroughs. The area’s history began in 1309 when the island of Iztacalco, in what was Lake Texcoco, was settled in 1309 by the Mexica who would later found Tenochtitlan, according to the Codex Xolotl. The island community would remain small an isolated through the colonial period, but drainage projects in the Valley of Mexico dried up the lake around it. The area was transformed into a maze of small communities, artificial islands called chinampas and solid farmland divided by canals up until the first half of the 20th century. Politically, the area has been reorganized several times, with the modern borough coming into existence in 1929. Today, all of the canals and farmland are dried out and urbanized as the most densely populated borough and the second most industrialized.
Although the borough is completely urbanized, there are still traces of the area’s rural past, especially in the historic center, which corresponds to the original island in the former Lake Texcoco. This zones is still divided into six neighborhoods called barrios: Santa Cruz, La Asunción, San Miguel, Los Reyes, Zapotla, San Francisco Xicaltongo y Santiago, along with an area called Santa Anita Zacatlalmanco Huéhuetl. Most of these lie along the Calzada de la Viga. This area was designated as a "Barrio Mágico" by the city in 2011.
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Iztapalapa
Iztapalapa is one of the Federal District of Mexico City’s 16 boroughs, located on the east side of the entity. The borough is named after and centered on the formerly independent municipality of Iztapalapa, which is officially called Iztapalapa de Cuitláhuac for disambiguation purposes. The rest is made up of a number of other communities which are governed by the city of Iztapalapa.
The borough is the most populous and fastest growing of the city with over 90% of its territory urbanized. The borough transitioned from a rural area with some farms and canals as late as the 1970s, to an area with the only green areas in parks and almost all of its people employed in commerce, services and industry. This is the result of a large influx of people into the borough starting from the 1970s and which still continues. The area has a high level of socioeconomic marginalization, with a significant number of people lacking sufficient access to clean potable water. Crime is also a major problem, with much of it related to drug trafficking and poverty. However, the borough is home of one of Mexico City’s major cultural events, the annual Passion Play in which 450 borough residents participate and about 2 million attend as spectators.
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Jabodetabek
Jabotabek (or Jabodetabek) was an official definition of the urban area surrounding the Indonesia capital city Jakarta. The definition dates from 2000 and included five municipalities and three regencies. The population of Jabotabek was 28.0 million according to the Indonesian Census 2010. As of 2012, it has been officially replaced by Jabodetabekjur, however, all metropolitan area definitions are based on the Jabodetabek definition.
The area comprises the DKI Jakarta and parts of West Java and Banten provinces, specifically the three Regencies of those provinces which surround Jakarta - Bekasi and Bogor in West Java, and Tangerang in Banten. Also included were the Kota (formerly Kotamadya) independent municipalities of Bogor, Depok, Bekasi, Tangerang and South Tangerang. It does not include the other surrounding regencies into which the built-up area has now sprawled - specifically Serang and Karawang Regencies.
The name of the region is taken from the first two or three letters of each city's name: Jabo(de)tabek from Jakarta, Bogor, (Depok), Tangerang and Bekasi.
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Jakarta
Jakarta ( /dʒəˈkɑrtə/), officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta (Indonesian: Daerah Khusus Ibu Kota Jakarta), is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Located on the northwest coast of Java, Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre, and with a population of 10,187,595 as of November 2011, it is the most populous city in Indonesia and in Southeast Asia, and is the twelfth-largest city in the world. The official metropolitan area, known as Jabodetabekjur, is the second largest in the world, yet the city's suburbs still continue beyond it. Jakarta is listed as a global city in the 2008 Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network (GaWC) research. and has an area of 661 square kilometres (255 sq mi)
Based on Brooking Institute survey about growth, in 2011 Jakarta ranked 17th among the world's 200 largest cities, a significant jumps from 2007 when Jakarta ranked 171st. Jakarta has seen more rapid growth than Kuala Lumpur, Beijing and Bangkok.
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Jalisco
Jalisco (Spanish pronunciation: [xaˈlisko]), officially Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco), is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in Western Mexico and divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Guadalajara. It is one of the more important states in Mexico because of its natural resources as well as its history. Many of the characteristic traits of Mexican culture, particularly outside Mexico, are originally from Jalisco, such as mariachi, ranchera music, tequila, jaripeo, etc. Economically, it is ranked third in the country, with industries centered in the Guadalajara metropolitan area, the second largest metropolitan area in Mexico. The state is home to two significant indigenous populations, the Huichols and the Nahuas. There is also a significant foreign population, mostly retirees from the United States and Canada, living in the Lake Chapala and Puerto Vallarta areas.
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Jamaica
Coordinates: 18°10′57″N 77°19′18″W / 18.1823878°N 77.3217773°W / 18.1823878; -77.3217773
Jamaica (i/dʒəˈmeɪkə/), officially the Commonwealth of Jamaica, is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, 234 kilometres (145 mi) in length, up to 80 kilometres (50 mi) in width, and 10,990 square kilometres (4,240 sq mi) in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about 145 kilometres (90 mi) south of Cuba, and 191 kilometres (119 mi) west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The indigenous Arawakan-speaking Taíno name for the island was Xaymaca, meaning the "Land of Wood and Water" or the "Land of Springs".
Once a Spanish possession known as Santiago, it became an English colony in 1655 under the name "Jamaica". It achieved full independence from Britain on August 6, 1962. With 2.8 million people, it is the third most populous anglophone country in the Americas, after the United States and Canada. It remains a Commonwealth realm in concert with the Monarchy of Jamaica holding ultimate executive power, where Queen Elizabeth II is the current head of state and Queen of Jamaica.Kingston is the country's largest city and the capital.
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Japan
Japani/dʒəˈpæn/ (Japanese: 日本 Nihon or Nippon; formally 日本国 Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku, literally the State of Japan) is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes referred to as the "Land of the Rising Sun".
Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands. The four largest islands are Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū and Shikoku, together accounting for ninety-seven percent of Japan's land area. Japan has the world's tenth-largest population, with over 127 million people. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the de facto capital city of Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents.
Archaeological research indicates that people lived in Japan as early as the Upper Paleolithic period. The first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other nations followed by long periods of isolation has characterized Japan's history. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, victory in the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War and World War I allowed Japan to expand its empire during a period of increasing militarism. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Since adopting its revised constitution in 1947, Japan has maintained a unitary constitutional monarchy with an emperor and an elected parliament called the Diet.
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Johannesburg
Johannesburg (/dʒoʊˈhænɪsbɜrɡ/; Afrikaans: [joˈhɑnəsbʏrx]) also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or eGoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa. The city is one of the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the world, and is also the world's largest city not situated on a river, lake, or coastline. It claims to be the lightning capital of the world, though this title is also claimed by others.
While Johannesburg is not one of South Africa's three capital cities, it is the seat of the Constitutional Court, which has the final word on interpretation of South Africa's new post-Apartheid constitution. The city is the source of a large-scale gold and diamond trade, due to its location on the mineral-rich Witwatersrand range of hills. Johannesburg is served by O.R. Tambo International Airport, the largest and busiest airport in Africa and a gateway for international air travel to and from the rest of Southern Africa. More recently Lanseria International Airport has started international flights, and is situated conveniently on the opposite side of the metropolis.
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Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad (Russian: Калинингра́д; Polish: Królewiec; Lithuanian: Karaliaučius; German: Königsberg; Czech: Královec) is a seaport city and the administrative center of Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea. The territory, the northern part of the former East Prussia, borders on NATO and EU members Poland and Lithuania, and is geographically separated from the rest of Russia.
Originally named Königsberg in German, the town was founded in 1255 by the order of the Teutonic Knights in honour of the Czech king Přemysl Otakar II and was part of Prussia and then of Germany until 1945, but was largely destroyed during World War II. Its ruins were occupied by the Red Army in 1945 and its German population forced out. It was renamed Kaliningrad in 1946 in honor of Mikhail Kalinin.
According to the preliminary results of the 2010 Census, its population was 431,491—an increase from 430,003 recorded in the 2002 Census. Its ethnic composition is 77.9% Russians, 8.0% Belarusians, 7.3% Ukrainians, 1.9% Lithuanians, 0.6% Germans, and 0.5% Poles.
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Karachi
Karachi ( Karācī (help·info), Urdu: کراچی; Sindhi: ڪراچي) is the largest city, main seaport and financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 13 million. Results in April 2012 of Pakistan's latest census initial tabulations show that the district is home to over 21 million people, at a density of nearly 6,000 people per square kilometer (15,500 per square mile). Karachi is the most populous city in the country, one of the world's largest cities in terms of population and also the 10th largest urban agglomeration in the world. It is Pakistan's premier centre of banking, industry, economic activity and trade and is home to Pakistan's largest corporations, including those involved in textiles, shipping, automotive industry, entertainment, the arts, fashion, advertising, publishing, software development and medical research. The city is a major hub of higher education in South Asia and the wider Muslim world.
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Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island. In the Americas, Kingston is the largest predominantly English-speaking city south of the United States.
The local government bodies of the parishes of Kingston and St. Andrew were amalgamated by the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation Act of 1923, to form the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC). Greater Kingston, or the "Corporate Area" refers to those areas under the KSAC; however, it does not solely refer to Kingston Parish, which only consists of the old downtown and Port Royal. Kingston Parish had a population of 96,052, and St. Andrew parish had a population of 555,828 in 2001. Kingston is only bordered by Saint Andrew to the east, west and north. The geographical border for the parish of Kingston ends at East Street, West Street and North Street.
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Kingstown
Kingstown is the chief port of Saint Vincent, and the capital of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. With a population of 25,418 (2005) Kingstown is the largest town in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and is the centre for the island's agricultural industry and a port of entry for tourists. The city lies within the parish of Saint George in the south-west corner of Saint Vincent. Exports include bananas which are shipped mainly to the United Kingdom, coconuts, and arrowroot. The city contains numerous shops, eating places and markets.
It is built partially on reclaimed land and is the location of many important buildings, including the Financial Complex which was built in 1991 and accommodates the Office of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister as well as those of other departments of government, a Court Office of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court and almost all of the governmental ministries.
France started a settlement here shortly after 1722.
The botanical garden, conceived in 1765, is the oldest in the Western hemisphere. William Bligh, made famous from the Mutiny on the Bounty, brought seeds of the Breadfruit tree here for planting, ca 1793.
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Kinshasa
Kinshasa (formerly French Léopoldville, and Dutch Leopoldstad (help·info)) is the capital and the largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The city is located on the Congo River.
Once a site of fishing villages, Kinshasa is now an urban area with a population of nearly 10 million inhabitants. It faces the capital of the neighbouring Republic of Congo, Brazzaville which can be seen in the distance across the wide Congo River. Because the administrative boundaries cover such a vast area, over 60% of the city's land is rural in nature, and the urban area only occupies a small section in the far western end of the province.
Kinshasa holds the status of the second largest city in Africa, after Cairo.
Residents of Kinshasa are known as Kinois (in French and sometimes in English) or Kinshasans (English).
The city was founded as a trading post by Henry Morton Stanley in 1881 and named Léopoldville in honor of King Leopold II of Belgium, who controlled the vast territory that is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, not as a colony but as a private property. The post flourished as the first navigable port on the Congo River above Livingstone Falls, a series of rapids over 300 kilometres (190 mi) below Leopoldville. At first, all goods arriving by sea or being sent by sea had to be carried by porters between Léopoldville and Matadi, the port below the rapids and 150 km (93 mi) from the coast. The completion of the Matadi-Kinshasa portage railway in 1898 provided a faster and more efficient alternative route around the rapids and sparked the rapid development of Léopoldville. By 1920, the city was elevated to capital of the Belgian Congo, replacing the town of Boma in the Congo estuary.
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Kobe
Kobe (神戸市, Kōbe-shi?, Japanese pronunciation: [koːbe]), is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately 30 km (19 mi) west of Osaka. With a population of about 1.5 million, the city is part of the Keihanshin (Keihanshin) metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kyoto.
The earliest written records regarding the region come from the Nihon Shoki, which describes the founding of the Ikuta Shrine by Empress Jingū in AD 201. For most of its history the area was never a single political entity, even during the Tokugawa Period, when the port was controlled directly by the Tokugawa Shogunate. Kobe did not exist in its current form until its founding in 1889. Its name comes from "kanbe" (神戸?), an archaic title for supporters of the city's Ikuta Shrine. Kobe became one of Japan's 17 designated cities in 1956.
Kobe was one of the cities to open for trade with the West following the end of the policy of seclusion and has since been known as a cosmopolitan port city. While the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake diminished much of Kobe's prominence as a port city, it remains Japan's fourth busiest container port. Companies headquartered in Kobe include ASICS, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, and Kobe Steel, as well as over 100 international corporations with Asia or Japan headquarters in the city such as Procter & Gamble, Boehringer-Ingelheim and Nestlé. The city is the point of origin and namesake of Kobe beef as well as the site of one of Japan's most famous hot spring resorts, Arima Onsen.
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Kolkata
Kolkata /kɒlˈkætə/, or Calcutta /kælˈkʌtə/, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it is the principal commercial, cultural, and educational centre of East India, while the Port of Kolkata is India's oldest port as well as its sole major riverine port. As of 2011, the city had 4.5 million residents; the urban agglomeration, which comprises the city and its suburbs, was home to approximately 14.1 million, making it the third-most populous metropolitan area in India. As of 2008, its economic output as measured by gross domestic product ranked third among South Asian cities, behind Mumbai and Delhi. As a growing metropolitan city in a developing country, Kolkata confronts substantial urban pollution, traffic congestion, poverty, overpopulation, and other logistic and socioeconomic problems.
In the late 17th century, the three villages that predated Kolkata were ruled by the Nawab of Bengal under Mughal suzerainty. After the Nawab granted the East India Company a trading license in 1690, the area was developed by the Company into an increasingly fortified mercantile base. Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah occupied Kolkata in 1756, and the East India Company retook it in the following year and by 1772 assumed full sovereignty. Under East India Company and later under the British Raj, Kolkata served as the capital of India until 1911, when its perceived geographical disadvantages, combined with growing nationalism in Bengal, led to a shift of the capital to New Delhi. The city was a centre of the Indian independence movement; it remains a hotbed of contemporary state politics. Following Indian independence in 1947, Kolkata—which was once the centre of modern Indian education, science, culture, and politics—witnessed several decades of relative economic stagnation. Since the early 2000s, an economic rejuvenation has led to accelerated growth.
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Kralendijk
Kralendijk is the capital city and main port of the island of Bonaire in the Caribbean Netherlands. The language spoken in the town is Papiamentu, but Dutch and English are widely used. In Dutch, Kralendijk means "coral reef" or "coral dike". The Papiamentu name for the town is Playa or "beach". As of 2006[update], the town had a population of 3,061.
Off the coast of Kralendijk lies the uninhabited island of Klein Bonaire, a diving and snorkeling paradise. This small island can be reached by water taxi, or, for divers, by practically all of the local dive operators.
Fort Oranje was built in 1639 to defend Bonaire's main harbor. The fort was extensively modified during the end of the seventeenth century. The English settlement of "Playa" was established adjacent to the fort in 1810. The town was renamed "Kralendijk" by the Dutch colonial rulers in about 1840.
On May 10, 1940, 461 Dutch and German citizens were transported to Bonaire and interned in a camp just south of the fort. After World War II, this camp was converted into a hotel, which is now the Divi Bonaire.
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Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the federal capital and most populous city in Malaysia. The city covers an area of 243 km2 (94 sq mi) and has an estimated population of 1.6 million as of 2012.Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million. It is among the fastest growing metropolitan regions in the country, in terms of population and economy.
Kuala Lumpur is the seat of the Parliament of Malaysia. The city was once home to the executive and judicial branches of the federal government, but they were moved to Putrajaya in early 1999. Some sections of the judiciary still remains in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur. The official residence of the Malaysian King, the Istana Negara, is also situated in Kuala Lumpur. Rated as an alpha world city, Kuala Lumpur is the cultural, financial and economic centre of Malaysia due to its position as the capital as well as being a key city. Kuala Lumpur was ranked 48th among global cities by Foreign Policy's 2010 Global Cities Index and was ranked 67th among global cities for economic and social innovation by the 2thinknow Innovation Cities Index in 2010.
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Kyoto
Kyoto (京都市, Kyōto-shi?, "Capital City") (Japanese pronunciation: [kʲoːto] ( listen)) is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe metropolitan area.
Although archaeological evidence places the first human settlement on the islands of Japan to approximately 10,000 BC, relatively little is known about human activity in the area before the 6th century AD, around which time the Shimogamo Shrine is believed to have been established. During the 8th century, when powerful Buddhist clergy became involved in the affairs of the Imperial government, the Emperor chose to relocate the capital to a region far from the Buddhist influence. Emperor Kammu selected the village of Uda, at the time in the Kadono district of Yamashiro Province, for this honor.
The new city, Heian-kyō (平安京, "tranquility and peace capital"), a scaled replica of the then Tang capital Chang'an, became the seat of Japan's imperial court in 794, beginning the Heian period of Japanese history. Although military rulers established their governments either in Kyoto (Muromachi shogunate) or in other cities such as Kamakura (Kamakura shogunate) and Edo (Tokugawa shogunate), Kyoto remained Japan's capital until the transfer of the imperial court to Tokyo in 1869 at the time of the Imperial Restoration. (Some believe that it is still a legal capital: see Capital of Japan.)
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La Enseñanza Church
La Enseñanza Church is located on 104 Donceles Street in the historic center of Mexico City. It has been argued that the Mexican Churrigueresque style of this church, especially that of its altarpieces, represents the pinnacle of the Baroque period in Mexico, as this style soon gave way to the Neoclassic after this church was built. The church’s official name is Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Pilar (Church of Our Lady of the Pillar). The former convent was called El Convento de la Enseñanza La Antigua (The Old Convent of the Teaching), from which is derived the church’s popular name. After the Reform War, the convent was disbanded and the complex had various uses but the church has returned to is originally-intended function.
The convent was founded by Mother Maria Ignacia Alzor who belonged to the Company of Mary Our Lady founded by Jeanne de Lestonnac. Mother Maria Ignacia was from a wealthy Creole family that had established itself in Chihuahua. She entered the order of the Company of Mary Our Lady in Spain, where she obtained permission to found a convent and school for young girls. She bought two houses on what is now Donceles Street (then Calle de Cordobanes), just north of the main cathedral of Mexico City. In the parking area of the two houses, she began to build the church. This small space would determine the unusual design and dimensions of the building. With Francisco Antonio Guerrero y Torres as the architect, the church was built between 1772 and 1778.
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La Merced Cloister
The La Merced Cloister is all that is left of a monastery complex built in the late 16th and early 17th century by the Mercedarian order. It is located on Uruguay and Talavera Streets in the historic downtown of Mexico City. The complex lent its name to the area around it, La Merced, which in turn, inspired the name of the metro station and the famous La Merced market.
The Order of Mercedarians came to Mexico in 1593. Before establishing missions and churches in other parts of Mexico, the La Merced Monastery was established between the 16th and 17th centuries in Mexico City. The complex was designed and constructed by Juan de Herrera. The first stage of monastery’s construction was begun with its church, now gone, begun in 1594 and ended toward the mid 17th century. The second stage, consisting mostly of the upper floor, was consecrated in 1703.
Due to the Reform Laws, the church and other parts of this monastery were destroyed in 1862, leaving only the one cloister that remains to this day. The only documentation of how the monastery looked before is preserved in a 1842 painting of the complex by Pedro Gualdi. The first post-Reform use of the building was as a military barracks, resulting in the destruction of the west facade and the heavy modification of the southern one. In later years, the cloister would serve as a gymnasium, school, museum, child care center and INBA (National Fine Arts Institute) tapestry workshop.
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La Nueva Viga Market
La Nueva Viga Market is the largest seafood market in Mexico and the second largest after the Tsukiji fish market in Japan. It is located in Mexico City far inland from the coast, because of historical patterns of commerce in the country. The market handles 1,500 tons of seafood daily, representing about 60% of the total market. Most of the seafood is distributed to the Mexico City metropolitan area and the states surrounding it, but there is distribution to other states and abroad.
The major distribution of seafood products has been centered in Mexico City for many years, first at the La Viga Market in the borough of Iztacalco and now at the La Nueva Viga Market in Iztapalapa. The reason the main seafood market is in the capital, rather than in a coastal city, is that Mexico City has a long history of being the economic center of the country. Since pre Hispanic times, much of the seafood and other produce either ended up or passed through here. The people of the Mexico City area have also become accustomed to enjoying the bounty provided by almost all of the states, so the demand for seafood is greatest here.
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La Paz
Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈnwes.tɾa seˈɲoɾa ðe la pas]; English: Our Lady of Peace; Aymara: Chuquiago Marka or Chuqiyapu), simply known as La Paz, is the seat of government of Bolivia, as well as the departmental capital of the La Paz Department, and the second largest city in the country (in population) after Santa Cruz de la Sierra. It is located in the western part of the country in the department of the same name at an elevation of roughly 3,650 m (11,975 ft) (the city is built on steep hills) above sea level, making it the world's highest "de facto" capital city, or administrative capital.
While the official capital of Bolivia is Sucre and it is the seat of Justice, La Paz has more government departments, hence the "de facto" qualifier. The city sits in a "bowl" surrounded by the high mountains of the altiplano.
As it grows, the city of La Paz climbs the hills, resulting in varying elevations from 3,000 to 4,100 m (9,800 to 13,500 ft). Overlooking the city is towering triple-peaked Illimani, which is always snow-covered and can be seen from several spots of the city, including from the neighbor city of El Alto. As of the 2001 census, the city had a population of 877,363.La Paz Metropolitan area, formed by the cities of La Paz, El Alto and Viacha, make the most populous urban area of Bolivia, with a population of 2.3 million inhabitants and surpassing the metropolitan area of Santa Cruz de la Sierra.
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La Santisima Church
La Santísima Church is located 12 La Santísima Street at corner of Emiliano Zapata Street in the historic center of Mexico City. Its full name is Temple and Hospital of the Most Holy Trinity (Templo y Antiguo Hospital de la Santisíma Trinidad) . The church was built between 1755 and 1783 as a temple for the adjoining hospital/hospice for priests. The hospital functioned until 1859, when the Reform Laws nationalized much of Church’s property in Mexico. The church still retains its original function but the adjoining hospital and office sites have since moved into private hands with only parts of the original structures still intact and preserved.
The church building consists of three naves with the center one being significantly wider than the side ones. Its architectural style is similar to the Tabernacle of the Mexico City Cathedral. Because of this, many consider this church to be the work of the same architect, Lorenzo Rodriguez. However, this is in dispute because some elements that are common in Rodriguez’s other works are lacking here, and some records indicate that architect Ildefonso Iniesta Bejarano was involved in the project. The dome outside is decorated with tiles forming Maltese crosses, a symbol of the Trinitarians. The basic floor plan is that of a Latin cross, common to churches in the 17th and 18th centuries. It has a vaulted roof of eight sides which reaches to a central point, containing windows for lighting. The church is of the profusely-decorated Baroque style, but some areas, like the roof are relatively unadorned.
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Lagos
Lagos (/ˈleɪɡɒs/ LAY-gos) is a port city and the most populous city in Nigeria. Officially, the population of Lagos was last recorded at 7,937,932. Lagos is the second fastest growing city in Africa and the 7th fastest in the world. Lagos was originally inhabited by the Awori subgroup of the Yoruba people. Under the leadership of their Olofin, the Awori moved to an island now called Iddo and then to the larger Lagos Island. In the 15th century, the Awori settlement was attacked by the Benin Empire following a quarrel, and the island became a Benin war-camp called "Eko" under Oba Orhogba, the Oba of Benin at the time.
Lagos is a huge metropolis which originated on islands separated by creeks, such as Lagos Island, fringing the southwest mouth of Lagos Lagoon whilst protected from the Atlantic Ocean by long sand spits such as Bar Beach, which stretch up to 100 km east and west of the mouth. From the beginning, Lagos has expanded on the mainland west of the lagoon and the conurbation, including Ikeja and Agege, now reaches more than 40 km north-west of Lagos Island. Some suburbs include Ikorodu, Epe and Badagry, and more local councils have recently been created, bringing the total number of local governments in Lagos to 57.
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Lahore
Lahore (Punjabi: لہور, Urdu: لاہور) is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich history dating back over a millennium, Lahore is a main cultural centre of Pakistan. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains an economic, political, transportation, entertainment, and educational hub.
Lahore successively served as regional capital of the empires of the Shahi kingdoms in the 11th century, the Ghaznavids in the 12th century, the Ghurid State in the 12th and 13th centuries the Mughal Empire in the 16th century, the Sikh expansion in the early 19th century, and it was the capital of the Punjab region under the British Raj in the mid 19th and early 20th century. The traditional capital of Punjab for a thousand years, Lahore was the cultural center of the northern Indian subcontinent which extends from the eastern banks of the Indus River to New Delhi. Mughal structures such as the Badshahi Mosque, the Lahore Fort, Shalimar Gardens, and the mausolea of Jehangir and Nur Jehan are tourist attractions. Lahore is also home to many British colonial structures built in the Indo-Saracenic style, such as the Lahore High Court, the General Post Office, Lahore Museum and many older universities including the University of the Punjab. The Lahore Zoo, thought to be the fourth oldest in the world, is also situated here.
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Lebanon
Lebanon (i/ˈlɛbənɒn/ or /ˈlɛbənən/; Arabic: لبنان Libnān or Lubnān, Lebanese Arabic: [lɪbˈneːn]), officially the Lebanese Republic (Arabic: الجمهورية اللبنانية al-Jumhūrīyah al-Libnānīyah, Lebanese Arabic: [elˈʒʊmhuːɾɪjje l.ˈlɪbneːnɪjje]), is a country in the East Mediterranean. It is bordered by Syria to the north and east, and Israel to the south. Lebanon's location at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian hinterland has dictated its rich history, and shaped a cultural identity of religious and ethnic diversity.
The earliest evidence of civilization in Lebanon dates back more than 7,000 years—predating recorded history. Lebanon was the home of the Phoenicians, a maritime culture that flourished for nearly 2,500 years (3000–539 BC). Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, the five provinces that comprise modern Lebanon were mandated to France. The French expanded the borders of Mount Lebanon, which was mostly populated by Maronite Catholics and Druze, to include more Muslims. Lebanon gained independence in 1943, and established a unique political system, known as confessionalism, a power-sharing mechanism based on religious communities – Bechara El Khoury who became independent Lebanon's first President and Riad El-Solh, who became Lebanon's first prime minister, are considered the founders of the modern Republic of Lebanon and are national heroes for having led the country's independence. French troops withdrew from Lebanon in 1946.
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Lima
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima Metropolitan Area. With a population approaching 9 million, Lima is the fifth largest city in Latin America, behind Mexico City, São Paulo, Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro. Lima is home to one of the largest financial hubs in Latin America. It has been defined as a beta world city by GaWC international ranking.
Lima was founded by Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro on January 18, 1535, as la Ciudad de los Reyes, or "the City of Kings". It became the capital and most important city in the Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru. Following the Peruvian War of Independence, it became the capital of the Republic of Peru. Today, around one-third of the Peruvian population lives in the metropolitan area.
Lima is home to one of the oldest higher learning institutions in the New World. The National University of San Marcos, founded on May 12, 1551 during Spanish colonial regime, is the oldest continuously functioning university in the Americas.
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London
Londoni/ˈlʌndən/ is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its founding by the Romans, who named it Londinium. London's ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its square-mile mediaeval boundaries. Since at least the 19th century, the name London has also referred to the metropolis developed around this core. The bulk of this conurbation forms the London region and the Greater London administrative area, governed by the elected Mayor of London and the London Assembly.
London is a leading global city, with strengths in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism and transport all contributing to its prominence. It is the world's leading financial centre alongside New York City and has the fifth-largest city GDP in the world (and the largest in Europe). London has been described as a world cultural capital. It was the world's most visited city during 2011 and London Heathrow is the world's busiest airport by number of international passengers. London's 43 universities form the largest concentration of higher education in Europe. In 2012 London will become the first city to host the modern Summer Olympic Games three times.
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Los Angeles
Los Angeles (i/lɒs ˈændʒələs/ loss-AN-jə-ləs; Spanish: [los ˈaŋxeles], which is written Los Ángeles; British pronounciation /lɒs ˈændʒəliːz/ loss-AN-jə-leez) with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in the state of California, and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of 468.67 square miles (1,213.8 km2), and is located in Southern California. Often known by its initials L.A., the city is the focal point of the larger Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana metropolitan statistical area and Greater Los Angeles Area region, which contain 12,828,837 and nearly 18 million people respectively as of 2010, making it one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world and the second largest in the United States. Los Angeles is also the seat of Los Angeles County, the most populated and one of the most ethnically diverse counties in the United States, while the entire Los Angeles area itself has been recognized as the most diverse of the nation's largest cities. The city's inhabitants are referred to as "Angelenos".
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Madrid
Madrid (English /məˈdrɪd/, Spanish: [ma'ðrid]) is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan area is the third largest in the European Union after London and Paris. The city spans a total of 604.3 km2 (233.3 sq mi).
The city is located on the Manzanares river in the centre of both the country and the Community of Madrid (which comprises the city of Madrid, its conurbation and extended suburbs and villages); this community is bordered by the autonomous communities of Castile and León and Castile-La Mancha. As the capital city of Spain, seat of government, and residence of the Spanish monarch, Madrid is also the political centre of Spain. The current mayor is Ana Botella from the People's Party (PP).
Madrid urban agglomeration has the 3rd largest GDP in the European Union and its influences in politics, education, entertainment, environment, media, fashion, science, culture, and the arts all contribute to its status as one of the world's major global cities. Due to its economic output, high standard of living, and market size, Madrid is considered the major financial centre of Southern Europe and the Iberian Peninsula; it hosts the head offices of the vast majority of the major Spanish companies, such as Telefónica, Iberia or Repsol. Madrid is the most touristic city of Spain, the fourth-most touristic of the continent, and is the 10th most livable city in the world according to Monocle magazine, in its 2010 index. Madrid also ranks among the 12 greenest European cities in 2010. Madrid is currently a Candidate City for the 2020 Summer Olympics.
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Magdalena Contreras
La Magdalena Contreras is one of the 16 delegaciones (boroughs) into which Mexico's Federal District is divided. It had a 2010 census population of 239,086 inhabitants, and is the third-least populous of Mexico City's boroughs. It lies at an elevation of 2,365 m. above sea level.
The 1847 Battle of Padierna (aka Battle of Contreras) was fought here. Many people believe that is why the borough is named "La Magdalena Contreras." It is believed to also be a very poor borough. The people there have up to about 18 square feet of green space and only about 55% keep going to school after the age of 15. The reason very few kids go to school after the age of 15 is they usually stay home and help their parents with any household work that is needed. This is a good example of spatial inequality.
The lower elevations up to 2,900 masl have a mild climate with a median temperature around 15.5°C (60°F) and high rainfall averaging 959 mm (37.7 inches) annually. Higher regions, for instance Los Dinamos National Park, covered with pine-oak forests, between 2,900 and 3,500 meters are cooler and wetter, averaging near 13°C (55°F) and rainfall (which during rare winter wet days might fall as snow) reaches above 1,100 mm (45 in). At even higher elevations (around 3,700 meters) the weather is rather constantly cold, averaging only 8°C (46°F) and the greatest rainfall of the borough. The following chart explains the climate of Presa Anzaldo in the urbanized region of Magdalena Contreras, the lowest and warmest of it. The chart below is illustrative of the cooler higher portions, in this example at Monte Alegre.
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Malmö
Malmö (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈmalːˈmøː] ( listen)), in the southernmost province of Scania, is Sweden's third largest city by population after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and is one of the largest cities in Scandinavia.
Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County. The administrative entity for most of the city is Malmö Municipality which has 300,515 inhabitants in eight different localities, with 30% being of foreign origin (either born outside of Sweden or having both parents born abroad). Malmö is also a bimunicipal locality, as part of it is formally situated in Burlöv Municipality. The total population of the urban area was 280,415 in December 2010.
Greater Malmö is one of Sweden's three officially recognized Metropolitan areas (storstadsområden) and since 2005 is defined as the municipality of Malmö and 11 other municipalities in the southwestern corner of Scania. On 30 June 2008, its population was recorded to be 628,388. The region covers an area of 2,535.76 square kilometres (979.06 sq mi). The municipalities included, apart from Malmö, are Burlöv, Eslöv, Höör, Kävlinge, Lomma, Lund, Skurup, Staffanstorp, Svedala, Trelleborg and Vellinge. Lund, with a municipal population of over 100,000 and home to one of Scandinavia's major universities, is together with Malmö the region's economic and education hub.
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Managua
Managua (Spanish pronunciation: [maˈnaɣwa]) is the capital city of Nicaragua as well as the department and municipality by the same name. It is the largest city in Nicaragua in terms of population and geographic size. Located on the southwestern shore of Lake Xolotlán or Lake Managua, the city was declared the national capital in 1852. Prior to its inception as the capital city, the title had alternated between the cities of León and Granada. The city has a population of about 2,200,000, composed predominantly of mestizos and whites. Managua is the second most populous city in Central America, after Guatemala City.
Founded in 1819, the city was given the name: Leal Villa de Santiago de Managua. Its original purpose was to serve as a rural fishing village. Efforts to make Managua the capital of Nicaragua began in 1824, after the Central American nations formally attained their independence from Spain. Managua's location between the rival cities of León and Granada made it a logical and ideal compromise site. Modern-day Managua was built in the 1850s on the site of an indigenous community. The city occupies an area on a fault. Seismologists predict that Managua will continue to experience a severe earthquake every 50 years or less. The city's economy is based mainly on trade and industry. Managua is Nicaragua's chief trading center for coffee, cotton, other crops and industry. It serves as an important industrial, commercial, political and cultural center. Its chief products include beer, coffee, matches, textiles, and shoes. Today, Managua is Nicaragua's main political, social, cultural, educational and economic hub. The city is served by the Augusto C. Sandino International Airport, the country's primary international airport and regional Brasiles Airport and Punta Huete, military airport, recently renewed.
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Mar del Plata
Mar del Plata is an Argentine city located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, 400 km (249 mi) south of Buenos Aires. Mar del Plata is the second largest city of Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" has apparently the meaning of "sea of the Río de la Plata region" or "adjoining sea to the Río de la Plata". Mar del Plata is one of the major fishing ports and the biggest seaside beach resort in Argentina. With a population of 614,350 as per the 2010 census [INDEC], it is the 7th largest city in Argentina.
As part of the Argentine recreational coast, tourism is Mar del Plata's main economic activity with seven million tourists visiting the city in 2006. Mar del Plata has a sophisticated tourist infrastructure with countless hotels, restaurants, casinos, theatres and other tourist attractions. Mar del Plata is also an important sports centre with a multi-purpose Olympic style stadium (first used for the 1978 World Cup and later upgraded for the 1995 Pan American Games), 5 golf courses and many other facilities.
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Maserati
Coordinates: 44°38′58″N 10°56′23″E / 44.649422°N 10.939636°E / 44.649422; 10.939636
Maserati is an Italian luxury car manufacturer established on December 1, 1914, in Bologna. The company's headquarters is now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. It has been owned by the Italian car giant Fiat S.p.A. since 1993. Inside the Fiat Group, Maserati was initially associated with Ferrari S.p.A., but more recently it has become part of the sports car group including Alfa Romeo.
The Maserati brothers, Alfieri, Bindo, Carlo, Ettore, and Ernesto were all involved with automobiles from the beginning of the 20th century. Alfieri, Bindo and Ernesto built 2-litre Grand Prix cars for Diatto. In 1926, Diatto suspended the production of race cars, leading to the creation of the first Maserati and the founding of the Maserati marque. One of the first Maseratis, driven by Alfieri, won the 1926 Targa Florio. Maserati began making race cars with 4, 6, 8 and 16 cylinders (two straight-eights mounted parallel to one another). Another Maserati brother, Mario, an artist, is believed to have devised the company's trident emblem, based on one the Fontana del Nettuno, Bologna. Alfieri Maserati died in 1932, but three other brothers, Bindo, Ernesto and Ettore, kept the firm going, building cars that won races.
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Melbourne
Melbourne ([ˈmelbən, -bn̩, ˈmæl-],rhotically /ˈmɛlbərn/) is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2010, the greater geographical area had an approximate population of four million. Inhabitants of Melbourne are called Melburnians or Melbournians.
The metropolis is located on the large natural bay known as Port Phillip, with the city centre positioned at the estuary of the Yarra River (at the northernmost point of the bay). The metropolitan area then extends south from the city centre, along the eastern and western shorelines of Port Phillip, and expands into the hinterland. The city centre is situated in the municipality known as the City of Melbourne, and the metropolitan area consists of a further 30 municipalities.
Melbourne was founded in 1835 (47 years after the European settlement of Australia) by settlers from Launceston in Van Diemen's Land. It was named by governor Richard Bourke in 1837, in honour of the British Prime Minister of the day, William Lamb—the 2nd Viscount Melbourne. Melbourne was officially declared a city by Queen Victoria in 1847. In 1851, it became the capital city of the newly created colony of Victoria. During the Victorian gold rush of the 1850s, it was transformed into one of the world's largest and wealthiest cities. After the federation of Australia in 1901, it then served as the interim seat of government of the newly created nation of Australia until 1927.
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Metro Chabacano
Metro Chabacano is a station on Lines 2, 8 and 9 of the Mexico City Metro system. It is located in the Cuauhtémoc borough of Mexico City, south of the city centre, on Calzada de Tlalpan.
Chabacano means apricot in Mexican Spanish. When Mexico City was expanding south towards Río de la Piedad (now tubed under the Viaducto Miguel Alemán) city planners decided to name an avenue after the fruit that grew prodigiously next to the shore of the river. The same name was later on applied to the metro station that was built under the bridge made by Chabacano Avenue when it crosses above the Calzada de Tlalpan.
Metro Chabacano was the first station on the Mexico City Metro to make use of a third, central platform for descending while the other two on the sides are used for ascending. This system was first used in the Barcelona Metro and is sometimes called the Spanish solution.
The station has several cultural displays and a small public library. There is a couple of mosaic murals on the side of the station belonging to Line 9.
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Metro Etiopía
Metro Etiopía / Plaza de la Transparencia (formerly known as Metro Etiopía) is a metro station on the Mexico City Metro. It is located in the Benito Juárez borough of Mexico City.
The station logo depicts the head of a lion, a symbol of the African country of Ethiopia. Its name is given from the Etiopía traffic circle which existed in the same location before the construction of the subway station. This square was donated by the government of Ethiopia.
Metro Etiopía / Plaza de la Transparencia is underneath the intersection of Avenida Xola, Avenida Cuauhtemoc, Cumbres de Maltrata street and Diagonal de San Antonio. It serves Narvarte neighbourhood.
On March 27, 2009, the station name was changed to Etiopía / Plaza de la Transparencia (Ethiopia / Transparency Square), as the Instituto Federal de Acceso a la Información Publica (Federal Institute of Public Information Access) is near the station, and so it would fit the name of the closest Metrobús station.
Entrance to Metro Etiopía / Plaza de la Transparencia
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Metro Manila
Metropolitan Manila (Filipino: Kalakhang Maynila, Kamaynilaan), the National Capital Region (NCR) (Filipino: Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), or simply Metro Manila, is the metropolitan region encompassing the City of Manila and its surrounding areas in the Philippines. It is composed of 16 cities, namely City of Manila, Caloocan, Las Piñas, Makati, Malabon, Mandaluyong, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Pasay, Pasig, Parañaque, Quezon City, San Juan, Taguig, and Valenzuela, plus the smaller Municipality of Pateros.
The region is the political, economic, social, cultural, and educational center of the Philippines. As proclaimed by Presidential Decree No. 940, Metro Manila as a whole is the Philippines' seat of government but the City of Manila is the capital. The largest city in the metropolis is Quezon City, while the largest business district is the Makati Central Business District.
Metro Manila is the most populous of the twelve defined metropolitan areas in the Philippines and the 11th most populous in the world. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 11,855,975, comprising 13% of the national population. The sum total population of provinces with a provincial density above 700 people per square kilometer (more than double the national average) in a contiguous zone with Metro Manila is 25.5 million people as of the 2007 census, one way to refer to the conurbation around Metro Manila is Greater Manila.
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Mexico
Mexico (i/ˈmɛksɨkoʊ/; Spanish: México, IPA: [ˈmexiko] ( listen)), officially the United Mexican States (Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos (help·info)), is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States of America; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico. Covering almost two million square kilometres (over 760,000 sq mi), Mexico is the fifth largest country in the Americas by total area and the thirteenth largest independent nation in the world. With an estimated population of over 113 million, it is the eleventh most populous country and the most populous Spanish-speaking country. Mexico is a federation comprising thirty-one states and a Federal District, the capital city.
In Pre-Columbian Mexico many cultures matured into advanced civilizations such as the Olmec, the Toltec, the Teotihuacan, the Zapotec, the Maya and the Aztec before the first contact with Europeans. In 1521, Spain conquered and colonized the territory from its base in México-Tenochtitlan, which was administered as the Viceroyalty of New Spain. This territory would eventually become Mexico as the colony's independence was recognized in 1821. The post-independence period was characterized by economic instability, the Mexican-American War and territorial cession to the United States, a civil war, two empires and a domestic dictatorship. The latter led to the Mexican Revolution in 1910, which culminated with the promulgation of the 1917 Constitution and the emergence of the country's current political system. Elections held in July 2000 marked the first time that an opposition party won the presidency from the Institutional Revolutionary Party.
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Mexico City
Mexico City ( /ˈmɛksɨkoʊ ˈsɪti/; Spanish: Ciudad de México [sjuˈðað ðe ˈmexiko], also known as México D.F., or simply D.F.) is the Federal District (Distrito Federal), capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole. Mexico City is the country's largest city as well as its most important political, cultural, educational and financial center.
As an "alpha" global city Mexico City is one of the most important financial centers in North America. It is located in the Valley of Mexico (Valle de México), a large valley in the high plateaus at the center of Mexico, at an altitude of 2,240 metres (7,350 ft). The city consists of sixteen boroughs.
The 2009 estimated population for the city proper was around 8.84 million people, and has a land area of 1,485 square kilometres (573 sq mi). According to the most recent definition agreed upon by the federal and state governments, the Mexico City metropolitan area population is 21.2 million people, making it the largest metropolitan area in the western hemisphere and the fifth largest agglomeration in the world.
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Mexico City Arena
Mexico City Arena (Spanish: Arena Ciudad de México), is an indoor arena in Azcapotzalco, Mexico City, Mexico. It is used to host events such as concerts, sports events, and more.
It was officially opened on February 25th, 2012 The total cost of the arena was $300 million. The arena has a maximum capacity of 22,300 spectators. It is operated by Zignia Live.
It is located in Avenida de las Granjas, close to Metro Ferrería Station, 'Fortuna' station of the Suburban Railway and next to TecMilenio University.
The construction began on March 18th, 2009 where the Mexico City Mayor, Marcelo Ebrard, was present. The place where the Arena is located used to be the Old Ferreria Cattle Ranch many years ago. It is an 8 hectare land. KMD Architects Mexico was in charge of the design of the Arena along with AVALANZ Group. Construction companies Grupo Garza Ponce, Corey and ADIPPSA are responsible for the development. It is the most up-to-date Arena in Mexico City, the biggest and, if that wasn't enough, it is the first arena in the city to have its own parking lot. On November 17, 2010 there was an event that took place in the early construction of the Arena which was called '300 days'. Guillermo Salinas Pliego, head of AVALANZ, promised to finish the project in 300 days. He added "It looks difficult but, the Monterrey Arena was the same and it was finished in nine months". He also talked about the idea sent to KMD Architects for the design of the Arena. He wanted it to "be astonishing on an urban level. Like an icon of the city". The Arena was opened officially with a concert by Mexican singer Luis Miguel on February 25th, 2012.
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Mexico City Metro
The Mexico City Metro (in Spanish, Metro de la Ciudad de México), officially called Sistema de Transporte Colectivo, is a metro system that serves the metropolitan area of Mexico City (this includes some municipalities in Mexico State). It is the second largest metro system in North America after the New York City Subway, and in 2008 the system served 1.467 billion passengers, placing it as the eighth highest ridership in the world.
The first Metro line had 16 stations, and opened to the public in 1969. The system has expanded since then in a series of fits and starts. As of 2010, the system comprises eleven lines and 451 kilometres (280 mi) of passenger track. Ten of the lines are rubber-tyred metro; instead of traditional steel wheels, they have rubber tires (also called pneumatic traction), which are quieter and cope better with Mexico City's unstable soils.
The STC metro system has 163 stations, 24 of which serve two or more lines (correspondencias or transfer stations). It has 106 underground stations (the deepest of which are 35 metres (115 ft) below street level); 53 surface stations and 16 elevated stations.
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Mexico State
Mexico (Spanish: México, pronounced: [ˈmexiko] ( listen)), officially Free and Sovereign State of Mexico (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de México), is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of the United Mexican States. It is the most populous, as well as the densest in population. It is divided into 125 municipalities and its capital city is Toluca de Lerdo.
The State of Mexico is often abbreviated to "Edomex" from Estado de México in Spanish. It is located in South-Central Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Querétaro and Hidalgo to the north, Morelos and Guerrero to the south, Michoacán to the west, Tlaxcala and Puebla to the east and surrounds the Federal District.
The state’s origins are in the territory of the Aztec Empire, which remained a political division of New Spain during the colonial period. After Independence, Mexico City was chosen as the capital of the new nation, its territory was separated out the state. Years later, parts of the state were broken off to form the states of Hidalgo, Guerrero and Morelos. These territorial separations have left the state with the size and shape it has today, with the Toluca Valley to the west of Mexico City and a panhandle that extends around the north and east of this entity.
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Michoacán
Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo (Spanish pronunciation: [mitʃoaˈkan ðe oˈkampo]), officially Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo), is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia (formerly called Valladolid). The city was named after José María Morelos, hero of the Mexican War of Independence.
Michoacán is located in Western Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Colima and Jalisco to the northwest, Guanajuato and Querétaro to the north, México to the east, Guerrero to the southeast. To the southwest, Michoacán has a stretch of coastline on the Pacific Ocean.
The name Michoacán is from Nahuatl: Michhuahkan from michhuah (“possessor of fish”) and -kan (place of) and means "place of the fishermen" referring to those who fish on Lake Pátzcuaro. In pre-Hispanic times, the area was the home of the P'urhépecha (Tarascan) Empire, which rivaled the Aztec Empire at the time of Spanish encounter. After the Spanish conquest, the empire became a separate province which became smaller over the colonial period. The state and several of its residents played a major role in the Mexican War of Independence. Today, the state is still home to a large population of P'urhépecha people as well as Otomi and Nahua. The economy is based on agriculture, fishing, mining and some industry. The major tourism draw for the state is the Lake Pátzcuaro-Tzintzuntzan-Quiroga area, which was the center of the P'urhépecha empire.
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Miguel Hidalgo, D.F.
Miguel Hidalgo is one of the 16 delegaciones (boroughs) into which Federal District of Mexico City is divided. It was created in 1970, joining the historic areas of Tacuba, Chapultepec and Tacubaya along with a number of notable neighborhoods such as Polanco and Lomas de Chapultepec. With landmarks such as Chapultepec Park and the Museo Nacional de Antropología, it is the second most visited borough in Mexico City after Cuauhtémoc, D.F. where the historic center of Mexico City is. Tacubaya and Tacuba both have long histories as independent settlements and were designated as “Barrios Mágicos” by the city for tourism purposes.
The borough is located in the northwest Federal District of Mexico City, just west of the historic center. The borough is divided into eighty one neighborhoods called colonias. The largest of these is Bosques de las Lomas at 3.2km2, and the smallest is Popo Ampliación with only .33km2. It is bordered by the boroughs of Azcapotzalco, Cuauhtémoc, Benito Juárez, Álvaro Obregón and Cuajimalpa with the State of Mexico bordering it on the west side. It has a territory of 47.68km2 which is 3.17 percent of the total Federal District.
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Milpa Alta
Milpa Alta is one of the 16 delegaciones (boroughs) into which Mexico's Federal District is divided. It lies in the southeast corner of the Distrito Federal, bordering the States of México and Morelos. It is the second largest and most rural of all delegaciones. It is also the least populous and least-densely populated borough. A large portion of the borough's southern part consists of El Tepozteco National Park, which extends northward from the state of Morelos. Milpa Alta's 2010 census population was 130,582 inhabitants.
In the July 2003 local election, Milpa Alta was the only delegación to elect a borough mayor from the Institutional Revolutionary Party.
Milpa Alta covers an area of 286 sq kilometers. It presents a heavily mountainous relief. Its lowest point, San Antonio Tecomitl, has an altitude of 2250 above sea level, ten meters above the median altitude for Mexico City. Surrounding Teuhtli volcano there is a strip of land slightly sloped that gradually becomes higher moving west. This region is known as the Milpa Alta valley, and in it most of the borough's population inhabits. The Milpa Alta valley rises up to 2700 meters above sea level, and its climate is thus cooler than in the rest of the Mexico City basin. This little valley separates the Teuhtil volcano from the Ajusco-Chichunautzin mountains, that takes its name from its highest peaks.
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Monte Albán
Monte Albán is a large pre-Columbian archaeological site in the Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán Municipality in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca (17.043° N, 96.767°W). The site is located on a low mountainous range rising above the plain in the central section of the Valley of Oaxaca where the latter's northern Etla, eastern Tlacolula, and southern Zimatlán & Ocotlán (or Valle Grande) branches meet. The present-day state capital Oaxaca City is located approximately 9 km (6 mi) east of Monte Albán.
The partially excavated civic-ceremonial center of the Monte Albán site is situated atop an artificially-leveled ridge, which with an elevation of about 1,940 m (6,400 ft) above mean sea level rises some 400 m (1,300 ft) from the valley floor, in an easily defensible location. In addition to the aforementioned monumental core, the site is characterized by several hundred artificial terraces, and a dozen clusters of mounded architecture covering the entire ridgeline and surrounding flanks (Blanton 1978). The archaeological ruins on the nearby Atzompa and El Gallo hills to the north are traditionally considered to be an integral part of the ancient city as well.
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Monterrey
Monterrey (Spanish pronunciation: [monteˈrei] ( listen)), is the capital city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León in the country of Mexico. The city is anchor to the third-largest metropolitan area in Mexico and is ranked as the ninth-largest city in the nation. Monterrey serves as a commercial center in the north of the country and is the base of many significant international corporations. It is Mexico's second richest city, and the world's 63rd richest, with an economy that had a 2008 GDP of USD $102 billion. Monterrey is one of Mexico's most developed cities, with the highest per capita income in the nation, and is regarded as a highly developed city. Although rich in history and culture, Monterrey is often regarded as the most "Americanized" city in the entire country, even above the cities along the U.S-Mexico border.
Monterrey as an important industrial and business center hosts an array of Mexican companies, including Pemex, Lanix Electronics, CEMEX, Vitro, Zonda Telecom, Mercedes-Benz Mexico, OXXO, Mastretta, BMW de Mexico, Mabe Grupo Bimbo, DINA S.A., Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma Brewery (Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma), formerly fully owned by FEMSA now jointly owned with Heineken and Alestra Telecommunications. Monterrey is also home to international companies such as Sony, Toshiba, Carrier, Whirlpool, Samsung, Toyota, Daewoo, Ericsson, Nokia, Dell, Boeing, HTC, General Electric, Gamesa, LG, SAS Institute and Teleperformance, among others.
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Montreal
Montreal (i/ˌmʌntriːˈɒl/;French: Montréal; pronounced [mɔ̃ʁeal] (
listen)) is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the fifteenth largest in North America. Originally called Ville-Marie, or "City of Mary", the city takes its present name from Mount Royal, the triple-peaked hill located in the heart of the city, or Mont Réal as it was spelled in Middle French (Mont Royal in present French). The city is located on the Island of Montreal, which took its name from the same source as the city, and a few much smaller peripheral islands, the largest of which is Île Bizard.
As of May 10, 2011, Statistics Canada identifies Montreal's Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) (land area 4,259 square kilometres (1,644 sq mi)) as Canada's second most populous with an estimated metropolitan area population of 3,824,221 and a population of 1,886,481 in the urban agglomeration of Montreal, which includes all of the municipalities on the Island of Montreal. The city of Montreal proper had a population of 1,649,519.
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Montserrat
Coordinates: 16°45′N 62°12′W / 16.75°N 62.2°W / 16.75; -62.2
Montserrat ( /mɒntsəˈræt/) is an island that is a British overseas territory located in the Leeward Islands, part of the chain of islands called the Lesser Antilles in the West Indies. This island measures approximately 16 km (9.9 mi) long and 11 km (6.8 mi) wide, giving 40 kilometres (25 mi) of coastline. Montserrat is nicknamed the Emerald Isle of the Caribbean both for its resemblance to coastal Ireland and for the Irish ancestry of some of its inhabitants.
Montserrat's Georgian era historic capital city of Plymouth was destroyed and two-thirds of the island's population was forced to flee because of an eruption of the previously dormant Soufriere Hills volcano that began on July 18, 1995. The eruption continues today on a much reduced scale, the damage being confined to the area around Plymouth, including its docking facilities, and also the area around the former W. H. Bramble Airport on the eastern side of the island, the remnants of which were buried by flows from volcanic activity on February 11, 2010.
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Morelia
Morelia is a city and municipality in the north central part of the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. The city is in the Guayangareo Valley and is the capital of the state. The main pre-Hispanic cultures here were the P'urhépecha and the Matlatzinca, but no major cities were founded in the valley during this time. The Spanish took control of the area in the 1520s. The Spanish under Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza founded a settlement here in 1541 with the name of Valladolid, which became rival to the nearby city of Pátzcuaro for dominance in Michoacán. In 1580, this rivalry ended in Valladolid’s favor and it became the capital of the colonial province. After the Mexican War of Independence, the city was renamed Morelia in honor of José María Morelos y Pavón, who is from here. In 1991, the city was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its well preserved colonial buildings and layout of the historic center.
Human settlements in the Guayangareo Valley in which Morelia is located have been dated back as far as the 7th century. Artifacts found here have shown Teotihuacán culture influence on early cultures in this area. In the 12th century, the Tarascos or the P'urhépecha arrived in the valley. They dominated it politically for the rest of the pre-Hispanic period but did not build any major settlements here. Between the 12th and the 15th century, Matlatzincas moved into the area with permission of the Tarascos, who were based around nearby Pátzcuaro Lake. The main Matlatzinca settlement was where Júarez Plaza in the city is today.
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Morelia, Michoacán
Morelia is a city and municipality in the north central part of the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. The city is in the Guayangareo Valley and is the capital of the state. The main pre-Hispanic cultures here were the P'urhépecha and the Matlatzinca, but no major cities were founded in the valley during this time. The Spanish took control of the area in the 1520s. The Spanish under Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza founded a settlement here in 1541 with the name of Valladolid, which became rival to the nearby city of Pátzcuaro for dominance in Michoacán. In 1580, this rivalry ended in Valladolid’s favor and it became the capital of the colonial province. After the Mexican War of Independence, the city was renamed Morelia in honor of José María Morelos y Pavón, who is from here. In 1991, the city was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its well preserved colonial buildings and layout of the historic center.
Human settlements in the Guayangareo Valley in which Morelia is located have been dated back as far as the 7th century. Artifacts found here have shown Teotihuacán culture influence on early cultures in this area. In the 12th century, the Tarascos or the P'urhépecha arrived in the valley. They dominated it politically for the rest of the pre-Hispanic period but did not build any major settlements here. Between the 12th and the 15th century, Matlatzincas moved into the area with permission of the Tarascos, who were based around nearby Pátzcuaro Lake. The main Matlatzinca settlement was where Júarez Plaza in the city is today.
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Morelos
Morelos (Spanish pronunciation: [moˈɾelos]), officially Free and Sovereign State of Morelos (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Morelos), is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 33 municipalities and its capital city is Cuernavaca.
It is located in South-Central Mexico. It is bordered by the states of México to the north-east and north-west, Puebla to the east and Guerrero to the southwest. Mexico City is situated north of Morelos.
Morelos is the second-smallest state in the nation, just after Tlaxcala. It was part of the very large province then State of Mexico until 1869, when Benito Juárez decreed that its territory would be separated and named in honor of José María Morelos y Pavón, who defended the city of Cuautla from royalist forces during the Mexican War of Independence. Most of the state enjoys a warm climate year-round, which is good for the raising of sugar cane and other crops. Morelos has attracted visitors from the Valley of Mexico since Aztec times. Today, many people from Mexico City spend weekends in the state or own second homes there, especially in the Cuernavaca area.
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Moscow
Moscow ( /ˈmɒskaʊ/ or /ˈmɒskoʊ/; Russian: Москва́, tr. Moskva; IPA: [mɐˈskva] ( listen)) is the capital and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural and scientific center of Russia and the continent. Moscow is the northernmost megacity on Earth, the most populous city in Europe, and the 6th largest city proper in the world. Its population, according to the results of the 2010 Census, is 11,503,501. Based on Forbes 2011, Moscow has the largest community of billionaires in the world.
Moscow is situated on the Moskva River in the Central Federal District of European Russia. In the course of its history the city has served as the capital of a progression of states, from the medieval Grand Duchy of Moscow and the subsequent Tsardom of Russia to the Soviet Union. Moscow is the site of the Moscow Kremlin, an ancient fortress that is today the residence of the Russian President and of the executive branch of the Government of Russia. The Kremlin is also one of several World Heritage Sites in the city. Both chambers of the Russian parliament (the State Duma and the Federation Council) also sit in Moscow.
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Mumbai
Mumbai /mʊmˈbaɪ/, also known as Bombay /bɒmˈbeɪ/, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million. Along with the neighbouring urban areas, including the cities of Navi Mumbai and Thane, it is one of the most populous urban regions in the world. Mumbai lies on the west coast of India and has a deep natural harbour. In 2009, Mumbai was named an Alpha world city. Mumbai is also the richest city in India, and has the highest GDP of any city in South, West or Central Asia.
The seven islands that came to constitute Mumbai were home to communities of fishing colonies. For centuries, the islands were under the control of successive indigenous empires before being ceded to the Portuguese and subsequently to the British East India Company. During the mid-18th century, Mumbai was reshaped by the Hornby Vellard project, which undertook the reclamation of the area between the seven constituent islands from the sea. Completed by 1845, the project along with construction of major roads and railways transformed Bombay into a major seaport on the Arabian Sea. Economic and educational development characterised the city during the 19th century. It became a strong base for the Indian independence movement during the early 20th century. When India became independent in 1947, the city was incorporated into Bombay State. In 1960, following the Samyukta Maharashtra movement, a new state of Maharashtra was created with Bombay as capital. The city was renamed Mumbai in 1996.
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Museo de Charrería
The Museo de Charrería or Charrería Museum is located in the historic center of Mexico City on Izazaga Street, in an old monastery which was dedicated to the Virgin of Montserrat. The monastery closed in 1821 and the building deteriorated significantly until it was decided to rehabilitate it as a tourist attraction. The purpose of the museum is to preserve and promote the sport and tradition of the charreada with both the museum’s permanent display of art and handicrafts as well as outreach programs.
The building is what remains of monastery which was founded in the 16th century, sponsored by Diego Jiménez and Fernando Moreno. It was dedicated to the Virgin of Montserrat, whose image was brought to Mexico City from Cataluña. This image of the Virgin was almost always covered by three veils which were removed only for principal feast days. Underneath the veils, the image was famous for its extensive array of costumes and jeweled ornaments. Originally, it was a Benedictine monastery. Early in the monastery’s history, an epidemic of smallpox converted it into a hospital to attend to thousand of sick natives. The monastery was constantly involved in disputes, and at some point, it became inhabited by the monks of Saint Jerome. These monks were dedicated to the religious education of young people and the copying of manuscripts. Eventually, the disputes forced the monastery to close in 1821 when it had only six monks living in it.
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Museo de la Estampa
The Museo de la Estampa (Museum of Graphic Arts) is a museum in Mexico City, dedicated to the history, preservation and promotion of Mexican graphic arts. The word “estampa” means “engraving” or “printing” refers to works which have the quality of being reproducible and include seals, woodcuts, lithography and others. The museum was created in 1986 and located in a 19th century Neoclassical building located in the Plaza de Santa Veracruz in the historic center of the city. This building was remodeled both to house the museum and to conserve its original look.
The building houses both a permanent and multiple temporary exhibits. The permanent collection includes pre-Hispanic clay seals used for printing designs on fabrics, ceramics and other surfaces, printed material from the colonial period and more recent creations. More recent works are divided into periods such as the “age of the San Carlos Academy” (18th -19th century) and the “resurgence of the graphics arts” which covered the decades from the 1920s to the 1960s. The best-known works here are those of José Guadalupe Posada, the creator of “La Catrina” and numerous satirical comics. It also includes video programs on graphic techniques such as wood cuts, etchings and more.
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Museo Soumaya
Coordinates: 19°26′27″N 99°12′16″W / 19.440806°N 99.204583°W / 19.440806; -99.204583
The Museo Soumaya is a private museum in Mexico City with free admission. It is owned by the Carlos Slim Foundation and contains the extensive art, religious relics, historical documents, and coin collection of Carlos Slim and his late wife Soumaya, after whom the museum was named.
The museum holds works by many of the best known European artists from the 15th to the 20th century. It contains a large collection of casts of sculptures by Auguste Rodin.
The museum was founded in 1994. In 2011 it opened a new location which cost over $70 million to build. The new building, a shiny silver cloud-like structure reminiscent of a Rodin sculpture, was designed by the Mexican architect Fernando Romero, who is married to a daughter of Carlos Slim, and engineered with Ove Arup and Frank Gehry.
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Museum of Modern Art
Coordinates: 40°45′41″N 73°58′40″W / 40.761484°N 73.977664°W / 40.761484; -73.977664
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world. The museum's collection offers an unparalleled overview of modern and contemporary art, including works of architecture and design, drawings, painting, sculpture, photography, prints, illustrated books and artist's books, film, and electronic media.
MoMA's library and archives hold over 300,000 books, artist books, and periodicals, as well as individual files on more than 70,000 artists. The archives contain primary source material related to the history of modern and contemporary art. It also houses a restaurant, The Modern, run by Alsace-born chef Gabriel Kreuther.
The idea for The Museum of Modern Art was developed in 1928 primarily by Abby Aldrich Rockefeller (wife of John D. Rockefeller Jr.) and two of her friends, Lillie P. Bliss and Mary Quinn Sullivan. They became known variously as "the Ladies", "the daring ladies" and "the adamantine ladies". They rented modest quarters for the new museum in the Heckscher Building at 730 Fifth Avenue (corner of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street) in Manhattan, and it opened to the public on November 7, 1929, nine days after the Wall Street Crash. Abby had invited A. Conger Goodyear, the former president of the board of trustees of the Albright Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York, to become president of the new museum. Abby became treasurer. At the time, it was America's premier museum devoted exclusively to modern art, and the first of its kind in Manhattan to exhibit European modernism.
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Mérida, Yucatán
Mérida (pronounced: [ˈmeɾiða]) (T'hó' /d̥ʼχøʼ/ or Ichkanzihóo /isʃkan'siχœ/) (the original name in Modern Maya) is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Yucatán and the Yucatán Peninsula. It is located in the northwest part of the state, about 35 km (22 mi) from the Gulf of Mexico coast. The city is also the municipal seat of the Municipality of Mérida, which includes the city and the areas around it.
According to the 2010 census, the population of Mérida was 970,377, ranking 12th among the most populous Mexican metropolitan areas. The municipality's area is 858.41 km2 (331.43 sq mi). The metropolitan area includes the municipalities of Mérida, Umán and Kanasín and had a population of 1,035,238 in the same 2010 census. It is the largest of the four cities of the world that share the name Mérida, the other three being in Spain, Venezuela and The Philippines. The city like much of the state has heavy French, British and to a lesser extent Dutch influences. Merida has the highest percentage of indigenous persons of any large city in Mexico.
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Nagoya
Nagoya (名古屋市, Nagoya-shi?) is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the third-largest incorporated city and the fourth most populous urban area in Japan. (Tokyo is not a single incorporated city - see Tokyo for more information on the definition and makeup of Tokyo.)
Located on the Pacific coast on central Honshu, it is the capital of Aichi Prefecture and is one of Japan's major ports along with those of Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe, Yokohama, Chiba, and Kitakyushu. It is also the center of Japan's third largest metropolitan region, known as the Chūkyō Metropolitan Area. As of 2000, Chūkyō Metropolitan Area has 8.74 million people, of which 2.27 million live in the city of Nagoya.
The city's name was historically written as 那古野 or 名護屋 (both read as Nagoya). One possible etymology for the city's name is the adjective なごやか (nagoyaka), meaning 'peaceful'. [2]
The name Chūkyō (中京) is also used (chū (middle) + kyō (capital)), since it is the main city of the central Chūbu region. Various things are named after Chūkyō, for example the Chūkyō Industrial Area, Chūkyō Metropolitan Area, Chūkyō Television Broadcasting, Chukyo University and the Chukyo Racecourse.
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Nassau, Bahamas
Nassau ( /ˈnæsɔː/) is the capital, largest city, and commercial centre of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The city has a population of 248,948 (2010 census), 70 percent of the entire population of The Bahamas (353,658). Lynden Pindling International Airport, the major airport for The Bahamas, is located about 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) west of Nassau city centre, and has daily flights to major cities in the United States, the Caribbean, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The city is located on the island of New Providence, which functions much like a business district. Nassau is the site of the House of Assembly and various judicial departments and was considered historically to be a stronghold of pirates.
Nassau's modern growth began in the late eighteenth century, with the influx of thousands of American Loyalists and enslaved Africans to the Bahamas following the American War of Independence. Many of them settled in Nassau (then and still the commerce capital of the Bahamas) and eventually came to outnumber the original inhabitants.
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National Auditorium
National Auditorium (Spanish: Auditorio Nacional) is an entertainment centre located at Paseo de la Reforma #50, Chapultepec in Mexico City right in front of the Polanco hotel zone next to Campo Marte.
The National Auditorium, main site Mexico shows and considered among the top in the world by various specialized media, Pedro Ramírez Vázquez and Gonzalo Ramírez del Sordo, Mexican architects and remodeled ingeralmente by Abraham zabludovsky and Teodoro González de León. There are carried out music concerts, art, Theatre and dance among other genres.
It also has a small venue available for smaller events, which is called Auditorio Lunario. Its total seating capacity is just under 10,000.
The Auditorio Nacional, the main campus of shows in Mexico and among the leaders of the world by various specialised media, the work of Mexican architects Pedro Ramirez Vazquez and Gonzalo Ramirez of the Deaf, And renovated by ingeralmente Abraham Zabludovsky and Teodoro Gonzalez de Leon. The concerts that are held here include music, art, theater and dance, among other genres.
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Nayarit
Nayarit (Spanish pronunciation: [naʝaˈɾit]), officially Free and Sovereign State of Nayarit (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Nayarit), is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 20 municipalities and its capital city is Tepic.
It is located in Western Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Sinaloa to the northwest, Durango to the north, Zacatecas to the northeast and Jalisco to the south. To the west, Nayarit has a significant share of coastline on the Pacific Ocean.
Besides the mainland, the islands Marias, Isabel, Tres Marietas and Farallón La Peña in the Pacific Ocean are part of its territory.
Nayarit covers 27,815 square kilometers (10,739 sq mi), making it one of the smaller states of Mexico. Nayarit is located between latitude lines 23°05' north and 20°36' south and longitude lines 103°43' east and 105°46' west. Its terrain is broken up by the western ends of the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains. Its highest mountains are: San Juan, Sanguangüey, El Ceboruco, Cumbre de Pajaritos and Picachos. Nayarit has two volcanoes, Ceboruco and Sangangüey. In the northeast are broad, tropical plains watered by the Río Grande de Santiago, a continuation of the Lerma River. The main state rivers are the Río Grande de Santiago, San Pedro, Acaponeta, Ameca and Las Cañas. The last two also form natural boundaries with the states of Jalisco and Sinaloa, respectively. Nayarit also has several lagoons such as pito the Santa María del Oro, San Pedro Lagunillas and Agua Brava.
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Nazi Germany
The Third Reich, also Nazi Germany, is the common name for Germany when it was a totalitarian state ruled by Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP). On 30 January 1933 Hitler became chancellor of Germany, quickly eliminating all opposition to rule as sole leader. The state idolized Hitler as its Führer ("leader"), centralizing all power in his hands. Historians have emphasized the hypnotic effect of his rhetoric on large audiences, and of his eyes in small groups. Kessel writes, "Overwhelmingly...Germans speak with mystification of Hitler's 'hypnotic' appeal..." Under the "leader principle", the Führer's word was above all other laws. Top officials reported to Hitler and followed his policies, but they had considerable autonomy. The government was not a coordinated, cooperating body, but rather a collection of factions struggling to amass power and curry favor with the Führer. In the midst of the Great Depression, the Nazi government restored prosperity and ended mass unemployment using heavy military spending and a mixed economy of free-market and central-planning practices. Extensive public works were undertaken, including the construction of the Autobahns. The return to prosperity gave the regime enormous popularity; the suppression of all opposition made Hitler's rule mostly unchallenged.
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Netherlands
The Netherlands (i/ˈnɛðərləndz/; Dutch: Nederland [ˈneːdə(r)lɑnt] or [ˈneɪ̯də(r)lɑnt] ( listen); West Frisian: Nederlân; Papiamento: Hulanda) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with some islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders with Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom. It is a parliamentary democracy organised as a unitary state. The country capital is Amsterdam and the seat of government is The Hague. The Netherlands in its entirety is often referred to as Holland, although North and South Holland are actually only two of its twelve provinces (a case of pars pro toto; see terminology of "the Netherlands").
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Nicaragua
Nicaragua (i/ˌnɪkəˈrɑːɡwə/ nik-ə-RAH-gwə), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (Spanish: República de Nicaragua [reˈpuβlika ðe nikaˈɾaɣwa] ( listen)), is the largest country in the Central American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean lies to the west, and the Caribbean Sea to the east. The country's physical geography divides it into three major zones: Pacific lowlands; wet, cooler central highlands; and the Caribbean lowlands. On the Pacific side of the country are the two largest fresh water lakes in Central America—Lake Managua and Lake Nicaragua. Surrounding these lakes and extending to their northwest along the rift valley of the Gulf of Fonseca are fertile lowland plains, with soil highly enriched by ash from nearby volcanoes of the central highlands. Nicaragua's abundance of biologically significant and unique ecosystems contribute to Mesoamerica's designation as a biodiversity hotspot.
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Nicosia
Nicosia (/ˌnɪkəˈsiːə/ NIK-ə-SEE-ə), known locally as Lefkosia (Greek: Λευκωσία, Turkish: Lefkoşa), is the capital and largest city in Cyprus, as well as its main business center. After the collapse of the Berlin Wall, Nicosia remained the only divided capital in the world, with the southern and the northern portions divided by a Green Line. It is located near the center of the island, on the banks of the Pedieos River.
Nicosia is the capital and seat of government of the Republic of Cyprus. The northern part of the city functions as the capital of the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, a disputed breakaway region whose independence is recognized only by Turkey, and which the rest of the international community considers as occupied territory of the Republic of Cyprus since the Turkish Invasion in 1974.
Despite the division Nicosia has managed to become a sophisticated and cosmopolitan city, rich in history and culture that combines its historic past with the amenities of a modern city.
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Nuevo León
Nuevo León (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈnweβo leˈon]), officially Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Nuevo León), is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 51 municipalities and its capital city is Monterrey.
It is located in Northeastern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Tamaulipas to the north and east, San Luis Potosí to the south, and Coahuila to the west. To the north, Nuevo León has a 15 kilometer (9 mi) stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border adjacent to the U.S. state of Texas.
The state was named after the New Kingdom of León, an administrative territory of the Viceroyalty of New Spain.
Besides its capital, other important cities are Guadalupe, Santa Catarina, San Nicolás de los Garza, and San Pedro Garza García, all of which are part of the Monterrey Metropolitan area.
Nuevo León was originally founded by Alberto del Canto, although frequent raids by Chichimecas, the natives of the north, prevented the establishment of almost any permanent settlements. Subsequent to the failure of del Canto to populate Luis Carvajal y de la Cueva, at the head of Portuguese and Spanish settlers, requested permission from the Spanish King to attempt to repopulate the area which would be called the New Kingdom of León, it eventually became (along with the provinces of Coahuila, Nuevo Santander and Texas) one of the Eastern Internal Provinces in Northern New Spain.
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Nuuk
Nuuk, formerly Godthåb, is the capital of Greenland, the northernmost capital in North America, and the largest city in Greenland. Its present name is the Kalaallisut for "Cape", from its position at the end of the Nuup Kangerlua fjord on the eastern shore of the Labrador Sea. Nuuk is the largest cultural and economic center in Greenland. The major cities closest to the capital are Iqaluit and St. John's in Canada and Reykjavik in Iceland.
Nuuk is the seat of government for the Sermersooq municipality. In January of 2010, it had a population of 15,469, making it one of the smallest capital cities in the world by population.
The site has a long history of habitation. The area around Nuuk was first occupied by the ancient pre-Inuit, Paleo-Eskimo people of the Saqqaq culture as far back as 2200 BC when they lived in the area around the now abandoned settlement of Qoornoq. For a long time it was occupied by the Dorset culture around the former settlement of Kangeq but they disappeared from the Nuuk district before AD 1000. The Nuuk area was later inhabited by Viking explorers in the 10th century, and shortly thereafter by Inuit peoples. Inuit and Norsemen both lived with little interaction in this area from about 1000 until the disappearance of the Norse settlement for uncertain reasons during the 15th century.
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Oaxaca
Oaxaca (English /wəˈhɑːkə/ wə-HAH-kə, Spanish: [waˈxaka] ( listen), from Nahuatl: Huaxyacac [waːsʃakak]), officially Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 (almost three quarters) are governed by the system of Usos y costumbres (customs and traditions) with recognized local forms of self governance. Its capital city is Oaxaca de Juárez.
It is located in Southwestern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Guerrero to the west, Puebla to the northwest, Veracruz to the north, Chiapas to the east. To the south, Oaxaca has a significant coastline on the Pacific Ocean.
The state is best known for its indigenous peoples and cultures. The most numerous and best known are the Zapotecs and the Mixtecs, but there are sixteen that are officially recognized. These cultures have survived better than most others in Mexico due to the state’s rugged and isolating terrain. Most live in the Central Valleys region, which is also an important area for tourism, attracting people for its archeological sites such as Monte Albán, native culture and crafts. Another important tourist area is the coast, which has the major resort of Huatulco. Oaxaca is also one of the most biologically diverse states in Mexico, ranking in the top three, along with Chiapas and Veracruz, for numbers of reptiles, amphibians, mammals and plants.
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Oaxaca, Oaxaca
The city and municipality of Oaxaca de Juárez, or simply Oaxaca, is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of the same name (Oaxaca). It is located in the Centro District in the Central Valleys region of the state, in the foothills of the Sierra Madre at the base of the Cerro del Fortín extending to the banks of the Atoyac River. This city relies heavily on tourism, which is based on its large number of colonial-era structures as well as the native Zapotec and Mixtec cultures and archeological sites. It, along with the archeological site of Monte Alban, were named a World Heritage Site in 1987. It is also the home of the month-long cultural festival called the “Guelaguetza,” which features Oaxacan dance, music and a beauty pageant for indigenous women.
It is nicknamed "la Verde Antequera" (the green Antequera) due to its prior name (Nueva Antequera) and the variety of structures built from a native green stone. The name Oaxaca is derived from the Nahuatl name for the place, Huaxyacac, which was Hispanicized to Guajaca, later spelled Oaxaca. “de Juárez” was added in honor of Benito Juárez, who was a native of this state. The coat of arms for the municipality bears the image of the decapitated Donaji, who was an indigenous princess in the years immediately after the Conquest.
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Oranjestad, Aruba
Oranjestad (Dutch, literally "Orangetown") is the capital and largest city of Aruba, which is in the Caribbean north of Venezuela. Oranjestad is located on the southern coast near the western end of the island country. In the local language, Papiamento, Oranjestad is often referred to simply as "Playa".
The town was built around Fort Zoutman shortly after it was built in 1796 . Initially the town had no official name, being known only as the town on the Bay of Horses (Paardenbaai in Dutch) - a fitting designation for the place from which many native-bred and raised horses left for neighboring Curaçao. The town has ever since been the capital city of the island. The fort is still one of the town's attractions, others being the tax-free harbour and the Willem III Tower, located near the fort.
The city is named after the first King Willem van Oranje-Nassau (William of Orange-Nassau) - the first heir to the Dutch House of Orange. The name was conferred on the city in the 1820s when interest in Aruba increased due to the discovery of (alluvial) gold deposits.
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Osaka
Osaka (大阪, Ōsaka?) listen (help·info) is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe. Located at the mouth of the Yodo River on Osaka Bay, Osaka is the third largest city by population after Tokyo (special wards) and Yokohama.
Keihanshin is the second largest area in Japan by population and one of the largest metropolitan areas highly ranked in the world, with nearly 18 million people, and by GDP the second largest area in Japan and the seventh largest area in the world.
Historically the commercial centre of Japan, Osaka functions as one of the command centers for the Japanese economy. The ratio between daytime and night time population is 141%, the highest in Japan, highlighting its status as an economic center. Its nighttime population is 2.6 million, the third in the country, but in daytime the population surges to 3.7 million, second only after Tokyo (combining the Special wards of Tokyo, which is not a single incorporated city, for statistical purposes. See the Tokyo article for more information on the definition and makeup of Tokyo.) Osaka used to be referred to as the "nation's kitchen" (天下の台所, tenka no daidokoro?) in feudal Edo period because it was the centre of trading for rice, creating the first modern futures exchange market in the world.
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Ottawa
Ottawa (i/ˈɒtəwɑː/ or /ˈɒtəwə/) is the capital of Canada. It is the second largest city in Ontario and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, located on the north bank of the Ottawa River; together they form the National Capital Region (NCR).
Founded in 1826 as Bytown and incorporated as "Ottawa" in 1855, the city has evolved into a political and technological centre of Canada. Its original boundaries were expanded through numerous minor annexations and ultimately replaced by a new city incorporation and major amalgamation in 2001 which significantly increased its land area. The name "Ottawa" is derived from the Algonquin word adawe, meaning "to trade". Initially an Irish and French Christian settlement, Ottawa has become a multicultural city with a diverse population.
The 2011 census had the city's population as 883,391, and the metropolitan population as 1,236,324.Mercer ranks Ottawa with the second highest quality of living of any large city in the Americas, and 14th highest in the world. It is also rated the second cleanest city in Canada, and third cleanest city in the world. In 2012, the city was ranked for the third consecutive year as the best community in Canada to live in by MoneySense.
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Pachuca, Hidalgo
Pachuca, formally known as Pachuca de Soto, is the capital of the Mexican state of Hidalgo. It is located in the south-central part of the state. Pachuca de Soto is also the name of the municipality of which the city serves as municipal seat. Pachuca is located about 90 km from Mexico City via Highway 85.
The name Pachuca has been traced to several possible etymologies and has been much debated. It has been traced to the word “pachoa,” meaning strait or opening, “Pachoacan,” meaning place of government, or place of silver and gold, and “patlachuican,” meaning place of factories or tears. The official name of Pachuca is Pachuca de Soto in honor of congressman Manuel Fernando Soto, who is given credit for the creation of Hidalgo state. Its nickname of “La bella airosa” (Beautiful Airy City) comes from the strong winds that blow into the valley through the canyons to the north of the city. The area had been long inhabited but except for some green obsidian, but the mining that Pachuca is famous for began in the mid-16th century, during Spanish colonial rule. Pachuca remained a major mining center until the mid-20th century, with the city’s fortunes going up and down with the health of the mining sector. In the mid-20th century, a major downturn in mining pushed Pachuca to change its economy to industry, with the revamping of the Universidad Autónoma de Hidalgo. Today, mining is only a fraction of the municipality’s economy.
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Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.
At 165.2 million square kilometres (64.1 million square miles) in area, this largest division of the World Ocean – and, in turn, the hydrosphere – covers about 46% of the Earth's water surface and about one-third of its total surface area, making it larger than all of the Earth's land area combined. The equator subdivides it into the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean, with two exceptions: the Galápagos and Gilbert Islands, while straddling the equator, are deemed wholly within the South Pacific. The Mariana Trench in the western North Pacific is the deepest point in the world, reaching a depth of 10,911 metres (35,797 ft).
The eastern Pacific Ocean was first sighted by Europeans early in the 16th century. Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama in 1513 and named it Mar del Sur (South Sea). The ocean's current name was given by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the Spanish expedition of world circumnavigation in 1521, who encountered favourable winds as he reached the ocean and called it Mar Pacifico in Portuguese, meaning "peaceful sea".
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Pakistan
Pakistan (i/ˈpækɨstæn/ or i/pɑːkiˈstɑːn/; Urdu: پاکستان) (Urdu pronunciation: [paːkɪˈst̪aːn] ( listen)), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Urdu: اسلامی جمہوریۂ پاکستان), is a sovereign country in South Asia. It sits at the crossroads of the strategically important regions of South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. It has a 1,046-kilometre (650 mi) coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by India to the east, Afghanistan to the west and north, Iran to the southwest and China in the far northeast. It is separated from Tajikistan by Afghanistan's narrow Wakhan Corridor in the north, and it shares a marine border with Oman.
The territory of modern Pakistan was the site of several ancient cultures, including the Neolithic Mehrgarh and the Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilisation, and has undergone invasions or settlements by Hindu, Persian, Indo-Greek, Islamic, Turco-Mongol, Afghan and Sikh cultures. Thus the area has been ruled by numerous empires and dynasties, including the Indian Mauryan Empire, the Persian Achaemenid Empire, the Arab Umayyad Caliphate, the Mongol Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Durrani Empire, the Sikh Empire and the British Empire. As a result of the Pakistan Movement led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah and India's struggle for independence, Pakistan was created in 1947 as an independent nation for Muslims from the regions in the east and west of India where there was a Muslim majority. Initially a dominion, Pakistan adopted a new constitution in 1956, becoming an Islamic republic. A civil war in 1971 resulted in the secession of East Pakistan as the new country of Bangladesh.
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Palenque
Palenque (Bàak' in Modern Maya) was a Maya city state in southern Mexico that flourished in the 7th century. The Palenque ruins date back to 226 BC to its fall around 1123 AD. After its decline it was absorbed into the jungle, which is made up of cedar, mahogany, and sapodilla trees, but has been excavated and restored and is now a famous archaeological site attracting thousands of visitors. It is located near the Usumacinta River in the Mexican state of Chiapas, located about 130 km (81 mi) south of Ciudad del Carmen (see map) about 150 m (164 yd) above sea-level. It stays at a humid 26°C (79°F) with roughly 2160 mm (85 in) of rain a year.
Palenque is a medium-sized site, much smaller than such huge sites as Tikal or Copán, but it contains some of the finest architecture, sculpture, roof comb and bas-relief carvings that the Mayas produced. Much of the history of Palenque has been reconstructed from reading the hieroglyphic inscriptions on the many monuments; historians now have a long sequence of the ruling dynasty of Palenque in the 5th century and extensive knowledge of the city-state's rivalry with other states such as Calakmul and Toniná. The most famous ruler of Palenque was Pacal the Great whose tomb has been found and excavated in the Temple of the Inscriptions.
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Panama
Panama (i/ˈpænəmɑː/ PAN-ə-mah; Spanish: Panamá), officially the Republic of Panama (Spanish: República de Panamá [reˈpuβlika ðe panaˈma]), is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The capital is Panama City. Explored and settled by the Spanish in the 16th century, Panama broke with Spain in 1821 and joined a union of Nueva Granada, Ecuador, and Venezuela, named the Republic of Gran Colombia.When Gran Colombia the dissolved in 1831, Panama and Nueva Granada remained joined. Nueva Granada later became the Republic of Colombia.
With the backing of the United States, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903, allowing the Panama Canal to be built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1904 and 1914. In 1977, an agreement was signed for the complete transfer of the Canal from the United States to Panama by the end of the century.
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Panama City
Panama City (Spanish: Ciudad de Panamá) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Panama. It has a population of 880,691, with a total metro population of 1,272,672, and it is located at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, in the province of Panama. The city is the political and administrative center of the country, and a hub for international banking and commerce. It is considered a Beta World City.
With an average GDP per capita of $11,700, Panama has been among the top five places for retirement in the world, according to International Living magazine.[citation needed] Panama City has a dense skyline of mostly highrise buildings, and it is surrounded by a large belt of tropical rainforest. Panama's Tocumen International Airport, the largest and busiest airport in Central America, offers daily flights to major international destinations.
Panama City was chosen to be the American Capital of Culture for 2003 (jointly, with Curitiba, Brazil).[citation needed]
Panama was founded on August 15, 1519 by Spanish conquistador Pedro Arias Dávila. The city was the starting point of expeditions that conquered the Inca Empire in Peru. It was a stopover point of one of the most important trade routes in the history of the American continent leading to the fairs of Nombre de Dios and Portobelo, where most of the gold and silver that Spain took from the Americas passed through. The city was destroyed by a devastating fire, when the pirate Henry Morgan sacked it on January 28, 1671. It was rebuilt and formally established on January 21, 1673 in a peninsula located 8 km from the original settlement. The place where the previously devastated city was located is still in ruins, and has become a tourist attraction known as "Panama Viejo".
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Perisur
Perisur (also Centro Comercial Perisur) is a shopping mall located in the Coyoacán borough in southern Mexico City at the intersection of Insurgentes Avenue South and the Anillo Periférico, next to the UNAM main campus in Ciudad Universitaria and to the upscale Jardines del Pedregal neighbourhood. It takes its name from being on the south side of Periférico (Perisur being short for Periférico Sur).
The shopping centre became the first and largest shopping mall in total area in Mexico when it opened in 1980.
Coordinates: 19°18′15″N 99°11′24″W / 19.30422°N 99.18991°W / 19.30422; -99.18991
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Philippines
The Philippinesi/ˈfɪlɨpiːnz/ FI-lə-peenz (Filipino: Pilipinas [ˌpɪlɪˈpinɐs]), officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (Filipino: Republika ng Pilipinas) is a sovereign country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam. The Sulu Sea to the southwest lies between the country and the island of Borneo, and to the south the Celebes Sea separates it from other islands of Indonesia. It is bounded on the east by the Philippine Sea. Its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire and its tropical climate make the Philippines prone to earthquakes and typhoons but have also endowed the country with natural resources and made it one of the richest areas of biodiversity in the world. An archipelago comprising 7,107 islands, the Philippines is categorized broadly into three main geographical divisions: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Its capital city is Manila.
With an estimated population of about 98 million people, the Philippines is the 7th most populated Asian country and the 12th most populated country in the world. An additional 12.5 million Filipinos live overseas. Multiple ethnicities and cultures are found throughout the islands. In prehistoric times, Negritos were some of the archipelago's earliest inhabitants. They were followed by successive waves of Austronesian peoples who brought with them influences from Malay, Hindu, and Islamic societies. Trade introduced Chinese cultural influences which remain to this day.
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Plaza Garibaldi
Plaza Garibaldi is located in the historic center of Mexico City, on Eje Central (Lázaro Cárdenas) between historic Calle República de Honduras and Calle República de Peru, a few blocks north of the Palacio de Bellas Artes. The original name of this plaza was Plaza Santa Cecilia, but in 1910 it was renamed in honor of Lt. Col. José Garibaldi, who joined with the Maderistas in the attack on Casa Grandes, Chihuahua, during the Mexican Revolution. The Garibaldi Metro station is named after this plaza.
The Plaza is best known as the Mexico City home of mariachi music. At all hours of the day and night, mariachi bands can be found here playing or soliciting gigs from visitors to the Plaza. The Salón Tenampa, which started it all here in the 1920s, is still in business on the north side of the plaza. The plaza and the neighborhoods around it are undergoing extensive rehabilitation to halt the decades-long degeneration of the area. Plans include a remodeled plaza, extensive rehabilitation of the surrounding buildings and streets as well as making the area a zone where it is safe to be 24 hours a day for visitors.
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Plymouth, Montserrat
Coordinates: 16°42′23″N 62°12′57″W / 16.706417°N 62.215839°W / 16.706417; -62.215839
Plymouth is the de jure capital of the island of Montserrat, an overseas territory of the United Kingdom located in the Leeward Island chain of the Lesser Antilles, West Indies. The town was overwhelmed by volcanic eruptions starting in the 1990s and was abandoned. For centuries it had been the only port of entry to the island.
Beginning in July 1995, a series of huge eruptions at the Soufrière Hills volcano sent pyroclastic flows and ash falls across a wide area of southern Montserrat, including Plymouth. It was immediately clear that the city was in danger; on 21 August 1995, tephra fell on Plymouth, and in December residents were evacuated as a precaution. Residents were allowed back a few months later, but on 25 June 1997, a massive eruption produced pyroclastic surges that killed 19 people and reached nearly to the island's airport on the eastern side of the island. Plymouth was again evacuated.
Between 4–8 August a further series of eruptions destroyed approximately 80% of the city, burying it under 1.4 metres (4.6 ft) of ash. This hot material burned many of the buildings, making inhabitation nearly impossible for a sizable portion of the residents.
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Polanco (Mexico)
Polanco is the name that usually refers to an affluent group of seven official neighborhoods ("colonias") in Mexico City, located north of Chapultepec Park. The official names of the neighborhoods are: Los Morales (which is divided in three sections), Del Bosque, Polanco Reforma, Polanco Chapultepec, Chapultepec Morales, Bosque de Chapultepec and Residencial del Bosque. Its borders are: to the north Avenida Ejército Nacional, to the east Calzada General Mariano Escobedo, to the south Paseo de la Reforma and to the west Boulevard Manuel Avila Camacho (Periferico).
Its street names incorporate an eclectic mix of universal philosophers, writers, scientists and even a Czech president.
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Port of Spain
Port of Spain, also written as Port-of-Spain, is the capital of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the country's third-largest municipality, after San Fernando and Chaguanas. The city has a municipal population of 49,031 (2000 census), a metropolitan population of 128,026 (1990 unofficial estimate) and a transient daily population of 250,000. It is located on the Gulf of Paria, on the northwest coast of the island of Trinidad and is part of a larger conurbation stretching from Chaguaramas in the west to Arima in the east with an estimated population of 600,000.
Port of Spain is Trinidad and Tobago's most developed city. The city serves primarily as a retail and administrative centre and it has been the capital of the island since 1757. It is also an important financial services centre for the Caribbean and is home to two of the largest banks in the region.
The city is also home to the largest container port on the island and is one of several shipping hubs of the Caribbean, exporting both agricultural products and manufactured goods. Bauxite from the Guyanas and iron ore from Venezuela are trans-shipped via facilities at Chaguaramas, about five miles (8 km) west of the city. The pre-lenten Carnival is the city's main annual cultural festival and tourist attraction.
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Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince ( /ˌpɔrtoʊˈprɪns/; French pronunciation: [pɔʁopʁɛ̃s]; Haitian Creole: Pòtoprens; Haitian Creole pronunciation: [pɔtopɣɛ̃s]) is the capital and largest city of the Caribbean country of Haiti. The city's population was 704,776 as of the 2003 census, and was officially estimated to have reached 897,859 in 2009.
The city of Port-au-Prince is on the Gulf of Gonâve: the bay on which the city lies, which acts as a natural harbor, has sustained economic activity since the civilizations of the Arawaks. It was first incorporated under the colonial rule of the French, in 1749, and has been Haiti's largest metropolis since then. The city's layout is similar to that of an amphitheatre; commercial districts are near the water, while residential neighborhoods are located on the hills above. Its population is difficult to ascertain due to the rapid growth of slums in the hillsides above the city; however, recent estimates place the metropolitan area's population at around 3.7 million, nearly half of the country's national population.
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Portugal
Portugali/ˈpɔrtʃʉɡəl/ (Portuguese: Portugal, IPA: [puɾtuˈɣaɫ]), officially the Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: República Portuguesa) is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula . Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira are part of Portugal. The country is named after its second largest city, Porto, whose Latin name was Portus Cale.
The land within the borders of the current Portuguese Republic has been continuously settled since prehistoric times: occupied by Celts like the Gallaeci and the Lusitanians, integrated into the Roman Republic and later settled by Germanic peoples such as the Suebi, Swabians, Vandals and the Visigoths. In the 8th century most of the Iberian Peninsula was conquered by Moorish invaders professing Islam, which were later expelled by the Knights Templar under the Order of Christ. During the Christian Reconquista, Portugal established itself as an independent kingdom from León in 1139, claiming to be the oldest European nation state.
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Puebla
Puebla (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈpweβla]), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 217 municipalities and its capital city is Puebla.
It is located in East-Central Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Veracruz to the north and east, Hidalgo, México, Tlaxcala and Morelos to the west, Guerrero and Oaxaca to the south.
The origins of the state lie in the city of Puebla, which was founded by the Spanish in this valley in 1531 to secure the trade route between Mexico City and the port of Veracruz.
By the end of the 18th century, the area had become a colonial province with its own governor, which would become the State of Puebla, after the Mexican War of Independence in the early 19th century. Since that time, the area, especially around the capital city, has continued to grow economically, mostly through industry, despite being the scene of a number of battles, the most notable of which being the Battle of Puebla. Today, the state is one of the most industrialized in the country, but since most of its development is concentrated in Puebla and other cities, many of its rural areas are very poor, forcing many to migrate away to places such as Mexico City and the United States.
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Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (/ˌpɔrtə ˈriːkoʊ/ or /ˌpwɛərtə ˈriːkoʊ/), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (Spanish: Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, [esˈtaðo ˈlibɾe asoˈsjaðo ðe ˈpweɾto ˈriko]—literally, "Associated Free State of Puerto Rico"), is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.
Puerto Rico (Spanish for "rich port") comprises an archipelago that includes the main island of Puerto Rico and a number of smaller islands, the largest of which are Vieques, Culebra, and Mona. The main island of Puerto Rico is the smallest by land area of the Greater Antilles. However, it ranks third in population amongst that group of four islands, which also include Cuba, Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti), and Jamaica. Due to its location, Puerto Rico enjoys a tropical climate and also experiences the Atlantic hurricane season.
Originally populated for centuries by indigenous aboriginal peoples known as Taínos, the island was claimed by Christopher Columbus for Spain during his second voyage to the Americas on November 19, 1493. Under Spanish rule, the island was colonized and the indigenous population was forced into slavery and nearly wiped out due to, among other things, European infectious diseases. The remaining population was emancipated by King Charles I in 1520. Spain possessed Puerto Rico for over 400 years, despite attempts at capture of the island by the French, Dutch, and British. The Spanish Crown, in an attempt to keep Puerto Rico from gaining its independence, revived the Royal Decree of Graces of 1815. The decree was printed in three languages — Spanish, English and French — and it fostered the immigration of hundreds of non-Spanish European families.
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Querétaro
Querétaro (Spanish pronunciation: [keˈɾetaɾo]), officially Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Querétaro), is one of 31 states that, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities. Its capital city is Santiago de Querétaro.
It is located in North-Central Mexico, in a region known as Bajío. It is bordered by the states of San Luis Potosí to the north, Guanajuato to the west, Hidalgo to the east, México to the southeast and Michoacán to the southwest.
The state is one of the smallest in Mexico, but it is also one of the most heterogeneous geographically, with ecosystems varying from deserts to tropical rainforest, especially in the Sierra Gorda, which is filled with microecosystems. The area of the state was located on the northern edge of Mesoamerica, with both the P’urhépecha and Aztec empires having influence in the extreme south, but neither really dominated it. The area, especially the Sierra Gorda, had a number of small city-states, but by the time the Spanish arrived, these had all been abandoned, with only small agricultural villages and seminomadic peoples inhabiting the area. Spanish conquest was focused on the establishment of the Santiago de Querétaro, which still dominates the state culturally, economically and educationally.
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Querétaro, Querétaro
Santiago de Querétaro (Spanish pronunciation: [sanˈtjaɣo ðe keˈɾetaɾo]) is the capital and largest city of the state of Querétaro, located in central Mexico. It is located 213 km northwest of Mexico City, 96 km southeast of San Miguel de Allende and 200 km south of San Luis Potosí. The founding date of the city is given as 25 July 1531, when during a battle between the Spanish and the natives of the area, an eclipse occurred during which Saint James on a white horse carrying a pink cross supposedly appeared, causing the natives of the areas to surrender. In reality, Spanish dominion here was gradual.
In 1996, the historic center of Querétaro was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Today, the city is one of the fastest-growing in the country, with its economic base in industries such as chemicals, paper products and machinery. This has caused the city and the metropolitan area to attract many migrants from other parts of Mexico.
The city of Querétaro has had an outstanding industrial and economic development in the last 15 years. The metropolitan area of Querétaro has one of the highest GDP per capitas in Mexico at US$20,000 as of 2009.
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Quintana Roo
Quintana Roo (Spanish pronunciation: [kinˈtana ˈro]), officially Free and Sovereign State of Quintana Roo (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Quintana Roo), is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 10 municipalities and its capital city is Chetumal.
It is located in Southeastern Mexico, on the eastern part of the Yucatán Peninsula. It is bordered by the states of Yucatán to the northwest and Campeche to the west. To the north, Quintana Roo borders the Gulf of Mexico and to the south, Belize. It also claims territory which gives it a small border with Guatemala in the southwest of the state, although this disputed area is also claimed by Campeche.
Quintana Roo is home of the world famous city of Cancún, the islands of Cozumel and Isla Mujeres, the towns of Bacalar, Playa del Carmen and Akumal, as well as the ancient Maya ruins of Chacchoben, Coba, Kohunlich, Muyil, Tulum, Xel-Há, and Xcaret. The Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve is also in the state.
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Ranchi
Ranchi /ˈrɑːntʃi/ ( Hindi (help·info)) is the capital of the Indian state of Jharkhand. Jharkhand accounts for 40% of the mineral resources of India. Earlier most of the part in Jharkhand was covered by forest but now due to urbanization trees are cut and forest cover is depleting fast. Since 2011 census Ranchi now is one of the 53 million-plus cities of India and stands as the 46th largest city out of top 53.[citation needed]. Ranchi was the centre of the Jharkhand movement for a separate state for the tribal regions of South Bihar, northern Orissa, Western West Bengal and the present eastern Chhattisgarh. Jharkhand State was formed on 15 November 2000 by carving the Bihar divisions of Chota Nagpur and Santhal Parganas.
The name Ranchi comes from the original Oraon village Archi at the site. Archi derives from the Oraon word for bamboo grove or stave. According to legend, after an altercation with a spirit, a farmer beat the spirit with his bamboo stave or archi. The spirit shouted archi, archi, archi and vanished; Archi became Rachi, and Rachi became Ranchi.. One historically significant neighborhood is Doranda ('duran' 'दुरङ' means song and 'daah' 'दअः' means water in the Mundari language), between the Hinoo (Bhusur) & Harmoo Rivers, where the civil station, treasury and church established by the British Raj were destroyed by rebel forces during the Sepoy Mutiny. The present Purani (old) Ranchi marks the site of the old village of Archi.
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Red Square
Red Square (Russian: Красная площадь, tr. Krásnaja Plóščaď; IPA: [ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːətʲ]) is a city square in Moscow, Russia. The square separates the Kremlin, the former royal citadel and currently the official residence of the President of Russia, from a historic merchant quarter known as Kitai-gorod. As major streets of Moscow radiate from here in all directions, being promoted to major highways outside the city, Red Square is often considered the central square of Moscow and all of Russia.
The rich history of Red Square is reflected in many artworks, including paintings by Vasily Surikov, Konstantin Yuon and others. The square was meant to serve as Moscow's main marketplace. It was also used for various public ceremonies and proclamations, and occasionally as the site of coronation for Russia's Tsars. The square has been gradually built up since that point and has been used for official ceremonies by all Russian governments since it was established.
The name Red Square derives neither from the colour of the bricks around it (which, in fact, were whitewashed at certain points in history) nor from the link between the colour red and communism. Rather, the name came about because the Russian word красная (krasnaya) can mean either "red" or "beautiful" (the latter being rather archaic; cf. прекрасная, prekrasnaya). This word, with the meaning "beautiful", was originally applied to Saint Basil's Cathedral and was subsequently transferred to the nearby square. It is believed that the square acquired its current name (replacing the older Pozhar, or "burnt-out place") in the 17th century. Several ancient Russian towns, such as Suzdal, Yelets, and Pereslavl-Zalessky, have their main square named Krasnaya ploshchad.
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Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( /ˈriːoʊ deɪ ʒəˈnɛəroʊ/ or /ˈriːoʊ deɪ dʒəˈnɛəroʊ/; Brazilian Portuguese: [ˈʁi.u dʒi ʒaˈnejɾu],River of January), commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th largest in the Americas, and 26th in the world.
The city was the capital of Brazil for nearly two centuries, from 1763 to 1815 during the Portuguese colonial era, 1815 to 1821 as the capital of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and Algarves, and 1822 to 1960 as an independent nation. Rio is nicknamed the Cidade Maravilhosa or "Marvelous City."
Rio de Janeiro represents the second largest GDP in the country (and 30th largest in the world in 2008), estimated at about R$ 343 billion (IBGE/2008) (nearly US$ 201 billion), and is the headquarters of two major Brazilian companies – Petrobras and Vale, and major oil companies and telephony in Brazil, besides the largest conglomerate of media and communications companies in Latin America, the Globo Organizations. The home of many universities and institutes, it is the second largest center of research and development in Brazil, accounting for 17% of national scientific production – according to 2005 data.
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Road Town
Road Town, located on Tortola, is the capital of the British Virgin Islands. It is situated on the horseshoe-shaped Road Harbour in the centre of the island's south coast. The population was about 9,400 in 2004.
The name is derived from the nautical term "the roads", a place less sheltered than a harbor but which ships can easily get to. A 28 hectare (70 acre) development called Wickham's Cay, consisting of two areas that were reclaimed from the sea and a marina have enabled Road Town to emerge as a haven for yacht chartering and a centre of tourism. This area is the newest part of the city and the hub for the new commercial and administrative buildings of the BVI. The oldest building in Road Town, the HM Prison on Main Street, dates from the 1840s.
Road Town is one of the principal centres for bareboating (self-hire yacht chartering) in the Caribbean. Many successful yacht-charter businesses operate from Road Town, especially BVI Yacht Charters, Bareboat BVI and The Moorings . Cruise ships can be often seen docked here as well.
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Rome
Rome (/ˈroʊm/; Italian: Roma pronounced [ˈroːma] ( listen); Latin: Rōma) is a city and special comune ("Roma Capitale") in Italy. Rome is the capital of Italy and the capital of Lazio (Latin: Latium). With 2.8 million residents in 1,285.3 km2 (496.3 sq mi), it is also the country's largest and most populated comune and fourth-most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. Between 3.2 and 3.7 million people live in the Rome metropolitan area. The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.
Rome's history spans two and a half thousand years. It was the capital city of the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, which was the dominant power in Western Europe and the lands bordering the Mediterranean for over seven hundred years from the 1st century BC until the 7th century AD and the city is regarded as one of the birthplaces of western civilization. Since the 1st century AD Rome has been the seat of the Papacy and, after the end of Byzantine domination, in the 8th century it became the capital of the Papal States, which lasted until 1870. In 1871 Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, and in 1946 that of the Italian Republic.
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Roseau
Roseau (Kwéyòl: Wozo) is the capital and largest city of Dominica. With a population of 14,847 (2001 census), it is a small and compact urban settlement, located within the Saint George parish and surrounded by the Caribbean Sea, the Roseau River and Morne Bruce. Built on the site of the ancient Kalinago Indian village of Sairi, it is the oldest and most important urban settlement on the island.
It is located on the west (leeward) coast of Dominica, and is a combination of modern and colonial (French Style) architecture.
Roseau is Dominica's most important port for foreign trade. Some exports include bananas, bay oil, vegetables, grapefruit, oranges and cocoa. The service sector is also a large part of the local economy.
There is a prominent diocese called Roman Catholic Diocese of Roseau.
The city of Roseau sits on an alluvial fan formed hundreds of years ago as the river after which it was named meandered across the area from what is now known as Newtown to its current location. Over the last two thousand years Amerindians migrating through the islands settled the area attracted by the nearby river. With the arrival of the Europeans on the island in the 16th and 17th centuries, a small settlement was established by the French who in their tradition of naming places after what they found there named the settlement with their name for the river reeds which grew along the river banks. A plan was created for the settlement which mirrored examples in France where streets extended from a central point at what is today the Old Market and extended out to the rest of the settlement.
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Ruhr
The Ruhr (German Ruhrgebiet, colloquial Ruhrpott, Kohlenpott, Pott or Revier), is an urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 7100/km² and a population of some 7.3 million, it is the largest urban agglomeration in Germany. It consists of several large, formerly industrial cities bordered by the rivers Ruhr to the south, Rhine to the west, and Lippe to the north. In the Southwest it borders to the Bergisches Land. It is considered part of the larger Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region of more than 12 million people.
Since the Ruhr is polycentric, coordinates shown are general in nature and so can be used to focus on the entire region of the Ruhr: 51°30′N 7°30′E / 51.5°N 7.5°E / 51.5; 7.5.
From west to east, the region includes the cities of Duisburg, Oberhausen, Bottrop, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Bochum, Herne, Hagen, Dortmund, and Hamm, as well as parts of the more "rural" districts Wesel, Recklinghausen, Unna and Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis. Historically, the western Ruhr towns, such as Duisburg and Essen, belonged to the historic region of the Rhineland, whereas the eastern part of the Ruhr, including Gelsenkirchen, Bochum, Dortmund and Hamm, were part of the region of Westphalia. Since the 19th century, these districts have grown together into a large complex with a vast industrial landscape, inhabited by some 7.3 million people (when including Düsseldorf and Wuppertal). It is the fifth largest urban area in Europe after Istanbul, Moscow, London and Paris.
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Russia
Russiai/ˈrʌʃə/ or /ˈrʊʃə/ (Russian: Россия, tr. Rossiya; IPA: [rɐˈsʲijə] ( listen)), also officially known as the Russian Federation (Russian: Российская Федерация, tr. Rossiyskaya Federatsiya; IPA: [rɐˈsʲijskəjə fʲɪdʲɪˈratsɨjə] ( listen)), is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects. From northwest to southeast, Russia shares borders with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland (both via Kaliningrad Oblast), Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, and North Korea. It also has maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, and the US state of Alaska by the Bering Strait. At 17,075,400 square kilometres (6,592,800 sq mi), Russia is the largest country in the world, covering more than one eighth of the Earth's inhabited land area. Russia is also the eighth most populous nation with 143 million people. It extends across the whole of northern Asia and 40% of Europe, spanning nine time zones and incorporating a wide range of environments and landforms. Russia has the world's largest reserves of mineral and energy resources and is the largest producer of oil and natural gas globally. Russia has the world's largest forest reserves and its lakes contain approximately one-quarter of the world's fresh water.
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Saba
Saba ( /ˈseɪbə/) is a Caribbean island and the smallest special municipality (officially public body) of the Netherlands. It consists largely of the potentially active volcano Mount Scenery (877 m), the highest point within both the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Netherlands proper.
Saba, including the islet of Green Island, became a special municipality within the country of the Netherlands after the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles on 10 October 2010.
The island has a land area of 13 km² (5 sq. miles). At the 2001 Netherlands Antilles census, the population was 1,824 inhabitants, which means a population density of 140 inhabitants per km². Its current major towns and settlements include The Bottom (the capital), Windwardside, Hell's Gate and St. Johns.
As the island is part of the Netherlands, Dutch is the official language. Despite the island's Dutch affiliation, English is the principal language spoken on the island and has been used in its school system since the 19th century. English can therefore be used in communications of and to the government although there is a local dialect. Since January 1, 2011, the U.S. dollar has been the official currency, replacing the Netherlands Antillian Guilder.
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Saint Lucia
Saint Luciai/seɪnt ˈluːʃə/ (French: Sainte-Lucie) is a sovereign island country in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. It covers a land area of 617 km2 (238.23 sq mi) and has a population of 174,000 (2010). Its capital is Castries. Two Nobel laureates, Arthur Lewis, an economist, and Derek Walcott, a poet and playwright, have come from the island. It is the nation with the second most such honorees per capita after the Faroe Islands.
One of the Windward Islands, it was named after Saint Lucy of Syracuse by the French, the first European colonizers. They signed a treaty with the native Carib people in 1660. England took control of the island from 1663 to 1667; in ensuing years, it was at war with France 14 times and rule of the island changed frequently (it was seven times each ruled by the French and British). In 1814, the British took definitive control of the island. Because it switched so often between British and French control, Saint Lucia was also known as the "Helen of the West Indies".
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Saltillo, Coahuila
Saltillo (Spanish pronunciation: [salˈtiʎo]) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila and the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. The city is located about 400 km south of the U.S. state of Texas, and 90 km west of Monterrey, Nuevo León. D
As of the 2005 census, Saltillo had a population of 725,095 people. 823,098 people reside within the metropolitan area, making it the 19th biggest metro area in the country. The metro area comprises the municipalities of Saltillo, Ramos Arizpe, and Arteaga.
The per capita gross domestic product the Metropolitan Zone of Saltillo is $13,936 USD. According to a 2006 ranking of 53 Mexican cities by Inversionista magazine, Saltillo is the second best Mexican city to live in.[unreliable source?]
El Cerro del Pueblo (The People's Hill) and its 4-metre (13 ft) cross overlook the city. The city's elevation, at 1,600 metres (5,200 ft), makes it cooler and windier than the neighboring city of Monterrey. Saltillo lies near the city of Arteaga and in the Chihuahuan desert. The city is flanked by the Zapalinamé mountains, which are part of the Sierra Madre Oriental. By looking at the relief of the mountains, one can see, according to local legend, the relief of Zapalinamé, chieftain of the Huachichil tribe.
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San José, Costa Rica
San José ("Saint Joseph", Spanish: San José, pronounced: [saŋ xoˈse]) is the capital of Costa Rica, head of the province of San José, and the nation's largest city. Located in the Central Valley, San José is the seat of national government, the focal point of political and economic activity, and the major transportation hub of this Central American nation. The population of San José Canton is 365,799, though the metropolitan area stretches beyond the canton limits and comprises a third of the country's population.
Culturally, the city can be considered almost entirely European influenced, in part because of Spanish immigration soon after Costa Rica's discovery by Christopher Columbus, and the privileged classes which generally studied in Europe during the nineteenth century and early twentieth century. This can be seen in the architecture of the city, namely theaters, museums and houses in the city center. It is named in honor of Joseph of Nazareth.
San José is a city with an interesting mix of history and modernity. Even though the city's center is almost uninhabited, it is the most important working area of the country, which brings in more than a million people daily. Despite its problems, according to studies in Latin America, San José is still one of the safest, purist, and less violent cities in the region. In 2006 the city was appointed Ibero-American Capital of Culture.
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San Luis Potosí
San Luis Potosí (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈsan ˈlwis potoˈsi]), officially Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis Potosí), is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and its capital city is San Luis Potosí.
It is located in North-Central Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Coahuila to the north, Nuevo León to the northeast, Tamaulipas and Veracruz to the east, Hidalgo, Querétaro, and Guanajuato to the south, Zacatecas to the northwest, and Jalisco to the west.
In addition to the capital city, the state's largest cities include Ciudad Valles, Matehuala, and Rioverde.
The state and its capital are both named after Louis IX of France (also known in Mexico as San Luis Rey de Francia, Saint Louis, King of France), its patron saint. The Potosí was added in reference to the fabulously rich mines of Potosí, Bolivia, believed to have enough gold to build a bridge between Bolivia and Spain. Thereafter, upon the development of Cerro de San Pedro near the capital city, they found such gold wealth that they compared it to that of Potosi and thus they named it as such. The wealth of these mines is thought to be comparable to that of the local mines at Cerro de San Pedro.
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San Salvador
The city of San Salvador (English: "Holy Saviour") is the capital city of the Republic of El Salvador. San Salvador is a part of the San Salvador Department, one of fourteen in the nation. San Salvador is the country's largest city as well as its most important political, cultural, educational and financial center. As a "gamma" global city, San Salvador is one of the most important financial centers in Central America. It is located in the Salvadoran highlands, surrounded by volcanoes and prone to earthquakes, which is why the Pipil and the Spaniards called the area in which the city is located "el valle de las hamacas" (the valley of the hammocks, "salcoatitan" in Pipil language). The 2009 estimated population for the city proper was around 540,000 people (2.3million metropolitan), making it the third largest Central American city and the second largest metropolitan area. San Salvador is nicknamed "San Sivar" by Salvadorans.
Before the Spanish conquest, the Pipil peoples established their capital, Cuzcatlán, near the current location of San Salvador. Not much is known about Cuzcatlán, as it was abandoned by its inhabitants in an effort to avoid Spanish rule.
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San Salvador Atenco
San Salvador Atenco is the municipal seat of Atenco, in the Mexican state of Mexico.The name "Atenco" comes from a Nahuatl phrase meaning "place on the edge of water".
Fifteen excavations have been done in this area, uncovering mammoth bones, stone tools and other artifacts showing human habitation from at least 7000 B.C. According to some traditions in the historico-mythical accounts of the 16th century Nahuas, early Nahuatl-speaking groups ("pre-Aztecs", called also Chichimeca) invaded the area from the north around 968 BC. There was supposedly an intermarriage with the last Toltec king Topiltzin. From this lineage came the king Nezahualcóyotl, one of the three founders of the Aztec Triple Alliance. Atenco became subject to Texcoco in 1428.
After the fall of Tenochtitlán to the Spaniards under Hernan Cortes, the Aztecs of this area continued to fight against the Spanish conquest, supporting the lord of Texcoco. However, this area fell to the Spaniards in 1521. After this the Spaniards imposed a tribute system and Spanish law onto the land and built the Chapel of Cristo de Esquipulas in 1571.
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San Ángel
San Ángel is a colonia or neighborhood of Mexico City, located in the southwest in Álvaro Óbregon borough. Historically, it was a rural community, called Tenanitla in the pre-Hispanic period. Its current name is derived from the El Carmen monastery school called San Ángel Mártir. San Ángel remained a rural community, centered on the monastery until the 19th and 20th centuries, when the monastery was closed and when the area joined urban sprawl of Mexico City. However, the area still contains many of its former historic buildings and El Carmen is one of the most visited museums in the city. It is also home to an annual flower fair called the Feria de las Flores.
San Ángel is located in the southwest of the Federal District of Mexico along the southern end of Avenida Insurgentes, bordering the Ciudad Universitaria of UNAM . For most of its history, the area was politically and physically separate from the urban sprawl of Mexico City, becoming part of it around the mid-20th century.
The community is surrounded by a volcanic rock bed called the Pedregal, which was formed by the eruption of nearby Xitle Volcano about two thousand years ago. Parts of this volcanic rock bed have been made into protected areas such as the Pedregal de San Ángel. This area is estimated to have a total of 350 native veined plant species, 100 species of birds, forty species of mammals and twenty of reptiles. The representative plant of the area is called the palo loco (crazy stick) because it blooms in the dry season rather than the rainy season.
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Santiago
Santiago (Spanish: Santiago de Chile (help·info)), also Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation (Greater Santiago). It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of 520 m (1,706.04 ft) above mean sea level. Although Santiago is the capital, the National Congress of Chile meets in the coastal town of Valparaíso, 120 km to the west.
Chile's steady economic growth has transformed Santiago into Latin America's most modern metropolitan area, with extensive suburban development, dozens of shopping centers, and impressive high-rise architecture. It has a very modern transport infrastructure, including the steadily growing underground Santiago Metro, an effort at modernizing public bus transport and a free flow toll-based ring road and inner city highway system, part of which is tunneled underneath a large section of the city's main river Mapocho connecting the Eastern and Western end of the city in a 25-minute drive. Santiago is the regional headquarters to many multinationals and a financial center.
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Santiago de Cali
Santiago de Cali (Spanish pronunciation: [sanˈtjaɣo ðe ˈkali]), simply referred to as Cali, is a city in western Colombia and the capital of the Valle del Cauca Department. With a population of 2.5 million, Cali is the third largest city in the country, after Bogotá and Medellín. It has one of the fastest growing economies and infrastructure in the country because of its geographical location. The city was founded on 25 July 1536 by the Spanish conquistador Sebastián de Belalcázar.
Cali is the shortened form of the official name of the city Santiago de Cali. The first part of the full name honours Saint James the apostle (Santiago in Spanish) whose feast day is celebrated on 25 July. The origin of the word "Cali" comes from the local native Indian tribe the "Calima" or "Calimas" descendants of the Chibcha tribe. Others believe that the word "Cali" has Quechua origin, and it was brought by the Yanaconas Indians that came from Quito serving Sebastián de Belalcázar. This theory is related to the fact that near Quito there is an indigenous town named Calacali.
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Santiago, Chile
Santiago (Spanish: Santiago de Chile (help·info)), also Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation (Greater Santiago). It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of 520 m (1,706.04 ft) above mean sea level. Although Santiago is the capital, the National Congress of Chile meets in the coastal town of Valparaíso, 120 km to the west.
Chile's steady economic growth has transformed Santiago into Latin America's most modern metropolitan area, with extensive suburban development, dozens of shopping centers, and impressive high-rise architecture. It has a very modern transport infrastructure, including the steadily growing underground Santiago Metro, an effort at modernizing public bus transport and a free flow toll-based ring road and inner city highway system, part of which is tunneled underneath a large section of the city's main river Mapocho connecting the Eastern and Western end of the city in a 25-minute drive. Santiago is the regional headquarters to many multinationals and a financial center.
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Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo, known officially as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Its metropolitan population was 2,084,852 in 2003, and estimated at 3,712,391 in 2010. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River. Founded by Bartholomew Columbus in 1496, it is the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the Americas, and was the first seat of Spanish colonial rule in the New World. It lies within the boundaries of the Distrito Nacional (D.N.; "National District"), itself bordered on three sides by Santo Domingo Province.
Santo Domingo was called "Ciudad Trujillo", from 1930 to 1961, after the Dominican Republic's dictator, Rafael Trujillo, named the capital after himself. Following his assassination, the city resumed its original designation. Today, Santo Domingo is the Dominican Republic's major metropolis, and is the largest city in the Caribbean by population.[citation needed] Santo Domingo is ranked as a Gamma world city by Loughborough University.
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Senate (Mexico)
The Senate of the Republic, (Spanish: Senado de la República) constitutionally Chamber of Senators of the Honorable Congress of the Union (Spanish: Cámara de Senadores del H. Congreso de la Unión, is the upper house of Mexico's bicameral Congress.
After a series of reforms during the 1990s, it is now made up of 128 senators:
In a senatorial race, each party nominates two candidates who run and are elected together by direct vote. The party of the two candidates that won the second highest vote within the state or the Federal District then assigns a senator to occupy the third seat (first minority seat), according to the list of candidates that the party registered with the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE).
Senators serve six-year terms, running concurrently with the President of Mexico. Special elections are rare, as substitutes are chosen at every election.
The Senate is completely renewed every six years, since senators are barred from immediate reelection.
In Spanish, it is conventional to refer to each Legislature of the Senate by the Roman numeral of its term.
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Senate of Mexico
The Senate of the Republic, (Spanish: Senado de la República) constitutionally Chamber of Senators of the Honorable Congress of the Union (Spanish: Cámara de Senadores del H. Congreso de la Unión, is the upper house of Mexico's bicameral Congress.
After a series of reforms during the 1990s, it is now made up of 128 senators:
In a senatorial race, each party nominates two candidates who run and are elected together by direct vote. The party of the two candidates that won the second highest vote within the state or the Federal District then assigns a senator to occupy the third seat (first minority seat), according to the list of candidates that the party registered with the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE).
Senators serve six-year terms, running concurrently with the President of Mexico. Special elections are rare, as substitutes are chosen at every election.
The Senate is completely renewed every six years, since senators are barred from immediate reelection.
In Spanish, it is conventional to refer to each Legislature of the Senate by the Roman numeral of its term.
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Seoul
Seoul (Korean pronunciation: [sʌ.ul] ( listen), English /soʊl/), officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world. The Seoul National Capital Area is the world's second largest metropolitan area with over 25 million inhabitants, which includes the surrounding Incheon metropolis and Gyeonggi province. Almost a quarter of South Koreans live in Seoul, half of South Koreans live in the metropolitan area, along with over 275,000 international residents.
Located in the Han River, Seoul has been a major settlement for over 2,000 years, with its foundation dating back to 18 B.C. when Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, established its capital in what is now south-east Seoul. It continued as the capital of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty and the Korean Empire. The Seoul National Capital Area is home to four UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Changdeokgung, Hwaseong Fortress, Jongmyo Shrine and the Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty.
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Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the largest city proper by population in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities of the PRC, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010. It is a global city, with influence in commerce, culture, finance, media, fashion, technology, and transport. It is a major financial center and the busiest container port in the world.
Located in the Yangtze River Delta in eastern China, Shanghai sits at the mouth of the Yangtze River in the middle portion of the Chinese coast. The municipality borders Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces to the west, and is bounded to the east by the East China Sea.
Once a fishing and textiles town, Shanghai grew in importance in the 19th century due to European recognition of its favorable port location and economic potential. The city was one of several opened to foreign trade following the British victory over China in the first opium war and the subsequent 1842 Treaty of Nanking which allowed the establishment of the Shanghai International Settlement. The city then flourished as a center of commerce between east and west, and became the undisputed financial hub of the Asia Pacific in the 1930s. However, with the Communist Party takeover of the mainland in 1949, the city's international influence declined. In the 1990s, the economic reforms introduced by Deng Xiaoping resulted in an intense re-development of the city, aiding the return of finance and foreign investment to the city.
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Shenzhen
Shenzhen (Mandarin pronunciation: [ʂə́ntʂə̂n]) is a major city in the south of Southern China's Guangdong Province, situated immediately north of Hong Kong. The area became China's first—and one of the most successful—Special Economic Zones (SEZs). It currently also holds sub-provincial administrative status, with powers slightly less than a province.
Shenzhen's modern cityscape is the result of the vibrant economy made possible by rapid foreign investment since the institution of the policy of "reform and opening" establishment of the SEZ in the late 1979, before which it was only a small village. Both Chinese and foreign nationals have invested enormous amount of money in the Shenzhen SEZ. More than US$30 billion in foreign investment has gone into both foreign-owned and joint ventures, at first mainly in manufacturing but more recently in the service industries as well. Shenzhen is now reputedly considered as one of the fastest-growing cities in the world.
Being southern mainland China's major financial centre, Shenzhen is home to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange as well as the headquarters of numerous high-tech companies. Shenzhen is also the third-busiest container port in China, after Shanghai and Hong Kong.
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Sian Ka'an
Sian Ka'an is a biosphere reserve in the municipality of Tulum in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. It was established in 1986 and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.
With the participation of scientists, technicians, students, fishermen, farmers, rural promotors and administrators, together with regional and international partners, have successfully carried out more than 200 conservation projects basing all conservation actions on scientific and technical information for planning and implementing environmental policies and the proposal of viable solutions for sustainable use of natural resources and focusing their efforts established within eight protected natural areas that include the reefs of Banco Chinchorro, and Xcalak at South of Quintana Roo, Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve, Cancun, the island of Cozumel that is located in front of Xcaret and Contoy Island up North, covering 780,000 acres (3,200 km2). These areas lie in parts of all seven Caribbean Sea coastal municipalities of the state, with the largest part being in eastern Felipe Carrillo Puerto Municipality, where the vast majority of Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve lies.
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Sinaloa
Sinaloa (Spanish pronunciation: [sinaˈloa]), officially Free and Sovereign State of Sinaloa (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa), is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 18 municipalities and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales.
It is located in Northwestern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Sonora to the north, Chihuahua and Durango to the east (separated from them by the Sierra Madre Occidental) and Nayarit to the south. To the west, Sinaloa has a significant share of coastline on the Gulf of California.
The state covers an area of 57,377 square kilometers (22,153 sq mi), and includes the Islands of Palmito Verde, Palmito de la Virgen, Altamura, Santa María, Saliaca, Macapule and San Ignacio.
In addition to the capital city, the state's important cities include Mazatlán and Los Mochis.
Prior to the coming of the Spaniards, much of Sinaloa was inhabited by the Cáhita.
In 1531 Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán with a force of over 10,000 defeated a force of 30,000 Cáhita at the site of Culiacan. Beltran de Guzman established a Spanish and allied Indian outpost at Culiacan. Over the next decade, the Cáhita suffered severe depopulation from smallpox and other diseases the Spanish brought.
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Sint Eustatius
Sint Eustatius, also known affectionately to the locals as Statia/ˈsteɪʃə/ or Statius, is a Caribbean island and a special municipality (officially public body) of the Netherlands.
It lies in the northern Leeward Islands portion of the West Indies, southeast of the Virgin Islands and immediately to the northwest of Saint Kitts and Nevis and to the southeast of Saba, at 17°30′N 62°58′W / 17.5°N 62.967°W / 17.5; -62.967. The island is named after the legendary Christian martyr Saint Eustace. The regional capital is Oranjestad.
The island has an area of 21 km² (8.1 sq. miles). In the 2001 census, the population was recorded as 3,543 inhabitants, equating to a population density of 169 inhabitants per square kilometre. The official language is Dutch, however English is also recognised as an administrative language. A local English-based creole is also spoken informally. Travel to the island by air is through F.D. Roosevelt Airport.
Formerly part of the Netherlands Antilles, Sint Eustatius became a special municipality within the country of the Netherlands on 10 October 2010.
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Sonora
Sonora (Spanish pronunciation: [so̞ˈno̞ɾa]), officially Free and Sovereign State of Sonora (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo. Sonora is located in Northwest Mexico, bordered by the states of Chihuahua to the east, Baja California to the northwest and Sinaloa to the south. To the north, it shares the U.S.–Mexico border with the states of Arizona and New Mexico, and on the west has a significant share of the coastline of the Gulf of California.
Sonora's natural geography is divided into three parts: the Sierra Madre Occidental in the east of the state; plains and rolling hills in the center; and the coast on the Gulf of California. It is primarily arid or semi-arid deserts and grasslands, with only the highest elevations having sufficient rainfall to support other types of vegetation.
Sonora is home to eight indigenous peoples, including the Mayo, the Yaqui and the Seri. It has been economically important for its agriculture, livestock (especially beef) and mining since the colonial period, and for its status as a border state since the Mexican–American War. After the Gadsden Purchase, Sonora lost more than a quarter of its territory. From the 20th century to the present, industry, tourism and agribusiness have dominated the economy, attracting migration from other parts of Mexico.
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South Korea
South Korea ( listen), officially the Republic of Korea (Hangul: 대한민국; Hanja: 大韓民國; Daehan Minguk listen), is a sovereign state in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. The name "Korea" is derived from Goryeo, a dynasty which ruled in the Middle Ages (an initial "G" in Korean is pronounced like an English "K").
Its neighbors are China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the Korea Strait to the south. South Korea lies in the north temperate zone with a predominantly mountainous terrain. It covers a total area of 99,392 square kilometers and has a population of almost 50 million. The capital and largest city is Seoul, with a population of 9,794,304.
Archaeological findings show that the Korean Peninsula was occupied by the Lower Paleolithic period.Korean history begins with the founding of Gojoseon in 2333 BC by the legendary Dan-gun. Following the unification of the Three Kingdoms of Korea under Silla 668 AD, Korea went through the Goryeo Dynasty and Joseon Dynasty as one nation until the end of the Korean Empire in 1910, when it was annexed by Japan. After liberation and occupation by Soviet and U.S. forces at the end of World War II, the nation was divided into North and South Korea. The latter was established in 1948 as a democracy, though political turmoil and times of military rule and martial law characterized much of the period until the foundation of the Sixth Republic in 1987.
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Soviet Union
The Soviet Union (Russian: Советский Союз, tr. Sovetsky Soyuz), officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR; Russian: Сою́з Сове́тских Социалисти́ческих Респу́блик, tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik; IPA: [sɐˈjus sɐˈvʲetskʲɪx sətsɨəlʲɪˈstʲitɕɪskʲɪx rʲɪsˈpublʲɪk] ( listen); abbreviated СССР, SSSR), was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991.
The Soviet Union was a single-party state ruled by the Communist Party from its foundation until 1990. A union of 15 subnational Soviet republics, the Soviet state was structured under a highly centralized government and economy.
The Russian Revolution of 1917 caused the downfall of the Russian Empire. Following the Russian Revolution, there was a struggle for power between the Bolshevik party, led by Vladimir Lenin, and the anti-communist White movement. In December 1922, the Bolsheviks won the civil war, and the Soviet Union was formed with the merger of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic.
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Spain
Spain (i/ˈspeɪn/ SPAYN; Spanish: España, pronounced: [esˈpaɲa] ( listen)), officially the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: Reino de España), is a sovereign state and a member of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Its mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar; to the north and north east by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the northwest and west by the Atlantic Ocean and Portugal.
Spanish territory also includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the African coast, and two autonomous cities in North Africa, Ceuta and Melilla, that border Morocco. Furthermore, the town of Llívia is a Spanish exclave situated inside French territory. With an area of 504,030 square kilometres (194,610 sq mi), it is the second largest country in Western Europe and the European Union after France, and the fourth largest country in Europe after Russia, Ukraine and France.
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Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire (Spanish: Imperio Español) comprised territories and colonies administered by Spain in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its political and economic power when it became the foremost global power. Its establishment in the 15th century ushered in the modern global era and five centuries of European dominance of global affairs. Spain's territorial reach beyond Europe spanned six centuries, from the first voyages to the Americas in 1492 until the independence of its last African colonies in the 1970s.
After the War of the Castilian Succession (1475–1479), Spain had emerged with a personally unified monarchy, with the marriage of the Catholic Monarchs or los Reyes Catolicos between the Queen of Castile and the King of Aragon: the internal and foreign policy was coordinated although the rule was separate. In 1492, the Spanish monarchs completed the Reconquista with the incorporation of Granada to the Kingdom of Castile. That same year Christopher Columbus commanded the first Spanish exploratory voyage west across the Atlantic Ocean, leading to the Discovery of America and Europe's eventual colonial engagement in the New World. The Americas thereby became the focus of Spanish exploration and colonization.
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St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis /seɪnt ˈluːɪs/ (French: Saint-Louis or St-Louis, [sɛ̃ lwi] ( listen)) is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States, and is the second-largest city in the state. With a population of 318,069 in July 2011, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) population of 2,812,896 is the 18th-largest in the country. The Greater St. Louis combined statistical area's (CSA) population of 2,878,255 is the 16th-largest CSA in the country, the fourth-largest in the Midwest. The Greater St. Louis area is the largest metropolitan area in Missouri.
The city of St. Louis was founded in 1764 by Pierre Laclède and Auguste Chouteau, and after the Louisiana Purchase, it became a major port on the Mississippi River. Its population expanded after the American Civil War, and it became the fourth-largest city in the United States in the late 19th century. It seceded from St. Louis County in March 1877, allowing it to become an independent city and limiting its political boundaries. In 1904, it hosted the 1904 World's Fair and the 1904 Olympic Games. The city's population peaked in 1950, then began a long decline that reversed only at the beginning of the 21st century.
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State of Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México, pronounced: [ˈmexiko] ( listen)), officially Free and Sovereign State of Mexico (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de México), is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of the United Mexican States. It is the most populous, as well as the densest in population. It is divided into 125 municipalities and its capital city is Toluca de Lerdo.
The State of Mexico is often abbreviated to "Edomex" from Estado de México in Spanish. It is located in South-Central Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Querétaro and Hidalgo to the north, Morelos and Guerrero to the south, Michoacán to the west, Tlaxcala and Puebla to the east and surrounds the Federal District.
The state’s origins are in the territory of the Aztec Empire, which remained a political division of New Spain during the colonial period. After Independence, Mexico City was chosen as the capital of the new nation, its territory was separated out the state. Years later, parts of the state were broken off to form the states of Hidalgo, Guerrero and Morelos. These territorial separations have left the state with the size and shape it has today, with the Toluca Valley to the west of Mexico City and a panhandle that extends around the north and east of this entity.
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Stockholm
Stockholm (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈstɔkːˈhɔlm, ˈstɔkːˈɔlm, ˈstɔkːɔlm]( listen to the second one)) is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 864,324 in the municipality (2010), 1.4 million in the urban area (2010), and around 2.1 million in the 6,519 km2 (2,517.00 sq mi) metropolitan area (2010). As of 2010, the Stockholm metropolitan area is home to approximately 22% of Sweden's population.
Founded no later than c. 1250, possibly as early as 1187, Stockholm has long been one of Sweden's cultural, media, political, and economic centres. Its strategic location on 14 islands on the south-central east coast of Sweden at the mouth of Lake Mälaren, by the Stockholm archipelago, has been historically important. Stockholm has been nominated by GaWC as a global city, with a ranking of Alpha-. In The 2008 Global Cities Index, Stockholm ranked 24th in the world, 10th in Europe, and first in Scandinavia. Stockholm is known for its beauty, its buildings and architecture, its abundant clean and open water, and its many parks. It is sometimes referred to as Venice of the North.
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Sweden
Sweden (i/ˈswiːdən/ SWEE-dən; Swedish: Sverige [ˈsværjɛ] ( listen)), officially the Kingdom of Sweden (Swedish: Konungariket Sverige (help·info)), is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland, and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Øresund.
At 450,295 square kilometres (173,860 sq mi), Sweden is the third largest country in the European Union by area, with a total population of about 9.4 million. Sweden has a low population density of 21 inhabitants per square kilometre (54 /sq mi) with the population mostly concentrated to the southern half of the country. About 85% of the population live in urban areas. Sweden's capital city is Stockholm, which is also the largest city.
Sweden emerged as an independent and unified country during the Middle Ages. In the 17th century, the country expanded its territories to form the Swedish Empire. The empire grew to be one of the great powers of Europe in the 17th and early 18th century. Most of the conquered territories outside the Scandinavian Peninsula were lost during the 18th and 19th centuries. The eastern half of Sweden, present-day Finland, was lost to Russia in 1809. The last war in which Sweden was directly involved was in 1814, when Sweden by military means forced Norway into a personal union. Since then, Sweden has been at peace, practicing "non-participation in military alliances during peacetime and neutrality during wartime". However, Sweden has been a member of the European Union since 1 January 1995 and is a member of the OECD.
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Sydney
Sydney ( /sɪdni/) is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is classified as an Alpha+ World City indicating its influence in the region and throughout the world.
Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people. Inhabitants of Sydney are called Sydneysiders, comprising a cosmopolitan and international population.
The site of the first British colony in Australia, Sydney was established in 1788 at Sydney Cove by Arthur Phillip, commodore of the First Fleet as a penal colony. The city is built on hills surrounding Port Jackson which is commonly known as Sydney Harbour, where the iconic Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge feature prominently. The hinterland of the metropolitan area is surrounded by national parks, and the coastal regions feature many bays, rivers, inlets and beaches including the famous Bondi Beach and Manly Beach. Within the city are many notable parks, including Hyde Park and the Royal Botanic Gardens.
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São Paulo
São Paulo (/ˌsaʊ ˈpaʊloʊ/; Portuguese pronunciation: [sɐ̃w ˈpawlu] ( listen); Saint Paul;), popularly known as Sampa, is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and Americas, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among the five largest metropolitan areas on the planet. São Paulo is the capital of the state of São Paulo, which is the most populous Brazilian state, and exerts strong regional influence in commerce and finance as well as arts and entertainment. São Paulo maintains strong international influence and is considered an Alpha- World City. The name of the city honors Saint Paul.
The metropolis has significant cultural, economic and political influence both nationally and internationally. It houses several important monuments, parks and museums such as the Latin American Memorial, the Museum of the Portuguese Language, São Paulo Museum of Art and the Ibirapuera Park. The Paulista Avenue is the most important financial center of São Paulo. The city holds many high profile events, like the São Paulo Art Biennial, the Brazil Grand Prix Formula 1 Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo Fashion Week, ATP Brasil Open, and the São Paulo Indy 300.
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Tabasco
Tabasco (Spanish pronunciation: [taˈβasko]), officially Free and Sovereign State of Tabasco (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Tabasco), is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa. It is located in the southeast of the country along the Gulf of Mexico bordering the states of Campeche, Chiapas and Veracruz, as well as the country of Guatemala. Most of the state is covered in rainforest as, unlike most other areas of Mexico, it has plentiful rainfall year round. For this reason, it is also covered in small lakes, wetlands and rivers. The state is subject to major flooding events, with the last occurring in 2007, which affected eighty percent of the state. The state is also home to La Venta, the major site of the Olmec civilization, considered to be the origin of later Mesoamerican cultures. Even though it produces significant quantities of petroleum and natural gas, poverty is still a concern. The state is also the origin of the cacao bean, from which chocolate is made.
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Taipei
Taipei City (/ˌtaɪˈpeɪ/; [tʰǎipèi]; Chinese: 臺北市 or 台北市; pinyin: Táiběi Shì) is the capital of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Situated at the northern tip of the island of Taiwan, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River; it is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, a port city on the Pacific Ocean. It lies in the two relatively narrow valleys of the Keelung (基隆河) and Xindian (新店溪) rivers, which join to form the Tamsui River along the city's western border. The city proper (Taipei City) is home to an estimated 2,618,772 people. Taipei, New Taipei, and Keelung together form the Taipei metropolitan area with a population of 6,900,273. However, they are administered under different local governing bodies. "Taipei" sometimes refers to the whole metropolitan area, while "Taipei City" refers to the city proper. Taipei City proper is surrounded on all sides by New Taipei.
Taipei is the political, economic, and cultural center of Taiwan. The National Palace Museum which has one of the largest collections of Chinese artifacts and artworks in the world is located in Taipei. Considered to be a global city, Taipei is part of a major industrial area. Railways, high speed rail, highways, airports, and bus lines connect Taipei with all parts of the island. The city is served by two airports – Taipei Songshan and Taiwan Taoyuan.
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Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas (Spanish pronunciation: [tamauˈlipas]) officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas (English: Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas) is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 43 municipalities and its capital city is Ciudad Victoria. The capital city was named after Guadalupe Victoria, the first President of Mexico.
It is located in Northeastern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Veracruz to the southeast, San Luis Potosí to the southwest and Nuevo León to the west. To the north, it has a 370 km (142.9 mi) stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border along the state of Texas.
The name Tamaulipas is derived from Tamaholipa, a Huastec term in which the tam- prefix signifies "place where." As yet, there is no scholarly agreement on the meaning of holipa, but "high hills" is a common interpretation. Another explanation of the state name is Ta ma ho'lipam – “place, where the Lipan prey”.
In addition to the capital city, Ciudad Victoria, the state's largest cities include Reynosa, Matamoros, Nuevo Laredo, and Tampico.
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Teatro Metropolitan
The Teatro Metropólitan is one of Mexico's best-known theatres. Before being the Teatro Metropólitan it was known as the Cine Metropólitan. Teatro Metropólitan is a sponsor of Mexico City’s National Jazz Festival. The theatre has a capacity for 3165 people.
The theatre is located in the centre of Mexico City in the calle Independencia, at Independencia #90, Col. Centro, one block south of the Alameda Central. Juárez (line number 3) and Hidalgo (line number 2) are the nearest Metro stations.
Coordinates: 19°26′00″N 99°08′49″W / 19.4333333°N 99.14694°W / 19.4333333; -99.14694
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Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa (Spanish pronunciation: [teɣusiˈɣalpa], formally Tegucigalpa, Municipality of the Central District Spanish: Tegucigalpa, Municipio del Distrito Central or Tegucigalpa, M.D.C.), and commonly referred as Tegus, is the capital of Honduras and seat of government of the Republic, along with its twin sister Comayagüela. Founded on September 29, 1578 by the Spanish, it became the country's capital on October 30, 1880 under President Marco Aurelio Soto. The current Constitution of Honduras, enacted in 1982, names the sister cities of Tegucigalpa and Comayagüela as a Central District to serve as the permanent national capital, under articles 8 and 295.
During the short-lived Constitution of the Republic of Central America of 1921, Tegucigalpa served as a Federal District and capital of then-newly formed as one nation: the states of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. After this failed attempt to maintain a Central American republic, Honduras returned to become an individual sovereign nation and on January 30, 1937, Article 179 of the 1936 Honduran Constitution was reformed under Decree 53 to established Tegucigalpa and Comayagüela as a Central District.
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Tehran
Tehran ( pronunciation (help·info)) (Persian: تهران Tehrān; pronounced [tehˈɾɒːn]), sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, the largest city in Western Asia, one of the largest in Southern Asia, and the 19th-largest city globally.
In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to mass-migration of people from all around Iran. The city is home to many historic mosques, churches, synagogues and Zoroastrian fire temples. Contemporary Tehran is a modern city featuring many structures, of which the Azadi (Freedom) Tower and the Milad Tower have come to be symbols of Tehran itself. In 2008 Tehran was the least expensive capital in the world and the second-least expensive city globally based on the cost-of-living index presenting the best value for money in the world. Globally it stands 19th by city population, 56th by the size of its GDP and 29th by the population of its metropolitan area. Throughout Iran's history, the capital city has been relocated many times, with Tehran being the 32nd national capital of Iran. Persian is the city's native tongue, with roughly 98% of the population able to speak and understand it. The majority of people in Tehran identify themselves as Persians. In pre-Islamic and early Islamic times, Tehran was called Ray (which in the Avesta occurs in the form of Ragha)[citation needed].
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Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv, officially Tel Aviv-Yafo (Hebrew: תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ; Arabic: تل أبيب), is the second most populous city in Israel. It has a population of 404,400 within city limits, on a land area of 52 km2 (20 sq mi). The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in central-west Israel. In 2010, it was the largest and most populous city in the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area of 3,325,700 residents, known as Gush Dan. The city is governed by the Tel Aviv-Yafo municipality, headed by Ron Huldai. Residents of Tel Aviv are referred to as Tel Avivim.
Tel Aviv was founded in 1909 by the Jewish Community of Jaffa (Hebrew: יָפוֹ Yafo; Arabic: يافا Yāfā), on the outskirts of the ancient port city. The growth of Tel Aviv soon outpaced Jaffa, which had a majority Arab population at the time. Tel Aviv and Jaffa were merged into a single municipality in 1950, two years after the establishment of the State of Israel. Tel Aviv's White City, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003, comprises the world's largest concentration of Bauhaus buildings.
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Tenayuca
Tenayuca (Nahuatl: tenanyōcān) is a pre-Columbian Mesoamerican archaeological site in the Valley of Mexico. In the Postclassic period of Mesoamerican chronology Tenayuca was a settlement on the former shoreline of the western arm of Lake Texcoco, located approximately 10km to the northwest of Tenochtitlan (the heart of present-day Mexico City). Tenayuca is considered the earliest capital city of the Chichimecs, nomadic tribes that migrated and settled in the Valley of Mexico, forming their own kingdoms.
Tenayuca means walled place in Nahuatl.
The pyramid of Tenayuca is located in San Bartolo Tenayuca in Tlalnepantla de Baz, in Mexico State. It falls within the urban sprawl of Greater Mexico City.
By some historiographic traditions Tenayuca had been founded ca. 1224 by Xolotl, a semi-legendary ruler of a "Chichimec" tribe that had settled in the Valley of Mexico in the period some time after the 12th-century collapse of the former political hegemony in the Valley — the so-called Toltec empire, emanating from Tula. Xolotl was succeeded by Nopaltzin who consolidated the Chichimec Kingdom . His son, Tlotzin, became lord of Tenayuca. When Nopaltzin died, his successor Quinatzin transferred the seat of Chichimec power to Texcoco, relegating Tenayuca to a site of secondary importance.
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Tenochtitlan
Tenochtitlan (Classical Nahuatl: Tenōchtitlān [tenoːtʃˈtitɬaːn]), sometimes also known as Mexico Tenochtitlan, was a Nahua altepetl (city-state) located on an island in Lake Texcoco, in the Valley of Mexico. Founded in 1325, it became the capital of the expanding Aztec Empire in the 15th century, until captured by the Spanish in 1521. When paired with Mexico the name is a reference to Mexica, the people of the surrounding Aztec heartland. It subsequently became a cabecera of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. Today the ruins of Tenochtitlan are located in the central part of Mexico City.
Its name comes from Nahuatl tetl ("rock") and nochtli = ("prickly pear") and means "Among the prickly pears [growing among] rocks". Tenochtitlan was one of two Mexican altepetl, the other being Tlatelolco.
Tenochtitlan covered an estimated 8 to 13.5 km2 (3.1 to 5.2 sq mi), situated on the western side of the shallow Lake Texcoco.
At the time of Spanish conquest, Mexico City comprised Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco at the same time. Since then, the city extended from north to south from the north border of Tlatelolco to the swamps, which by that time were gradually disappearing to the west, the city ended more or less at the present location of Bucareli Street.
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Teotihuacan
Coordinates: 19°41′33″N 98°50′37.68″W / 19.6925°N 98.8438°W / 19.6925; -98.8438
Teotihuacan – also written Teotihuacán, with a Spanish orthographic accent on the last syllable – is an enormous archaeological site in the Basin of Mexico, just 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Mexico City, containing some of the largest pyramidal structures built in the pre-Columbian Americas. Apart from the pyramidal structures, Teotihuacan is also known for its large residential complexes, the Avenue of the Dead, and numerous colorful, well-preserved murals. Additionally, Teotihuacan produced a thin orange pottery style that spread through Mesoamerica.
The city is thought to have been established around 100 BC and continued to be built until about 250 AD. The city may have lasted until sometime between the 7th and 8th centuries AD. At its zenith, perhaps in the first half of the 1st millennium AD, Teotihuacan was the largest city in the pre-Columbian Americas, with a population of perhaps 125,000 or more, placing it among the largest cities of the world in this period. Teotihuacan began as a new religious center in the Mexican Highland around the first century AD. This city came to be the largest and most populated center in the New World. Teotihuacan was even home to multi-floor apartment compounds built to accommodate this large population. The civilization and cultural complex associated with the site is also referred to as Teotihuacan or Teotihuacano.
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Tepito
Tepito is a barrio located in Colonia Morelos in the Cuauhtémoc borough of Mexico City bordered by Avenida del Trabajo, Paseo de la Reforma, Eje 1 and Eje 2. Most of the neighborhood is taken up by the colorful tianguis or open-air market. Tepito’s economy has been linked to tianguis or traditional open air markets since pre-Hispanic times. Estimates of the area’s population may vary from 38,000 to 120,000 residents, with an estimated 10,000 more who come in during the day to sell in the market. It also has been a lower-class neighborhood since pre-Hispanic times, which has known crime since the same period. It is famously known as the “Barrio Bravo” or fierce neighborhood. Most crimes here are piracy counterfeit goods but it is robbery that gives the area its reputation and can cause problems for sellers by scaring away their customers.
Despite this, Tepito is home to a subculture that has attracted the attention of academics and artists. Art exhibitions have been based on Tepito and the area boasts a number of literary journals to which residents contribute.
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Tequila, Jalisco
Santiago de Tequila (Spanish pronunciation: [teˈkila], Nahuatl: Tequillan, Tecuila "place of tribute") is a town and municipality located in the state of Jalisco about 60 km from the city of Guadalajara. Tequila is best known as being the birthplace of the drink that bears its name, “tequila,” which is made from the blue agave plant, native to this area. The heart of the plant contains sugars and had been used by native peoples here to make a fermented drink. After the Spanish arrived, they took this fermented beverage and distilled it, producing the tequila known today. The popularity of the drink and the history behind it has made town and the area surrounding it a World Heritage Site. It was also named a "Pueblo Mágico" (Magical Town) in 2003 by the Mexican federal government. Tequila has also been famous for being the prime setting in the successful Televisa telenovela Destilando Amor, starring Angélica Rivera and Eduardo Yáñez.
The name comes from an ancient language called pedik and mean drink of life. The coat of arms of the municipality was officially adopted on 31 December 1983 by the municipal council. It contain the Latin phrase ALMA LAETA NOBILIS, meaning “great and noble soul.” Its representative symbols include the tower of the main church in the town of Tequila, the chimneys of the distilleries, the agave plant and Tequila Mountain.
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The Bahamas
The Bahamasi/bəˈhɑːməz/, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is a country consisting of more than 3,000 islands, cays, and islets. It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti), northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States (nearest to the state of Florida). Its land area is 13,939 km2 (5,382 sq mi), with a population of 353,658. Its capital is Nassau. Geographically, the Bahamas lie in the same island chain as Cuba, Hispaniola and the Turks and Caicos Islands; the designation of Bahamas refers normally to the Commonwealth and not the geographic chain.
Originally inhabited by the Lucayans, a branch of the Arawakan-speaking Taino people, the Bahamas were the site of Columbus' first landfall in the New World in 1492. Although the Spanish never colonized the Bahamas, they shipped the native Lucayans to slavery in Hispaniola. The islands were mostly deserted from 1513 to 1648, when English colonists from Bermuda settled on the island of Eleuthera.
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The Bottom
The Bottom is the capital and largest town of the island of Saba, the Caribbean Netherlands, and is the first stop on the way from Saba's Port in Fort Bay towards the rest of the island. It has approximately 500 inhabitants of the total 1,424 islanders.
The Bottom is home to the government offices, a hospital, a nursing home, a sports field, three churches, a library, various shops and the Saba University School of Medicine. The Bottom is also home to the Saba Carnival which is held once a year during the summer, as well as Saba Day in December.
As capital of the island, The Bottom hosts a number of events throughout the year. During the summer the 'Saba Carnival' is held here. It's a parade full of colour accompanied with the music of steel drums and local artists. It is a highly anticipated event on the Saban calendar as most of the island meets together to dance, sing and enjoy the festival. The Saba Carnival usually lasts for a few days in which the island rotates around this town.
Another event held in the Bottom is 'Saba Day'. This is the national day of the island in which all offices, schools and stores are closed. The island celebrates its diversity and culture through various activities and parades. The Bottom holds host to a concert at the sports field where local and other Caribbean artists come to perform. There are fishing competitions at sea, drawing competitions for children etc.
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The Valley, Anguilla
The Valley is the capital of Anguilla and the main "town" on the island. As of 2001[update], it has a population of 1,169.
The Valley has few examples of colonial architecture due to the relocation of Anguilla's administration to St. Kitts in 1825, though Wallblake House, built in 1787, still stands and is used as a rectory by the adjacent church. New shops have opened in new buildings and renovated West Indian-style cottages. Old shops have been modernized and have enlarged their stocks as well as their space.
The ruins of the Old Court House are located on Crocus Hill, the island's highest point. All that remains are the broken walls of a few basement jail cells. At Cross Roads at the western edge of The Valley is Wallblake House, a plantation home built around 1787 that is now owned by the Catholic Church (the parish priest lives there) and St. Gerard's Catholic Church, with its highly original facade of pebbles, stones, cement, wood and tile.
The Valley is served by Anguilla Wallblake Airport (IATA: AXA, ICAO: TQPF) with some international flights.
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Tianjin
Tianjin (help·info) (Chinese: 天津; pinyin: Tiānjīn; Mandarin pronunciation: [tʰjɛ́ntɕín]; Tianjinese: /tʰiɛn˨˩tɕin˨˩/~[tʰjɛ̃̀ɦɪ̀ŋ]; Postal map spelling: Tientsin) is a metropolis in northern China and one of the five national central cities of the People's Republic of China. It is governed as a direct-controlled municipality, one of four such designations, and is, thus, under direct administration of the central government. Tianjin borders Hebei Province and Beijing Municipality, bounded to the east by the Bohai Gulf portion of the Yellow Sea.
As a dual-core city, Tianjin is divided into the old city and the Binhai New Area. Binhai New Area is a new growth pole in China, and it maintains an annual growth rate of nearly 30% of the GDP. As of the end of 2010, 285 Fortune Global 500 companies have established branch offices in Binhai. It is a base of China's advanced industry, financial reform, and innovation.
In terms of urban population, it is the sixth-largest city of the People's Republic of China, and its urban land area (Binhai New Area is not included) ranks fifth in the nation after Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan and Guangzhou. Tianjin's urban area is located along the Hai River, which connects to the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers via the Grand Canal in Tianjin. Tianjin was once home to foreign concessions in the late Qing Dynasty and early Kuomintang (KMT) era. The municipality incorporates the coastal region of Tanggu, home to the Binhai New Area and the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA).
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Tlalnepantla de Baz
Tlalnepantla de Baz (better known as Tlanepantla) is a city and a municipality of the State of Mexico in the north of Mexico City (Ciudad de Mexico). Tlalnepantla comes from the Náhuatl words tlalli (land) and nepantla (middle) to mean the middle land. The city was known in prior times as Tlalnepantla de Galeana and Tlalnepantla de Comonfort, to honor Hermenegildo Galeana and Ignacio Comonfort, respectively. The current addition of Baz comes from the last name of Gustavo Baz Prada, an important politician and soldier of Emiliano Zapata's army during the Mexican Revolution. After the Revolution, Baz Prada became Governor of the State of Mexico and President of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). It is located in the northeastern part of the State of Mexico, in the Valley of Mexico north of Mexico City proper.
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Tlalpan
Tlalpan is one of the sixteen administrative boroughs (called “delegaciones” in Spanish) of the Federal District of Mexico City. It is the largest borough, with over eighty percent under conservation as forest and other ecologically sensitive area. The rest, almost all of it on the northern edge, has been urban since the mid 20th century. When it was created in 1928, it was named after the most important settlement of the area, Tlalpan, which is referred to as “Tlalpan center” (Tlalpan centro) to distinguish it from the borough. This center, despite being in the urbanized zone, still retains much of its provincial atmosphere with colonial era mansions and cobblestone streets. Much of the borough’s importance stems from its forested conservation areas, as it functions to provide oxygen to the Valley of Mexico and serves for aquifer recharge. Seventy percent of Mexico City’s water comes from wells in this borough. However, the area is under pressure as its mountainous isolated has attracted illegal loggers, drug traffickers and kidnappers, but the most serious problem is the illegal building of homes and communities on conservation land, mostly by very poor people. As of 2010, the government recognizes the existence of 191 of these settlements, which cause severe ecological damage with the disappearance of trees, the advance of urban sprawl and in some areas, the digging of septic pits. The borough is home to one of the oldest Mesoamerican sites in the valley, Cuicuilco, as well as several major parks and ecological reserves. It is also home to a number of semi-independent “pueblos” that have limited self-rule rights under a legal provision known as “usos y costumbres” (lit. uses and customs).
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Tlaxcala
Tlaxcala (Spanish: [tɬa(k)sˈkala], Nahuatl: [tɬaʃˈkalːan]), officially Free and Sovereign State of Tlaxcala (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Tlaxcala), is one of the 31 states which along with the Federal District comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 60 municipalities and its capital city is Tlaxcala.
It is located in East-Central Mexico, in the altiplano region, with the eastern portion dominated by the Sierra Madre Oriental. It is bordered by the states of Puebla to the north, east and south, México to the west and Hidalgo to the northwest. It is the smallest state of the republic, accounting for only 0.2% of the country’s territory.
The state is named after its capital, Tlaxcala, which was also the name of the pre-Hispanic city and culture. The Tlaxcalans allied themselves with the Spanish to defeat the Aztecs, with concessions from the Spanish that allowed the territory to remain mostly intact throughout 300 years of colonial period. After Mexican Independence, Tlaxcala was declared a federal territory, until 1857 when it was admitted as a state of the federation.
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Tlaxcoaque
Tlaxcoaque is a plaza located in the historic center of Mexico City which has given its name to both the 17th century church that is on it and the blocks that surround it. Historically this plaza and the church that sits on it have marked the southern edge of Mexico City, and today it is on the border of the historic center and Colonia Obrera. The church and plaza are somewhat isolated from the rest of the center due to the construction of wide streets, such as 20 de Noviembre and Fray Servando Teresa de Mier, that separate them from the surrounding buildings. Another notable building in this area is the police surveillance station, which was infamous in the 1970s as a place where detainees were tortured. This stopped after the 1985 Mexico City earthquake exposed handcuffed bodies which had evidence of torture on them. Today, the area around this plaza is semi-deserted outside of work hours and is considered to be a high-crime area. The church itself has experienced break-ins.
Plaza Tlaxcoaque with its small chapel was constructed in the 17th century. It marks the beginning of 20 de Noviembre Avenue, which was built in 1936 to commemorate the 26th anniversary of the armed uprising of Francisco I. Madero in 1910. From Tlaxocaque, one can see all the way to the Zocalo. The plaza has been traditionally considered to be the south entrance to the historic center of Mexico City and for much of the city’s history, this place marked the southern border. Today, it is on the border of the historic center and Colonia Obrera.
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Tláhuac
Tláhuac is one of the 16 delegaciones (boroughs) into which Mexico's Federal District is divided. It is located on the east edge of the district and is largely rural in character. The main town, San Pedro Tláhuac, is situated alongside a lake, and is the site of a 16th century church. The borough had a 2010 census population of 360,265 inhabitants and lies at an elevation of 2,254 m. above sea level.
The area was first evangelized by Franciscans and Dominicans. An annual fair in honour of Saint Peter the Apostle is held in late June to early July every year. During this festival it is traditional for people to give a gift of farm produce, such as corn, lettuce, or cauliflower.
The poet José Tlatelpas wrote a poetry booklet in Spanish with the title "Tlahuac", the poems has been translated into English, French and Japanese. Other people related to this town are Faustino Galicia Chimalpopoca, a linguist and anthropologist and Ing. Estanislao Ramírez Ruiz, a Mexicanist and founder of the National Polytechnic Institute.
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Tokyo
Tokyo (東京, Tōkyō?, "Eastern Capital") [toːkʲoː], English /ˈtoʊki.oʊ/; officially Tokyo Metropolis (東京都, Tōkyō-to?), is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of the world. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family. Tokyo is in the Kantō region on the southeastern side of the main island Honshu and includes the Izu Islands and Ogasawara Islands. Tokyo Metropolis was formed in 1943 from the merger of the former Tokyo Prefecture (東京府, Tōkyō-fu?) and the city of Tokyo (東京市, Tōkyō-shi?).
The Tokyo Metropolitan government administers the 23 special wards of Tokyo (each governed as a city), which cover the area that was the city of Tokyo, as well as 39 municipalities in the western part of the prefecture and the two outlying island chains. The population of the special wards is over 8 million people, with the total population of the prefecture exceeding 13 million. The prefecture is part of the world's most populous metropolitan area with upwards of 35 million people and the world's largest urban agglomeration economy with a GDP of US$1.479 trillion at purchasing power parity in 2008, ahead of New York City metropolitan area, which ranks second on the list. The city hosts 47 of the Fortune Global 500 companies, the highest amount of any city.
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Toluca
Toluca, officially called Toluca de Lerdo, is the state capital of Mexico State as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. It is the center of a rapidly growing urban area, now the fifth largest in Mexico. It is located 63 kilometres (39 mi) west-southwest of Mexico City and only about 40 minutes by car to the western edge of the Distrito Federal. According to the 2005 census, the city of Toluca has a population of 467,713, with 747,512 as the total municipal population. The city is the eighth largest in Mexico in population. The municipality of Toluca, along with twelve other municipalities, make up the metropolitan population of 1,610,786 in Greater Toluca as of 2005, making it the fifth most populous metropolitan area in Mexico.
When Toluca was founded by the Matlazincas, its original name was Nepintahihui (land of corn, tierra del maíz). The current name is based on the Náhuatl name for the area when it was renamed by the Aztecs in 1473. The name has its origin in the word tolocan that comes from the name of the god, Tolo, plus the locative suffix, can, to denote "place of Tolo". It is also referred to in a number of Aztec codices as Tolutépetl, meaning hill of the god, Tolo, an allusion to the nearby volcano. The name Toluca de Lerdo was adopted in 1861 in honor of President Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada.
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Toronto
Toronto (/təˈrɒntoʊ/, colloquially /ˈtrɒnoʊ/) is the largest city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from the Mississaugas of the New Credit. The settlement was later established as the Town of York and proclaimed as the new capital of Upper Canada by its lieutenant-governor, John Graves Simcoe. In 1834, York was incorporated as a city and renamed to its present name. The city was ransacked in the Battle of York during the War of 1812 and damaged in two great fires in 1849 and in 1904. Since its incorporation, Toronto has repeatedly expanded its borders through amalgamation with surrounding municipalities, most recently in 1998.
With over 2.6 million residents, it is the fifth most populous city in North America. Its metropolitan area has over 5.5 million residents. Toronto is at the heart of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), and is part of a densely populated region in Southern Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe, which has a population of nearly 9 million people as of 2011. The census metropolitan area (CMA) had a population of 5,583,064, and the Greater Toronto Area had a population of 6,054,191 in the 2011 Census. Its cosmopolitan and international population reflects its role as an important destination for immigrants to Canada. Toronto is one of the world's most diverse cities by percentage of non-native-born residents, with about 49% of the population born outside Canada. Toronto is also consistently rated as one of the world's most livable cities by the Economist Intelligence Unit and the Mercer Quality of Living Survey.
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Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago (i/ˌtrɪnɨdæd/ & /tɵˈbeɪɡoʊ/) officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. It shares maritime boundaries with other nations including Barbados to the northeast, Guyana to the southeast, and Venezuela to the south and west.
The country covers an area 5,128 square kilometres (1,980 sq mi) and consists of two main islands, Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous smaller landforms. Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the main islands, comprising about 94% of the total area and 96% of the total population of the country. The nation lies outside the hurricane belt.
The island of Trinidad was a Spanish colony from the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1498 to the capitulation of the Spanish Governor, Don José Maria Chacón, on the arrival of a British fleet of 18 warships on 18 February 1797. During the same period, the island of Tobago changed hands between Spanish, British, French, Dutch and Courlander colonizers. Trinidad and Tobago was ceded to Britain in 1802 under the Treaty of Amiens. The country obtained independence in 1962, becoming a republic in 1976. Unlike most of the English-speaking Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago's economy is primarily industrial, with an emphasis on petroleum and petrochemicals.
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Turkey
Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye), known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (help·info)), is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia (mostly in the Anatolian peninsula) and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest; Greece to the west; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan (the exclave of Nakhchivan) and Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the southeast. The Mediterranean Sea and Cyprus are to the south; the Aegean Sea is to the west; and the Black Sea is to the north. The Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles (which together form the Turkish Straits) demarcate the boundary between East Thrace and Anatolia; they also separate Europe and Asia.
Turkey is one of the six independent Turkic states. The vast majority of the population are Muslims. The country's official language is Turkish, whereas Kurdish and Zazaki languages are spoken by Kurds and Zazas, who constitute 18% of the population.
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Tuxtla Gutiérrez
Tuxtla Gutiérrez (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈtustla ɣuˈtjeres]) is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Chiapas. It is considered to be the state’s most modern city, with most of its public buildings dating from the 20th century. One exception to this is the San Marcos Cathedral which began as a Dominican parish church built in 1560 for Zoque natives. Prior to this, there had been no significant settlement on the site.
As there was no pre Hispanic settlement at the site, the first half of the name, “Tuxtla” refers to the valley area. Originally, this valley was called Coyotoc by the native Zoque population, which means “land or house of rabbits.” The Aztecs intruded into the area and named it “Tochtlán” which means the same thing. “Gutiérrez” was added to the city’s name in 1848 to honor Joaquín Miguel Gutiérrez, a Liberal politician.
After the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, and the subjugation of the Chiapa people in 1528, the Dominicans constructed a monastery in nearby Tecpatán, which today is an independent municipality. There is no official founding date for Tuxtla, but it is known that in the middle of the 16th century, these monks gathered dispersed Zoques in the valley into communities centered on churches. Today’s San Marcos Cathedral is the parish church founded by the Dominicans for one of these communities in 1560. During much of the colonial era, this was a relatively small community, governed by nearby Chiapa de los Indios, today Chiapa de Corzo.
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United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK, or Britain) is a sovereign state located off the north-western coast of continental Europe. The country includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea.
The United Kingdom is a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system, with its seat of government in the capital city of London. It is a country in its own right and consists of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. There are three devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff, the capitals of Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Associated with the UK, but not constitutionally part of it, are three Crown Dependencies. The United Kingdom has fourteen overseas territories. These are remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in 1922, encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land surface and was the largest empire in history. British influence can still be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former territories.
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United States
The United States of America (commonly abbreviated to the United States, the U.S., the USA, America, and the States) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west, across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Pacific and Caribbean.
At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km2) and with over 312 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largest country by total area, and the third largest by both land area and population. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The U.S. economy is the world's largest national economy, with an estimated 2011 GDP of $15.1 trillion (22% of nominal global GDP and over 19% of global GDP at purchasing-power parity). Per capita income is the world's sixth-highest.
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Venezuela
Venezuela (i/ˌvɛnɨˈzweɪlə/ VEN-ə-ZWAY-lə), officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Spanish: República Bolivariana de Venezuela [repuˈβlika βoliβaˈɾjana ðe βeneˈswela]), is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south. Its northern coastline of roughly 2,800 kilometres (1,700 mi) includes numerous islands in the Caribbean Sea, and in the north east borders the northern Atlantic Ocean. Caribbean islands such as Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Curaçao, Bonaire, Aruba and the Leeward Antilles lie near the Venezuelan coast. Venezuela's territory covers around 916,445 square kilometres (353,841 sq mi) with an estimated population of 29,105,632. Venezuela is considered a state with extremely high biodiversity, with habitats ranging from the Andes mountains in the west to the Amazon Basin rainforest in the south, via extensive llanos plains and Caribbean coast in the center and the Orinoco River Delta in the east.
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Veracruz
Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (Spanish pronunciation: [beɾaˈkɾuz ðe iɣˈnasjo ðe la ˈʎaβe]), officially Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states that, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided in 212 municipalities and its capital city is Xalapa-Enríquez.
It is located in Eastern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Tamaulipas to the north, San Luis Potosi and Hidalgo to the west, Puebla to the southwest, Oaxaca and Chiapas to the south and Tabasco to the southeast. To the east, Veracruz has a significant share of coastline on the Gulf of Mexico.
The state is noted for its mixed ethnic and large indigenous populations. Its cuisine reflects the many cultural influences that have come through the state because of the importance of the port of Veracruz.
In addition to the capital city, the state's largest cities include Veracruz, Coatzacoalcos, Córdoba, Minatitlán, Poza Rica, Boca Del Río and Orizaba.
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Victoria, Tamaulipas
Ciudad Victoria ([sjuˈðað βikˈtoɾja]), is the capital city of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It is located in the western-central region of the state. Ciudad Victoria is also the municipal seat of the surrounding Victoria Municipality, which covers an area of 1,638 km² (632.4 sq mi). According to the 2010 INEGI population count, the city had 305,155 inhabitants, and the Victoria Municipality had a population of 321,953. The city and the municipality both rank fourth in population size in the state, behind Reynosa, Matamoros, and Nuevo Laredo.
Ciudad Victoria was founded on October 6, 1750 with the name Villa de Santa María de Aguayo by José de Escandón y Helguera. On April 20, 1825, the town was elevated to the status of city, and was given its current name in honor of the first president of Mexico, Guadalupe Victoria. Toward the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the city began undergoing a number of modernizing changes. In 1890, a railroad was completed that passed through Ciudad Victoria on its route between Monterrey and Tampico. Several major highways were also completed during the 20th century.
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Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a federal district to become the national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution. The District is therefore not a part of any U.S. state. It was formed from land along the Potomac River donated by the states of Maryland and Virginia; however, the Virginia portion was returned by Congress in 1846.
A new capital city named after George Washington was founded in 1791 to the east of the preexisting port of Georgetown. Congress consolidated the City of Washington, Georgetown, and the remaining unincorporated area within the District under a single municipal government in 1871. The city shares its name with the U.S. state of Washington, located on the country's Pacific coast.
Washington, D.C., had an estimated population of 617,996 in 2011. The city was the 24th most populous place in the United States as of 2010. Commuters from the surrounding Maryland and Virginia suburbs raise the city's population to over one million during the workweek. The Washington Metropolitan Area, of which the District is a part, has a population of nearly 5.6 million, the seventh-largest metropolitan area in the country.
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West Germany
West Germany (German: Westdeutschland) is the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland) in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990.
During this period, West Germany and the communist East Germany were divided by the Inner German border. After 1961, West Berlin was physically separated from East Berlin as well as from East Germany by the Berlin Wall. This situation ended when East Germany was dissolved and its five states joined the ten states of the Federal Republic of Germany along with the reunified city-state of Berlin. The enlarged Federal Republic of Germany with sixteen states (known simply as "Germany") is thus the continuation of the pre-1990 Federal Republic of Germany.
The Federal Republic of Germany was established from eleven states formed in the three Allied Zones of occupation held by the United States, the United Kingdom and France (the "Western Zones"). The city of Bonn was its provisional capital city. The fourth Allied occupation zone (the East Zone, or Ostzone) was held by the Soviet Union. The parts of this zone lying east of the Oder-Neisse were in fact annexed by the Soviet Union and communist Poland; the remaining central part around Berlin became the communist German Democratic Republic (abbreviated GDR; in German Deutsche Demokratische Republik or DDR) with its de facto capital in East Berlin. As a result, West Germany had a territory about half the size of the interwar democratic Weimar Republic.
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Western hemisphere
The Western Hemisphere or western hemisphere is mainly used as a geographical term[citation needed] for the half of the Earth that lies west of the IERS Reference Meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the Antimeridian (the International Date Line), the other half being called the Eastern Hemisphere.
In this sense, the Western Hemisphere consists of the North America, South America, the western portions of Africa and Europe, the extreme eastern tip of Russia, numerous territories in Oceania, and a portion of Antarctica, while excluding some of the Aleutian Islands to the southwest of the Alaskan mainland.
The term is, however, often used in political rhetoric to mean only North America and South America (or the New World) and adjacent islands, however, the Western Hemsiphere does technically include all of the above mentioned territory.
In an effort to define the Western Hemisphere as the parts of the world which are not part of the Old World, there also exist projections which use the 20th meridian west and the diametrically opposed 160th meridian east to define the hemisphere. This projection excludes the European and African mainlands and a small portion of northeast Greenland, but includes more of eastern Russia and Oceania (e.g., New Zealand).
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Willemstad
Willemstad (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈʋɪ.ləm.ˌstɑt]) is the capital city of Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean Sea that forms a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Formerly the capital of the Netherlands Antilles prior to its dissolution in 2010, it has an estimated population of 140,000. The historic centre of the city consists of two quarters: Punda and Otrobanda. They are separated by the St. Anna bay, an inlet that leads into the large natural harbour called the 'Schottegat'.
Punda was established in 1634, when the Dutch captured the island from Spain. The original name of Punda was de punt in Dutch. Otrobanda, which was founded in 1707, is the newer section of the city and is considered to be the cultural center of Willemstad. Its name originated from the Papiamentu otro banda, which means "the other side." Punda and Otrobanda are connected by Queen Emma Bridge, a long bridge of boats. Although still in use, these days most road traffic now uses the Queen Juliana Bridge built in 1967 (rebuilt 1974) which arches high over the bay further inland. Nearby is also the now non-functioning Queen Wilhelmina Bridge draw bridge.
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Winnipeg
Winnipegi/ˈwɪnɪpɛɡ/ is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers (a point commonly known as The Forks).
The name "Winnipeg" comes from the Cree for "muddy waters". The Winnipeg area was a trading centre for Aboriginal peoples prior to the arrival of Europeans. The first fort was built there in 1738 by French traders. A settlement was later founded by the Selkirk settlers in 1812, the nucleus of which was incorporated as the City of Winnipeg in 1873 with a population of 1,869. Winnipeg is the seventh-largest municipality in Canada, with a population of 663,617 in the Canada 2011 Census.
Winnipeg has a diversified economy, with sectors in finance, manufacturing, food and beverage production, culture, retail and tourism. Winnipeg is a major transportation hub, served by Richardson International Airport. The city has railway connections to the United States and Eastern and Western Canada through three Class I rail carriers.
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Xalapa, Veracruz
Xalapa or Jalapa (/həˈlɑːpə/; [xaˈlapa]), officially Xalapa de Enríquez is the capital city of the Mexican state of Veracruz and the name of the surrounding municipality. In the year 2005 census the city reported a population of 387,879 and the municipality of which it serves as municipal seat reported a population of 413,136. The municipality has an area of 118.45 km². Xalapa lies near the geographic center of the state and is the second-largest city in the state after the city of Veracruz.
Xalapa comes from the Nahuatl roots xal-li "sand" and a-pan "water place", which approximately means "spring in the sand." It is classically pronounced [ʃaˈlapan] in Nahuatl, though the final [n] is often omitted; the [ʃ] sound (like English sh) was written x in the 16th century, but does not occur in modern Spanish, and its counterpart is the [x] or [h] sound, normally written j. The spelling Xalapa (like the word México) reflects the archaic pronunciation. The full name of the city is Xalapa-Enríquez, named in honor of 19th-century Governor Juan de la Luz Enríquez. The city's nickname "La ciudad de las flores" (The City of Flowers), was bestowed by Alexander von Humboldt, who visited the town on 10 February 1804. However, the reference is firmly embedded in its earlier colonial history. In folklore, the Spaniards believed that Xalapa was the birthplace and home of the "Florecita", which literally means little flower.
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Xochicalco
Xochicalco (Nahuatl pronunciation: [ʃotʃiˈkaɬko]) is a pre-Columbian archaeological site in the Municipality of Miacatlán in the western part of the Mexican state of Morelos. The name Xochicalco may be translated from Nahuatl as "in the (place of the) house of Flowers". The site is located 38 km southwest of Cuernavaca, about 76 miles by road from Mexico City. The site is open to visitors all week, from 10 am to 5 pm, although access to the observatory is only allowed after noon. The apogee of Xochicalco came after the fall of Teotihuacan and it has been speculated that Xochicalco may have played a part in the fall of the Teotihuacan empire.
The architecture and iconography of Xochicalco show affinities with Teotihuacan, the Maya area, and the Matlatzinca culture of the Toluca Valley. Today some residents of the nearby village of Cuentepec speak Nahuatl.
The main ceremonial center is atop an artificially leveled hill, with remains of residential structures, mostly unexcavated, on long terraces covering the slopes. The site was first occupied by 200 BC, but did not develop into an urban center until the Epiclassic period (AD 700 – 900). Nearly all the standing architecture at the site was built at this time. At its peak, the city may have had a population of up to 20,000 people.
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Xochimilco
Xochimilco (Spanish IPA: [ʃotʃiˈmilko]) is one of the sixteen delegaciones or boroughs within Mexican Federal District. The borough is centered on the formerly independent city of Xochimilco, which was established on what was the southern shore of Lake Xochimilco in the pre-Hispanic period. Today, the borough consists of the eighteen “barrios” or neighborhoods of this city along with fourteen “pueblos” or villages that surround it, covering an area of 125 km2 (48 sq mi). While the borough is somewhat in the geographic center of the Federal District, it is considered to be “south” and has an identity separate from the historic center of Mexico City. This is due to its historic separation from that city during most of its history. Xochimilco is best known for its canals, which are left from what was an extensive lake and canal system which connected most of the settlements of the Valley of Mexico. These canals, along with artificial islands called chinampas attract tourists and other city residents to ride on colorful gondola like boats called “trajineras” around the 170 km (110 mi) of canals. This canal and chinampa system, as a vestige of the area’s pre-Hispanic past, has made Xochimilco a World Heritage Site; however, environmental degradation of both the canals and the chinampas is severe and ongoing, putting that status in question for the future.
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Yokohama
Yokohama (横浜市, Yokohama-shi?, "Side Shore") ( listen (help·info)) is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu. It is a major commercial hub of the Greater Tokyo Area.
Yokohama's population of 3.7 million makes it Japan's largest incorporated city.
Yokohama developed rapidly as Japan's prominent port city following the end of Japan's relative isolation in the mid-19th century, and is today one of its major ports along with Kobe, Osaka, Nagoya, Hakata, Tokyo, and Chiba.
Yokohama was a small fishing village up to the end of the feudal Edo period, when Japan held a policy of national seclusion, having little contact with foreigners. A major turning point in Japanese history happened in 1853–54, when Commodore Matthew Perry arrived just south of Yokohama with a fleet of American warships, demanding that Japan open several ports for commerce, and the Tokugawa shogunate agreed by signing the Treaty of Peace and Amity.
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Yucatán
Yucatán (Spanish pronunciation: [ʝukaˈtan]), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Yucatán (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Yucatán), is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 106 municipalities, and its capital city is Mérida.
It is located in Southeastern Mexico, on the north part of the Yucatán Peninsula. It is bordered by the states of Campeche to the southwest, Quintana Roo to the northeast and the Gulf of Mexico lies off its north coast.
Before the arrival of Spaniards to the Yucatán Peninsula, the name of this region was el Mayab. In Mayan language, "ma' ya'ab" is translated as "a few". It was a very important region for the Mayan civilization, which reached the peak of its development on this place, where they founded the cities of Chichen Itza, Izamal, Motul, Mayapan, Ek' Balam and Ichcaanzihóo (also called T'Hó), now Mérida.
After the Spanish conquest, Yucatán Peninsula was a single administrative and political entity, the Captaincy General of Yucatán. Following independence and the breakup of the Mexican Empire in 1823, the first Republic of Yucatán was proclaimed which then was voluntarily annexed to the Federal Republic of United Mexican States on December 21, 1823. Later on March 16, 1841, as result of cultural and political conflicts around the federal pact, Yucatán declared independence from Mexico to form a second Republic of Yucatán, but eventually on July 14, 1848, Yucatán was definitely rejoined to Mexico. In 1858, in the middle of the caste war, the state of Yucatan was divided for the first time, establishing Campeche as separate state (officially in 1863). During the Porfiriato, in 1902, the state of Yucatan was divided again to form the Federal territory that later became the present state of Quintana Roo.
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Zacatecas
Zacatecas (Spanish pronunciation: [sakaˈtekas]), officially Free and Sovereign State of Zacatecas (Spanish: Estado Libre y Soberano de Zacatecas), is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas.
It is located in North-Central Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Durango to the northwest, Coahuila to the north, Nayarit to the west, San Luis Potosí and Nuevo León to the east, and Jalisco, Guanajuato and Aguascalientes to the south.
The state of Zacatecas is best known for its rich deposits of silver and other minerals, its colonial architecture and its importance during the Mexican revolution. Its main economic activities are mining, agriculture and tourism.
"Zacatecas" is the Nahuatl-derived name for one of the indigenous peoples who inhabited the region before the arrival of the Spanish. The name ultimately derives from the Nahuatl word for a type of grass common in the region, zacatl. The region where this grass grew was originally called Zacatlan, and its inhabitants, Zacateca, pluralized in Mexican Spanish to Zacatecas.
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Zacatecas, Zacatecas
Zacatecas (Spanish pronunciation: [sakaˈtekas]) is a city and municipality in Mexico, and the capital of the state of Zacatecas. It is located in the north central part of the country. The city had its start as a Spanish mining camp in the mid 16th century. Prior to this, the area's rich deposits in silver and other minerals were known. Due to the wealth that the mines provided, Zacatecas quickly became one of the most important cities in New Spain, with much of it silver enriching the Spanish crown. The area saw battles during the turbulent 19th century, but the next major event was the Battle of Zacatecas during the Mexican Revolution when Francisco Villa took the town. This event is still celebrated annually. Today, the city center is a World Heritage Site, due to the Baroque and other structures built during its mining heyday and mining still remains an important industry. The name Zacatecas is derived from the Zacateco people and has its roots in Nahuatl. The name literally means "people of the grasslands."
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Zona Rosa
Zona Rosa is a neighborhood in Mexico City which is known for its shopping, nightlife, gay community, and its recently established Korean community. The neighborhood is officially part of the Colonia Juárez colonia or official neighborhood, located just west of the historic center of Mexico City.
The area’s history as a community began when it was developed as a residential district for wealthy foreigners and Mexico City residents looking to move from the city center. The development of the area stalled during and after the Mexican Revolution, but the streets named after European capitals and remaining European style mansions are a testament to the area’s immigrant origins. The next phase in the area’s history was from the 1950s to 1980s, when it was revitalized by artists, intellectuals and the city’s elite who repopulated the area, gave it a bohemian reputation and attracted exclusive restaurants and clubs for visiting politicians and other notables. It was during this time that the area received the name of Zona Rosa, from José Luis Cuevas, who commented that it was too timid to be red but too frivolous to be white. The era ended in the 1980s, when many of the upscale businesses moved out and tourism, men’s clubs, prostitution and other crime moved in.
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Zócalo
The Zócalo (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈsokalo], plinth) is the main plaza or square in the heart of the historic center of Mexico City. The plaza used to be known simply as the "Main Square" or "Arms Square," and today its formal name is Plaza de la Constitución (Constitution Square). This name does not come from any of the Mexican constitutions that have governed the country but rather from the Cádiz Constitution which was signed in Spain in 1812. However, it is almost always called the Zócalo today. Plans were made to erect a column as a monument to Independence, but only the base, or zócalo, was ever built. The plinth was destroyed long ago but the name has lived on. Many other Mexican towns and cities, such as Oaxaca and Guadalajara, have adopted the word zócalo to refer to their main plazas, but not all.
It has been a gathering place for Mexicans since Aztec times, having been the site of Mexica ceremonies, the swearing in of viceroys, royal proclamations, military parades, Independence ceremonies and modern religious events such as the festivals of Holy Week and Corpus Christi. It has received foreign heads of state and is the main venue for both national celebration and national protest.
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Álvaro Obregón, D.F.
Álvaro Obregón is one of the 16 delegaciones (boroughs) into which Mexico's Federal District is divided. It contains a large portion of the south-west part of Mexico City. It had a 2010 census population of 727,034 inhabitants and lies at an elevation of 2,319 m. above sea level.
It was named after Álvaro Obregón, a leader of the Mexican Revolution and an early-20th-century Mexican president, who was assassinated in this area. Its former name is San Ángel, and the historic San Ángel neighborhood still retains this name, as does the Televisa San Angel motion picture and television studio, which is located in this borough.
The borough of Álvaro Obregon is located in the West of the Federal District, and has a land surface of 96.17 km², with an elongated shape from Northeast to Southeast.
It borders Miguel Hidalgo borough to the North, Benito Juarez and Coyoacán to the East, Magdalena Contreras, Tlalpan and Jalatlacalco municipality (State of Mexico) to the South and Cuajimalpa to the West. Together with this borough Álvaro Obregón becomes the Western access to the city, and its regional roadways are the Federal Highway and the Freeway, which constitute the entry for merchandise and population from the states of Mexico and Michoacán.
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Adolfo Domínguez
Adolfo Domínguez (Spanish pronunciation: [aˈðolfo ðoˈmiŋgeθ]), born Adolfo Domínguez Fernández, is a Spanish fashion designer.
He was born May 14, 1950 in Ourense, Galicia in northern Spain.[citation needed] He studied design and cinematography in Paris, with further studies in London.[citation needed]
He took over his father's fashion boutique in Ourense in the early 1970s.[citation needed] He spent the following years developing his own designs, and finally made the big jump with a presentation of his work in Madrid in 1981.[citation needed] He also became the first Spanish designer to open his own brand-name store in Madrid, which soon mushroomed into a chain with outlets across Spain and abroad. The company went public in 1997.
Style His style is urbane, functional, casual and eminently comfortable, making use of loose, natural fabrics. One of his key marketing strategies has been to avoid distribution through multi-brand shops and target the ultimate consumer directly, reducing delivery time and cost to the buyers.[attribution needed]
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Alberto Kalach
Alberto Kalach (born 1960) is a Mexican architect.
Alberto Kalach was born in Mexico City, studied architecture at the Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico City, and completed graduate studies later at Cornell University in Ithaca. In 1981 he founded the firm "Taller de Arquitectura X" with Daniel Álvarez, with whom he worked until 2002, when Álvarez left the firm. While he continues to direct TAX, in 2002 his interests also turned to the urban planning problems of his home town, and founded the community "México: future city" (Spanish: México: ciudad futura). He realized several joint projects, some of them with notable colleagues like Teodoro González de León, Gustavo Lipkau and Jose Castillo. His lake concepts were significant in solving existing water supply problems in Mexico City. He published several articles in national and international magazines of architecture, and participates in the "Recovering the City of Lakes" project(Spanish: Vuelta a la ciudad lacustre).
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Auguste Rodin
François-Auguste-René Rodin (12 November 1840 – 17 November 1917), known as Auguste Rodin ( /oʊˈɡuːst roʊˈdæn/ oh-GOOST roh-DAN; French: [oɡyst ʁɔdɛ̃]), was a French sculptor. Although Rodin is generally considered the progenitor of modern sculpture, he did not set out to rebel against the past. He was schooled traditionally, took a craftsman-like approach to his work, and desired academic recognition, although he was never accepted into Paris's foremost school of art.
Sculpturally, Rodin possessed a unique ability to model a complex, turbulent, deeply pocketed surface in clay. Many of his most notable sculptures were roundly criticized during his lifetime. They clashed with the predominant figure sculpture tradition, in which works were decorative, formulaic, or highly thematic. Rodin's most original work departed from traditional themes of mythology and allegory, modeled the human body with realism, and celebrated individual character and physicality. Rodin was sensitive to the controversy surrounding his work, but refused to change his style. Successive works brought increasing favor from the government and the artistic community.
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Beijing
Beijing ( /beɪˈdʒɪŋ/; Chinese: 北京; pinyin: Běijīng, [peɪ˨˩ t͡ɕiŋ˥]), formerly romanized as Peking ( /piːˈkɪŋ/ or /peɪˈkɪŋ/), is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The metropolis, located in northern China, is governed as a direct-controlled municipality under the national government, with 14 urban and suburban districts and two rural counties. Beijing Municipality is surrounded by Hebei Province with the exception of neighboring Tianjin Municipality to the southeast.
Beijing is China's second largest city by urban population after Shanghai and is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's largest state-owned companies. Beijing is a major transportation hub in the national highway, expressway, railway and high-speed rail network. Beijing's Capital International Airport is the second busiest in the world by passenger traffic.
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Benito Juárez
Benito Juárez (Spanish pronunciation: [beˈnito ˈxwaɾes]; 21 March 1806 – 18 July 1872) born Benito Pablo Juárez García, was a Mexican lawyer and politician of Zapotec origin from Oaxaca who served five terms as president of Mexico: 1858–1861 as interim, then 1861–1865, 1865–1867, 1867–1871 and 1871–1872. He resisted the French occupation of Mexico, overthrew the Second Mexican Empire, restored the Republic, and used liberal efforts to modernize the country.
Juárez was born on 21 March 1806 in a small adobe home in the village of San Pablo Guelatao, Oaxaca, located in the mountain range now known as the "Sierra Juárez". His parents, Marcelino Juárez and Brígida García, were peasants who both died of complications of diabetes when he was three years old. Shortly after, his grandparents died as well , and his uncle then raised him. He described his parents as "indios de la raza primitiva del país," that is, "Indians of the original race of the country." He worked in the corn fields and as a shepherd until the age of 12, when he walked to the city of Oaxaca de Juárez to attend school. At the time, he was illiterate and could not speak Spanish, only Zapotec.
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Brazilian people
Brazilians (brasileiros in Portuguese) are all people born in Brazil. A Brazilian can be also a person born abroad to a Brazilian parent or a foreigner living in Brazil who applied for Brazilian citizenship.
According to the Constitution of Brazil, a Brazilian citizen is:
According to the Constitution, all people who hold Brazilian citizenship are equal, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender or religion.
A foreigner can apply for Brazilian citizenship after living for 4 (four) uninterrupted years in Brazil and being able to speak Portuguese. A native person from an official Portuguese language country (Portugal, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe, Guinea Bissau and East Timor) can request the Brazilian nationality after only 1 uninterrupted year living in Brazil. A foreign born person who holds Brazilian citizenship has exactly the same rights and duties of the Brazilian citizen by birth, but cannot occupy some special public positions such as the Presidency of the Republic, Vice-presidency of the Republic, Minister (Secretary) of Defense, Presidency (Speaker) of the Senate, Presidency (Speaker) of the House of Representatives, Officer of the Armed Forces and Diplomat.
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Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy indigenous to the Indian subcontinent and encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs, and practices largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, who is commonly known as the Buddha (meaning "the awakened one" in Sanskrit and Pāli). The Buddha lived and taught in the eastern part of Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE. He is recognized by Buddhists as an awakened or enlightened teacher who shared his insights to help sentient beings end ignorance (avidyā), craving (taṇhā), and suffering (dukkha), by recognizing dependent origination and sunyata, and attain Nirvana.
Two major branches of Buddhism are recognized: Theravada ("The School of the Elders") and Mahayana ("The Great Vehicle"). Theravada has a widespread following in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. Mahayana is found throughout East Asia and includes the traditions of Pure Land, Zen, Nichiren Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism, Shingon, Tiantai (Tendai) and Shinnyo-en. In some classifications, Vajrayana—practiced mainly in Tibet and Mongolia, and adjacent parts of China and Russia—is recognized as a third branch, while others classify it as a part of Mahayana. There are other categorisations of these three Vehicles or Yanas.
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Casas Grandes
Casas Grandes (Spanish for Great Houses; also known as Paquimé) is the contemporary name given to a pre-Columbian archaeological zone and its central site, located in northwestern Mexico in the modern-day Mexican state of Chihuahua. It is one of the largest and most complex sites in the region. Developed as multi-storied dwellings about 1350 CE after earlier settlement beginning after 1130 CE, the community was abandoned approximately 1450 CE. Regarded as one of the most significant archaeological zones in the northwestern region, Casas Grandes is located in a wide, fertile valley on the Casas Grandes or San Miguel River, 35 miles (56 km) south of Janos and 150 miles (240 km) northwest of the state capital, the city of Chihuahua. The settlement relied on irrigation to support its agriculture. Casas Grandes has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The archaeological zone is contained within the eponymous modern municipio (municipality) of Casas Grandes. The valley and region have been inhabited by indigenous groups for thousands of years.
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Charles IV of Spain
Charles IV (Carlos Antonio Pascual Francisco Javier Juan Nepomuceno Jose Januario Serafin Diego; 11 November 1748 – 20 January 1819) was King of Spain from 14 December 1788 until his abdication on 19 March 1808.
Charles was the second son of Charles III and his wife Maria Amalia of Saxony. He was born at Naples (11 November 1748), while his father was king of the Two Sicilies. His elder brother Don Felipe was passed over for the two thrones as mentally retarded and epileptic. In Naples and Sicily he was styled as the Prince of Taranto.
Charles had inherited a great frame and immense physical strength from the Saxon line of his mother, granddaughter of August the Strong. When young he was fond of wrestling with the strongest countrymen he could find. While he was considered by many to be intellectually sluggish and quite credulous he was also known for his acts of kindness.
In 1788, Charles III died and Charles IV succeeded to the throne. Even though he had a profound belief in the sanctity of his office and kept up the appearance of an absolute, powerful monarch, he never took more than a passive part in the direction of his own government, occupying himself with hunting. The affairs of government he left to his wife and his prime minister. In 1792, Maria Luisa finally succeeded in ousting the Count of Floridablanca from office and had him replaced with Pedro Pablo Abarca de Bolea, Count of Aranda, the chief of the Aragonese party. However, in the wake of the war against Republican France, the liberal-leaning Count of Aranda was replaced by Manuel de Godoy, a favourite of the Queen and allegedly her lover, who thenceforth enjoyed the lasting favour of the King.
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China
China (i/ˈtʃaɪnə/; Chinese: 中国; pinyin: Zhōngguó; see also Names of China), officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is the world's most-populous country, with a population of over 1.3 billion. Covering approximately 9.6 million square kilometres, the East Asian state is the world's second-largest country by land area, and the third- or fourth-largest in total area, depending on the definition of total area.
The People's Republic of China is a single-party state governed by the Communist Party of China. It exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four directly controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing), and two mostly self-governing special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau). Its capital city is Beijing. The PRC also claims Taiwan—which is controlled by the Republic of China (ROC), a separate political entity—as its 23rd province, a claim controversial due to the complex political status of Taiwan and the unresolved Chinese Civil War. The PRC government denies the legitimacy of the ROC.
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Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:
Race (hereditary reasons), nationality, citizenship, place of residence (geographical factors), and ancestry (historical and genealogical factors) can be used to define someone as Chinese.
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Colombian people
Colombian people are from a multiethnic Spanish speaking nation in South America called Colombia. Colombians are predominantly Roman Catholic and are a mixture of Europeans, Africans, and Amerindians.
With approximately 43.6 million people in 2006, Colombia is the third-most populous country in Latin America, after Brazil and Mexico.
Movement from rural to urban areas was very heavy in the mid-twentieth century, but has since tapered off. The urban population increased from 31% of the total population in 1938, to 57% in 1951 and about 70% by 1990. Currently the figure is about 77%. Thirty cities have a population of 100,000 or more. The nine eastern lowlands departments, constituting about 54% of Colombia's area, have less than 3% of the population and a density of less than one person per square kilometer (two persons per sq mi.). Colombia's total population in 2015 is projected to be more than 52 million.
More than two-thirds of all Colombians live in urban areas – a figure significantly higher than the world average. The literacy rate (94 percent) in Colombia is also well above the world average, and the rate of population growth is slightly higher than the world average. Also, a large proportion of Colombians are young, largely because of recent decreases in the infant mortality rate. While 33 percent of the people are 14 years of age or younger, just 4 percent are aged 65 or older.
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Cuauhtémoc
Cuauhtémoc (also known as Cuauhtemotzin, Guatimozin or Guatemoc; c. 1495 – 28 February 1525) was the Aztec ruler (tlatoani) of Tenochtitlan from 1520 to 1521. The name Cuāuhtemōc (Nahuatl pronunciation: [kʷaːʍˈtemoːk]) means "One That Has Descended Like an Eagle", commonly rendered in English as "Swooping Eagle" as in the moment when an eagle folds its wings and plummets down to strike its prey, so this is a name that implies aggressiveness and determination.
Cuauhtémoc took power in 1520 as successor of Cuitláhuac and was a cousin of the former emperor Moctezuma II, and his young wife, who would later be known as Isabel Moctezuma, was one of Moctezuma's daughters. He ascended to the throne when he was 25 years of age, as his city was being besieged by the Spanish and devastated by an epidemic of smallpox brought to the New World by Spanish Invaders. Probably after the killings in the main temple, there were few Aztec captains available to take the position.
On August 13, 1521, Cuauhtémoc went to call for reinforcements from the countryside to aid the falling Tenochtitlán, after eighty days of continuous urban warfare against the Spanish. Of all the Nahuas, only Tlatelolcas remained loyal, and the surviving Tenochcas looked for refuge in Tlatelolco, where even women took part in the battle. Cuauhtémoc was captured while fleeing Tenochtitlán by crossing Lake Texcoco in disguise with his wife, family, and friends. He surrendered to Hernán Cortés along with the surviving pipiltin (nobles), and offered him his knife and asked to be killed.
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Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas
Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas Solórzano (born May 1, 1934) is a prominent Mexican politician. He was a former Head of Government of the Federal District and a founder of the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD).
He was born in Mexico City, the son of President Lázaro Cárdenas del Río and Amalia Solórzano, and studied at Colegio Williams.
Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas served as a senator for the state of Michoacán from 1974 to 1980 and as governor of that same state from 1980 to 1986. He won election to these two posts as a member of the then-ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).
In 1987, he and other politicians from the PRI announced the creation of the Corriente Democrática ("Democratic Current") within the party to discuss a change in the process traditionally used to nominate the PRI's candidate for the presidency (there was an extralegal rule called el dedazo as the "right" by which the incumbent president picked his successor. The expression is a reference to the action of pointing with a finger to the successor.). The Current nominated Cárdenas as its candidate. Some left the Current and the supporters of Cárdenas were ostracized and expelled from the PRI. He received the support of several small left-wing parties and was the 1988 presidential candidate of the Frente Democrático Nacional (National Democratic Front), a loose alliance of these organizations.
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Cubans
Cubans or Cuban people (Spanish: Cubanos) are the inhabitants or citizens of Cuba. Cuba is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds. As a result, some Americans do not treat their nationality as an ethnicity but as a citizenship with various ethnicities comprising the "Cuban people." Nearly all Cubans or their ancestors immigrated within the past five centuries.
Despite its multi-ethnic composition, the culture held in common by most Cubans is referred to as mainstream Cuban culture, a Western culture largely derived from the traditions of Western European migrants, beginning with the early Spanish settlers, along with other Europeans arriving later such as the Portuguese and French with African culture which has also been very influential.
The population of Cuba (2010) was 11,241,161 people. The largest urban populations of Cubans in Cuba (2010) are to be found in Havana ( 2,135,498), Santiago de Cuba ( 425,851), Camagüey (305,845), Holguín (277,050), Guantanamo ( 207,857), and Santa Clara ( 205,812). According to Cuba's Oficina Nacional de Estadisticas ONE 2002 Census, the population was 11,177,743, including:
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Cuitláhuac
Cuitláhuac (c. 1476 – 1520) or Cuitláhuac (in Spanish orthography; in Nahuatl: cuitlāhuac, honorific form Cuitlahuatzin) was the 10th tlatoani (ruler) of the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan for 80 days during the year Two Flint (1520).
Cuitláhuac was the eleventh son of the ruler Axayacatl and a younger brother of Moctezuma II, the previous ruler of Tenochtitlan. His mother's father, also called Cuitlahuac, had been ruler of Itztapalapan, and the younger Cuitláhuac also ruled there initially.
Cuitláhuac was made tlatoani of Tenochtitlan during the Spanish conquest of Mexico; After Pedro de Alvarado had ordered the massacre in the Main Temple, the Aztecs were very upset and started to fight and put a siege to the Spaniards. Hernán Cortés ordered Moctezuma to ask his people to stop fighting. Moctezuma told him that they would not listen to him and suggested Cortés free Cuitláhuac so that he could convince them to dispose of their arms and not fight anymore. Cortés then freed Cuitláhuac and once Cuitláhuac was free he led his people against the conquistadors. He succeeded and the Spaniards were driven out of Tenochtitlan on June 30, 1520. Cuitláhuac was ritually married to Moctezuma's eldest daughter, a ten or eleven year old girl who later was called Isabel Moctezuma.
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Diego Rivera
Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez (December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957) better known simply as Diego Rivera was a prominent Mexican painter born in Guanajuato, Guanajuato, and husband of Frida Kahlo (1929–1939 and 1940–1954). His large wall works in fresco helped establish the Mexican Mural Movement in Mexican art. Between 1922 and 1953, Rivera painted murals among others in Mexico City, Chapingo, Cuernavaca, San Francisco, Detroit, and New York City. In 1931, a retrospective exhibition of his works was held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
Diego Rivera was born in Guanajuato, Guanajuato, to a well-to-do family. Rivera was descended from Spanish nobility on his father's side. Diego had a twin brother named Carlos, who died two years after they were born. From the age of ten, Rivera studied art at the Academy of San Carlos in Mexico City. He was sponsored to continue study in Europe by Teodoro A. Dehesa Méndez, the governor of the State of Veracruz. His mother was a Converso, a Jew whose ancestors had been forced to convert to Catholicism. Speaking about himself, Rivera wrote in 1935 "My Jewishness is the dominant element in my life.
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Dolores Olmedo
María de los Dolores Olmedo y Patiño Suarez (December 14, 1908 – July 26, 2002; Mexico City) was a Mexican businesswoman, philanthropist and musician, better known for her friendship with Mexican painters Frida Kahlo and her husband Diego Rivera; she appeared on some of his paintings. Following Rivera's death in 1957, she and Rivera's daughter Guadalupe asked then president Adolfo López Mateos to consider Rivera and José Clemente Orozco's paintings historical monuments.
In 1962, she acquired a property at La Noria, Xochimilco in southern Mexico City, which she would later convert into a museum (named after herself) in 1994. Donating her entire collection of art including pre-Hispanic, colonial, folk, modern and contemporary art, the Dolores Olmedo Patiño Museum host the greatest collection of Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera and Angelina Beloff. Upon her death in 2002, she left funds for taking care of her museum (Dolores Olmedo Museum in English), now open to the public.
The five-building complex contains up to 150 paintings, including 145 Rivera's, 25 from Kahlo's (and some of their scripts and drawings), nearly 6,000 pre-Hispanic figurines and sculptures as well diverse living animals such as geese, ducks, six xoloitzcuintles and Indian Peafowls kept in gardens. Recently new areas have been added to the museum, "her private rooms" where she kept original decorations of her house such as ivory, china, and artwork by artist whom she nurtured in her latter years including José Juárez and Francisco Guevara.
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Dutch people
The Dutch people (Dutch: Nederlanders (help·info)) are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada,Australia,South Africa,New Zealand, and the United States.
The traditional art and culture of the Dutch encompasses various forms of traditional music, dances, architectural styles and clothing, some of which are globally recognizable. Internationally, Dutch painters such as Rembrandt, Vermeer and Van Gogh are held in high regard. The dominant religion of the Dutch is Christianity (both Catholic and Protestant), although in modern times the majority is no longer (openly) religious. Significant percentages of the Dutch are adherents of humanism, agnosticism, atheism or individual spirituality.
In the Middle Ages the Low Countries were situated around the border of France and the Holy Roman Empire, forming a part of their respective peripheries, and the various territories of which they consisted had de facto become virtually autonomous by the 13th century. Under the Habsburgs, the Netherlands were organised into a single administrative unit, and in the 16th and 17th centuries the Northern Netherlands gained independence from Spain as the Dutch Republic. The high degree of urbanization characteristic of Dutch society was attained at a relatively early date. During the Republic the first series of large scale Dutch migrations outside of Europe took place.
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Egyptians
Egyptians (Egyptian Arabic: مَصريين IPA: [mɑsˤɾejˈjiːn]; Arabic: مِصريّون miṣriyūn) are the inhabitants and citizens of Egypt sharing a common culture and a dialect of Arabic.
Egyptian identity is closely tied to geography. The population of Egypt is concentrated in the lower Nile Valley, the small strip of cultivable land stretching from the First Cataract to the Mediterranean and enclosed by desert both to the east and to the west. This unique geography has been the basis of the development of Egyptian society since antiquity. If regarded as a single ethnic group, the Egyptian people constitute one of the world's largest.
The daily language of the Egyptians is the local variety of Arabic, known as Egyptian Arabic or Masri, Also a sizable minority of Egyptian speak Sa'idi Arabic in Upper Egypt. Egyptians are predominantly adherents of Sunni Islam with a Shia minority and a significant proportion who follow native Sufi orders. A sizable minority of Egyptians belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church, whose liturgical language, Coptic, is the last stage of the indigenous Egyptian language.
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El Greco
El Greco born Doménikos Theotokópoulos, (1541 – 7 April 1614) was a painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. "El Greco" (The Greek) was a nickname, a reference to his ethnic Greek origin, and the artist normally signed his paintings with his full birth name in Greek letters, Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος (Doménikos Theotokópoulos), often adding the word Κρής (Krēs, "Cretan").
El Greco was born on Crete, which was at that time part of the Republic of Venice, and the centre of Post-Byzantine art. He trained and became a master within that tradition before travelling at age 26 to Venice, as other Greek artists had done. In 1570 he moved to Rome, where he opened a workshop and executed a series of works. During his stay in Italy, El Greco enriched his style with elements of Mannerism and of the Venetian Renaissance. In 1577, he moved to Toledo, Spain, where he lived and worked until his death. In Toledo, El Greco received several major commissions and produced his best-known paintings.
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Federico Döring
Federico Döring Casar (México City, 13 September 1971), is a Mexican conservative politician from Mexico City affiliated to the National Action Party (PAN) who currently serves in the upper house of the Mexican Congress.
Döring received a bachelor's degree in administration from the ITAM.
Döring served in the Legislative Assembly of the Federal District and then he served in the Chamber of Deputies during the LIX Legislature, representing the Federal District's 15th District. In the general election of 2 July 2006 he was elected to the Senate for the PAN, representing the Federal District.
In 2004 he delivered to Víctor Trujillo, a Mexican television presenter, a video that was played on Trujillo's news program in which René Bejarano, previously Andrés Manuel López Obrador's personal secretary, was videotaped accepting USD $45,000 in cash. (See main article videoscandals)
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Filipino people
The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 94 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines.
There are around 180 languages spoken in the Philippines, most of them belonging to the Austronesian language family, with Tagalog and Cebuano having the greatest number of native speakers. The official languages of the Philippines are Filipino and English and most Filipinos are bilingual or trilingual.
Most Filipinos refer to themselves colloquially as "Pinoy" (feminine: "Pinay"), which is a slang word formed by taking the last four letters of "Pilipino" and adding the diminutive suffix "-y". The lack of the letter "F" in the pre-1987 Philippine alphabet, Abakada, had caused the letter "F" to be substituted with "P". This is why, when the 28-letter modern Filipino alphabet was made official in 1987, the name Filipino was preferred over Pilipino. The name Filipino was chosen by the Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos, who named the islands "las Islas Filipinas" ("the Philippine Islands") after Philip II of Spain.
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Francisco I. Madero
Francisco Ignacio Madero González (30 October 1873 – 21 February 1913) was a politician, writer and revolutionary who served as President of Mexico from 1911 to 1913. As a respectable upper-class politician, he supplied a center around which opposition to the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz could coalesce. However, once Díaz was deposed, Madero proved to be ineffective, and the Mexican Revolution quickly spun out of his control. He was deposed and executed by the Porfirista military and his aides, which he had neglected to replace with revolutionary supporters. His assassination was followed by the most violent period of the revolution in Mexico (1913–1917), lasting until the Constitution of 1917 and revolutionary president Venustiano Carranza achieved some degree of stability. Followers of Madero were known as Maderistas.
He was born in Parras de la Fuente, Coahuila, the son of Francisco Indalecio Madero Hernández and Mercedes González Treviño. His family was one of the wealthiest families in Mexico: his grandfather had founded the Compañía Industrial de Parras, which was initially involved in vineyards, cotton, and textiles, and later expanded into mining, cotton mills, ranching, banking, coal, rubber, and foundries in the later part of the nineteenth century.
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French people
The French (French: Français) are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups. Within France, the French are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence.
However, the word can also refer to people of French descent who are found in other countries, with significant French-speaking population groups or not, such as Argentina (French Argentines), Brazil (French Brazilians), French West Indies (the French Caribbean people), Canada (French Canadians) and the United States (French Americans), and some of them have a French cultural identity. The United Kingdom also has a large French population, mainly in England, and due to historic relations and immigration.
To be French, according to the first article of the Constitution, is to be a citizen of France, regardless of one's origin, race, or religion (sans distinction d'origine, de race ou de religion). According to its principles, France has devoted herself to the destiny of a proposition nation, a generic territory where people are bounded only by the French language and the assumed willingness to live together, as defined by Ernest Renan's "plébiscite de tous les jours" ("daily referendum" on the willingness to live together, in Renan's 1882 essay "Qu'est-ce qu'une nation?").
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Germans
The Germans (Deutsche) are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages. Legally, Germans are citizens of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Of approximately 100 million native speakers of German in the world, about 66–75 million consider themselves Germans. There are an additional 80 million people of German ancestry mainly in the United States, Brazil, Canada, Argentina, France, Russia, Chile, Poland, Australia and Romania who most likely are not native speakers of German. Thus, the total number of Germans worldwide lies between 66 and 160 million, depending on the criteria applied (native speakers, single-ancestry ethnic Germans, partial German ancestry, etc.).
Today, peoples from countries with a German-speaking majority or significant German-speaking population groups other than Germany, such as Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg, have developed their own national identity and usually do not refer to themselves as "Germans" in a modern context.
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Guangzhou
Guangzhou (Chinese: 广州; Mandarin pronunciation: [kwɑ̀ŋʈʂóʊ̯]), known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about 120 km (75 mi) north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port. One of the five National Central Cities, it holds sub-provincial administrative status.
Guangzhou is the third largest city in China and southern China's largest city. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 12.78 million. Some estimates place the population of the entire Pearl River Delta Mega City built up area as high as 40 million including Shenzhen (10.36 million), Dongguan (8.22 million) and most parts of Foshan (7.19 million), Jiangmen (4.45 million), Zhongshan (3.12 million) and a small part of Huizhou adjoining Dongguan and Shenzhen, with an area of about 20,000 square kilometres (7,700 sq mi) (about the size of US state of New Jersey). In 2008 Guangzhou was identified as a Beta World City by the global city index produced by GaWC.
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Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca (Spanish pronunciation: [erˈnaŋ korˈtes de monˈroj i piˈθaro]; 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century. Cortés was part of the generation of Spanish colonizers that began the first phase of the Spanish colonization of the Americas.
Born in Medellín, Spain, to a family of lesser nobility, Cortés chose to pursue a livelihood in the New World. He went to Hispaniola and later to Cuba, where he received an encomienda and, for a short time, became alcalde (magistrate) of the second Spanish town founded on the island. In 1519, he was elected captain of the third expedition to the mainland, an expedition which he partly funded. His enmity with the Governor of Cuba, Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar, resulted in the recall of the expedition at the last moment, an order which Cortés ignored. Arriving on the continent, Cortés executed a successful strategy of allying with some indigenous peoples against others. He also used a native woman, Doña Marina, as an interpreter; she would later bear Cortés a son. When the Governor of Cuba sent emissaries to arrest Cortés, he fought them and won, using the extra troops as reinforcements. Cortés wrote letters directly to the king asking to be acknowledged for his successes instead of punished for mutiny. After he overthrew the Aztec Empire, Cortés was awarded the title of Marqués del Valle de Oaxaca, while the more prestigious title of Viceroy was given to a high-ranking nobleman, Antonio de Mendoza. In 1541 Cortés returned to Spain, where he died peacefully but embittered, six years later.
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Hondurans
Hondurans (Spanish: Hondureños; also Catrachos) are people inhabiting in, originating or having significant heritage from Honduras. Most Hondurans live in Honduras, although there is also a significant Honduran diaspora, particularly in the United States with smaller communities in other countries around the world. There are also people living in Honduras who are not Hondurans because they were not born or raised in Honduras nor have they gained citizenship.
Central Americans refer to a person from Honduras as a Catracho. The term was coined by Nicaraguans in the mid-19th century when Honduran General Florencio Xatruch returned from battle with his soldiers after defeating American freebooters commanded by William Walker, whose purpose was to re-establish slavery and take over all of Central America. As the general and his soldiers returned, some Nicaraguans yelled out ¡Vienen los xatruches!, meaning "Here come Xatruch's boys!" However, Nicaraguans had so much trouble pronouncing the general's last name that they altered the phrase to los catruches and ultimately settled on los catrachos.
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Hong Kong
Coordinates: 22°16′42″N 114°09′32″E / 22.27833°N 114.15889°E / 22.27833; 114.15889
Hong Kong (Chinese: 香港) is one of two special administrative regions (SARs) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is known for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour. With a land mass of 1,104 km2 (426 sq mi) and a population of seven million people, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Hong Kong's population is 95 percent ethnic Chinese and 5 percent from other groups. Hong Kong's Han Chinese majority originate mainly from the cities of Guangzhou and Taishan in the neighbouring Guangdong province.
Hong Kong became a colony of the British Empire after the First Opium War (1839–42). Originally confined to Hong Kong Island, the colony's boundaries were extended in stages to the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 and then the New Territories in 1898. It was occupied by Japan during the Pacific War, after which the British resumed control until 1997, when China resumed sovereignty. The region espoused minimum government intervention under the ethos of positive non-interventionism during the colonial era. The time period greatly influenced the current culture of Hong Kong, often described as "East meets West", and the educational system, which used to loosely follow the system in England until reforms implemented in 2009.
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Irish people
The Irish people (Irish: Muintir na hÉireann or na hÉireannaigh; Ulster-Scots: Airisch or Airish fowk) are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years (according to archaeological studies, see Prehistoric Ireland). The Irish people's earliest ancestors are recorded in legends – they are claimed to be descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha Dé Danann and the Milesians.Lebor Gabála Érenn, a book of Irish mythology tells that Tuatha Dé Dananns were Scythian descendants.
The main groups that interacted with the Irish in the Middle Ages include the Picts, Scots, and the Vikings. Due to this contact, Icelanders are noted for having some Irish descent. The Anglo-Norman invasion of the High Middle Ages, the English plantations and the subsequent English rule of the country introduced the Normans and Flemish into Ireland. Welsh, Picts, Bretons, and small parties of Gauls and even Anglo-Saxons are known in Ireland from much earlier times.
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Italian people
Italians (Italian: italiani) are an ethnic group native of Southern Europe that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence (though the principle of jus sanguinis is used extensively and arguably more favorably in the Italian nationality law), and are distinguished from people of Italian descent and, historically, from ethnic Italians living in the unredeemed territories adjacent to the Italian Peninsula.
In 2012, in addition to the 60 million Italians in Italy and 3,000 in San Marino, Italian-speaking, autonomous groups are found in neighboring countries: about 500,000 in Switzerland, a large, but undefined population in France (Nice, Corsica), and smaller groups in Slovenia and Croatia, primarily in Istria. If regarded as an ethnic group, they constitute one of the world's largest.
Because of wide-ranging and long-lasting diaspora, about 4 and half million Italian citizens and over 70 million people of full or part Italian ancestry live outside of Italy, most notably in South America, North America, Australia and parts of Europe.
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Jack Kerouac
Jean-Louis "Jack" Kerouac ( /ˈkɛruːæk/ or /ˈkɛrɵæk/; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969) was an American novelist and poet. He is considered a literary iconoclast and, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Kerouac is recognized for his spontaneous method of writing, covering topics such as Catholic spirituality, jazz, promiscuity, Buddhism, drugs, poverty, and travel. His writings have inspired other writers, including Ken Kesey, Bob Dylan, Richard Brautigan, Curtis Meanor, Morrissey, Thomas Pynchon,Lester Bangs, Tom Robbins, Will Clarke, Ben Gibbard, Haruki Murakami, Jacquelyn Landgraf.[citation needed] Kerouac became an underground celebrity and, with other beats, a progenitor of the hippie movement, although he remained antagonistic toward some of its politically radical elements. In 1969, at age 47, Kerouac died from internal bleeding due to long-standing abuse of alcohol. Since his death Kerouac's literary prestige has grown and several previously unseen works have been published. All of his books are in print today, among them: On the Road, Doctor Sax, The Dharma Bums, Mexico City Blues, The Subterraneans, Desolation Angels, Visions of Cody and Big Sur.
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Jacques Cartier
Jacques Cartier (December 31, 1491 – September 1, 1557) was a French explorer of Breton origin who claimed what is now Canada for France. He was the first European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of the Saint Lawrence River, which he named "The Country of Canadas", after the Iroquois names for the two big settlements he saw at Stadacona (Quebec City) and at Hochelaga (Montreal Island).
Jacques Cartier was born in 1491 in Saint-Malo, the port on the extreme north-east coast of Brittany. Cartier, who was a respectable mariner, improved his social status in 1520 by marrying Mary Catherine des Granches, member of a leading family. His good name in Saint-Malo is recognized by its frequent appearance in baptismal registers as godfather or witness.
In 1534, the year the Duchy of Brittany was formally united with France in the Edict of Union, Cartier was introduced to King Francis I by Jean le Veneur, bishop of Saint-Malo and abbot of Mont-Saint-Michel, at the Manoir de Brion. The king had previously invited (although not formally commissioned) the Florentine explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano to explore the eastern coast of North America on behalf of France in 1524. Le Veneur cited voyages to Newfoundland and Brazil as proof of Cartier's ability to "lead ships to the discovery of new lands in the New World".
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José Clemente Orozco
José Clemente Orozco (November 23, 1883 – September 7, 1949) was a Mexican social realist painter, who specialized in bold murals that established the Mexican Mural Renaissance together with murals by Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and others. Orozco was the most complex of the Mexican muralists, fond of the theme of human suffering, but less realistic and more fascinated by machines than Rivera. Mostly influenced by Symbolism, he was also a genre painter and lithographer. Between 1922 and 1948, Orozco painted murals in Mexico City, Orizaba, Claremont, California, New York City, Hanover, New Hampshire, Guadalajara, Jalisco, and Jiquilpan, Michoacán. His drawings and paintings are exhibited by the Carrillo Gil Museum in Mexico City, and the Orozco Workshop-Museum in Guadalajara. Orozco was known for being a politically committed artist. He promoted the political causes of peasants and workers.
José Clemente Orozco was born in Zapotlán el Grande (now Ciudad Guzmán)in 1883, Jalisco to Rosa de Flores Orozco. He married Margarita Valladares, and had three children. In a childhood accident, Orozco lost his left hand while playing with gunpowder.
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Korean people
The Korean people are an ethnic group originating in the Korean peninsula.
South Koreans call Koreans Hanguk-in (한국인; 韓國人)—or simply 한인/Han-in for South Koreans living abroad—or informally Hanguk saram (한국 사람; 韓國 사람), while North Koreans call Koreans Chosŏnin (조선인; 朝鮮人) or Chosŏn saram (조선 사람; 朝鮮 사람). See Names of Korea, Korean romanization, Hangul (한글) and Hanja (한자).
Koreans are believed[by whom?] to be descendants of peoples of Manchuria, often said to be Altaic- or proto-Altaic-speaking tribes, linking them with Mongols, Turkic and Tungusic peoples. Archaeological evidence suggests proto-Koreans were migrants from south-central Siberia, who populated ancient Korea in successive waves from the Neolithic age to the Bronze Age. The same tomb style is an indication telling who lived there. The largest concentration of dolmen in the world is found on the Korean peninsula. In fact, with an estimated 35,000 dolmen Korea counts for nearly 40% of the world’s total. Similar dolmens can be found outside of Korea, in Manchuria, Shandong, and Kyushu. Yet it is unclear why this culture only flourished so extensively on the Korean peninsula in the area of Northeastern Asia.
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Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky (Russian: Лев Троцкий, pronounced [ˈlʲef ˈtrot͡skʲɪj] ( listen); 7 November [O.S. 26 October] 1879 – 21 August 1940), born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army.
Trotsky was initially a supporter of the Menshevik Internationalists faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party. He joined the Bolsheviks immediately prior to the 1917 October Revolution, and eventually became a leader within the Party. During the early days of the Soviet Union, he served first as People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs and later as the founder and commander of the Red Army as People's Commissar of Military and Naval Affairs. He was a major figure in the Bolshevik victory in the Russian Civil War (1918–20). He was also among the first members of the Politburo.
After leading a failed struggle of the Left Opposition against the policies and rise of Joseph Stalin in the 1920s and the increasing role of bureaucracy in the Soviet Union, Trotsky was successively removed from power, expelled from the Communist Party, deported from the Soviet Union and assassinated on Stalin's orders. An early advocate of Red Army intervention against European fascism, Trotsky also opposed Stalin's non-aggression pact with Adolf Hitler in the late 1930s.
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List of Salvadorans
This is a list of famous or notable people born in El Salvador or of Salvadoran descent (also see Salvadoran American).
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Manuel Tolsá
Manuel Tolsá (Enguera, Valencia, Spain, May 4, 1757 – Mexico City, December 24, 1816) was a prolific Neoclassical architect and sculptor in Spain and Mexico.
Tolsá studied at the Royal Academy of San Carlos in Valencia and the Royal Academy of San Fernando in Madrid. He was a student of José Puchol in sculpture and of Ribelles, Gascó and Gilabert in architecture. In Spain he was the sculptor of the king's chamber, minister of the Supreme Junta of Commerce, Minting and Mines, and an academic in San Fernando. In 1790 he was named director of sculpture at the recently created Academy of San Carlos in Mexico City. He sailed from Cádiz in February, 1791, bringing with him to New Spain, in accordance with the king's instructions, books, instruments of his profession, and plaster copies of classic sculptures from the Vatican Museum. He married María Luisa de Sanz Téllez Girón y Espinosa in the port of Veracruz.
On his arrival in Mexico City the ayuntamiento (city government) made him supervisor of the drainage and water supply systems of the city and assigned him the tasks of the replanting the Alameda park in the center of the city and the grounds of the coliseum. For these services he did not receive compensation. Thereafter he dedicated himself to the artistic and civil works for which he is now remembered. He also built furniture, made adornments for altars (candelabra, crucifixes, etc.), cast cannons, opened a bathhouse, built coaches and established a kiln. He donated a collection of molds and figures and 300 medals and coins to the Academy of San Carlos.
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Marcelo Ebrard
Marcelo Luis Ebrard Casaubón (born October 10, 1959) is the current Head of Government of the Federal District since December 5, 2006. He is a Mexican politician affiliated to the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) who served as Secretary-General of the former Mexican Federal District Department, minister of public security and minister of social development of the Mexican capital. In 2010, Ebrard was nominated as the "world's best mayor" by the Project World Mayor. He was the successful candidate of the PRD-led electoral alliance to serve as Head of Government of the Federal District in the 2006 Federal District election. Since 2009, he is the Chair of the World Mayors Council on Climate Change.
Ebrard is the son of architect Marcelo Ebrard Maure and Marcela Casaubón. He received a bachelor's degree in international relations from El Colegio de México, and specialized in public administration and planning at the École nationale d'administration of France. He was married to Francesca Ramos Morgan and had two daughters and one son: Francesca, Anne Dominique, and Marcelo Ebrard Ramos.[citation needed] He later divorced and married Mexican soap-opera actress Mariagna Pratts. In April 2011, Marcelo Ebrard announced his divorce from Mariagna Pratts through an official press release. In October 7, 2011; Ebrard married for the third time, with Rosalinda Bueso, former Honduras ambassador to Mexico.
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Marcos Moshinsky
Marcos Moshinsky (1921–2009) was a Mexican physicist of Ukrainian and Jewish origin whose work in the field of elementary particles won him the Prince of Asturias Prize for Scientific and Technical Investigation in 1988 and the UNESCO Science Prize in 1997.
He was born in 1921 into a Jewish family in Kiev, Ukraine (which was then part of the Soviet Union). At the age of three, he emigrated as a refugee to Mexico, where he became a naturalized citizen in 1942. He received a bachelor's degree in physics from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and a doctorate in the same discipline at Princeton University under Nobel Laureate Eugene Paul Wigner.
In the 1950s he researched nuclear reactions and the structure of the atomic nucleus, introducing the concept of the transformation parenthesis for functions of harmonic oscillation, which, together with the tables elaborated in collaboration with Thomas A. Brody, simplified calculations in the nucleus layer models and became an indispensable reference for the study of nuclear structures. In 1952, his work on the transient dynamics of matter waves led to the discovery of diffraction in time.
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Mario Lavista
Mario Lavista (born April 3, 1943, Mexico City) is a Mexican composer, writer and intellectual.
Lavista enrolled the Composition Workshop (Taller de Composición) at the National Conservatory in 1963, under the guidance of Carlos Chávez, Héctor Quintanar, and Rodolfo Halffter. In 1967 he received a scholarship from the French government to study at the Schola Cantorum in Paris, where he studied with Jean Etienne Marie. During his time in Europe, he attended courses by Henri Pousseur, Nadia Boulanger, Christoph Caskel, and Karlheinz Stockhausen.
In 1970 he founded Quanta, a collective improvisation group. He also worked at the electronic music studio of radio ant television in Tokyo in 1972. At the end of the 1970s and beginning of the 1980s he closely collaborated with renowned performers in solo and chamber works where he explored unusual timbre possibilities by the use of extended techniques. In 1982, he founded Pauta, one of the most important music journals in Latin America, and continues to serve as its chief editor. In 1987, he received a Guggenheim Fellowship for his first (and only) opera Aura, based on the short story by Carlos Fuentes. Aura premiered in 1988 at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City
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Max Mara
MaxMara, or The House of MaxMara, is a luxury Italian fashion house known for its ready-to-wear clothing. Established in 1951 in Reggio Emilia by Achille Maramotti (7 January 1927 – 12 January 2005). By March 2008, the company had 2,254 stores in 90 countries.
Achille Maramotti began designing couture clothing in 1947, and officially established the House of Max Mara in 1951. The "Mara" came from his surname, while "Max" referred to Count Max, a local character who was seldom sober but always stylish. Maramotti was one of the first to see that the future of fashion lay in the mass production of designer-quality clothes. He was also keen to emphasise the brand of Max Mara ahead of the names of individual designers, even though he employed future big names such as Karl Lagerfeld, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, Dolce & Gabbana and Narciso Rodriguez. The company remains in the hands of the family and they like to maintain a veil of secrecy about the activities of the company.
Max Mara has spawned 35 labels, although Max Mara womenswear remains the core of the company. Other brands include Sportmax, Sportmax Code, Weekend Max Mara, Marella, Pennyblack, iBlues, Max & Co. (the trendy, youth division), and Marina Rinaldi. This last, founded in 1980 and named after Achille Maramotti’s great grandmother, is one of the best-known: in her obituary of Maramotti for The Independent.
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Mazahua
The Mazahua are an indigenous people of Mexico, inhabiting the northwestern portion of the State of Mexico and northeastern area of Michoacán, with a presence also in the Federal District owing to recent migration. The largest concentration of Mazahua is found in the municipalities of San Felipe del Progreso and San José del Rincón, both in Mexico state (Estado de México), near Toluca. According to the 1990 Mexican census Mazahua speakers numbered 127,826; the Ethnologue counts some 350,000 Mazahua.
The word Mazahua is of Nahuatl origin meaning "the owners of deer", probably referring to the rich fauna of the mountainous region inhabited by the Mazahua. However they refer to themselves as Hñatho.
The Mazahua subsist mainly on the extensive agriculture of maize, squash and beans, and they also produce wool and wooden handicrafts.
Recently the Mazahua were affected adversely by the Cutzamala dam operation, which caused many Mazahua, mainly women, to take up arms and form civil rights movements to protect their land claims and human rights.
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Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica (Spanish: Mesoamérica) is a region and cultural area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and 16th centuries.
As a cultural area, Mesoamerica is defined by a mosaic of cultural traits developed and shared by its indigenous cultures. Beginning as early as 7000 BC the domestication of maize, beans, squash and chili, as well as the turkey and dog, caused a transition from paleo-Indian hunter-gatherer tribal grouping to the organization of sedentary agricultural villages. In the subsequent formative period, agriculture and cultural traits such as a complex mythological and religious tradition, a vigesimal numeric system, and a complex calendric system, a tradition of ball playing, and a distinct architectural style, were diffused through the area. Also in this period villages began to become socially stratified and develop into chiefdoms with the development of large ceremonial centers, interconnected by a network of trade routes for the exchange of luxury goods such as obsidian, jade, cacao, cinnabar, Spondylus shells, hematite, and ceramics. While Mesoamerican civilization did know of the wheel and basic metallurgy, neither of these technologies became culturally important.
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Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution (Spanish: Revolución mexicana) was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz, and lasted for the better part of a decade until around 1920. Over time the Revolution changed from a revolt against the established order to a multi-sided civil war. This armed conflict is often categorized as the most important sociopolitical event in Mexico and one of the greatest upheavals of the 20th century.
After prolonged struggles, its representatives produced the Mexican Constitution of 1917. The Revolution is generally considered to have lasted until 1920, although the country continued to have sporadic, but comparatively minor, outbreaks of warfare well into the 1920s. The Cristero War of 1926 to 1929 was the most significant relapse into bloodshed.
The Revolution led to the creation of the Partido Nacional Revolucionario ("National Revolutionary Party") in 1929; it was renamed the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (Institutional Revolutionary Party) (PRI) in 1946. Under a variety of leaders, the PRI held power until the general election of 2000.
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Michael Kors
Michael Kors (born Karl Anderson, Jr.; August 9, 1959) is an American fashion designer. He is best known for designing classic American sportswear for women.
Kors was born Karl Anderson, Jr. on Long Island, New York, the son of Joan Hamburger, a former model, and her first husband, Karl Anderson, a college student. When his mother remarried when he was five, he was told he could change his name, and he chose to become Michael David Kors. He grew up in Merrick, New York and graduated from John F. Kennedy High School in Bellmore, New York. Kors' mother is Jewish and his father was of Swedish descent. Kors currently resides in New York City and married his longtime partner Lance LePere in Southampton, New York on August 16, 2011.
Michael Kors began designing clothes at the age of 19 and studied fashion design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. In 1981, Kors launched the Michael Kors womenswear line at Bloomingdales, Bergdorf Goodman, Lord & Taylor, Neiman Marcus, and Saks Fifth Avenue. Building on his success, Kors was named the first ever women's ready-to-wear designer and creative director for the French fashion house Celine in 1997. In his tenure at Celine, Kors turned the fashion house around with blockbuster accessories and a critically acclaimed ready-to-wear line. Kors left Celine in October 2003 to concentrate on his own brand. Kors launched his menswear line in 2002.
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Miguel Alemán Valdés
Miguel Alemán Valdés (29 September 1900 – 14 May 1983) served as the President of Mexico from 1946 to 1952.
Alemán was born in Sayula in the state of Veracruz as the son of General Miguel Alemán González and Tomasa Valdés Ledezma. As a child, he was not permitted to attend school in his home town, due to his father's political beliefs (he was a former revolutionary general), but he did study in other areas instead. He attended the National Preparatory School in Mexico City from 1920–1925, and then went to the National School of Law until 1928, completing his law degree with his thesis on occupational diseases and accidents among workers. As a successful attorney, his first practice was in representing miners suffering from silicosis. He won two notable legal victories in defending workers against corporations. The first was in securing compensation for dependents of railroad workers who were killed in revolutionary battles; the second was to gain indemnities for miners injured at work. These victories gained him great favor with Mexico's labor unions.
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Miguel de la Madrid
Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado (December 12, 1934 – April 1, 2012) was a Mexican politician affiliated to the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) who served as 52nd President of Mexico from 1982 to 1988.
Miguel de la Madrid graduated with a bachelor's degree in Law from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and received a master's degree in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, in the United States.
He worked for Mexico's central bank and lectured in law at UNAM before securing a position at the Secretariat of Finance in 1965. Between 1970 and 1972 he was employed by Petróleos Mexicanos, Mexico's state-owned petroleum company, after which he held several other bureaucratic posts in the government of Luis Echeverría. In 1976 he was chosen to serve in José López Portillo's cabinet as secretary of budget and planning.
He was president after López Portillo. He won the elections that took place on 4 July 1982, and took office the following December.
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Mixtec
The Mixtec (or Mixteca) are indigenous Mesoamerican peoples inhabiting the Mexican states of Oaxaca, Guerrero and Puebla in a region known as La Mixteca. The Mixtecan languages form an important branch of the Otomanguean language family.
The term Mixtec (Mixteco in Spanish) comes from the Nahuatl word mixtecah, "cloud people" . The area in which Mixtec is spoken is known as the Mixteca. The Mixtecs call themselves ne'ivi davi; they call their region Ñuu Savi, Ñuu Djau, Ñuu Davi, etc., depending on the local variant of their language; they call their language sa'an davi, da'an davi or tu'un savi.
In pre-Columbian times, the Mixtec were one of the major civilizations of Mesoamerica. Important ancient centres of the Mixtec include the ancient capital of Tilantongo, as well as the sites of Achiutla, Cuilapan, Huajuapan, Mitla, Tlaxiaco, Tututepec, Juxtlahuaca, and Yucuñudahui. The Mixtec also made major constructions at the ancient city of Monte Albán (which had originated as a Zapotec city before the Mixtec gained control of it). The work of Mixtec artisans who produced work in stone, wood, and metal were well regarded throughout ancient Mesoamerica.
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Oscar De La Renta
Óscar de la Renta (born July 22, 1932 in Dominican Republic) is one of the world's leading fashion designers. Trained by Cristóbal Balenciaga and Antonio Castillo, he became internationally known in the 1960s as one of the couturiers to dress Jacqueline Kennedy. An award-winning designer, he worked for Lanvin and Balmain; his eponymous fashion house continues to dress leading figures, from film stars to royalty, into the 2010s. De La Renta is particularly known for his red carpet gowns and evening wear.
De la Renta was born Óscar Aristides Renta Fiallo in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, to a Dominican mother and a Puerto Rican father. At the age of 18 he left the Dominican Republic to study in Spain, where he studied painting at the Academy of San Fernando in Madrid. He quickly became interested in the world of fashion design and began sketching for leading Spanish fashion houses, which soon led to an apprenticeship with Spain's most renowned couturier, Cristóbal Balenciaga. Later, de la Renta left Spain to join Antonio Castillo as a couture assistant at Lanvin in Paris.
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Pablo Gómez Álvarez
Pablo Gómez Álvarez (b. 1946 in Mexico City) is a Mexican politician. He was president of the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) and Senator.
He outstandingly participated in the student's movement of 1968. On October 2, 1968 he was taken by the authorities at the Plaza of the Three Cultures during the Tlatelolco massacre, and was imprisoned until 1971. When he left the jail, he immediately rejoined the student's movements, becoming one of the organizers of the mobilization of June 10. He obtained a degree in Economics in 1976.
Gómez held the national direction of the Mexican Communist Party and was later elected federal deputy in 1979, being part of a leftist coalition. From 1982 to 1988, he was the president of the Unified Socialist Party of Mexico. Later in 1988, he served as federal deputy again and, while being within the first parliamentary group the Party of the Democratic Revolution had at the Mexican Congress, he was appointed vicecoordinator of it.
From 1992 to 1995, Mr. Gómez held a representative position at the Legislative Assembly of the Federal District. In 1993 he was a main organizer of a recall election against a government in the capital of the Republic. He was the founding director of a weekly magazine issued by the PRD from 1992 to 1994.
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Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈplaθiðo ðoˈmiŋɡo]; born 21 January 1941), born José Plácido Domingo Embil, is a Spanish tenor and conductor known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range. In March 2008, he debuted in his 128th opera role, and as of July 2011, his 136 roles give Domingo more roles than any other tenor.
One of The Three Tenors, he has also taken on conducting opera and concert performances, and he is the General Director of the Los Angeles Opera in California.
Plácido Domingo was born on January 21, 1941, in the distrito de Retiro section of Madrid, Spain, and in 1949 moved to Mexico with his family, who ran a zarzuela company. He studied piano at first privately and later at the National Conservatory of Music in Mexico City.
In 1957, Domingo made his first professional appearance, performing with his mother in a concert at Mérida, Yucatán. He made his opera debut performing in Manuel Fernández Caballero's zarzuela, Gigantes y cabezudos, singing a baritone role. At that time, he was working with his parents' zarzuela company, taking baritone roles and as an accompanist for other singers. Among his first performances was a minor role in the first Mexican production of My Fair Lady where he was also the assistant conductor and assistant coach. The company gave 185 performances, which included a production of Lehár's The Merry Widow in which he performed alternately as either Camille or Danilo.
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Polish people
The Polish people, or Poles (Polish: Polacy [pɔˈlat͡sɨ]; singular: Polak), are a nation indigenous to Poland. They speak the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe. The Polish word for a Polish person is "Polak" (masculine) and "Polka" (feminine).
The preamble to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland defines the Polish nation as comprising all the citizens of Poland. Poland's inhabitants live in the following historic regions of the country: Wielkopolska, Małopolska, Mazovia, Pomerania, Warmia, Mazury, Podlasie, Kujawy and Silesia. A wide-ranging Polish diaspora exists throughout Europe (Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Belarus, Lithuania and Ukraine), the Americas (the United States, Brazil and Argentina) and Australia. Chicago, in the United States, has the world's largest urban Polish population after Warsaw.
Over a thousand years ago, the Polans of Giecz, Gniezno and Poznań — an influential tribe in Wielkopolska — succeeded in uniting Lechitic tribes under what became the Piast dynasty, thus giving rise to the Polish state.
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Porfirio Diaz
José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori (15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915) was a volunteer in the Reform War and then a leader of the successful rebellion against French intervention, an accomplished general and the President of Mexico continuously from 1876 to 1911, with the exception of a brief term in 1876 when he left Juan N. Méndez as interim president, and a four-year term served by his political ally Manuel González from 1880 to 1884. Commonly considered by historians to have been a dictator, he is a controversial figure in Mexican history. The period of his leadership was marked by significant internal stability (known as the "paz porfiriana"), modernization, and economic growth. However, Díaz's regime grew unpopular due to repression and political stagnation, and he fell from power during the Mexican Revolution, after he had imprisoned his electoral rival and declared himself the winner of an eighth term in office. The 35 years in which Díaz ruled Mexico are referred to as the Porfiriato.
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Porfirio Díaz
José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori (15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915) was a volunteer in the Reform War and then a leader of the successful rebellion against French intervention, an accomplished general and the President of Mexico continuously from 1876 to 1911, with the exception of a brief term in 1876 when he left Juan N. Méndez as interim president, and a four-year term served by his political ally Manuel González from 1880 to 1884. Commonly considered by historians to have been a dictator, he is a controversial figure in Mexican history. The period of his leadership was marked by significant internal stability (known as the "paz porfiriana"), modernization, and economic growth. However, Díaz's regime grew unpopular due to repression and political stagnation, and he fell from power during the Mexican Revolution, after he had imprisoned his electoral rival and declared himself the winner of an eighth term in office. The 35 years in which Díaz ruled Mexico are referred to as the Porfiriato.
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Porfirio Muñoz Ledo
Porfirio Alejandro Muñoz Ledo y Lazo de la Vega (b. July 23, 1933 in Mexico City) is a Mexican politician. He is one of the founders of the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD).
Muñoz Ledo studied law at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) from 1951 to 1955 and later pursued graduate studies at the University of Paris.
He served as a member of the cabinets of presidents Luis Echeverría as Secretary of Labor (1972–1975); and José López Portillo as Secretary of Education (1976–1977). He was President of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) during the presidential campaign of 1975-1976.
Muñoz Ledo was Mexican Ambassador to the United Nations (1978–1985), where he presided the UN Security Council, the Group of 77 and the negotiations of the Global Economic Agreements.
In 1988 he broke with the PRI and won a seat in the Senate running as a candidate for the leftist Frente Democrático Nacional (FDN) coalition. The following year (May 5, 1989), Muñoz Ledo, Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas and other leading center-left and leftist politicians formally founded the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD).
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Pre-Columbian era
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during the Early Modern period.
While the phrase "pre-Columbian era" literally refers only to the time preceding Christopher Columbus's voyages of 1492, in practice the phrase usually is used to denote the entire history of American indigenous cultures until those cultures were conquered or significantly influenced by Europeans, even if this happened decades or centuries after Columbus's first landing. For this reason the alternative terms of Pre-Colonial Americas or Prehistoric Americas are also in use. In areas of Hispanic America the term usually used is Pre-Hispanic.
Many pre-Columbian civilizations established hallmarks which included permanent settlements, cities, agriculture, civic and monumental architecture, major earthworks, and complex societal hierarchies. Some of these civilizations had long faded by the time of the first permanent European arrivals (c. late 15th–early 16th centuries), and are known only through archaeological investigations. Others were contemporary with the colonial period, and were described in historical accounts of the time. A few, such as the Maya, had their own written records. Because most Christian Europeans of the time viewed such texts as heretical, they destroyed many texts in pyres. Only a few hidden documents have survived, giving modern historians glimpses of ancient culture and knowledge.
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Reform War
The Reform War (Spanish: Guerra de Reforma) in Mexico is one of the episodes of the long struggle between Liberal and Conservative forces that dominated the country’s history in the 19th century. The Liberals wanted a federalist government, limiting traditional Catholic Church and military influence in the country. The Conservatives wanted a centralist government, even a monarchy with the Church and military keeping their traditional roles and powers. This struggle erupted into a full civil war when the Liberals, then in control of the government after ousting Antonio López de Santa Anna, began to implement a series of laws designed to strip the Church and military, but especially the Church, of its rights, powers and property. Conservative resistance to this culminated in the Plan of Tacubaya, which destroyed the government of President Ignacio Comonfort and caused the remaining Liberals to move their government to the city of Veracruz. The Conservatives controlled Mexico City and much of central Mexico, but the rest of the states chose whether to side with the Conservative or Liberal government. Being less experienced militarily, the Liberals lost most of the early battles, but the tide turned when Conservatives twice failed to take Veracruz. Liberal victories accumulated thereafter until Conservative forces surrendered in December 1860. While the Conservative forces lost the war, guerrillas remained active in the countryside for years after, and Conservatives in Mexico would conspire with French forces to install Maximilian I as emperor during the following French Intervention in Mexico.
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Remedios Varo
Remedios Varo Uranga (December 16, 1908 – October 8, 1963) was a Spanish-Mexican, para-surrealist painter and anarchist. She was born María de los Remedios Alicia Rodriga Varo y Uranga in Anglès, a small town in the province of Girona, Spain in 1908. In 1924 she studied at the Academia de San Fernando de Madrid. During the Spanish Civil War she fled to Paris where she was greatly influenced by the surrealist movement. She met her second husband (the first was the painter Gerardo Lizarraga, whom, as was discovered after her death, she never divorced), the French surrealist poet Benjamin Péret in Barcelona. There she was a member of the art group Logicophobiste. They were introduced through a mutual friendship with the Surrealist artist Oscar Dominguez.
Due to her Republican ties, her 1937 move to Paris with Péret ensured that she would never be able to return to Franco's Spain. She was forced into exile from Paris during the Nazi occupation of France and moved to Mexico City at the end of 1941. She initially considered Mexico a temporary haven, but would remain in Latin America for the rest of her life.
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Roberto Cavalli
Roberto Cavalli (Italian pronunciation: [roˈbɛrto kaˈvalːi]) (born 15 November 1940) is an Italian fashion designer from Florence. He is known for detailed exotic prints and for creating the sand-blasted look for jeans which are now a standard style for the majority of jean makers.
Roberto Cavalli was born in Florence, Tuscany. His grandfather, Giuseppe Rossi, was a member of the Macchiaioli Movement, whose work is exhibited in the Uffizi Gallery. Cavalli decided to enroll at the local Art Institute, concentrating in textile print. While still a student, he made a series of flower prints on knit that caught the attention of major Italian hosiery factories.
In the early 1970s, he invented and patented a revolutionary printing procedure on leather, and he started creating patchworks of different materials. He debuted these techniques in Paris, immediately getting commissions from the likes of Hermès and Pierre Cardin. At age 30, he presented his first namesake collection at the Salon for Prêt-à-Porter in Paris. He brought it to the catwalks of the Sala Bianca of Palazzo Pitti in Florence, and later on those of Milano Collezioni jeans made of printed denim, intarsia leathers, brocade and wild prints. He then opened his first boutique in 1972 in Saint-Tropez.
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Romanians
The Romanians (dated: Rumanians or Roumanians; in Romanian: români pronounced [roˈmɨnʲ] or — historically, but now a seldom-used regionalism — rumâni; dated exonym: Vlachs) are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania.
The Romanian people are a nation in the meaning of ethnos (Romanian: etnie), defined by the sense of sharing a common Romanian culture, descent, and having Romanian as mother tongue, as well as by citizenship or by being subjects to the same country. The Romanian citizenship law legislated in March 1991 establishes the rights of second and third generation descendants of Romanian citizens to obtain a Romanian citizenship, if they speak fluent Romanian and are able to demonstrate sufficient knowledge in Romanian history and culture. 89.4 percent of Romania's people declared themselves as Romanians at the 2002 Romanian Census.
In one interpretation of the census results in Moldova, Moldovans are counted as Romanians, which would mean that the latter form part of the majority in that country as well. Romanians are also an ethnic minority in several nearby countries.
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Rosario Robles
Rosario Robles Berlanga (born 1956) was a left-wing Mexican politician who was appointed substitute Head of Government of the Federal District ("Mayor of Mexico City") when Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas resigned from the post to run (unsuccessfully) for the presidency in 2000. She was the first female Mayor of Mexico City.
Her term in office was highly controversial for an intensive media campaign in her government promoting her personal image, the high cost of which raised corruption concerns, and for introducing her political allies to entrepreneur Carlos Ahumada, who videotaped himself giving large cash quantities to fund political campaigns in exchange for government posts. The scandals this caused created a major crisis for her party, the Partido de la Revolución Democrática (PRD). As a result, she subsequently resigned from the party.[citation needed]
Her successor as chief executive of the Federal District was Andrés Manuel López Obrador, of the same party but a former PRI member, elected in 2000 with an advantage of less than 5% over the PAN candidate.
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Salvatore Ferragamo
Salvatore Ferragamo (June 5, 1898 – August 7, 1960) was an Italian shoe designer. He worked with many Hollywood stars in the 1920s, before returning to Italy to found the eponymous company making unique hand-made footwear. His scientific and creative approach to shoes spawned many innovations such as the wedge heel and cage heel. Film stars and celebrities continue to patronize his company, which has evolved into a luxury goods empire spanning the world.
Salvatore Ferragamo was born in 1898 in Bonito, near Avellino, the eleventh of 14 children. After making his first pair of shoes at age nine, for his sisters to wear at their confirmation, young Salvatore decided that he had found his calling. He always had a passion for shoes. After studying shoemaking in Naples for a year, Ferragamo opened a small store based in his parent's home. In 1914, he emigrated to Boston, where one of his brothers worked in a cowboy boot factory.
After a brief stint at the factory, Ferragamo convinced his brothers to move to California, first Santa Barbara then Hollywood. It was here that Ferragamo found success, initially opening a shop for repair and made-to-measure shoes, which soon became prized items among celebrities of the day, leading to a long period of designing footwear for the cinema. However, his thriving reputation as 'Shoemaker to the Stars' only partially satisfied him. He could not fathom why his shoes pleased the eye yet hurt the foot, so he proceeded to study anatomy at the University of Southern California.
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Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the largest city proper by population in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities of the PRC, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010. It is a global city, with influence in commerce, culture, finance, media, fashion, technology, and transport. It is a major financial center and the busiest container port in the world.
Located in the Yangtze River Delta in eastern China, Shanghai sits at the mouth of the Yangtze River in the middle portion of the Chinese coast. The municipality borders Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces to the west, and is bounded to the east by the East China Sea.
Once a fishing and textiles town, Shanghai grew in importance in the 19th century due to European recognition of its favorable port location and economic potential. The city was one of several opened to foreign trade following the British victory over China in the first opium war and the subsequent 1842 Treaty of Nanking which allowed the establishment of the Shanghai International Settlement. The city then flourished as a center of commerce between east and west, and became the undisputed financial hub of the Asia Pacific in the 1930s. However, with the Communist Party takeover of the mainland in 1949, the city's international influence declined. In the 1990s, the economic reforms introduced by Deng Xiaoping resulted in an intense re-development of the city, aiding the return of finance and foreign investment to the city.
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Spanish people
The term Spanish people (or Spaniards) has two distinct meanings: Traditionally, it applies to people native to any part of Spain. More recently, it has also come to have a legal meaning, referring to people who hold Spanish citizenship.
Within Spain there are a number of nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history. The official language of Spain is Spanish (also known as Castilian), a standard language based on the mediaeval dialect of the Castilians of north-central Spain. There are several commonly spoken regional languages. With the exception of Basque, the languages native to Spain are Romance languages.
There are substantial populations outside Spain with ancestors who emigrated from Spain; most notably in Latin America.
The earliest modern humans inhabiting Spain are believed to have been Neolithic peoples who may have arrived in the Iberian Peninsula as early as 35,000–40,000 years ago. In more recent times the Iberians are believed to have arrived or developed in the region between the 4th millennium BC and the 3rd millennium BC, initially settling along the Mediterranean coast. Celts settled in Spain during the Iron Age. Some of those tribes in North-central Spain, which had cultural contact with the Iberians, are called Celtiberians. In addition, a group known as the Tartessians and later Turdetanians inhabited southwestern Spain and who are believed to have developed a separate civilization of Phoenician influence. The seafaring Phoenicians, Greeks, and Carthaginians successively founded trading colonies along the Mediterranean coast over a period of several centuries. The Second Punic War between the Carthaginians and Romans was fought mainly in what is now Spain and Portugal.
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Swiss people
The Swiss (German: die Schweizer, French: les Suisses, Italian: gli Svizzeri, Romansh: ils Svizzers) are citizens or natives of Switzerland. The demonym derives from the toponym of Schwyz and has been in widespread use to refer to the Old Swiss Confederacy since the 16th century.
Although the Swiss Confederation, the modern state of Switzerland, originated in 1848, the period of romantic nationalism, it is not a nation-state, and the Swiss are not usually considered to form a single ethnic group, but a confederacy (Eidgenossenschaft) or Willensnation ("nation of will", "nation by choice", that is, a consociational state), a term coined in conscious contrast to "nation" in the conventionally linguistic or ethnic sense of the term.
The number of Swiss nationals has grown from 1.7 million in 1815 to 6.76 million in 2009, 90% of them living in Switzerland. About 60% of those living abroad reside in the European Union (423,300); the largest overseas expatriate community is in Argentina (150,000).
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Syrian people
The Syrian people (Arabic: الشعب السوري / ALA-LC: al-sha‘ab al-Sūrī) are the inhabitants and citizens of Syria and are, overall an indigenous Eastern Mediterranean people. While modern-day Syrians are commonly described as Arabs by virtue of their modern-day language and bonds to Arab culture and history, they are, in fact, largely a blend of the various Aramaic speaking groups indigenous to the region who were Arabized when Muslim Arabs from the Arabian Peninsula arrived and settled following the Arab expansion. Syrians are tied together by geography, linguistic heritage, religion, and similar Eastern Mediterranean ethnicities. Most Syrians reside primarily in Syria; however 17 million Syrians live outside of Syria and they stay connected to their cultural roots by watching Syrian satellite television, listening to Syrian music and preparing Syrian cuisine.
Damascus, the capital of Syria, is one of the most continuously inhabited cities in the world (for 8000 years straight, Syrians inhabited Damascus), and a large percentage of Damascenes are the descendents of the early inhabitants of Damascus.
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Teotihuacan
Coordinates: 19°41′33″N 98°50′37.68″W / 19.6925°N 98.8438°W / 19.6925; -98.8438
Teotihuacan – also written Teotihuacán, with a Spanish orthographic accent on the last syllable – is an enormous archaeological site in the Basin of Mexico, just 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Mexico City, containing some of the largest pyramidal structures built in the pre-Columbian Americas. Apart from the pyramidal structures, Teotihuacan is also known for its large residential complexes, the Avenue of the Dead, and numerous colorful, well-preserved murals. Additionally, Teotihuacan produced a thin orange pottery style that spread through Mesoamerica.
The city is thought to have been established around 100 BC and continued to be built until about 250 AD. The city may have lasted until sometime between the 7th and 8th centuries AD. At its zenith, perhaps in the first half of the 1st millennium AD, Teotihuacan was the largest city in the pre-Columbian Americas, with a population of perhaps 125,000 or more, placing it among the largest cities of the world in this period. Teotihuacan began as a new religious center in the Mexican Highland around the first century AD. This city came to be the largest and most populated center in the New World. Teotihuacan was even home to multi-floor apartment compounds built to accommodate this large population. The civilization and cultural complex associated with the site is also referred to as Teotihuacan or Teotihuacano.
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Tianjin
Tianjin (help·info) (Chinese: 天津; pinyin: Tiānjīn; Mandarin pronunciation: [tʰjɛ́ntɕín]; Tianjinese: /tʰiɛn˨˩tɕin˨˩/~[tʰjɛ̃̀ɦɪ̀ŋ]; Postal map spelling: Tientsin) is a metropolis in northern China and one of the five national central cities of the People's Republic of China. It is governed as a direct-controlled municipality, one of four such designations, and is, thus, under direct administration of the central government. Tianjin borders Hebei Province and Beijing Municipality, bounded to the east by the Bohai Gulf portion of the Yellow Sea.
As a dual-core city, Tianjin is divided into the old city and the Binhai New Area. Binhai New Area is a new growth pole in China, and it maintains an annual growth rate of nearly 30% of the GDP. As of the end of 2010, 285 Fortune Global 500 companies have established branch offices in Binhai. It is a base of China's advanced industry, financial reform, and innovation.
In terms of urban population, it is the sixth-largest city of the People's Republic of China, and its urban land area (Binhai New Area is not included) ranks fifth in the nation after Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan and Guangzhou. Tianjin's urban area is located along the Hai River, which connects to the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers via the Grand Canal in Tianjin. Tianjin was once home to foreign concessions in the late Qing Dynasty and early Kuomintang (KMT) era. The municipality incorporates the coastal region of Tanggu, home to the Binhai New Area and the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA).
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Tlaxcaltec
The Tlaxcalteca (also Tlaxcalans, Tlaxcallans) were an indigenous group of Nahua ethnicity that inhabited the Kingdom of Tlaxcala located in what is now the Mexican state of Tlaxcala.
The Tlaxcaltec were originally a conglomeration of three distinct ethnic groups who spoke Nahuatl, Otomi and Pinome, respectively. Eventually, the Nahuatl speakers became the dominant ethnic group.
Despite early attempts by the Mexica, the Tlaxcalteca were never conquered by the Aztec Triple Alliance. The Aztecs allowed them to maintain their independence so that they could participate in the xochiyaoyatl (flower wars) with them to facilitate human sacrifice.
The Tlaxcalteca served as allies to Hernán Cortés and his fellow Spanish conquistadors, and were instrumental in the invasion of Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec empire, helping the Spanish reach the Valley of Anahuac and providing a key contingency of the invasion force.
Due to their alliance with the Spanish Crown in the conquest of Mexico, the Tlaxcalteca enjoyed some privileges among the indigenous peoples of Mexico, including the right to carry firearms, ride horses, hold noble title and to rule their settlements autonomously.
wn.com/Tlaxcaltec -
Uruguayan people
Uruguayan people or Uruguayans (Uruguayos in Spanish) are the citizens of Uruguay, or its descendants abroad. Uruguay is a multiethnic society, which means that it is home to people of many different ethnical backgrounds. Therefore, Uruguayan people usually treat their nationality as a citizenship rather than an ethnicity. Uruguay is, along with other settler societies like Canada, Australia or the United States a melting pot of different peoples, with the difference that it has traditionally maintained a model that promotes cultural assimilation, hence the different cultures have been absorbed by the mainstream. Uruguay has one of the most homogeneous populations in South America with the most common ethnic backgrounds are Italian and Spaniard, especially Galicians, Castilians and Basques.
Uruguayans share a Spanish linguistic and cultural background with its neighbour country Argentina. Also, like Argentina, most Uruguayans are descended from colonial-era settlers and immigrants from Europe with almost 88% of the population being of European descent.
wn.com/Uruguayan_people -
Venezuelan people
Venezuelan people are from a multiethnic nation in South America called Venezuela. Venezuelans are predominantly Roman Catholic and speak Spanish. The majority of Venezuelans are the result of a mixture of Europeans, Africans, and Amerindians, but nearly one fourth is White.
With approximately 28 million people in 2006, Venezuela is the sixth-most populous country in Latin America, after Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, and Peru.
More than ninety percent of the Venezuelans live in urban areas – a figure significantly higher than the world average. The literacy rate (98 percent) in Venezuela is also well above the world average, and the rate of population growth is slightly higher than the world average. Also, a large proportion of Venezuelans are young, largely because of recent decreases in the infant mortality rate. While 30 percent of the people are 14 years of age or younger, just 4 percent are aged 65 or older.
The country has a diverse population that reflects its colourful history and the peoples that have populated here from ancient times to the present. The historic amalgam of the different main groups forms the basics of Venezuela's current demographics: European immigrants, Amerindian peoples, Africans, Asians, Middle Easterners and other recent immigrants.
wn.com/Venezuelan_people -
Venustiano Carranza
Venustiano Carranza de la Garza (28 December 1859 – 21 May 1920) was one of the leaders of the Mexican Revolution. He ultimately became President of Mexico following the overthrow of the dictatorial Huerta regime in the summer of 1914, and during his administration the current constitution of Mexico was drafted. He was assassinated near the end of his term of office at the behest of a cabal of army generals resentful at his insistence that his successor be a civilian.
Carranza was born in the town of Cuatro Ciénegas, in the state of Coahuila, in 1859, to an upper middle-class cattle-ranching family. His father, Jesús Carranza, had been a rancher and mule driver until the time of the Reform War (1857–1861), in which he fought against the Indians and on the Liberal side. During the Franco-Mexican War (1861–1867), Jesús Carranza became a colonel and was Benito Juárez's main contact in Coahuila. Jesus Carranza's connection to Juarez caught the attention of Venustiano, who would idolize Juarez.
wn.com/Venustiano_Carranza -
Victoriano Huerta
José Victoriano Huerta Márquez (22 December 1850 – 13 January 1916) was a Mexican military officer and president of Mexico. Huerta's supporters were known as Huertistas during the Mexican Revolution. Huerta is still vilified by modern-day Mexicans, who generally refer to him as El Chacal ("The Jackal") or El Usurpador ("The Usurper").
Victoriano Huerta was born in the settlement of Agua Gorda within the municipality of Colotlán, Jalisco, son of Jesús Huerta and María Lázara del Refugio Márquez. He identified himself as indigenous, and historians have claimed that his father was ethnically Huichol. He learned to read and write early on and in 1869, he was recruited by General Donato Guerra to serve as his personal secretary. In that role, he distinguished himself; with the aid of General Guerra and President Benito Juárez, he gained admission to the Mexican National Military Academy (Heroico Colegio Militar) at Chapultepec in Mexico City in 1872.
Upon graduating from the military academy in 1877, he was employed by the Corps of Engineers to perform topographic studies in the states of Puebla and Veracruz, where he met Emilia Águila Moya, his future wife. He married Emilia Águila on 21 November 1880 in Mexico City. Together they had eleven children. The names of his children surviving him in 1916 were Jorge, Maria Elisa, Victor, Luz, Elena, Dagoberto, Eva and Celia.
wn.com/Victoriano_Huerta -
William S. Burroughs
William Seward Burroughs II ( /ˈbʌroʊz/; also known by his pen name William Lee; (1914-02-05)February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997(1997-08-02)) was an American novelist, poet, essayist and spoken word performer. A primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodernist author, he is considered to be "one of the most politically trenchant, culturally influential, and innovative artists of the 20th century." His influence is considered to have affected a range of popular culture as well as literature. Burroughs wrote 18 novels and novellas, six collections of short stories and four collections of essays. Five books have been published of his interviews and correspondences. He also collaborated on projects and recordings with numerous performers and musicians, and made many appearances in films.
He was born to a wealthy family in St. Louis, Missouri, grandson of the inventor and founder of the Burroughs Corporation, William Seward Burroughs I, and nephew of public relations manager Ivy Lee. Burroughs began writing essays and journals in early adolescence. He left home in 1932 to attend Harvard University, studying English, and anthropology as a postgraduate, and later attending medical school in Vienna. After being turned down by the Office of Strategic Services and U.S. Navy in 1942 to serve in World War II, he dropped out and became afflicted with the drug addiction that affected him for the rest of his life, while working a variety of jobs. In 1943 while living in New York City, he befriended Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac, the mutually influential foundation of what became the countercultural movement of the Beat Generation.
wn.com/William_S._Burroughs
Mamea, D.F. Filmography
- Desired (2011)
- To'ona'i (2010)
- To'ona'i (2010)
- To'ona'i (2010)
- To'ona'i (2010)
- Five (2007)
- Five (2007)
Jones, D.F. Filmography
Barry, D.F. Filmography
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Piano Concerto No. 21 - Andante
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:51
- Updated: 16 Dec 2012
Piano Concerto No. 21 - Andante "Elvira Madigan"
http://wn.com/Wolfgang_Amadeus_Mozart_Piano_Concerto_No_21_Andante
Piano Concerto No. 21 - Andante "Elvira Madigan"
Trans DF Express
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:45
- Updated: 16 Dec 2012
Dungeon Family
http://wn.com/Trans_DF_Express
Tamiya DF-03 Brushless speed runs 96 km/h!
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:37
- Updated: 12 Dec 2012
After a long time and some upgrades i made a new Video with some speed runs. The best run was 96.3 km/h, tested with garmin gps. Its a little beast! :-) Enjoy...
http://wn.com/Tamiya_DF-03_Brushless_speed_runs_96_km_h!
After a long time and some upgrades i made a new Video with some speed runs. The best run was 96.3 km/h, tested with garmin gps. Its a little beast! :-) Enjoy...
- published: 06 Jun 2010
- views: 51513
- author: DF03Racing
Jonathan - DF - Lateral Direito - Highlights
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 13:14
- Updated: 03 Dec 2012
. Name: Jonathan Cicero Moreira Position: Defender Born: 27/02/1986 Height: 1.70cm Weight: 72kg Clubs Cruzeiro(Brazil) - 1999-2010 ------------------------------ For more informations: E-mail: sunsportsmkt@hotmail.com
http://wn.com/Jonathan_DF_Lateral_Direito_Highlights
. Name: Jonathan Cicero Moreira Position: Defender Born: 27/02/1986 Height: 1.70cm Weight: 72kg Clubs Cruzeiro(Brazil) - 1999-2010 ------------------------------ For more informations: E-mail: sunsportsmkt@hotmail.com
- published: 16 Sep 2010
- views: 78262
- author: sunsportsmkt
Breakdance Zocalo Mexico DF
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:15
- Updated: 11 Dec 2012
During a walk in the historical centre of Mexico City, we stopped to see these guys do their breakdance stuff and other tricks. I liked it a lot :)
http://wn.com/Breakdance_Zocalo_Mexico_DF
During a walk in the historical centre of Mexico City, we stopped to see these guys do their breakdance stuff and other tricks. I liked it a lot :)
- published: 16 Feb 2007
- views: 605987
- author: pielepataan
Tacos al Pastor en Mexico DF
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:17
- Updated: 07 Dec 2012
2 years ago, on a 5 days trip in Mexico, I enjoyed every second of my stay. People were very welcoming, and shared with me their own culture. And if you know me, you must guess that culture is necessarily related to FOOOD! So I make this little post, to show how that man prepared a taco el pastor, (with pork meat, cilantro, red onions, and pineapple bites, tacos a la carne asada or pollo en adobo are also MUY SABROSO!!). Next time, I'll post a mexican recipe! In the mean time, Take care mi amigos
http://wn.com/Tacos_al_Pastor_en_Mexico_DF
2 years ago, on a 5 days trip in Mexico, I enjoyed every second of my stay. People were very welcoming, and shared with me their own culture. And if you know me, you must guess that culture is necessarily related to FOOOD! So I make this little post, to show how that man prepared a taco el pastor, (with pork meat, cilantro, red onions, and pineapple bites, tacos a la carne asada or pollo en adobo are also MUY SABROSO!!). Next time, I'll post a mexican recipe! In the mean time, Take care mi amigos
- published: 26 Nov 2010
- views: 124175
- author: Alex Kartouch
DF - Free Your Mind
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:28
- Updated: 15 Dec 2012
www.df.gr http Artist: DF (Delirium Framboise) Album: London Sessions [2009] DF with Eleni Dimou & Markos Koumaris from Locomondo / DF μαζί με Ελένη Δήμου και Μάρκο Κούμαρη από τους Locomondo
http://wn.com/DF_Free_Your_Mind
www.df.gr http Artist: DF (Delirium Framboise) Album: London Sessions [2009] DF with Eleni Dimou & Markos Koumaris from Locomondo / DF μαζί με Ελένη Δήμου και Μάρκο Κούμαρη από τους Locomondo
- published: 30 Oct 2008
- views: 101814
- author: Delirium Framboise
Tamiya DF-03Ra Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X homage
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:25
- Updated: 15 Dec 2012
See more at www.ultimatetamiya.com of the Tamiya DF-03Ra Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X.
http://wn.com/Tamiya_DF-03Ra_Mitsubishi_Lancer_Evolution_X_homage
See more at www.ultimatetamiya.com of the Tamiya DF-03Ra Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X.
- published: 02 May 2011
- views: 25642
- author: UltimateRCnetwork
Marie Digby - Spell - (Original Song)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:37
- Updated: 16 Dec 2012
This is another installment of my Capitol Studios performance on the Pre-Order DVD.. and a song called 'Spell' which was featured on an episode of Smallville. This may be one of my favorite songs on my album... and the recording on the CD has these incredible strings on it which I can't wait for you to all hear. In the meantime, here's my performance of the song from the Capitol Sessions.. As you can tell, it was one looong day...lol.. I think we did about 14 or 15 songs all in that one day !! xo marie'
http://wn.com/Marie_Digby_Spell_Original_Song
This is another installment of my Capitol Studios performance on the Pre-Order DVD.. and a song called 'Spell' which was featured on an episode of Smallville. This may be one of my favorite songs on my album... and the recording on the CD has these incredible strings on it which I can't wait for you to all hear. In the meantime, here's my performance of the song from the Capitol Sessions.. As you can tell, it was one looong day...lol.. I think we did about 14 or 15 songs all in that one day !! xo marie'
- published: 10 Mar 2008
- views: 1516472
- author: MarieDigby
Theotis Beasley Interview on Skating with Lil Wayne & His Nike Shoe
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:16
- Updated: 16 Dec 2012
When Baker skateboards pro Theotis Beasley swung through New York, Tim Brodhagen sat down with him to talk about contests, travel, the CCS cover shoot with Lil Wayne, and when the friendliest man in skateboarding expects to get his pro model with Nike. And then Beasley lit up the Hudson River Skate Park, just for the dose cameras. Check out Theotis competing at the Dew Tour in San Francisco Oct. 18 -21, visit www.allisports.com for more information. www.youtube.com www.youtube.com Subscribe to Network A! www.youtube.com Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com Follow us on Tumblr: networka.tumblr.com Follow the dose crew on Instagram @timbojbaggins - host @edwardgramsjr - filmer/editor/producer @brittanykellyk - producer
http://wn.com/Theotis_Beasley_Interview_on_Skating_with_Lil_Wayne_His_Nike_Shoe
When Baker skateboards pro Theotis Beasley swung through New York, Tim Brodhagen sat down with him to talk about contests, travel, the CCS cover shoot with Lil Wayne, and when the friendliest man in skateboarding expects to get his pro model with Nike. And then Beasley lit up the Hudson River Skate Park, just for the dose cameras. Check out Theotis competing at the Dew Tour in San Francisco Oct. 18 -21, visit www.allisports.com for more information. www.youtube.com www.youtube.com Subscribe to Network A! www.youtube.com Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com Follow us on Tumblr: networka.tumblr.com Follow the dose crew on Instagram @timbojbaggins - host @edwardgramsjr - filmer/editor/producer @brittanykellyk - producer
- published: 18 Jun 2012
- views: 145406
- author: NetworkA
Antec Dark Fleet DF-85 Gaming Tower Computer Case Unboxing & First Look Linus Tech Tips
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 13:27
- Updated: 15 Dec 2012
www.ncix.com I had an opportunity to spend some time with the Antec Dark Fleet DF-85, which was JUST released here in Canada. It brings some exiting new features to what is basically an Antec Twelve Hundred that is tweaked for the 2010 gaming audience with features like hot swap and an SSD bay built in.
http://wn.com/Antec_Dark_Fleet_DF-85_Gaming_Tower_Computer_Case_Unboxing_First_Look_Linus_Tech_Tips
www.ncix.com I had an opportunity to spend some time with the Antec Dark Fleet DF-85, which was JUST released here in Canada. It brings some exiting new features to what is basically an Antec Twelve Hundred that is tweaked for the 2010 gaming audience with features like hot swap and an SSD bay built in.
- published: 23 Jun 2010
- views: 82425
- author: LinusTechTips
DON'T FLOP - Rap Battle - Dirtbag Dan Vs Oshea
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 18:24
- Updated: 15 Dec 2012
*PLEASE COMMENT & RATE* - DON'T FLOP - Dirtbag Dan Vs Oshea - Grind Time, King Of The Dot, URL, Jumpoff.
http://wn.com/DON'T_FLOP_Rap_Battle_Dirtbag_Dan_Vs_Oshea
*PLEASE COMMENT & RATE* - DON'T FLOP - Dirtbag Dan Vs Oshea - Grind Time, King Of The Dot, URL, Jumpoff.
- published: 11 Jan 2010
- views: 338533
- author: DontFlop
DF - Sta Frydia Mas
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:53
- Updated: 06 Dec 2012
www.df.gr Artist: DF (Delirium Framboise) Album: DiFραγκο (2010) Μουσική/Στίχοι: Άκης Γκολφίδης, Μάνος & Νίκος Νυχάς, Doji Coboloco Κιθάρα: Αποστόλης Στίκας Μπάσο: Σπύρος Βεσδέκης Τύμπανα: Πάνος Τσιμισίρης Σαξόφωνο: Νίκος Νυχάς Τρομπέτα: Μάνος Νυχάς Σκηνοθεσία: Άκης Γκολφίδης, Zodiac Music/Lyrics: Akis Golfidis, Μanos & Nikos Nychas, Doji Coboloco Guitar: Apostolis Stikas Bass: Spyros Vesdekis Drums: Panos Tsimisiris Sax: Nikos Nychas Trumpet: Manos Nychas Clip directed by Akis Golfidis & Zodiac
http://wn.com/DF_Sta_Frydia_Mas
www.df.gr Artist: DF (Delirium Framboise) Album: DiFραγκο (2010) Μουσική/Στίχοι: Άκης Γκολφίδης, Μάνος & Νίκος Νυχάς, Doji Coboloco Κιθάρα: Αποστόλης Στίκας Μπάσο: Σπύρος Βεσδέκης Τύμπανα: Πάνος Τσιμισίρης Σαξόφωνο: Νίκος Νυχάς Τρομπέτα: Μάνος Νυχάς Σκηνοθεσία: Άκης Γκολφίδης, Zodiac Music/Lyrics: Akis Golfidis, Μanos & Nikos Nychas, Doji Coboloco Guitar: Apostolis Stikas Bass: Spyros Vesdekis Drums: Panos Tsimisiris Sax: Nikos Nychas Trumpet: Manos Nychas Clip directed by Akis Golfidis & Zodiac
- published: 21 Sep 2010
- views: 14384
- author: Delirium Framboise
Tamiya DF03RA Datsun 240Z Rally First run
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:02
- Updated: 15 Dec 2012
The very first run of my 240Z. Movie filmed with Nikon D3s and edited with iMovie on a Mac.
http://wn.com/Tamiya_DF03RA_Datsun_240Z_Rally_First_run
The very first run of my 240Z. Movie filmed with Nikon D3s and edited with iMovie on a Mac.
- published: 14 Nov 2011
- views: 31623
- author: fullspeeddesign
PAUL McCARTNEY COMPLETO MEXICO DF ZOCALO (CHILANGOLANDIA)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 173:25
- Updated: 16 Dec 2012
GRACIAS A hmbp22 www.youtube.com POR PONER EL SET LIST........ 00:00 Hello Goodbye 02:16 Junior's Farm 05:58 All My Loving 09:20 Jet 14:25 Drive My Car 17:19 Sing The Changes 21:47 The Night Before 25:03 Let Me Roll it/Foxy Lady 31:56 Paperback Writer 36:32 The Long and Winding Road 40:04 Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five 44:36 My Valentine 48:09 Maybe I'm Amazed 53:28 I've Just Seen a Face 56:30 Hope of Deliverance 1:00:14 And I Love Her 1:03:58 Blackbird 1:07:53 Here Today 1:11:09 Dance Tonight 1:14:45 Every Night 1:18:09 Mrs. Vandebilt 1:23:03 Eleanor Rigby 1:26:55 Something 1:32:19 Band on The Run 1:38:18 Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da 1:43:39 Birthday 1:46:29 Back in the USSR 1:50:06 I've Got a Feeling 1:56:30 A Day in The Life 1:59:43 Give Peace a Chance 2:02:38 Let it Be 2:06:41 Live and Let Die 2:10:33 Hey Jude 2:21:07 Lady Madonna 2:24:06 Day Tripper 2:27:53 Get Back 2:34:24 Yesterday 2:37:49 Helter Skelter 2:44:01 Golden Slumbers 2:45:42 Carry That Weight 2:47:22 The End Simpático el ex Beatle. Soltaba frases en español como "los chilangos son maravillosos" CONCIERTO COMPLETO..................
http://wn.com/PAUL_McCARTNEY_COMPLETO_MEXICO_DF_ZOCALO_CHILANGOLANDIA
GRACIAS A hmbp22 www.youtube.com POR PONER EL SET LIST........ 00:00 Hello Goodbye 02:16 Junior's Farm 05:58 All My Loving 09:20 Jet 14:25 Drive My Car 17:19 Sing The Changes 21:47 The Night Before 25:03 Let Me Roll it/Foxy Lady 31:56 Paperback Writer 36:32 The Long and Winding Road 40:04 Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five 44:36 My Valentine 48:09 Maybe I'm Amazed 53:28 I've Just Seen a Face 56:30 Hope of Deliverance 1:00:14 And I Love Her 1:03:58 Blackbird 1:07:53 Here Today 1:11:09 Dance Tonight 1:14:45 Every Night 1:18:09 Mrs. Vandebilt 1:23:03 Eleanor Rigby 1:26:55 Something 1:32:19 Band on The Run 1:38:18 Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da 1:43:39 Birthday 1:46:29 Back in the USSR 1:50:06 I've Got a Feeling 1:56:30 A Day in The Life 1:59:43 Give Peace a Chance 2:02:38 Let it Be 2:06:41 Live and Let Die 2:10:33 Hey Jude 2:21:07 Lady Madonna 2:24:06 Day Tripper 2:27:53 Get Back 2:34:24 Yesterday 2:37:49 Helter Skelter 2:44:01 Golden Slumbers 2:45:42 Carry That Weight 2:47:22 The End Simpático el ex Beatle. Soltaba frases en español como "los chilangos son maravillosos" CONCIERTO COMPLETO..................
- published: 13 May 2012
- views: 247303
- author: angelcs1jma
DF et Cerk - Le temps d'une cigarette (Prod. DjCerk)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:18
- Updated: 15 Dec 2012
Téléchargez la mixtape gratuitement sur : www.mediafire.com
http://wn.com/DF_et_Cerk_Le_temps_d'une_cigarette_Prod_DjCerk
Téléchargez la mixtape gratuitement sur : www.mediafire.com
- published: 18 Aug 2012
- views: 7051
- author: grosbras3
DF - Si j'ai oublié mon texte
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:31
- Updated: 14 Dec 2012
Crédit audio : Gramatik Balkan express.
http://wn.com/DF_Si_j'ai_oublié_mon_texte
E-flite Habu 32 DF ARF.wmv
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:32
- Updated: 18 Sep 2012
As the first Platinum Series E-flite® ducted fan, the Habu 32 DF also boasts a level of fit and finish that is every bit as impressive as its performance. Its sleek fiberglass fuselage comes pre-painted and integrates the vertical stabilizer. The fully-sheeted wings and horizontal stabilizers are reinforced with carbon blade spars and covered with genuine UltraCote®. The control surfaces are hinged for you. Just add the optional E-flite electric retracts (sold separately), and you've got a sport jet that truly stands out from the crowd.
http://wn.com/E-flite_Habu_32_DF_ARFwmv
As the first Platinum Series E-flite® ducted fan, the Habu 32 DF also boasts a level of fit and finish that is every bit as impressive as its performance. Its sleek fiberglass fuselage comes pre-painted and integrates the vertical stabilizer. The fully-sheeted wings and horizontal stabilizers are reinforced with carbon blade spars and covered with genuine UltraCote®. The control surfaces are hinged for you. Just add the optional E-flite electric retracts (sold separately), and you've got a sport jet that truly stands out from the crowd.
- published: 21 Oct 2010
- views: 58832
- author: modelflight
![DF - Αν Θέλεις [official video 2012]](http://web.archive.org./web/20121217011629im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/tHd_zMi_oOE/default.jpg "DF - Αν Θέλεις [official video 2012]")
DF - Αν Θέλεις [official video 2012]
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:18
- Updated: 13 Dec 2012
www.df.gr http artist: DF song: Αν Θέλεις (An Theleis) album: DiFferent [2012] lyrics & music: DF drums: Constantinos Michailidis bass: Kostas Xirogiannis guitar: Apostolis Stikas backing vocals: Irini Arabatzi mix: Michalis Skarakis video: DF Productions
http://wn.com/DF_Αν_Θέλεις_official_video_2012_
www.df.gr http artist: DF song: Αν Θέλεις (An Theleis) album: DiFferent [2012] lyrics & music: DF drums: Constantinos Michailidis bass: Kostas Xirogiannis guitar: Apostolis Stikas backing vocals: Irini Arabatzi mix: Michalis Skarakis video: DF Productions
- published: 24 May 2012
- views: 5663
- author: Delirium Framboise
Defending against China's DF-21D 'carrier-killer' missile
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 0:53
- Updated: 15 Dec 2012
Admiral Jonathan Greenert, the chief of US naval operations, told reporters on Friday there are a number of methods the US Navy would use to defend against China's Dong Feng (East Wind) 21D carrier-killer missile, which the US believes has reached "initial operating capability," well before the missile got close to a carrier group. The DF-21D, the world's first ballistic anti-ship missile, carries a conventional warhead and is fired from land-based launchers. China says the DF-21D has a range of 1700 miles. Sources: Wired, Xinhuanet via Washington Times
http://wn.com/Defending_against_China's_DF-21D_'carrier-killer'_missile
Admiral Jonathan Greenert, the chief of US naval operations, told reporters on Friday there are a number of methods the US Navy would use to defend against China's Dong Feng (East Wind) 21D carrier-killer missile, which the US believes has reached "initial operating capability," well before the missile got close to a carrier group. The DF-21D, the world's first ballistic anti-ship missile, carries a conventional warhead and is fired from land-based launchers. China says the DF-21D has a range of 1700 miles. Sources: Wired, Xinhuanet via Washington Times
- published: 20 Mar 2012
- views: 157700
- author: NMANewsDirect
Обзор фотоштативов Velbon DF
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:35
- Updated: 10 Dec 2012
Цены, отзывы, характеристики: — Velbon DF-40 fotos.ua — Velbon DF-50 fotos.ua — Velbon DF-60 fotos.ua
http://wn.com/Обзор_фотоштативов_Velbon_DF
Цены, отзывы, характеристики: — Velbon DF-40 fotos.ua — Velbon DF-50 fotos.ua — Velbon DF-60 fotos.ua
- published: 08 Apr 2012
- views: 2298
- author: fotosua
Sonidos extraños en México DF
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:24
- Updated: 15 Dec 2012
Estos sonidos tan extraños se han estado dando por todo el mundo y ahora se escucharon en la Ciudad de México hoy, 17 de febrero del 2012. Los sonidos son fuertes y extraños que hasta los perros comenzaron a ladrar al escucharlo. No sé que sea pero la verdad que son muy raros e inquietantes =/
http://wn.com/Sonidos_extraños_en_México_DF
Estos sonidos tan extraños se han estado dando por todo el mundo y ahora se escucharon en la Ciudad de México hoy, 17 de febrero del 2012. Los sonidos son fuertes y extraños que hasta los perros comenzaron a ladrar al escucharlo. No sé que sea pero la verdad que son muy raros e inquietantes =/
- published: 18 Feb 2012
- views: 422510
- author: Xesphere
Sobreviviendo en el DF
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:51
- Updated: 08 Dec 2012
Nuestros héroes, Decko y Ronald, se embarcan en una increíble aventura a la Ciudad de México. App de FB: apps.facebook.com Web: www.QuePario.com Facebook www.facebook.com Twitter: twitter.com
http://wn.com/Sobreviviendo_en_el_DF
Nuestros héroes, Decko y Ronald, se embarcan en una increíble aventura a la Ciudad de México. App de FB: apps.facebook.com Web: www.QuePario.com Facebook www.facebook.com Twitter: twitter.com
- published: 03 Aug 2011
- views: 9749
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This article is about the capital of Mexico, coterminous with the Federal District. For other uses, see Mexico City (disambiguation).
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0.922 Mexico City ( /ˈmɛksɨkoʊ ˈsɪti/; Spanish: Ciudad de México [sjuˈðað ðe ˈmexiko], also known as México D.F., or simply D.F.) is the Federal District (Distrito Federal), capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union.[9] It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole. Mexico City is the country's largest city as well as its most important political, cultural, educational and financial center.
As an "alpha" global city[10] Mexico City is one of the most important financial centers in North America.[11] It is located in the Valley of Mexico (Valle de México), a large valley in the high plateaus at the center of Mexico, at an altitude of 2,240 metres (7,350 ft). The city consists of sixteen boroughs.
The 2009 estimated population for the city proper was around 8.84 million people,[12] and has a land area of 1,485 square kilometres (573 sq mi).[13] According to the most recent definition agreed upon by the federal and state governments, the Mexico City metropolitan area population is 21.2 million people,[12] making it the largest metropolitan area in the western hemisphere and the fifth largest agglomeration in the world.[14]
The Greater Mexico City has a gross domestic product (GDP) of US$390 billion in 2008, making Mexico City urban agglomeration the eighth richest metropolitan area in the world.[15] The city was responsible for generating 21% of Mexico's Gross Domestic Product and the metropolitan area accounted for 34% of total national GDP.[16]
The city was originally built on an island of Lake Texcoco by the Aztecs in 1325 as Tenochtitlan, which was almost completely destroyed in the 1521 siege of Tenochtitlan, and subsequently redesigned and rebuilt in accordance with the Spanish urban standards. In 1524, the municipality of Mexico City was established, known as México Tenochtitlán,[17] and as of 1585 it was officially known as La Ciudad de México (Mexico City).[17] Mexico City served as the political, administrative and financial center of a major part of the Spanish colonial empire.[18] After independence from Spain was achieved, the Federal District was created in 1824.
After years of demanding greater political autonomy, residents were given the right to directly elect the Head of Government and the representatives of the unicameral Legislative Assembly by popular vote in 1997. Ever since, the left-wing Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) has controlled both of them.[19] In recent years, the local government has passed a wave of liberal policies, such as abortion on request, a limited form of euthanasia, no-fault divorce and same-sex marriage.
Contents |
History of Mexico City[link]
Main article: History of Mexico City
Aztec period[link]
Main article: Tenochtitlan
The city currently known as Mexico City was founded by the Mexica people, later known as the Aztecs, in 1325. The old Mexica city is now referred to as Tenochtitlan. The Mexica were one of the last of the Nahuatl-speaking peoples who migrated to this part of the Valley of Mexico after the fall of the Toltec Empire. Their presence was resisted by the peoples who were already in the valley, but the Mexica were able to establish a city on a small island on the western side of Lake Texcoco. The Mexica themselves had a story about how their city was founded, after being led to the island by their principal god, Huitzilopochtli. According to the story, the god indicated the site where they were to build their home with a sign - an eagle perched on a nopal cactus with a snake in its beak. Between 1325 and 1521, Tenochtitlan grew in size and strength, eventually dominating the other city-states around Lake Texcoco, and in the Valley of Mexico. When the Spaniards arrived, the Aztec Empire reached much of Mesoamerica, touching both the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. Scholars estimate that between 200,000 and 250,000 people lived in Tenochtitlan in 1500, more than four times the population of London at that time.
Spanish conquest of Tenochtitlán[link]
After landing in Veracruz, Hernán Cortés heard about the great city and the long-standing rivalries and grievances against it. Although Cortés came to Mexico with a very small army, he was able to persuade many of the other native peoples to help him destroy Tenochtitlan.[20] Cortés first saw Tenochtitlán on November 8, 1519.[21] Upon viewing it for the first time, Cortés and his men were stunned by its beauty and size. The Spaniards marched along the causeway leading into the city from Iztapalapa. Although Montezuma came out from the center of Tenochtitlán to greet them and exchange gifts, the camaraderie did not last long.[22] Cortés put Montezuma under house arrest, hoping to rule through him.[23] Tensions increased until, on the night of June 30, 1520 – during a struggle commonly known as "La Noche Triste" – the Aztec revolted against the Spanish intrusion and managed to capture or drive out the Europeans and their Tlaxcalan allies.[24] Cortés regrouped at Tlaxcala. The Aztecs thought the Spaniards were permanently gone. They elected a new king, Cuitláhuac, but he died after a few months due to smallpox; the next king was Cuauhtémoc.[25] Cortés decided to lay siege to Tenochtitlán in May 1521. For three months, the city suffered from the lack of food and water as well as the spread of smallpox brought by the Europeans.[20] Cortés and his allies landed their forces in the south of the island and fought their way through the city, street by street, and house by house.[26] Finally, Cuauhtémoc had to surrender in August 1521.[20]
The rebuilding of the city as Mexico City[link]
The Spaniards practically razed Tenochtitlán. Cortés first settled in Coyoacán, but decided to rebuild the Aztec site to erase all traces of the old order.[21] Cortés did not establish an independent, conquered territory under his own personal rule, but remained loyal to the Spanish crown. The first viceroy of the new domain arrived in Mexico City fourteen years later. By that time, the city had again become a city-state, having power that extended far beyond the city's established borders.[27] Although the Spanish preserved Tenochtitlán's basic layout, they built Catholic churches over the old Aztec temples and claimed the imperial palaces for themselves.[27] Tenochtitlán was renamed "Mexico", its alternative form name, only because the Spanish found this easier to say.[21]
Growth of the colonial city[link]
The city grew as the population did, coming up against the lake's waters. The 16th century saw a proliferation of churches, many of which can still be seen today in the historic center.[27] Economically, Mexico City prospered as a result of trade. Unlike Brazil or Peru, Mexico had easy contact with both the Atlantic and Pacific worlds. Although the Spanish crown tried to completely regulate all commerce in the city, it had only partial success.[28]
The concept of nobility flourished in New Spain in a way not seen in other parts of the Americas. Spaniards encountered a society in which the concept of nobility mirrored that of their own. Spaniards respected the indigenous order of nobility and added to it. In the ensuing centuries, a noble title in Mexico did not mean one exercised great political power as one's power was limited even if the accumulation of wealth was not.[29] The concept of nobility in Mexico was not political but rather a very conservative Spanish social one, based on proving the worthiness of the family. Most of these families proved their worth by making fortunes in New Spain outside of the city itself, then spending the revenues in the capital, building churches, supporting charities and building extravagant palatial homes. The craze to build the most opulent home possible reached its height in the last half of the 18th century. Many of these homes can still be seen today, leading to Mexico City's nickname of "The city of palaces" given by Alexander Von Humboldt.[21][27][29]
The Grito de Dolores ("Cry of Dolores") also known as El Grito de la Independencia ("Cry of Independence"), uttered from the small town of Dolores near Guanajuato on September 16, 1810, is the event that marks the beginning of the Mexican War of Independence and is the most important national holiday observed in Mexico. The "Grito" was the battle cry of the Mexican War of Independence by Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a Roman Catholic priest. Hidalgo and several criollos were involved in a planned revolt against the Spanish colonial government, and the plotters were betrayed. Fearing his arrest,[1] Hidalgo commanded his brother Mauricio as well as Ignacio Allende and Mariano Abasolo to go with a number of other armed men to make the sheriff release the pro-independence inmates there on the night of September 15. They managed to set eighty free.[2] Around 6:00 am September 16, 1810, Hidalgo ordered the church bells to be rung and gathered his congregation. Flanked by Allende and Juan Aldama, he addressed the people in front of his church, encouraging them to revolt. The Battle of Guanajuato, the first major engagement of the insurgency, occurred four days later. Mexico's independence from Spain was effectively declared in the Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire on September 27, 1821, after a decade of war.[30] Unrest followed for the next several decades, as different factions fought for control of Mexico.[31]
The Mexican Federal District was established by the new government and by the signing of their new constitution, where the concept of a federal district was adapted from The U.S. constitution.[32] Before this designation, Mexico City had served as the seat of government for both the State of Mexico and the nation as a whole. Texcoco and then Toluca became the capital of the state of Mexico.[33]
The Battle of Mexico City[link]
The Mexican–American War came to a close after the United States deployed combat units deep into Mexico resulting in the capture of Mexico City and Veracruz by the U.S. Army's 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Divisions.[34] The invasion culminated with the storming of Chapultepec Castle in the city itself.[35] The treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed in what is now the far north of the city.[36] Events such as the Reform War left the city relatively untouched and it continued to grow, especially during the rule of President Porfirio Díaz. During this time, the city developed a modern infrastructure, such as roads, schools, transportation, and communication systems. However, the regime concentrated resources and wealth into the city while the rest languished in poverty.
Revolution[link]
Fast modern development eventually led to the Mexican Revolution.[31] The most significant episode of this period for the city was the La decena trágica ("The Ten Tragic Days"), a coup against President Francisco I. Madero and his vice president, José María Pino Suárez. Victoriano Huerta, chief general of the Federal Army saw a chance to take power, forcing Madero and Pino Suarez to sign resignations. The two were murdered later while on their way to prison.[37]
20th century to present[link]
The history of the rest of the 20th century to the present focuses on the phenomenal growth of the city and its environmental and political consequences. In 1900, the population of Mexico City was about 500,000.[38] The city began to grow rapidly westward in the early part of the 20th century[27] and then began to grow upwards in the 1950s, with the Torre Latinoamericana becoming the city's first skyscraper.[20] The 1968 Olympic Games brought about the construction of large sporting facilities.[27] In 1969, the Metro system was inaugurated.[20] Explosive growth in the population of the city started from the 1960s, with the population overflowing the boundaries of the Federal District into the neighboring state of Mexico, especially to the north, northwest and northeast. Between 1960 and 1980 the city's population more than doubled to 8,831,079.[27] In 1980, half of all the industrial jobs in Mexico were located in Mexico City. Under relentless growth, the Mexico City government could barely keep up with services. Villagers from the countryside who continued to pour into the city to escape poverty only compounded the city's problems. With no housing available, they took over lands surrounding the city, creating huge shantytowns that extended for many miles.[31] This caused serious air pollution in Mexico City and water pollution problems, as well as a sinking city due to overextraction of groundwater, groundwater-related subsidence.[39] Air and water pollution has been contained and improved in several areas due to government programs, the renovation of vehicles and the modernization of public transportation.
The autocratic government that ruled Mexico City since the Revolution was tolerated, mostly because of the continued economic expansion since World War II. This was the case even though this government could not handle the population and pollution problems adequately. Nevertheless, discontent and protests began in the 1960s leading to the massacre of an unknown number of protesting students in Tlatelolco.[31]
Three years later, a demonstration in the Maestros avenue, organized by former members of the 1968 student movement, was violently repressed by a paramilitary group called "Los Halcones", composed of gang members and teenagers from many sports clubs who received training in the U.S.
On Thursday, September 19, 1985, at 7:19 am local time, Mexico City was struck by an earthquake of magnitude 8.1[40] on the Richter scale. Although this earthquake was not as deadly or destructive as many similar events in Asia and other parts of Latin America,[41] it proved to be a disaster politically for the one-party government. The government was paralyzed by its own bureaucracy and corruption, forcing ordinary citizens to create and direct their own rescue efforts and to reconstruct much of the housing that was lost as well.[42] However, the last straw may have been the controverted elections of 1988. That year, the presidency was set between the P.R.I.'s candidate, Carlos Salinas de Gortari, and a coalition of left-wing parties led by Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, son of the former president Lázaro Cárdenas. The counting system "fell" because coincidentally the light went out and suddenly, when it returned, the winning candidate was Salinas, even though Cárdenas had the upper hand. As a result of the fraudulent election, Cárdenas became a member of the Party of the Democratic Revolution. Discontent over the election eventually led Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas to become the first elected mayor of Mexico City in 1997. Cárdenas promised a more democratic government, and his party claimed some victories against crime, pollution, and other major problems. He resigned in 1999 to run for the presidency.
Geography[link]
Mexico City is located in the Valley of Mexico, sometimes called the Basin of Mexico. This valley is located in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt in the high plateaus of south-central Mexico.[43][44] It has a minimum altitude of 2,200 meters (7,217 feet) above sea level and is surrounded by mountains and volcanoes that reach elevations of over 5,000 meters.[45] This valley has no natural drainage outlet for the waters that flow from the mountainsides, making the city vulnerable to flooding. Drainage was engineered through the use of canals and tunnels starting in the 17th century.[43][45] The city primarily rests on what was Lake Texcoco.[43] Seismic activity is frequent here.[46] Lake Texcoco was drained starting from the 17th century. Although none of the lake waters remain, the city rests on the lake bed's heavily saturated clay. This soft base is collapsing due to the over-extraction of groundwater, called groundwater-related subsidence. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the city has sunk as much as nine meters in some areas. This sinking is causing problems with runoff and wastewater management, leading to flooding problems, especially during the rainy season.[45][46] The entire lake bed is now paved over and most of the city's remaining forested areas lie in the southern boroughs of Milpa Alta, Tlalpan and Xochimilco.[46]
| Geophysical maps of the Federal District | |||
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| Topography | Hydrology | Climate patterns | |
Climate[link]
Mexico City has a subtropical highland climate (Köppen climate classification Cwb), due to its tropical location and high elevation. The lower region of the valley receives less rainfall than the upper regions of the south; the lower boroughs of Iztapalapa, Iztacalco, Venustiano Carranza and the west portion of Gustavo A. Madero are usually drier and warmer than the upper southern boroughs of Tlalpan and Milpa Alta, a mountainous region of pine and oak trees known as the range of Ajusco.
The average annual temperature varies from 12 to 16 °C (54 to 61 °F), depending on the altitude of the borough. The lowest temperatures, usually registered during January and February, may reach -2 to -5 °C (28 to 23 °F), and are usually accompanied by snow showers on the southern regions of Ajusco. The maximum temperatures of late spring and summer may reach up to 32 °C (90 °F). Extremes range from −4.4 °C (24.1 °F) to 33.9 °C (93.0 °F).[47]
Overall precipitation is heavily concentrated in the summer months, and includes dense hail. The central valley of Mexico rarely gets precipitation in the form of snow during winter; the two last recorded instances of such an event were on March 5, 1940 and January 12, 1967.
The region of the Valley of Mexico receives anti-cyclonic systems. The weak winds of these systems do not allow for the dispersion, outside the basin, of the air pollutants which are produced by the 50,000 industries and 4 million vehicles operating in and around the metropolitan area.[48]
The area receives about 820 millimetres (32.3 in) of annual rainfall, which is concentrated from June through September/October with little or no precipitation the remainder of the year.[45] The area has two main seasons. The rainy season runs from June to October when winds bring in tropical moisture from the sea. The dry season runs from November to May, when the air is relatively drier. This dry season subdivides into a cold period and a warm period. The cold period spans from November to February when polar air masses push down from the north and keep the air fairly dry. The warm period extends from March to May when tropical winds again dominate but do not yet carry enough moisture for rain.[49]
Extremes
| Climate data for Mexico City, Mexico | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 21.2 (70.2) |
22.9 (73.2) |
25.7 (78.3) |
26.6 (79.9) |
26.5 (79.7) |
24.6 (76.3) |
23.0 (73.4) |
23.3 (73.9) |
22.3 (72.1) |
22.2 (72.0) |
21.8 (71.2) |
20.8 (69.4) |
23.4 (74.1) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 5.8 (42.4) |
7.1 (44.8) |
9.2 (48.6) |
10.8 (51.4) |
11.7 (53.1) |
12.2 (54.0) |
11.5 (52.7) |
11.6 (52.9) |
11.5 (52.7) |
9.8 (49.6) |
7.9 (46.2) |
6.6 (43.9) |
9.6 (49.3) |
| Rainfall mm (inches) | 11.0 (0.433) |
4.3 (0.169) |
10.1 (0.398) |
25.9 (1.02) |
56.0 (2.205) |
134.8 (5.307) |
175.1 (6.894) |
169.2 (6.661) |
144.8 (5.701) |
66.9 (2.634) |
12.1 (0.476) |
6.0 (0.236) |
816.2 (32.134) |
| % humidity | 51 | 47 | 41 | 43 | 51 | 63 | 69 | 69 | 70 | 64 | 57 | 54 | 56 |
| Avg. rainy days | 2.3 | 2.1 | 3.1 | 7.9 | 12.7 | 17.7 | 23.4 | 22.8 | 18.9 | 9.5 | 4.4 | 2.6 | 127.4 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 240 | 234 | 268 | 232 | 225 | 183 | 176 | 176 | 157 | 194 | 232 | 236 | 2,555 |
| Source no. 1: World Meteorological Organisation (UN) (30 yr record)[50] | |||||||||||||
| Source no. 2: Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (sun, RH for 1981–2000) | |||||||||||||
Environment[link]
See also: Water management in Greater Mexico City
Originally, much of the valley laid beneath the waters of Lake Texcoco, a system of interconnected saline and freshwater lakes. The Aztecs built dikes to separate the fresh water used to raise crops in chinampas and to prevent recurrent floods. These dikes were destroyed during the siege of Tenochtitlan, and during colonial times the Spanish regularly drained the lake to prevent floods. Only a small section of the original lake remains, located outside the Federal District, in the municipality of Atenco, State of Mexico. In recent years, architects Teodoro González de León and Alberto Kalach, along with a group of Mexican urbanists, engineers and biologists, have developed the project plan for Recovering the City of Lakes. The project, if approved by the government, will contribute to the supply of water from natural sources to the Valley of Mexico, the creation of new natural spaces, a great improvement in air quality, and greater population establishment planning.
The federal and local governments have implemented numerous plans to alleviate the problem of air pollution (such as carbon monoxide), including the constant monitoring and reporting of environmental conditions, such as ozone and nitrogen oxides.[51] If the levels of these two pollutants reach critical levels, contingency actions are implemented which may include closing factories, changing school hours, and extending the A day without a car program to two days of the week.[51] To control air pollution, the government has instituted industrial technology improvements, a strict biannual vehicle emission inspection and the reformulation of gasoline and diesel fuels.[51] Data from the city's 36 air-quality monitoring stations show lead levels down 95 percent since 1990, while sulfur dioxide has fallen 86 percent, carbon monoxide 74 percent, and peak ozone levels 57 percent since 1991.[51] In 1990, Patricia Saad Sotomayor reported in the Mexico City daily Excélsior that "100,000 children die every year as a result of pollution in the Mexico City metropolitan area, 250,000 people suffer from eye diseases..and life expectancy has been reduced by up to ten years, according to the National Environmentalist Groups." in a report to President Salinas. At the time, according to the United Nations pollution scale "which set 100 as the maximum level before grave health problems begin", Mexico City's level was 97.5, compared to 4.5 for New York City, and 2.5 for Milan, Turin, and Los Angeles.[52]
In 1986, the non-urban forest areas of the southern boroughs were declared National Ecological Reserves by president Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado. Other areas of the Federal District became protected over the following years.
Politics[link]
Federal District[link]
The Acta Constitutiva de la Federación of January 31, 1824 and the Federal Constitution of October 4, 1824[53] fixed the political and administrative organization of the United Mexican States after the Mexican War of Independence. In addition, Section XXVIII of Article 50 gave the new Congress the right to choose where the federal government would be located. This location would then be appropriated as federal land, with the federal government acting as the local authority. The two main candidates to become the capital were Mexico City and Querétaro.[citation needed] However, due in large part to the persuasion of representative Servando Teresa de Mier, Mexico City was chosen because it was the center of the country's population and history, even though Querétaro was closer to the center geographically. The choice was official on November 18, 1824, and Congress delineated a surface area of two leagues square (8,800 ac) centered on the Zocalo. This area was then separated from the State of Mexico, forcing that state's government to move from the Palace of the Inquisition (now Museum of Mexican Medicine) in the city to Texcoco. This area did not include the population centers of the towns of Coyoacán, Xochimilco, Mexicaltzingo and Tlalpan, all of which remained as part of the State of Mexico.[54]
In 1854, president Antonio López de Santa Anna, enlarged the area of the Federal District almost eightfold from the original 220 km2 (80 sq mi) to 1,700 km2 (660 sq mi), annexing the rural and mountainous areas to secure the strategic mountain passes to the south and southwest to protect the city in event of a foreign invasion. (The Mexican-American War had just been fought.) The last changes to the limits of the Federal District were made between 1898 and 1902, reducing the area to the current 1,479 km2 (571 sq mi) by adjusting the southern border with the state of Morelos. By that time, the total number of municipalities within the Federal District was twenty-two.
While the Federal District was ruled by the federal government through an appointed governor, the municipalities within it were autonomous, and this duality of powers created tension between the municipalities and the federal government for more than a century. In 1903 already, Porfirio Díaz largely reduced the powers of the municipalities within the Federal District. Eventually, in December 1928, the federal government decided to abolish all the municipalities of the Federal District. In place of the municipalities, the Federal District was divided into one "Central Department" and 13 delegaciones (boroughs) administered directly by the government of the Federal District. The Central Department was integrated by the former municipalities of Mexico City, Tacuba, Tacubaya and Mixcoac.
In 1941, the General Anaya borough was merged to the Central Department, which was then renamed "Mexico City" (thus reviving the name, but not the autonomous municipality). From 1941 to 1970, the Federal District was comprised by 12 delegaciones and Mexico City. In 1970 Mexico City was split into four different delegaciones: Cuauhtémoc, Miguel Hidalgo, Venustiano Carranza and Benito Juárez, increasing the number of delegaciones to sixteen. Since then, in a de facto manner, the whole Federal District, whose delegaciones had by then almost formed a single urban area, began to be considered a synonym of Mexico City. However, the lack of a de jure stipulation left a legal vacuum that led to a number of sterile discussions about whether one concept had engulfed the other or if the latter had ceased to exist altogether. In 1993 this situation was solved by an amendment to the 44th article of the Constitution whereby Mexico City and the Federal District were set to be the same entity. This amendment was later introduced into the second article of the Statute of Government of the Federal District.[55]
Political structure[link]
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Mexico City, being the seat of the powers of the Union, did not belong to any particular state but to all. Therefore, it was the president, representing the federation, who used to designate the head of government of the Federal District, a position which is sometimes presented outside Mexico as the "Mayor" of Mexico City.[citation needed] In the 1980s, given the dramatic increase in population of the previous decades, the inherent political inconsistencies of the system, as well as the dissatisfaction with the inadequate response of the federal government after the 1985 earthquake, residents began to request political and administrative autonomy to manage their local affairs.[citation needed] Some political groups even proposed that the Federal District be converted into the 32nd state of the federation.
In response to the demands, in 1987 the Federal District received a greater degree of autonomy, with the elaboration the first Statute of Government (Estatuto de Gobierno), and the creation of an Assembly of Representatives.[citation needed] In the 1990s, this autonomy was further expanded and, starting from 1997, residents can directly elect the head of government of the Federal District and the representatives of a unicameral Legislative Assembly (which succeeded the previous Assembly) by popular vote. The first elected head of government was Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas. Cárdenas resigned in 1999 to run in the 2000 presidential elections and designated Rosario Robles to succeed him, who became the first woman (elected or otherwise) to govern Mexico City. In 2000 Andrés Manuel López Obrador was elected, and resigned in 2005 to run in the 2006 presidential elections, Alejandro Encinas Rodríguez being designated by the Legislative Assembly to finish the term. In 2006, Marcelo Ebrard Casaubon was elected for the 2006–2012 period.
The Federal District does not have a constitution, like the states of the Union, but rather a Statute of Government. As part of its recent changes in autonomy, the budget is administered locally; it is proposed by the head of government and approved by the Legislative Assembly. Nonetheless, it is the Congress of the Union that sets the ceiling to internal and external public debt issued by the Federal District.[56]
According to the 44th article of the Mexican Constitution, in case the powers of the Union move to another city, the Federal District will be transformed into a new state, which will be called "State of the Valley of Mexico", with the new limits set by the Congress of the Union.
Elections and government[link]
In 2006, elections were held for the post of head of government and the representatives of the Legislative Assembly. The elected and incumbent head of government is now Marcelo Ebrard Casaubon, candidate of the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD). Heads of government are elected for a 6-year period without the possibility of reelection. Traditionally, this position has been considered as the second most important executive office in the country.[57]
The Legislative Assembly of the Federal District is formed, as it is the case in all legislatures in Mexico, by both single-seat and proportional seats, making it a system of parallel voting. The Federal District is divided into 40 electoral constituencies of similar population which elect one representative by first-past-the-post plurality (FPP), locally called "uninominal deputies". The Federal District as a whole constitutes a single constituency for the parallel election of 26 representatives by proportionality (PR) with open-party lists, locally called "plurinominal deputies". Even though proportionality is only confined to the proportional seats, to prevent a part from being overrepresented, several restrictions apply in the assignation of the seats; namely, that no party can have more than 63% of all seats, both uninominal and plurinominal. In the 2006 elections leftist PRD got the absolute majority in the direct uninominal elections, securing 34 of the 40 FPP seats. As such, PRD was not assigned any plurinominal seat to comply with the law that prevents overrepresentation. The overall composition of the Legislative Assembly is:
| Political party | FPP | PR | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
 Party of the Democratic Revolution |
31 | 3 | 34 |
 National Action Party |
9 | 6 | 15 |
 Institutional Revolutionary Party |
8 | 8 | |
 Labour Party |
5 | 5 | |
 Ecologist Green Party of Mexico |
3 | 3 | |
 New Alliance Party |
1 | 1 | |
| Total | 40 | 26 | 66 |
The politics pursued by the administrations of heads of government in Mexico City since the second half of the 20th century have usually been more liberal than those of the rest of the country, whether with the support of the federal government—as was the case with the approval of several comprehensive environmental laws in the 1980s—or through laws recently approved by the Legislative Assembly. In April of the same year, the Legislative Assembly expanded provisions on abortions, becoming the first federal entity to expand abortion in Mexico beyond cases of rape and economic reasons, to permit it regardless of the reason should the mother request it before the twelfth week of pregnancy.[58] In December 2009, the Federal District became the first city in Latin America, and one of very few in the world, to legalize same-sex marriage.
Boroughs[link]
See also: Mexico City's boroughs and Colonias of Mexico City
For administrative purposes, the Federal District is divided into 16 "delegaciones" or boroughs. While not fully equivalent to a municipality, the 16 boroughs have gained significant autonomy, and since 2000 their heads of government are elected directly by plurality (they were previously appointed by the head of government of the Federal District). Given that Mexico City is organized entirely as a Federal District, most of the city services are provided or organized by the Government of the Federal District and not by the boroughs themselves, while in the constituent states these services would be provided by the municipalities. The 16 boroughs of the Federal District are:
|
1. Álvaro Obregón |
9. Iztapalapa |
The boroughs are composed by hundreds of colonias or neighborhoods, which have no jurisdictional autonomy or representation. It is plausible that the name, which literally means colony, arose in the late 19th, early 20th centuries, when one of the first urban developments outside the city's core was inhabited by a French colony in the city. Some colonias have identifiable attributes: Historic Center is the oldest quarter in the city, some of the buildings dating back to the 16th century[citation needed]; Condesa is known for its Art Deco architecture, and for being the newest artistic center of the city; Santa Fe is a growing business and financial district (built over old landfills); Roma is a beaux arts neighborhood and probably one of the oldest in the city; Polanco is an important commercial and economic center known for its large Jewish community, and Tepito and La Lagunilla are known for its large flea market.[citation needed]
Health[link]
Mexico City is home to some of the best private hospitals in the country; Hospital Ángeles, Hospital ABC and Médica Sur to name a few. The national public healthcare institution for private-sector employees IMSS, has its largest facilities in Mexico City, including the National Medical Center and the La Raza Medical Center, and has an annual budget of over 6 billion pesos. The IMSS and other public health institutions, including the ISSSTE (Public Sector Employees' Social Security Institute) and the National Health Ministry (SSA) maintain large specialty facilities in the city. These include the National Institutes of Cardiology, Nutrition, Psychiatry, Oncology, Pediatrics, Rehabilitation, among others.
The World Bank has sponsored a project to curb air pollution through public transport improvements and the Mexican government has started shutting down polluting factories. They have phased out diesel buses and mandated new emission controls on new cars; since 1993 all new cars must be fitted with a catalytic converter, which reduce the emissions released. Trucks must use only liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Also construction of an underground rail system was begun in 1968 order to help curb air pollution problems and alleviate traffic congestion. Today it has over 201 km (125 mi) of track and carries over 5 million people every day. Fees are kept low to encourage use of the system and during rush hours the crush is so great, that authorities have reserved a special carriage specifically for women. Due to these initiatives and others, the air quality in Mexico City has begun to improve, with the air becoming cleaner since 1991, when the air quality was declared to be a public health risk for 355 days of the year.
Economy[link]
Mexico City is one of the most important economic hubs in Latin America. The city proper (Federal District) produces 21.8% of the country's gross domestic product.[59] According to a study conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Mexico City had a GDP of $390 billion, ranking as the eighth richest city in the world after the greater areas of Tokyo, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Paris, London and Osaka/Kobe, and the richest in the whole of Latin America, as measured by the GDP of the entire Metropolitan area.[15] making Mexico City alone the 30th largest economy in the world.[60] Mexico City is the greatest contributor to the country's industrial GDP (15.8%) and also the greatest contributor to the country's GDP in the service sector (25.3%). Due to the limited non-urbanized space at the south—most of which is protected through environmental laws the contribution of the Federal District in agriculture is the smallest of all federal entities in the country.[59] Mexico City has one of the world's fastest-growing economies and its GDP is set to double by 2020.[61]
In 2002, Mexico City had an HDI index of 0.915[62] identical to that of the Republic of Korea. The level of household expenditure in Mexico City is close to that of an average household in Germany or Japan.[citation needed]
The top twenty-five percent of GDP per capita holders in the city had a mean disposable income of US $98,517 in 2007.[citation needed] The extremely high spending power of Mexico City inhabitants,[citation needed] makes the city attractive for companies offering prestige and luxury goods. The combined personal wealth of privately held income of citizens of the entire federal district is estimated to be $536.95 billion USD,[citation needed] $146 billion larger than the city's GDP of $390 billion,[citation needed] which only takes into account the combined net worth of goods, services and corporately held assets.
The economic reforms of President Carlos Salinas de Gortari had a tremendous effect on the city, as a number of businesses, including banks and airlines, were privatized. He also signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). This led to the decentralization[61] and a shift in Mexico City's economic base, from manufacturing to services, as most factories moved away to either the State of Mexico, or more commonly to the northern border. By contrast, corporate office buildings set their base in the city.
Historically Mexico City has had large slums and shanty towns on the periphery of the city although programs and government policies enacted between the 1980s and the present have significantly reduced the number of informal shanty towns in the city to near non existence and transformed many of the slums into modernized boroughs part of the city structure. Despite the elimination of most shanty towns and slums, the boroughs replacing them still suffer from many of the same problems the communities before them did. While modern Mexico City lacks slums in the classical definition of the word, the city does have large districts in which slum like characteristics such as high rates of poverty and crime are prevalent. Although these districts face many of the same problems as classical slums seen in Brazil and India do, they typically have water, sewage, electrical, transportation, school and sanitation services differentiating them from proper slums. These semi-slum, semi-developed areas are known as Zonas Marginales in Mexico or "Marginal Zones". In Mexico as a whole these Marginal Zones are characterized by their winding unplanned roads, and seemingly endless sprawls of cinder block buildings spanning over tens of square miles. Some well known Marginal Zones in Mexico City are Cuautepec, Tepito and Nezahualcoyotl. While Mexico City itself has no settlements that fit the classical definition of a slum, the neighboring state of Mexico has several such settlements.
Demographics[link]
Historically, and since pre-Hispanic times, the valley of Anáhuac has been one of the most densely populated areas in Mexico. When the Federal District was created in 1824, the urban area of Mexico City extended approximately to the area of today's Cuauhtémoc borough.[citation needed] At the beginning of the 20th century, the elites began migrating to the south and west and soon the small towns of Mixcoac and San Ángel were incorporated by the growing conurbation.[citation needed] According to the 1921 census, 54.78% of the city's population was considered Mestizo (Indigenous mixed with European), 22.79% considered European, and 18.74% considered Indigenous.[63] In 1921, Mexico City had less than one million inhabitants.
Up to the 1990s, the Federal District was the most populous federal entity in Mexico, but since then its population has remained stable at around 8.7 million. The growth of the city has extended beyond the limits of the Federal District to 59 municipalities of the state of Mexico and 1 in the state of Hidalgo.[64] With a population of approximately 19.8 million inhabitants (2008),[65] it is one of the most populous conurbations in the world. Nonetheless, the annual rate of growth of the Metropolitan Area of Mexico City is much lower than that of other large urban agglomerations in Mexico,[66] a phenomenon most likely attributable to the environmental policy of decentralization. The net migration rate of the Federal District from 1995 to 2000 was negative.[67]
While they represented around 18.74% of the city's population, indigenous peoples from different regions of Mexico have immigrated to the capital in search of better economic opportunities. Náhuatl, Otomí, Mixteco, Zapoteco, and Mazahua are the indigenous languages with the greatest number of speakers in Mexico City.[68]
On the other hand, Mexico City is home to large communities of expatriates and immigrants, most notably from North America (U.S.A and Canada), from South America (mainly from Argentina and Colombia, but also from Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and Venezuela), from Central America and the Caribbean (mainly from Cuba, Guatemala, El Salvador, Haiti and Honduras); from Europe (mainly from Spain, Germany and Switzerland, but also from Czech Republic, France, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland and Romania),[69][70] from the Middle East (mainly from Egypt, Lebanon and Syria);[71] and recently from Asia-Pacific (mainly from China and South Korea).[72] Historically since the era of New Spain, many Filipinos settled in the city and have become integrated in Mexican society. While no official figures have been reported, population estimates of each of these communities are quite significant. Mexico City is home to the largest population of U.S. Americans living outside the United States. Current estimates are as high as 600,000 U.S. Americans living in Mexico City, while in 1999 the U.S. Bureau of Consular Affairs estimated over 440,000 Americans lived in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area.[73][74]
The majority (82%) of the residents in Mexico City are Roman Catholic, higher than the national percentage, even though it has been decreasing over the last decades.[75] However, many other religions and philosophies are also practiced in the city: many different types of Protestant groups, different types of Jewish communities, Buddhist and Islam and other spiritual and philosophical groups, as well as an increasing number of irreligion.
Landmarks[link]
| Historic Center of Mexico City and Xochimilco * | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Country | Mexico |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | ii, iii, iv, v |
| Reference | 412 |
| Region ** | Latin America and the Caribbean |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 1987 (11th Session) |
| * Name as inscribed on World Heritage List ** Region as classified by UNESCO |
|
The Historic center of Mexico City (Centro Histórico) and the "floating gardens" of Xochimilco in the southern borough have been declared World Heritage Sites by the UNESCO. Famous landmarks in the Historic Center include the Plaza de la Constitución (Zócalo), the main central square with its time clashing Spanish-era Metropolitan Cathedral and National Palace, and Delran, and ancient Aztec temple ruins Templo Mayor ("Major Temple") are all within a few steps of one another. (The Templo Mayor was discovered in 1978 while workers were digging to place underground electric cables.)
The most recognizable icon of Mexico City is the golden Angel of Independence, found on the wide, elegant avenue Paseo de la Reforma, modeled by the order of the Emperor Maximilian of Mexico after the Champs-Élysées in Paris. This avenue was designed over Americas' oldest passage in the 19th century to connect the National Palace (seat of government) with the Castle of Chapultepec, the imperial residence. Today, this avenue is an important financial district in which the Mexican Stock Exchange as several corporate headquarters are located. Another important avenue is the Avenida de los Insurgentes, which extends 28.8 km (17.9 mi) and is one of the longest single avenues in the world.
The Chapultepec park houses the Castle of Chapultepec, now a museum on a hill that overlooks the park and its numerous museums, monuments and the national zoo and the National Museum of Anthropology (which houses the Aztec Calendar Stone). Another magnificent piece of architecture is the Fine Arts Palace, a stunning white marble theatre/museum whose weight is such that it has gradually been sinking into the soft ground below. Its construction began during the presidency of Porfirio Díaz and ended in 1934, after being interrupted by the Mexican Revolution in the 1920s. The Plaza of the Three Cultures in the Tlatelolco neighbourhood, and the shrine and Basilicas of Our Lady of Guadalupe are also important sites. There is a double-decker bus, known as the "Turibus", that circles most of these sites, and has timed audio describing the sites in multiple languages as they are passed.
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In addition, the city has around 160 museums, over 100 art galleries, and some 30 concert halls, all of which maintain a constant cultural activity during the whole year. It has the fourth highest number of theatres in the world after New York, London and Toronto, and it is the city with the highest number of museums in the world. [76] In many locales (Palacio Nacional and the Instituto Nacional de Cardiología, to name a few), there are murals painted by Diego Rivera. He and his wife Frida Kahlo lived in the southern suburb of Coyoacán, where several of their homes, studios, and art collections are open to the public. The house where Leon Trotsky was initially granted asylum and finally murdered in 1940 is also in Coyoacán.
In addition, there are several restored haciendas that are now restaurants, such as the San Ángel Inn, the Hacienda de Tlalpan and the Hacienda de los Morales, all of which are stunning remnants of Mexican history and house some of the best food in the world.
Transportation[link]
Main article: Transportation in Mexico City
Public transportation[link]
Mexico City is served by the Sistema de Transporte Colectivo Metro, a 207 km (129 mi) metro system, which is the largest in Latin America. The first portions were opened in 1969 and it has expanded to 11 lines with 175 stations. A suburban rail system, known as the Tren Suburbano, similar to the Parisian RER started operations in 2008 connecting the city downtown to the Northern suburbs. A twelfth (gold color) metro line is currently in construction, and will add an additional 25 km (16 mi) to the network. The metro is one of the busiest in the world transporting approximately 4.5 million people every day, surpassed only by subway lines in Moscow (7.5 million), Tokyo (5.9 million), and New York City (5.1 million).[77] It is heavily subsidized, and has the lowest fares in the world, each trip costing 3.00 Mex$ and taking each passenger to almost any place in the mega city from 05:00 am to midnight. Several stations display pre-Columbian artifacts and architecture that were discovered during the metro's construction.[citation needed] However, the Metro does not extend over more than half of the urban area, for which an extensive network of bus routes exists. These routes are mostly managed by private companies which are allowed to operate buses as long as they adhere to certain minimal service quality standards.
The city government also operates a network of large buses, in contrast with the privately operated microbuses (peseros), with fares barely exceeding that of the metro. Electric transport other than the metro also exists, in the form of several Mexico City trolleybus routes and the Xochimilco Light Rail line, both of which are operated by Servicio de Transportes Eléctricos. The central area's last streetcar line (tramway, or tranvía) closed in 1979, but the reintroduction of streetcars to the historic city center is planned.[78] The city's first bus rapid transit line, the Metrobús, began operation in June 2005, along Avenida Insurgentes. A second line was constructed along Eje 4 Sur, opening in December 2008,[79] and a third line opened in February 2011, serving Eje 1 Poniente between Tenayuca and Metro Etiopía.[80] As the microbuses were removed from its route, it was hoped that the Metrobús could reduce pollution and decrease transit time for passengers. Also, since late 2002, the white and green taxis have been joined by red and white ones as part of a program to replace older vehicles with new ones.
Roads[link]
File:MexCity10.JPG
Aerial view of the elevated freeway running from the northern area of the city to the southern area
In the late 1970s many arterial roads were redesigned as ejes viales; high-volume one-way roads that cross, in theory, Mexico City proper from side to side. The eje vial network is based on a quasi-Cartesian grid, with the ejes themselves being called Eje 1 Poniente, Eje Central, and Eje 1 Oriente, for example, for the north-south roads, and Eje 2 Sur and Eje 3 Norte, for example, for east-west roads. Two freeway ring-roads serve to connect points within the city and the metropolitan area: Circuito Interior (the inner ring) and Periférico, which connect to one straight freeway: the Viaducto (Viaduct) (connecting west with east, from Observatorio to the Airport). Traffic in this system is so dense that an elevated highway that runs on top and parallel to a part of the Periférico, had to be constructed and finished in 2003. This elevated highway is colloquially called segundo piso ("second level") of the Periférico.
There is an environmental program, called Hoy No Circula ("Today Does Not Run", or "One Day without a Car"), whereby only vehicles with certain ending numbers on their license plates are allowed to circulate on certain days, in an attempt to cut down on pollution and traffic congestion.[citation needed]
Cycling[link]
The local government continuously strives for a reduction of massive traffic congestion, and has increased incentives for making a bicycle-friendly city. A bicycle lending program was created in the Centro Historico, in which a citizen or tourist can rent a bicycle for 3 hours, by filling out a simple form and presenting a valid ID, the so-called Cicloestaciones are located primarily by the Paseo de la Reforma.[81] There is also a service called Ecobici, in which registered residents can get bicycles for 45 minutes with a pre-paid subscription of 300 pesos a year, there are a total of 90 stations scattered along the Roma-Condesa, Centro, Juárez neighborhoods within 300 meters from each other and are fully automatic only serving one bicycle per person using a transponder based card.[82] Both bicycle service users have access to several permanent Ciclovías in the city, the most important runs 59 kilometers from Polanco to Fierro del Toro, which is located south of Cumbres del Ajusco National Park, near the Morelos state line. The city's initiative is inspired by forward thinking examples, such as Denmark's Copenhagenization.
Buses[link]
The city has four major bus stations (North, South, Observatorio, TAPO), which comprise one of the world's largest transportation agglomerations, with bus service to many cities across the country and international connections. The city has one train station, used for commercial and industrial purposes (interstate passenger trains are now virtually non-existent in Mexico). A suburban rail system, the Tren Suburbano serves the metropolitan area, beyond the city limits of the metro, to municipalities such as Tlalnepantla and Cuautitlán Izcalli, with future extensions to Chalco and La Paz.
Airports[link]
Mexico City is served by Mexico City International Airport (IATA Airport Code: MEX). This airport is Latin America's busiest and largest in traffic, with daily flights to United States and Canadá, mainland Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, South America, Europe and Asia. Aeroméxico (Skyteam) and Mexicana (Oneworld) are based at this airport, and provide codeshare agreements with non-Mexican airlines that span the entire globe. It is used by over 26 million passengers per year.[83] This traffic exceeds the current capacity of the airport, which has historically centralized the majority of air traffic in the country. An alternate option is Lic. Adolfo López Mateos International Airport (IATA Airport Code: TLC) located in the nearby Toluca, State of Mexico with about 4.5 million passengers transported last year. In 2008, about 31 million people went through the city's airports. The government engaged in an extensive restructuring program that includes the new second adjacent terminal, which began operations in 2007, and the enlargement of four other airports (at the nearby cities of Toluca, Querétaro, Puebla and Cuernavaca) that, along with Mexico City's airport, comprise the Grupo Aeroportuario del Valle de México, distributing traffic to different regions in Mexico. The city of Pachuca will also provide additional expansion to central Mexico's airport network. Mexico City's airport is the main hub for 11 of the 21 national airline companies.
Culture[link]
Art[link]
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Mexico City is one of the most important cultural centers in the world, boasting more museums than any other city.[84] It also comes third in the number of theaters in the world,[84] just after London and New York. Having been the capital of a vast pre-Hispanic empire, and also the capital of richest viceroyalty within the Spanish Empire (ruling over a vast territory in the Americas and Spanish East Indies), and, finally, the capital of the Mexican federation, Mexico City has a rich history of artistic expression. Since the mesoamerican pre-Classical period the inhabitants of the settlements around Lake Texcoco produced many works of art and complex craftsmanship, some of which are today displayed at the world-renown National Museum of Anthropology and the Templo Mayor museum. While many pieces of pottery and stone-engraving have survived, the great majority of the Amerindian iconography was destroyed during the Conquest of Mexico.
During colonial times the first art produced was that of the codices generated to preserve or recuperate Amerindian iconography and history. From then, artistic expressions in Mexico were mostly religious in theme. The Metropolitan Cathedral still displays works by Juan de Rojas, Juan Correa and an oil painting whose authorship has been attributed to Murillo. Secular works of art of this period include the equestrian sculpture of Charles IV of Spain, locally known as El Caballito ("The little horse"). This piece, in bronze, was the work of Manuel Tolsá and it has been placed at the Plaza Tolsá, in front of the Palacio de Minería (Mining Palace). Directly in front of this building is the beautiful Museo Nacional de Arte (Munal) (the National Museum of Art).
During the 19th century, an important producer of art was the Academia de San Carlos (San Carlos Art Academy), founded during colonial times, and which later became the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas (the National School of Visual Arts), which is currently one of the art schools of UNAM. Many of the works produced by the students and faculty of that time are now displayed in the Museo Nacional de San Carlos (National Museum of San Carlos). One of the students, José María Velasco, is considered one of the greatest Mexican landscape painters of the 19th century. It was during Porfirio Díaz's regime that the government sponsored arts, especially those that followed the French school. In spite of that, popular arts in the form of cartoons and illustrations flourished like those of José Guadalupe Posada and Manuel Manilla. The permanent collection of the San Carlos Museum also includes paintings by European masters such as Rembrandt, Velázquez, Murillo, and Rubens.
After the Mexican Revolution, an avant-garde artistic movement originated in Mexico City: muralism. Many of the works of muralists José Clemente Orozco, David Alfaro Siqueiros and Diego Rivera are displayed in numerous buildings in the city, most notably at the National Palace and the Palacio de Bellas Artes. Frida Kahlo, wife of Rivera, with a strong nationalist expression, was also one of the most renowned of Mexican painters. Her house has become a museum that displays many of her works.
The former home of Rivera muse Dolores Olmedo house the namesake museum. The facility lies in the Xochimilco precinct in the southern part of the city and includes several buildings surrounded by sprawling manicured lawns. It houses a large collection of Rivera and Kahlo paintings and drawings, as well as living Xoloizcuintles (Mexican Hairless Dog). It also regularly hosts small but important temporary exhibits of classical and modern art (e.g. Venetian Masters and Contemporary New York artists).
During the 20th century, many artists immigrated to Mexico City from different regions of Mexico, like Leopoldo Méndez, an engraver from Veracruz, who supported the creation of the socialist Taller de la Gráfica Popular (Popular Graphics Workshop), designed to help blue-collar workers find a venue to express their art. Other painters came from abroad, like Catalan painter Remedios Varo and other Spanish and Jewish exiles. It was in the second half of the 20th century that the artistic movement began to drift apart from the Revolutionary theme. José Luis Cuevas opted for a modernist style in contrast to the muralist movement associated with social politics.
Museums[link]
Mexico City has numerous museums dedicated to art, including Mexican colonial, modern and contemporary art, and international art. The Museo Tamayo was opened in the mid-1980s to house the collection of international contemporary art donated by famed Mexican (born in the state of Oaxaca) painter Rufino Tamayo. The collection includes pieces by Picasso, Klee, Kandinsky, Warhol and many others, though most of the collection is stored while visiting exhibits are shown. The Museo de Arte Moderno (Museum of Modern Art) is a repository of Mexican artists from the 20th century, including Rivera, Orozco, Siqueiros, Kahlo, Gerzso, Carrington, Tamayo, among others, and also regularly hosts temporary exhibits of international modern art. In southern Mexico City, the Museo Carrillo Gil (Carrillo Gil Museum) showcases avant-garde artists, as does the University Museum/Contemporary Art (Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo – or MUAC), designed by famed Mexican architect Teodoro González de León, inaugurated in late 2008. The Museo Soumaya, named after the wife of Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim, has the largest private collection of original Rodin sculptures outside Paris. It also has a large collection of Dalí sculptures, and recently began showing pieces in its masters collection including El Greco, Velázquez, Picasso and Canaletto. The museum inaugurated a new futuristic-design facility in 2011 just north of Polanco, while maintaining a smaller facility in Plaza Loreto in southern Mexico City. The Colección Jumex is a contemporary art museum located on the sprawling grounds of the Jumex juice company in the northern industrial suburb of Ecatepec. It is said to have the largest private contemporarry art collection in Latin America and hosts pieces from its permanent collection as well as traveling exhibits by leading contemporary artists. The Museo de San Ildefonso, housed in the Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso in Mexico City's historic downtwon district is a 17th century colonnaded palace housing an art museum that regularly hosts world-class exhbitis of Mexican and international art. Recent exhibits have included those on David LaChapelle, Antony Gormley and Ron Mueck. The National Museum of Art (Museo Nacional de Arte) is also located in a former palace in the historic center. It houses a large collection of pieces by all major Mexican artists of the last 400 years and also hosts visiting exhibits.
Jack Kerouac, the noted American author, spent extended periods of time in the city, and wrote his masterpiece volume of poetry Mexico City Blues here. Another American author, William S. Burroughs, also lived in the Colonia Roma neighborhood of the city for some time. It was here that he accidentally shot his wife.
There are more than 150 museums in Mexico City. Most of the museums can be visited from Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 5 pm, although some of them have extended schedules, such as the Museum of Anthropology and History, which is open up to 7 pm. In addition to this, entrance to most museums is for free on Sundays. However, in some cases a modest fee may be charged.[85]
Another major addition to the city's museum scene is the Museum of Remembrance and Tolerance (Museo de la Memoria y Tolerancia), inaugurated in early 2011. The brainchild of two young Mexican women as a holocaust museum, the idea morphed into a unique museum dedicated to showcasing all major historical events of discrimination and genocide. Permanent exhibits include those on the holocaust and other humanitarian atrocities in history among others. It also houses temporary exhibits, including a recent one on Tibet which was inaugurated by the Dalai Lama in September 2011.
Music, theater and entertainment[link]
Mexico City is a mecca of classical music, with a number of orchestras offering season programs. These include the Mexico City Philharmonic,[86] which performs at the Sala Ollin Yoliztli; the National Symphony Orchestra, whose home base is the Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of the Fine Arts), a masterpiece of art nouveau and art decó styles; the Philharmonic Orchestra of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (OFUNAM),[87] and the Minería Symphony Orchestra,[88] both of which perform at the acoustically renown Sala Nezahualcóyotl, which was the first wrap-around concert hall in the Western Hemisphere when inaugurated in 1976. There are also many smaller ensembles that enrich the city's musical scene, including the Carlos Chávez Youth Symphony, the New World Orchestra (Orquesta del Nuevo Mundo), the National Polytechnical Symphony and the Bellas Artes Chamber Orchestra (Orquesta de Cámara de Bellas Artes).
The city is also a leading center of popular culture and music. There are a multitude of venues hosting Spanish and foreign-language performers. These include the 10,000-seat National Auditorium that regularly schedules the top Spanish and English-language pop and rock artists, as well as many of the world's leading performing arts ensembles, the auditorium also broadcasts Grand Opera performances from New York's Metropolitan Opera on giant, high definition screens. The National Auditorium has been awarded Best Venue in the World.
Other popular sites for pop-artist performances include the Teatro Metropolitan, the 15,000-seat Palacio de los Deportes, and the larger 50,000-seat Foro Sol Stadium, where top-name international artists perform on a regular basis. The Cirque du Soleil has held several seasons at the Carpa Santa Fe, in the Santa Fe district in the western part of the city. There are numerous venues for smaller musical ensembles and solo performers. These include the Hard Rock Live, Bataclán, Foro Scotiabank, Lunario, Circo Volador and Voilá Acoustique.
It is said that Mexico City has more theatres than any other city in the Spanish-speaking world.[citation needed] At any given time, dozens of plays are staged which run the gamut from Spanish versions of Broadway shows to mainstream and alternative Spanish-language originals.
The Centro Nacional de las Artes (National Center for the Arts), in southern Mexico City, has several venues for music, theatre, dance. UNAM's main campus, also in the southern part of the city, is home to the Centro Cultural Universitario (the University Culture Center) (CCU). The CCU also houses the National Library, the interactive Universum, Museo de las Ciencias,[89] the Sala Nezahualcóyotl concert hall, several theatres and cinemas, and the new University Museum of Contemporary Art (MUAC).[90] A branch of the National University's CCU cultural center was inaugurated in 2007 in the facilities of the former Ministry of Foreign Affairs, known as Tlatelolco, in north-central Mexico City.
The José Vasconcelos Library, a national library, is located on the grounds of the former Buenavista railroad station in the northern part of the city.
The Papalote children's museum, which houses the world's largest dome screen, is located in the wooded park of Chapultepec, near the Museo Tecnológico, and La Feria amusement park. The theme park Six Flags México (the largest amusement park in Latin America) is located in the Ajusco borough, in southern Mexico City. During the winter, the main square of the Zócalo is transformed into a gigantic ice skating rink, which is said to be the largest in the world behind that of Moscow's Red Square.
The Cineteca Nacional (the Mexican Film Library), near the Coyoacán suburb, shows a wide variety of films, and stages many film festivals, including the annual International Showcase, and many smaller ones ranging from Scandinavian and Uruguayan cinema, to Jewish and GLBT-themed films. Cinépolis and Cinemex, the two biggest film business chains, also have several film festivals throughout the year, with both national and international movies. No other city in the world has the amount of IMAX theaters as are in Mexico City,[citation needed] this gives access to cinematographic documentaries as well as blockbusters on the world's largest screens.
Cuisine[link]
Mexico City offers a vast array of culinary experiences. Restaurants specializing in the regional cuisines of Mexico's 31 states are available in the city. Also available are restaurants representing a very broad spectrum of international cuisines, including French, Italian, Croatian, German, Greek, Hungarian, Russian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish (including regional variations such as Asturian, Basque, Castilian, Catalan, Galician and Valencian), Arabic, Jewish, Lebanese, Moroccan, Turkish, Chinese (including regional variations such as Cantonese, Hunan, and Szechuan), Indian, Japanese, Korean, Philippine, Thai, Tibetan, Vietnamese; and of course fellow Latin American cuisine such as Argentine, Brazilian, Colombian, Cuban, Ecuadorian, Peruvian, Uruguayan and Venezuelan is offered. Haute, fusion, kosher, vegetarian and vegan cuisines are also available, as are restaurants solely based on the concepts of Local food and Slow Food.
Mexico City is a mecca for Seafood restaurants, and the city is known for having some of the freshest fish and seafood in the inland, which is, for the most part delivered to restaurants on the same day of the catch, distributed strategically through multiple logistics networks linking the extensive Pacific and Atlantic coastlines to the city.
The city also has several branches of renowned international restaurants and chefs. These include Paris' Au Pied de Cochon and Brasserie Lipp, Philippe (by Philippe Chow); Nobu; and Pámpano, owned by Mexican-raised opera legend Plácido Domingo. There are branches of the exclusive Japanese restaurant Suntory, Rome's famed Alfredo, as well as New York steakhouses Morton's and The Palm, and Madrid's L'Albúfera. Three of the most famous Lima-based Haute Peruvian restaurants, La Mar, Segundo Muelle and Astrid y Gastón have locations in Mexico City. The city, among few in the world, houses a Le Cordon Bleu culinary school and restaurant.
Mexico City also boasts two of the S.Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants in the World list made by British magazine Restaurant. Basque-Mexican fusion restaurant Biko (run and co-owned by Bruno Oteiza and Mikel Alonso) ranks 31st, and Mexican avant-garde restaurant Pujol (owned by Mexican chef Enrique Olvera) ranks 49th.[91]
Mexico's award-winning wines are offered at many restaurants, and the city offers unique experiences for tasting the regional spirits, with broad selections of tequila and mezcal.
At the other end of the scale are working class pulque bars known as pulquerías, a challenge for tourists to locate and experience.
Sports[link]
Association football is Mexico's most popular and most televised franchised sport. The important venues in Mexico City for this franchise sport include the Aztec Stadium, home to the Mexico national football team and América, which has a capacity to seat 105,000 fans, making it the biggest stadium in Latin America. The Olympic Stadium in Ciudad Universitaria is home to the football club Pumas de la U.N.A.M., with a seating capacity of over 63,000. The Estadio Azul, which seats 35,000 fans, is located near the city's WTC in the Nochebuena Neighborhood, and is home to the Cruz Azul. The three teams are based in Mexico City and play in the First Division, they are also part of the "Big Four" of Mexico. The country hosted the FIFA World Cup in 1970 and 1986, therefore the Aztec Stadium is the only stadium in World Cup history to host a final match twice.
Mexico City remains the first and only Latin American city to host the Olympic Games, having organized the Summer Olympics in 1968, winning bids against Buenos Aires, Lyon and Detroit. (As of 2016, this will no longer be the case, as that year's games will be held in Rio de Janeiro.) The city has hosted the 1955 Pan American Games and then the 1975 Pan American Games after Santiago and São Paulo withdrew. The ICF Flatwater Racing World Championships have been hosted here twice, in 1974 and in 1994. Lucha libre is a Mexican style of wrestling, and is one of the more popular sports throughout the country. The main venues in the city are Arena México and Arena Coliseo.
Adjacent to Foro Sol is Mexico City's Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. From 1962 to 1970 and again from 1986 to 1992, the track hosted the Formula 1 Mexican Grand Prix. From 1980–1981 and again from 2002 to 2007, it hosted the Champ Car World Series Gran Premio de México. Beginning in 2005, the NASCAR Nationwide Series ran the Telcel-Motorola México 200. 2005 also marked the first running of the Mexico City 250 by the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series. Both races were removed from their series' schedules for 2009. Baseball is another sport played professionally in the city. Mexico City is currently home to the triple A level club the Mexico Red Devils of the MBL. The Devils play their home games at the Foro Sol sports and concert venue. In Mexico City there are approximately 10 little leagues for young baseball players.
In 2005, Mexico City became the first city to host an NFL regular season game outside of the United States, at the Aztec Stadium. To date, the crowd of 103,467 people attending this game is the largest ever for a regular season game in NFL history. The city has also hosted several NBA pre-season exhibition games along with exhibition matches among MLB teams at the Foro Sol. The FIBA Americas Championship has also been hosted here.
Other sports facilities in Mexico City are the Palacio de los Deportes indoor arena, Francisco Márquez Olympic Swimming Pool, the Hipódromo de Las Américas, the Velodromo Agustín Melgar[dead link], and venues for equestrianism and horse racing, Ice Hockey, Rugby, American football, baseball, and basketball for which what is widely regarded as the best International Basketball Tournament has been held in the city.
Bullfighting takes place every Sunday during bullfighting season at the 50,000-seat Plaza México, the largest bullfight ring in the world.
Mexico City's golf courses have held both the Women's LPGA tour, as well as two Men's Golf World Cups. These, and other golf courses throughout the city are available as private, as well as public venues.
Education[link]
The second oldest university in the Americas, established in 1551, the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), is located in Mexico City. It is the largest university on the continent, with 305,969 students from all backgrounds enrolled. Three Nobel laureates, several Mexican entrepreneurs and most of Mexico's modern-day presidents are among its former students. UNAM conducts 50% of Mexico's scientific research and has presence all across the country with satellite campuses, observatories and research centers. The National Autonomous University of Mexico ranks 45th in the Top 200 World University Ranking published by The Times Higher Education Supplement in 2009,[92] making it the highest ranked Spanish-speaking university in the world. The sprawling main campus of the university, known as Ciudad Universitaria, was named a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO in 2007.
The second largest higher-education institution is the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) (which includes, among many other relevant centers, the Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados (Cinvestav), where high-level research is performed about very different scientific and technological disciplines. Other major higher-education institutions in the city include the Metropolitan Autonomous University (UAM), the ITAM, the ITESM (3 campuses), the Universidad Panamericana (UP), the Universidad La Salle, the Universidad del Valle de Mexico (UVM), the Universidad Anáhuac, the Alliant International University, the Universidad Iberoamericana, El Colegio de México (Colmex), Escuela Libre de Derecho and the Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económica, (CIDE). The most prestigious private universities in the country including Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México and the Universidad Panamericana have their flagship campus located in Mexico City. In addition, the prestigious University of California maintains a campus known as "Casa de California" in the city.[93] The Universidad Tecnológica de México is also in Mexico City.
Contrary to what occurs in the constituent states of the Mexican federation, the curriculum of Mexico City's public schools is managed by the federal level Secretary of Public Education. The whole funding is allocated by the government of Mexico City (in some specific cases, such as El Colegio de México, funding comes from both the city's government and other public and private national and international entities).[citation needed]
A very special case is that of El Colegio Nacional, created during the governmental period of Miguel Alemán Valdés to have, in Mexico, an institution very similar to the College of France. The very selected and privileged group of Mexican scientists and artists belonging to this institution (the membership is lifelong; some of the current members are Mario Lavista, Ruy Pérez Tamayo, José Emilio Pacheco, Marcos Moshinsky (d.2009), Guillermo Soberón Acevedo, and many others) have the obligation of disclosing their works among the general population, through conferences and public events such as concerts and recitals.
Amongst its many public and private schools (K-13), the city offers multi-cultural, multi-lingual and international schools which are attended by Mexican and foreign students. Best known are the Colegio Alemán (German school with 3 main campuses), the Liceo Mexicano Japonés (Japanese), the Escuela Coreana (Korean), the Lycée Français de Mexique (French), the American School,The Westhill Institute (American School), the Edron Academy and the Greengates School (British).
Media[link]
Mexico City is the leading center in Latin America for the television, music and film industries. It is also the most important center in Mexico for the printed media and book publishing industries. Dozens of daily newspapers are published in this city, including El Universal, Excélsior, Reforma and La Jornada. Other major papers include Milenio, Crónica, El Economista and El Financiero. Leading magazines include Expansión, Proceso, Poder, as well as dozens of entertainment publications, such as Vanidades, Quién, Chilango, TV y Novelas, and local editions of Vogue, GQ, and Architectural Digest.
It is also a leading center of the advertising industry. Most international ad firms have offices in the city, including Grey, JWT, Leo Burnett, Euro RSCG, BBDO, Ogilvy, Saatchi & Saatchi, and McCann Erickson. Many local firms also compete in the sector, including Alazraki, Olabuenaga/Chemistri, Terán, Augusto Elías, and Clemente Cámara, among others. There are 60 radio stations operating in the city and a huge number of local community radio transmission networks.
The two largest media companies in the Spanish-speaking world, Televisa and Azteca, are headquartered in Mexico City. Other local television networks include. XEW-TV 2 XHTV-TV 4 XHGC-TV 5 XHIMT-TV 7 XEQ-TV 9 XEIPN-TV 11 XHDF-TV 13 XHUNAM-TV 20 XEIMT-TV 22 XHRAE-TV 28 XHTVM-TV 40 XHCDM-DT 21
Shopping[link]
Mexico City offers an immense and varied consumer retail market, with thousands of options for everything from the very basic foods to ultra high-end luxury goods.
Traditional markets[link]
See also: Traditional fixed markets in Mexico
The city's main source of fresh produce is the Central de Abasto. This in itself is a self-contained mini-city in the southeastern neighborhood of Iztapalapa covering an area equivalent to several dozen city blocks. The wholesale market supplies most of the city's "mercados", supermarkets, and restaurants, as well as individuals who come to purchase the freshest variety for their household. Tons of fresh produce are trucked in from all over Mexico every day.
The principal fish market is known as La Nueva Viga and is located in the southern part of the city, in the same complex as the Central de Abastos. Fresh fish from all around the country is available, mainly from the central Pacific coast and Veracruz. The world-renowned market of Tepito occupies 25 blocks of the city, and is known to sell everything and anything, except dignity.
A staple for consumers in the city is the omnipresent "mercado". Every major neighborhood in the city has its own borough-regulated market, often more than one. These are large well-established facilities offering most basic products, such as fresh produce and meat/poultry, dry goods, tortillerías, and many other services, such as locksmiths, herbal medicine, hardware goods, sewing implements, and a multitude of stands offering freshly made, home-style cooking and drinks in the tradition of aguas frescas and atole.
In addition, "tianguis" or mobile markets, set up shop on city streets in many neighborhoods, depending on the day of the week. Sundays are the day in which the largest number of these markets are set-up. The stalls generally use awnings of a single color or shade (pink and red, for example), making them easily identifiable from several blocks away.
Large, modern chain supermarkets including Soriana, Comercial Mexicana and Chedraui are scattered throughout the city. Others are located within mini-malls, in which the supermarket anchors a number of other shops, such as banks, dry-cleaners, shoe repairs, and fast-food eateries. Small "mom-and-pop" corner stores (known as "abarroterías" or more colloquially as "changarros") abound in all neighborhoods, including many finer residential neighborhoods. These are small shops offering basics such as soft drinks, packaged snacks, canned goods, and dairy products. Thousands of C-stores or corner stores, such as Oxxo, 7-Eleven, and Extra are located throughout the city.
Downtown[link]
The downtown area of the city is widely known as an area for specialized retailers, often at lower costs. Certain streets, for example, are known for having many lighting stores, or hardware shops, or yarn shops. The Mercado La Merced is one of city's oldest and is considered a smaller, older version of the Central de Abastos, where thousands of items are sold. The Mercado de Jamaica specializes in fresh flowers.
Calle Dolores, one block off Avenida Juárez, has one block known as Mexico City's Chinatown. The one block contains numerous stores selling imported Chinese knick-knacks, and restaurants offering lacquered Peking duck, many of the early settler's who created the Chinatown are actually of Philippine descent. Further afield, the city's Zona Rosa neighborhood is home to several blocks that represent Mexico City's Koreatown. A number of Korean restaurants, shops and even video rental shops are located here.
Shopping centers[link]
There are hundreds of modern retail shops throughout the city. There are a number of large shopping centers and malls, including Santa Fé mall in the Santa Fé district with several department stores and over 300 retail stores, restaurants and cinemas. Others include Plaza Universidad, Plaza Satélite, Galerías Coapa, Parque Delta, Parque Lindavista, Pabellón Polanco, Pabellón Bosques, Mundo E, Perinorte and Plaza Lindavista, with anchor stores such as El Palacio de Hierro, Liverpool, Sanborn's, Sears and Fábricas de Francia.
The Punta Norte Outlet Mall is located north of the city and includes many upscale outlet stores for brands such as Max Mara, Salvatore Ferragamo, Hugo Boss, Scappinio and Zegna. Well known Mexican boutique brands, such as Pineda Covalin, La Hamaca y el Rebozo and Soho, are available in most upper end shopping areas.Upscale malls such as Galerías Insurgentes, Centro Coyoacán, Santa Fé, Perisur, Antara Polanco and boutique malls Arcos Bosques and Altavista 147 are amongst the most modern and swank in Latin America. Top-end department stores include El Palacio de Hierro and Saks Fifth Avenue. Plaza Satélite mall is Latin America's highest profit shopping venue. For a more bohemian ambiance, the neighborhoods of Condesa, Coyoacan and San Ángel offer excellent outdoor shopping and dining experiences.
Luxury goods[link]
In addition to the extensive Santa Fé mall with Saks and numerous luxury boutiques, Antara Polanco is a high-end mall in Polanco with restaurants, cinemas, and boutiques, including Burberry, Longchamp, Just Cavalli, Etro, Emporio Armani, Brooks Brothers, Thomas Pink, Hackett, and Coach.
Altavista 147 is a small shopping center in the southern neighborhood of San Ángel, with Louis Vuitton, Salvatore Ferragamo, Carolina Herrera, Max Mara, Hugo Boss, and luxury Mexican silversmith Tane. The mall is located on Avenida Altavista which houses many other high-end retailers, focusing on furniture shops and interior decorators, restaurants, and silversmiths such as Christofle.
The Col. Del Valle is a large residential district prestige of Mexico City. Famous for its large Green Areas, Parks, Monuments, Department Stores, Boutiques, K-Fe (Cafeterias), Holiday Chocolate, Exclusive Restaurants scattered throughout the district. With two upscale shopping mall, Galerías Insurgentes and Centro Coyoacán. The two shopping centers contain the larges department stores El Palacio de Hierro and Liverpool, these contain luxury boutiques like Armani, BCBGMAXAZRIA, Bulgari, Burberry, Chanel, Cartier, DKNY, Hermès, Lancôme, Liz Claiborne, Longines, Longchamp, Michael Kors, MaxMara, Marc Jacobs, Oscar De La Renta, Purificación García, Rolex, Salvatore Ferragamo and Swarovski to mention a few. The neighborhood also houses car dealerships for Alfa Romeo, BMW, Lamborghini, Maserati, Mercedes Benz, Porsche, and many others. Restaurants such as Bellini, the only revolving restaurant in the country and known as "the biggest revolving restaurant in the world", and Suntory are known to be some the most exclusive restaurants in all of Mexico.
Arcos Bosques is a relatively new shopping complex in the namesake business complex in the upscale Bosques de las Lomas neighborhood, near Santa Fe. The complex hosts scores of restaurants, including a branch of Nobu, and smart shops including: Edmond Frette, Marc Jacobs, Thomas Pink, and Salvatore Ferragamo.
Most of the city's luxury boutiques are located on Avenida Presidente Masaryk in Polanco. Here, stand-alone shops include Louis Vuitton, Bulgari, Cartier, Chanel, Hermès, Frette, Ermenegildo Zegna, Etro, Brioni, Canali, Corneliani, Chopard, Gucci, Marc Jacobs, Tiffany & Co., and Roberto Cavalli. Other stores include European furniture retailers Roche-Bobois, Bang & Olufsen, Natuzzi, and Kartell. On smaller side streets, one can find stores such as Ferrari, Bentley Motors, Maserati, Land Rover, Lamborghini and Rolls-Royce dealerships, luxury French book publisher Assouline, Adolfo Dominguez, and Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams.
-
Cartier - Masaryk, Polanco
Amusement parks and recreation[link]
There are a number of permanent amusement parks, the oldest and most traditional one is La Feria Chapultepec Mágico. It is located in the central area of the city and its vintage Montaña Rusa rollercoaster is visible from several points throughout the city. The theme park Six Flags México (the largest aumusement park in Latin America) is located in the Ajusco borough, in southern Mexico City, is known for a thrill roller coasters in Latin America. And in the north end of the city used to lie Parque Divertido. There are numerous seasonal fairs, the main one is held during the winter on the main square of the Zócalo, which is transformed into an arctic getaway with ice igloos, slides and a gigantic ice skating rink, said to be the largest set up of its kind in the world. This event is free to the public and hosts special events such as stage performances and concerts. Additionally there are many temporary fairs with rides throughout the city neighborhoods. Also to the northwest of the city there's one of the biggest ecological reserves in the entire metropolitan area, el Bosque de Aragón which is also an amusement park with a great lake, an aquarium, a watering place, a zoo, a theater and a lot more of recreation activities. Chapultepec Park is the city's principal public park. It is located in the central part of the city, between the Polanco, Cuauhtémoc, and San Miguel Chapultepec neighborhoods. There are many smaller parks distributed throughout the city. Most are small "squares" occupying two or three-square blocks in the middle of residential or commercial districts. Several other larger parks (including the Bosque de Aragón in the northwestern district of the city) such as the Bosque de Tlalpan and Viveros de Coyoacán in the southern part of the city, which offer many recreational activities, including jogging paths, children's play areas, soccer fields, etc.
Nicknames[link]
Mexico City was traditionally known as La Ciudad de los Palacios ("the City of the Palaces"), a nickname attributed to Baron Alexander von Humboldt when visiting the city in the 19th century who sending a letter back to Europe said Mexico City could rival any major city in Europe.
During López Obrador's administration a political slogan was introduced: la Ciudad de la Esperanza ("The City of Hope"). This slogan was quickly adopted as a nickname to the city under López Obrador's term, although it has lost popularity since the new slogan Capital en Movimiento ("Capital in Movement") was adopted by the recently elected administration headed by Marcelo Ebrard Casaubon; the latter is not treated as often as a nickname in media.
The city is colloquially known as Chilangolandia after the locals' nickname chilangos, which is used either as a pejorative term by people living outside Mexico City or as a proud adjective by Mexico City's dwellers.[94]
Residents of Mexico City are more formally called capitalinos (in reference to the city being the capital of the country) or, more recently defeños (a word which derives from the postal abbreviation of the Federal District in Spanish: D.F., which is read "De-Efe".)
Law enforcement[link]
Main article: Federal District Police
The Secretariat of Public Security of the Federal District (Secretaría de Seguridad Pública del Distrito Federal – SSP) manages a combined force of over 90,000 officers in the Federal District (DF). The SSP is charged with maintaining public order and safety in the center of Mexico City. The historic district of the city is also roamed by tourist police, which aims to serve and orient tourists. These enforcement agents dress in a more traditional outfit and ride on horses.
The investigative Judicial Police of the Federal District (Policía Judicial del Distrito Federal – PJDF) is organized under the Office of the Attorney General of the DF (the Procuraduría General de Justicia del Distrito Federal). The PGJDF maintains 16 precincts (delegaciones) with an estimated 3,500 judicial police, 1,100 investigating agents for prosecuting attorneys (agentes del ministerio público), and 941 experts or specialists (peritos).
Between 2000 and 2004 an average of 478 crimes were reported each day in Mexico City; however, the actual crime rate is thought to be much higher "since most people are reluctant to report crime."[95] Under policies enacted by Mayor Marcelo Ebrard between 2009 and 2011, Mexico City underwent a major security upgrade with violent and petty crime rates both falling significantly despite the rise in violent crime in other parts of the country. Some of the policies enacted included the installation of 11,000 security cameras around the city and a very large expansion of the city police force. Mexico City currently has one of the highest police officer to resident ratios in the world, with one uniformed police officer per every 100 citizens.[96] Although the city has experienced a dramatic downfall in crime, it is still not as safe as large cities found in highly developed western European cities such as Frankfurt or Barcelona but is safer than cities such as Moscow or Washington DC.[citation needed]
International relations[link]
Twin towns and sister cities[link]
Mexico City is twinned with:
See also[link]
- Large Cities Climate Leadership Group
- Largest cities in the Americas
- Metropolitan areas of Mexico
- Outline of Mexico
- World's largest cities
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- ^ [1] Pollution Kills 100,000 Children In Mexico City Each Year, by Patricia Saad Sotomayor, Excélsior
- ^ "Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States (1824)". http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/constitutions/text/1824index.html.
- ^ Alvarez, Jose Rogelio (2003). "Distrito Federal" (in Spanish). Enciclopedia de Mexico. IV. Sabeco International Investment Corp.. pp. 2293–2314. ISBN 978-1-56409-063-8.
- ^ Statute of Government of the Federal District Archived March 13, 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Codigo Financiero Del Distrito Federal*" (PDF). http://www.finanzas.df.gob.mx/documentos/CodigoFinanciero_2007.pdf. Retrieved April 17, 2010.
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- ^ "Emporis". http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/ci/?id=101008. Retrieved January 9, 2009.
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- ^ "HDR 2006 | Spanish | Human Development Reports (HDR) | United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)". Hdr.undp.org. http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr2006/chapters/spanish/. Retrieved April 17, 2011.
- ^ "The Hispanic Experience – Indigenous Identity in Mexico". Houstonculture.org. http://www.houstonculture.org/hispanic/census.html. Retrieved April 17, 2011.
- ^ Consejo Nacional de Población, México; Delimitación de las zonas metropolitanas de México 2005. Retrieved September 27, 2008. Archived December 6, 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Consejo Nacional de Población, México; Proyecciones de la Población de México 2005–2050 Total projected population of Distrito Federal and the 60 other municipalities of Zona metropolitana del Valle de México, as defined in 2005. Retrieved September 27, 2008.
- ^ Síntesis de Resultados del Conteo 2005 INEGI
- ^ "Tasa de emigración, inmigración y migración neta de las entidades federativas". Inegi.gob.mx. http://www.inegi.gob.mx/est/contenidos/espanol/rutinas/ept.asp?t=mpob62&c=3883&e=09. Retrieved April 17, 2010.
- ^ Población de 5 y más años hablante de lengua indígena por principales lenguas, 2005 INEGI
- ^ "Asociaciones de Inmigrantes Extranjeros en la Ciudad de México. Una Mirada a Fines del Siglo XX" (PDF). http://redalyc.uaemex.mx/redalyc/pdf/151/15103202.pdf. Retrieved April 17, 2010.
- ^ "Los extranjeros en México, la inmigración y el gobierno ¿Tolerancia o intolerancia religiosa?" (PDF). http://historiamexicana.colmex.mx/pdf/13/art_13_1938_16335.pdf. Retrieved April 17, 2010.
- ^ "Los árabes de México. Asimilación y herencia cultural" (PDF). http://confines.mty.itesm.mx/articulos2/GarciaRE.pdf. Retrieved April 17, 2010.
- ^ "Conmemoran 100 años de inmigración coreana". Esmas.com. http://www.esmas.com/noticierostelevisa/mexico/443030.html. Retrieved April 17, 2010.
- ^ Carl Franz and Lorena Havens. "How Many Americans Live in Mexico?". Peoplesguide.com. http://www.peoplesguide.com/1pages/retire/work/bil-maste/%232americans.html. Retrieved April 17, 2010.
- ^ "Private American Citizens Residing Abroad". Overseasdigest.com. http://www.overseasdigest.com/amcit_nu2.htm. Retrieved April 17, 2010.
- ^ Volumen y porcentaje de la población de 5 y más años católica por entidad federativa, 2010 INEGI
- ^ http://www.stay.com/mexico-city/museum/ Museums in Mexico City
- ^ "MTA NYC Transit – Info". Mta.info. October 27, 1904. http://www.mta.info/nyct/facts/ffsubway.htm. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
- ^ Tramways & Urban Transit magazine (UK), April 2010, p. 150. Light Rail Transit Association.
- ^ Gómez Flores, Laura (December 16, 2008). "Con retraso de siete meses inicia línea 2 del Metrobús" (in Spanish). La Jornada. http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2008/12/16/index.php?section=capital&article=037n2cap. Retrieved June 7, 2010.
- ^ Gómez Flores, Laura (May 31, 2010). "Pretenden entregar antes la línea 3 del Metrobús" (in Spanish). La Jornada. http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2010/05/31/index.php?section=capital&article=038n2cap. Retrieved June 7, 2010.
- ^ ":: Secretaría del Medio Ambiente del Gobierno del Distrito Federal ::". Sma.df.gob.mx. September 24, 2009. http://www.sma.df.gob.mx/sma/index.php?opcion=26&id=607. Retrieved April 17, 2011.
- ^ "Ecobici". Ecobici.df.gob.mx. https://www.ecobici.df.gob.mx/home/home.php. Retrieved April 17, 2011. [dead link]
- ^ Aeropuertos Mexico Archived February 27, 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Emporis. "Mexico City – Emporis". Emporis. http://www.emporis.com/application/?nav=city&lng=3&id=101008. Retrieved March 5, 2010.
- ^ "Ciudad de México.- atractivos turísticos". Mexicocity.com.mx. Archived from the original on February 25, 2009. http://web.archive.org/web/20090225110752/http://www.mexicocity.com.mx/visita.html. Retrieved April 17, 2010.
- ^ Mexico City Philharmonic Archived December 2, 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Philharmonic Orchestra of the National Autonomous University of Mexico". Musicaunam.net. http://www.musicaunam.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5&Itemid=13. Retrieved April 17, 2010.
- ^ "Minería Symphony Orchestra". Sinfonicademineria.org. http://www.sinfonicademineria.org/. Retrieved April 17, 2011.
- ^ Dgdc-Unam. "Universum, Museo de las Ciencias". Universum.unam.mx. http://www.universum.unam.mx/. Retrieved April 17, 2010.
- ^ University Museum of Contemporary Art[dead link]
- ^ Restaurant, The World's 50 Best Restaurant Awards: 2011
- ^ "Times Higher Education Supplement, 2006". Eluniversal.com.mx. http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/nacion/144076.html. Retrieved April 17, 2010.
- ^ "University of California Mexico City". Universityofcalifornia.edu. http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/casa/welcome.html. Retrieved April 17, 2011.
- ^ 1994 Oxford Spanish-English Dictionary
- ^ Reuters (May 12, 2004). "Police say Giuliani helps cut Mexico City crime". San Diego Union-Tribune. http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/20040512-1639-crime-mexico.html. Retrieved September 15, 2009.
- ^ This page is available to GlobePlus subscribers
- ^ "Ciudades Hermanas (Sister Cities of Cusco)" (in Spanish). Municipalidad del Cusco. http://www.municusco.gob.pe/ver.php?id=6. Retrieved September 23, 2009.
- ^ "Sister Cities of Istanbul". Archived from the original on January 16, 2010. http://www.greatistanbul.com/sister_cities.htm. Retrieved July 1, 2009.
- ^ Erdem, Selim Efe (July 1, 2009). "İstanbul'a 49 kardeş" (in Turkish). Radikal. Archived from the original on January 18, 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5msQD8Sly. "49 sister cities in 2003"
- ^ "Mapa Mundi de las ciudades hermanadas". Ayuntamiento de Madrid. http://www.munimadrid.es/portal/site/munimadrid/menuitem.dbd5147a4ba1b0aa7d245f019fc08a0c/?vgnextoid=4e84399a03003110VgnVCM2000000c205a0aRCRD&vgnextchannel=4e98823d3a37a010VgnVCM100000d90ca8c0RCRD&vgnextfmt=especial1&idContenido=1da69a4192b5b010VgnVCM100000d90ca8c0RCRD.
- ^ "Sister Cities". Archived from the original on May 4, 2009. http://web.archive.org/web/20090504045307/http://english.seoul.go.kr/gover/cooper/coo_02sis.html.
External links[link]
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- Federal District Government (Spanish)
- Mexico City Tourism Ministry (Spanish)
- Mexico City Experience – An English-language website operated on behalf of the Mexico City government
- Mexico City at the Open Directory Project
- Mexico City travel guide from Wikitravel
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"Mozart" redirects here. For other uses, see Mozart (disambiguation).
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (German: [ˈvɔlfɡaŋ amaˈdeus ˈmoːtsaʁt], English see fn.),[1] baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart[2] (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791), was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, operatic, and choral music. He is among the most enduringly popular of classical composers.
Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood in Salzburg. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty. At 17, he was engaged as a court musician in Salzburg, but grew restless and travelled in search of a better position, always composing abundantly. While visiting Vienna in 1781, he was dismissed from his Salzburg position. He chose to stay in the capital, where he achieved fame but little financial security. During his final years in Vienna, he composed many of his best-known symphonies, concertos, and operas, and portions of the Requiem, which was largely unfinished at the time of his death. The circumstances of his early death have been much mythologized. He was survived by his wife Constanze and two sons.
Mozart learned voraciously from others, and developed a brilliance and maturity of style that encompassed the light and graceful along with the dark and passionate. His influence on subsequent Western art music is profound. Beethoven wrote his own early compositions in the shadow of Mozart, and Joseph Haydn wrote that "posterity will not see such a talent again in 100 years."[3]
Contents |
Biography[link]
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Family and early years[link]
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born to Leopold and Anna Maria Mozart at 9 Getreidegasse in Salzburg, capital of the sovereign Archbishopric of Salzburg in what is now Austria, but then was part of the Holy Roman Empire. His only sibling to survive infancy was his elder sister Maria Anna (1751–1829), nicknamed "Nannerl". Mozart was baptized the day after his birth at St. Rupert's Cathedral. The baptismal record gives his name in Latinized form as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart. He generally called himself "Wolfgang Amadè Mozart"[4] as an adult, but there were many variants.
His father (1719–1787) was from Augsburg. A minor composer and an experienced teacher, he was deputy Kapellmeister to the court orchestra of the Archbishop of Salzburg. In the year of Mozart's birth, his father published a violin textbook, Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule, which achieved success.
When Nannerl was seven, she began keyboard lessons with her father while her three-year-old brother looked on. Years later, after her brother's death, she reminisced:
He often spent much time at the clavier, picking out thirds, which he was ever striking, and his pleasure showed that it sounded good. [...] In the fourth year of his age his father, for a game as it were, began to teach him a few minuets and pieces at the clavier. [...] He could play it faultlessly and with the greatest delicacy, and keeping exactly in time. [...] At the age of five, he was already composing little pieces, which he played to his father who wrote them down.[5]
These early pieces, K. 1–5, were recorded in the Nannerl Notenbuch.
Biographer Maynard Solomon[6] notes that, while Mozart's father was a devoted teacher to his children, there is evidence that Mozart was keen to progress beyond what he was taught. His first ink-spattered composition and his precocious efforts with the violin were of his own initiative and came as a surprise to his father.[7] Mozart's father eventually gave up composing when his son's musical talents became evident.[8] In his early years, Mozart's father was his only teacher. Along with music, he also taught his children languages and academic subjects.[6]
1762–1773: Years of travel[link]
Main articles: Mozart family grand tour and Mozart in Italy
During Mozart's youth, his family made several European journeys in which he and Nannerl performed as child prodigies. These began with an exhibition, in 1762, at the court of the Prince-elector Maximilian III of Bavaria in Munich, and at the Imperial Court in Vienna and Prague. A long concert tour spanning three and a half years followed, taking the family to the courts of Munich, Mannheim, Paris, London, The Hague, again to Paris, and back home via Zurich, Donaueschingen, and Munich.
During this trip, Mozart met a great number of musicians and acquainted himself with the works of other composers. A particularly important influence was Johann Christian Bach, whom Mozart visited in London in 1764 and 1765. The family again went to Vienna in late 1767 and remained there until December 1768. In 1767, during this period, Mozart composed the Latin drama Apollo et Hyacinthus first performed in Salzburg University.
These trips were often difficult and travel conditions were primitive.[10] The family had to wait for invitations and reimbursement from the nobility and they endured long, near-fatal illnesses far from home: first Leopold (London, summer 1764)[11] then both children (The Hague, autumn 1765).[12]
After one year in Salzburg, father and son set off for Italy, leaving Mozart's mother and sister at home. This travel lasted from December 1769 to March 1771. As with earlier journeys, Mozart's father wanted to display his son's abilities as a performer and a rapidly maturing composer. Mozart met G. B. Martini, in Bologna, and was accepted as a member of the famous Accademia Filarmonica. In Rome, he heard Gregorio Allegri's Miserere twice in performance in the Sistine Chapel and wrote it out from memory, thus producing the first unauthorized copy of this closely guarded property of the Vatican.[13][14]
In Milan, Mozart wrote the opera Mitridate, re di Ponto (1770), which was performed with success. This led to further opera commissions. He returned with his father later twice to Milan (August–December 1771; October 1772 – March 1773) for the composition and premieres of Ascanio in Alba (1771) and Lucio Silla (1772). Mozart's father hoped these visits would result in a professional appointment for his son in Italy, but these hopes were never realized.[15]
Toward the end of the final Italian journey, Mozart wrote the first of his works to be still widely performed today, the solo motet Exsultate, jubilate, K. 165.
1773–1777: The Salzburg court[link]
After finally returning with his father from Italy on 13 March 1773, Mozart was employed as a court musician by the ruler of Salzburg, Prince-Archbishop Hieronymus Colloredo. The composer had a great number of friends and admirers in Salzburg[16] and had the opportunity to work in many genres, composing symphonies, sonatas, string quartets, serenades, and a few minor operas. Between April and December 1775, Mozart developed an enthusiasm for violin concertos, producing a series of five (the only ones he ever wrote), which steadily increased in their musical sophistication. The last three — K. 216, K. 218, K. 219 — are now staples of the repertoire. In 1776 he turned his efforts to piano concertos, culminating in the E-flat concerto K. 271 of early 1777, considered by critics to be a breakthrough work.[17]
Despite these artistic successes, Mozart grew increasingly discontented with Salzburg and redoubled his efforts to find a position elsewhere. One reason was his low salary, 150 florins a year;[18] Mozart also longed to compose operas, and Salzburg provided only rare occasions for these. The situation worsened in 1775 when the court theater was closed, especially since the other theater in Salzburg was largely reserved for visiting troupes.[19]
Two long expeditions in search of work interrupted this long Salzburg stay: Mozart and his father visited Vienna from 14 July to 26 September 1773, and Munich from 6 December 1774 to March 1775. Neither visit was successful, though the Munich journey resulted in a popular success with the premiere of Mozart's opera La finta giardiniera.[20]
1777–1778: The Paris journey[link]
In August 1777, Mozart resigned his Salzburg position[22] and, on September 23, ventured out once more in search of employment, with visits to Augsburg, Mannheim, Paris, and Munich.[23]
Mozart became acquainted with members of the famous orchestra in Mannheim, the best in Europe at the time. He also fell in love with Aloysia Weber, one of four daughters in a musical family. There were prospects of employment in Mannheim, but they came to nothing, and Mozart left for Paris on 14 March 1778[24] to continue his search. One of his letters from Paris hints at a possible post as an organist at Versailles, but Mozart was not interested in such an appointment.[25] He fell into debt and took to pawning valuables.[26] The nadir of the visit occurred when Mozart's mother took ill and died on 3 July 1778.[27] There had been delays in calling a doctor — probably, according to Halliwell, because of a lack of funds.[28]
While Mozart was in Paris, his father was pursuing opportunities for his son back in Salzburg.[29] With the support of local nobility, Mozart was offered a post as court organist and concertmaster. The yearly salary was 450 florins,[30] but he was reluctant to accept.[31] After leaving Paris on in September 1778, he tarried in Mannheim and Munich, still hoping to obtain an appointment outside Salzburg. In Munich, he again encountered Aloysia, now a very successful singer, but she was no longer interested in him.[32] Mozart finally reached home on 15 January 1779 and took up the new position, but his discontent with Salzburg was undiminished.
Among the better known works that Mozart wrote on the Paris journey are the A minor piano sonata K. 310/300d and the "Paris" Symphony (no. 31); these were performed in Paris on 12 and 18 June 1778.[33]
1781: Departure to Vienna[link]
In January 1781, Mozart's opera Idomeneo premiered with "considerable success" in Munich.[34] The following March the composer was summoned to Vienna, where his employer, Archbishop Colloredo, was attending the celebrations for the accession of Joseph II to the Austrian throne. Mozart, fresh from the adulation he had earned in Munich, was offended when Colloredo treated him as a mere servant and particularly when the archbishop forbade him to perform before the Emperor at Countess Thun's for a fee equal to half of his yearly Salzburg salary. The resulting quarrel came to a head in May: Mozart attempted to resign and was refused. The following month, permission was granted but in a grossly insulting way: the composer was dismissed literally "with a kick in the arse", administered by the archbishop's steward, Count Arco. Mozart decided to settle in Vienna as a freelance performer and composer.[35]
The quarrel with the archbishop went harder for Mozart because his father sided against him. Hoping fervently that he would obediently follow Colloredo back to Salzburg, Mozart's father exchanged intense letters with his son, urging him to be reconciled with their employer. Mozart passionately defended his intention to pursue an independent career in Vienna. The debate ended when Mozart was dismissed by the archbishop, freeing himself both of his employer and his father's demands to return. Solomon characterizes Mozart's resignation as a "revolutionary step", and it greatly altered the course of his life.[36]
Early Vienna years[link]
Mozart's new career in Vienna began well. He performed often as a pianist, notably in a competition before the Emperor with Muzio Clementi on 24 December 1781,[35] and he soon "had established himself as the finest keyboard player in Vienna".[35] He also prospered as a composer, and in 1782 completed the opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail ("The Abduction from the Seraglio"), which premiered on 16 July 1782 and achieved a huge success. The work was soon being performed "throughout German-speaking Europe",[35] and fully established Mozart's reputation as a composer.
Near the height of his quarrels with Colloredo, Mozart moved in with the Weber family, who had moved to Vienna from Mannheim. The father, Fridolin, had died, and the Webers were now taking in lodgers to make ends meet.[37] Aloysia, who had earlier rejected Mozart's suit, was now married to the actor and artist Joseph Lange. Mozart's interest shifted to the third Weber daughter, Constanze. The courtship did not go entirely smoothly; surviving correspondence indicates that Mozart and Constanze briefly separated in April 1782.[38] Mozart also faced a very difficult task in getting his father's permission for the marriage.[39] The couple were finally married on 4 August 1782 in St. Stephen's Cathedral, the day before his father's consent arrived in the mail.[39]
The couple had six children, of whom only two survived infancy:
- Raimund Leopold (17 June – 19 August 1783)
- Karl Thomas Mozart (21 September 1784 – 31 October 1858)
- Johann Thomas Leopold (18 October – 15 November 1786)
- Theresia Constanzia Adelheid Friedericke Maria Anna (27 December 1787 – 29 June 1788)
- Anna Maria (died soon after birth, 25 December 1789)
- Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart (26 July 1791 – 29 July 1844)
In the course of 1782 and 1783, Mozart became intimately acquainted with the work of Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel as a result of the influence of Gottfried van Swieten, who owned many manuscripts of the Baroque masters. Mozart's study of these scores inspired compositions in Baroque style, and later influenced his personal musical language, for example in fugal passages in Die Zauberflöte ("The Magic Flute") and the finale of Symphony No. 41.[40]
In 1783, Mozart and his wife visited his family in Salzburg. His father and sister were cordially polite to Constanze, but the visit prompted the composition of one of Mozart's great liturgical pieces, the Mass in C minor. Though not completed, it was premiered in Salzburg, with Constanze singing a solo part.[41]
Mozart met Joseph Haydn in Vienna around 1784, and the two composers became friends. When Haydn visited Vienna, they sometimes played together in an impromptu string quartet. Mozart's six quartets dedicated to Haydn (K. 387, K. 421, K. 428, K. 458, K. 464, and K. 465) date from the period 1782 to 1785, and are judged to be a response to Haydn's Opus 33 set from 1781.[42] Haydn in 1785 told Mozart's father: "I tell you before God, and as an honest man, your son is the greatest composer known to me by person and repute, he has taste and what is more the greatest skill in composition."[43] (See also: Haydn and Mozart)
From 1782 to 1785 Mozart mounted concerts with himself as soloist, presenting three or four new piano concertos in each season. Since space in the theaters was scarce, he booked unconventional venues: a large room in the Trattnerhof (an apartment building), and the ballroom of the Mehlgrube (a restaurant).[44] The concerts were very popular, and the concertos he premiered at them are still firm fixtures in the repertoire. Solomon writes that during this period Mozart created "a harmonious connection between an eager composer-performer and a delighted audience, which was given the opportunity of witnessing the transformation and perfection of a major musical genre".[44]
With substantial returns from his concerts and elsewhere, Mozart and his wife adopted a rather plush lifestyle. They moved to an expensive apartment, with a yearly rent of 460 florins.[45] Mozart also bought a fine fortepiano from Anton Walter for about 900 florins, and a billiard table for about 300.[45] The Mozarts sent their son Karl Thomas to an expensive boarding school,[46][47] and kept servants. Saving was therefore impossible, and the short period of financial success did nothing to soften the hardship the Mozarts were later to experience.[48][49]
On 14 December 1784, Mozart became a Freemason, admitted to the lodge Zur Wohltätigkeit ("Beneficence").[50] Freemasonry played an important role in the remainder of Mozart's life: he attended meetings, a number of his friends were Masons, and on various occasions he composed Masonic music. (See also: Mozart and Freemasonry)
1786–1787: Return to opera[link]
Despite the great success of Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Mozart did little operatic writing for the next four years, producing only two unfinished works and the one-act Der Schauspieldirektor. He focused instead on his career as a piano soloist and writer of concertos. However, around the end of 1785, Mozart moved away from keyboard writing[51][page needed] and began his famous operatic collaboration with the librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte. 1786 saw the successful premiere of The Marriage of Figaro in Vienna. Its reception in Prague later in the year was even warmer, and this led to a second collaboration with Da Ponte: the opera Don Giovanni, which premiered in October 1787 to acclaim in Prague, and also met with success in Vienna in 1788. The two are among Mozart's most important works and are mainstays of the operatic repertoire today, though at their premieres their musical complexity caused difficulty for both listeners and performers. These developments were not witnessed by Mozart's father, who had died on 28 May 1787.
In December 1787, Mozart finally obtained a steady post under aristocratic patronage. Emperor Joseph II appointed him as his "chamber composer", a post that had fallen vacant the previous month on the death of Gluck. It was a part-time appointment, paying just 800 florins per year, and required Mozart only to compose dances for the annual balls in the Redoutensaal (see Mozart and dance). However, even this modest income became important to Mozart when hard times arrived. Court records show that Joseph's aim was to keep the esteemed composer from leaving Vienna in pursuit of better prospects.[52]
In 1787 the young Ludwig van Beethoven spent several weeks in Vienna, hoping to study with Mozart.[53] No reliable records survive to indicate whether the two composers ever met. (See also section "Influence" below)
1788–1790[link]
Toward the end of the decade, Mozart's circumstances worsened. Around 1786 he had ceased to appear frequently in public concerts, and his income shrank.[54] This was a difficult time for musicians in Vienna because Austria was at war, and both the general level of prosperity and the ability of the aristocracy to support music had declined.[51]
By mid-1788, Mozart and his family had moved from central Vienna to the suburb of Alsergrund.[54] Although it has been thought that Mozart reduced his rental expenses, recent research shows that by moving to the suburb, Mozart had certainly not reduced his expenses (as claimed in his letter to Puchberg), but merely increased the housing space at his disposal.[55] Mozart began to borrow money, most often from his friend and fellow Mason Michael Puchberg; "a pitiful sequence of letters pleading for loans" survives.[56] Maynard Solomon and others have suggested that Mozart was suffering from depression, and it seems that his output slowed.[57] Major works of the period include the last three symphonies (Nos. 39, 40, and 41, all from 1788), and the last of the three Da Ponte operas, Così fan tutte, premiered in 1790.
Around this time, Mozart made long journeys hoping to improve his fortunes: to Leipzig, Dresden, and Berlin in the spring of 1789, and to Frankfurt, Mannheim, and other German cities in 1790. The trips produced only isolated success and did not relieve the family's financial distress. (See also: Mozart's Berlin journey)
1791[link]
Mozart's last year was, until his final illness struck, a time of great productivity — and by some accounts a time of personal recovery.[58] He composed a great deal, including some of his most admired works: the opera The Magic Flute; the final piano concerto (K. 595 in B-flat); the Clarinet Concerto K. 622; the last in his great series of string quintets (K. 614 in E-flat); the motet Ave verum corpus K. 618; and the unfinished Requiem K. 626.
Mozart's financial situation, a source of extreme anxiety in 1790, finally began to improve. Although the evidence is inconclusive,[59] it appears that wealthy patrons in Hungary and Amsterdam pledged annuities to Mozart in return for the occasional composition. He probably also benefited from the sale of dance music written in his role as Imperial chamber composer.[59] Mozart no longer borrowed large sums from Puchberg, and made a start on paying off his debts.[59]
He experienced great satisfaction in the public success of some of his works, notably The Magic Flute (performed many times in the short period between its premiere and Mozart's death)[60] and the Little Masonic Cantata K. 623, premiered on 15 November 1791.[61]
Final illness and death[link]
Main article: Death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Mozart fell ill while in Prague for the 6 September 1791 premiere of his opera La clemenza di Tito, written in that same year on commission for the Emperor's coronation festivities.[62] He was able to continue his professional functions for some time, and conducted the premiere of The Magic Flute on 30 September. The illness intensified on 20 November, at which point Mozart became bedridden, suffering from swelling, pain, and vomiting.[63]
Mozart was nursed in his final illness by his wife and her youngest sister, and was attended by the family doctor, Thomas Franz Closset. It is clear that he was mentally occupied with the task of finishing his Requiem. The evidence, however, that he actually dictated passages to his student Süssmayr is minimal.[64][65]
Mozart died at 1 am on 5 December 1791 at the age of 35. The New Grove gives a matter-of-fact description of his funeral:
Mozart was buried in a common grave, in accordance with contemporary Viennese custom, at the St. Marx Cemetery outside the city on 7 December. If, as later reports say, no mourners attended, that too is consistent with Viennese burial customs at the time; later Jahn (1856) wrote that Salieri, Süssmayr, van Swieten and two other musicians were present. The tale of a storm and snow is false; the day was calm and mild.[66]
The cause of Mozart's death cannot be known with certainty. The official record has it as "hitziges Frieselfieber" ("severe miliary fever", referring to a rash that looks like millet seeds), a description that does not suffice to identify the cause as it would be diagnosed in modern medicine. Researchers have posited at least 118 causes of death, including trichinosis, influenza, mercury poisoning, and a rare kidney ailment.[67] The most widely accepted hypothesis is that Mozart died of acute rheumatic fever.[68]
Mozart's modest funeral did not reflect his standing with the public as a composer: memorial services and concerts in Vienna and Prague were well attended. Indeed, in the period immediately after his death, Mozart's reputation rose substantially: Solomon describes an "unprecedented wave of enthusiasm"[69] for his work; biographies were written (first by Schlichtegroll, Niemetschek, and Nissen; see Biographies of Mozart); and publishers vied to produce complete editions of his works.[69]
Appearance and character[link]
_by_Lange_1782.jpg)
Mozart's physical appearance was described by tenor Michael Kelly, in his Reminiscences: "a remarkably small man, very thin and pale, with a profusion of fine, fair hair of which he was rather vain". As his early biographer Niemetschek wrote, "there was nothing special about [his] physique. [...] He was small and his countenance, except for his large intense eyes, gave no signs of his genius." His facial complexion was pitted, a reminder of his childhood case of smallpox. He loved elegant clothing. Kelly remembered him at a rehearsal: "[He] was on the stage with his crimson pelisse and gold-laced cocked hat, giving the time of the music to the orchestra." Of his voice his wife later wrote that it "was a tenor, rather soft in speaking and delicate in singing, but when anything excited him, or it became necessary to exert it, it was both powerful and energetic".[70]
Mozart usually worked long and hard, finishing compositions at a tremendous pace as deadlines approached. He often made sketches and drafts; unlike Beethoven's these are mostly not preserved, as his wife sought to destroy them after his death.[71] He was raised a Roman Catholic and remained a member of the Church throughout his life. (See also: Mozart and Roman Catholicism)
Mozart lived at the center of the Viennese musical world, and knew a great number and variety of people: fellow musicians, theatrical performers, fellow Salzburgers, and aristocrats, including some acquaintance with the Emperor Joseph II. Solomon considers his three closest friends to have been Gottfried von Jacquin, Count August Hatzfeld, and Sigmund Barisani; others included his older colleague Joseph Haydn, singers Franz Xaver Gerl and Benedikt Schack, and the horn player Joseph Leutgeb. Leutgeb and Mozart carried on a curious kind of friendly mockery, often with Leutgeb as the butt of Mozart's practical jokes.[72]
He enjoyed billiards and dancing, and kept pets: a canary, a starling, a dog, and also a horse for recreational riding.[73] He had a startling fondness for scatological humor, which is preserved in his surviving letters, notably those written to his cousin Maria Anna Thekla Mozart around 1777–1778, but also in his correspondence with his sister and parents.[74] Mozart even wrote scatological music, a series of canons that he sang with his friends. (See also: Mozart and scatology)
Works, musical style, and innovations[link]
Style[link]
Mozart's music, like Haydn's, stands as an archetype of the Classical style. At the time he began composing, European music was dominated by the style galant, a reaction against the highly evolved intricacy of the Baroque. Progressively, and in large part at the hands of Mozart himself, the contrapuntal complexities of the late Baroque emerged once more, moderated and disciplined by new forms, and adapted to a new aesthetic and social milieu. Mozart was a versatile composer, and wrote in every major genre, including symphony, opera, the solo concerto, chamber music including string quartet and string quintet, and the piano sonata. These forms were not new, but Mozart advanced their technical sophistication and emotional reach. He almost single-handedly developed and popularized the Classical piano concerto. He wrote a great deal of religious music, including large-scale masses, but also dances, divertimenti, serenades, and other forms of light entertainment.
File:Mozart Sheet Music.jpg
A facsimile sheet of music from the Dies Irae movement of the "Requiem Mass in D Minor" (K. 626) in Mozart's own handwriting. It is located at the Mozarthaus in Vienna.
The central traits of the Classical style are all present in Mozart's music. Clarity, balance, and transparency are the hallmarks of his work, but simplistic notions of its delicacy mask the exceptional power of his finest masterpieces, such as the Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K. 491; the Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550; and the opera Don Giovanni. Charles Rosen makes the point forcefully:
"It is only through recognizing the violence and sensuality at the center of Mozart's work that we can make a start towards a comprehension of his structures and an insight into his magnificence. In a paradoxical way, Schumann's superficial characterization of the G minor Symphony can help us to see Mozart's daemon more steadily. In all of Mozart's supreme expressions of suffering and terror, there is something shockingly voluptuous."[75]
Especially during his last decade, Mozart exploited chromatic harmony to a degree rare at the time, with remarkable assurance and to great artistic effect.
Mozart always had a gift for absorbing and adapting valuable features of others' music. His travels helped in the forging of a unique compositional language.[76] In London as a child, he met J.C. Bach and heard his music. In Paris, Mannheim, and Vienna he met with other compositional influences, as well as the avant-garde capabilities of the Mannheim orchestra. In Italy he encountered the Italian overture and opera buffa, both of which deeply affected the evolution of his own practice. In London and Italy, the galant style was in the ascendent: simple, light music with a mania for cadencing; an emphasis on tonic, dominant, and subdominant to the exclusion of other harmonies; symmetrical phrases; and clearly articulated partitions in the overall form of movements.[77] Some of Mozart's early symphonies are Italian overtures, with three movements running into each other; many are homotonal (all three movements having the same key signature, with the slow middle movement being in the relative minor). Others mimic the works of J.C. Bach, and others show the simple rounded binary forms turned out by Viennese composers.
As Mozart matured, he progressively incorporated more features adapted from the Baroque. For example, the Symphony No. 29 in A major K. 201 has a contrapuntal main theme in its first movement, and experimentation with irregular phrase lengths. Some of his quartets from 1773 have fugal finales, probably influenced by Haydn, who had included three such finales in his recently published Opus 20 set. The influence of the Sturm und Drang ("Storm and Stress") period in music, with its brief foreshadowing of the Romantic era, is evident in the music of both composers at that time. Mozart's Symphony No. 25 in G minor K. 183 is another excellent example.
Mozart would sometimes switch his focus between operas and instrumental music. He produced operas in each of the prevailing styles: opera buffa, such as The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Così fan tutte; opera seria, such as Idomeneo; and Singspiel, of which Die Zauberflöte is the most famous example by any composer. In his later operas he employed subtle changes in instrumentation, orchestral texture, and tone color, for emotional depth and to mark dramatic shifts. Here his advances in opera and instrumental composing interacted: his increasingly sophisticated use of the orchestra in the symphonies and concertos influenced his operatic orchestration, and his developing subtlety in using the orchestra to psychological effect in his operas was in turn reflected in his later non-operatic compositions.[78]
Influence[link]
See also: Mozart and Beethoven
Mozart's most famous pupil, whom the Mozarts took into their Vienna home for two years as a child, was probably Johann Nepomuk Hummel, a transitional figure between Classical and Romantic eras.[79] More important is the influence Mozart had on composers of later generations. Ever since the surge in his reputation after his death, studying his scores has been a standard part of the training of classical musicians.
Ludwig van Beethoven, Mozart's junior by fifteen years, was deeply influenced by his work, with which he was acquainted as a teenager. He is thought to have performed Mozart's operas while playing in the court orchestra at Bonn,[80] and he traveled to Vienna in 1787 hoping to study with the older composer. Some of Beethoven's works have direct models in comparable works by Mozart, and he wrote cadenzas (WoO 58) to Mozart's D minor piano concerto K. 466.
A number of composers have paid homage to Mozart by writing sets of variations on his themes. Beethoven wrote four such sets (Op. 66, WoO 28, WoO 40, WoO 46). Others include Frédéric Chopin's Variations on "Là ci darem la mano" from Don Giovanni (1827); Max Reger's Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Mozart (1914), based on the variation theme in the piano sonata K. 331;[81] Fernando Sor's Introduction and Variations on a Theme by Mozart (1821); and Mikhail Glinka's Variations on a Theme from Mozart's Opera Die Zauberflöte in E♭ major (1822). Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote his Orchestral Suite No. 4 in G, "Mozartiana" (1887), as a tribute to Mozart.
Köchel catalogue[link]
Main article: Köchel catalogue
For unambiguous identification of works by Mozart, a Köchel catalogue number is used. This is a unique number assigned, in regular chronological order, to every one of his known works. A work is referenced by the abbreviation "K." followed by this number. The first edition of the catalogue was completed in 1862 by Ludwig von Köchel. It has since been repeatedly updated, as scholarly research improves knowledge of the dates and authenticity of individual works.
See also[link]
 |
Book: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart |
| Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print. | |
- The Complete Mozart Edition, 180 compact discs arranged into 45 themed volumes released by Philips Classics Records in 2000.
- Mozart effect
- Mozart family
- Mozart in fiction
- Mozartkugel
- Mozarteum
- Mozarthaus Vienna
- Sociological and cultural aspects of Tourette syndrome – for discussion of the discredited view that Mozart suffered from Tourette's syndrome
Notes[link]
- ^ Sources vary in how Mozart’s name should be pronounced in English. Fradkin (1996), a guide for radio announcers, strongly recommends [ts] for letter z, but otherwise considers English-like pronunciation fully acceptable; thus /ˈwʊlfɡæŋ æməˈdeɪəs ˈmoʊtsɑrt/.
- ^ Mozart's exact name involved many complications; for details see Mozart's name.
- ^ Landon 1990, p. 171
- ^ Deutsch 1965, p. 9
- ^ Deutsch 1965, p. 455
- ^ a b Solomon 1995, pp. 39–40
- ^ Deutsch 1965, p. 453
- ^ Solomon 1995, p. 33
- ^ Solomon 1995, p. 44
- ^ Halliwell 1998, pp. 51, 53
- ^ Halliwell 1998, pp. 82–83
- ^ Halliwell 1998, pp. 99–102
- ^ Gutman (2000:271). For details of the story see Miserere (Allegri) and Mozart's compositional method.
- ^ For new information on this episode, see Ilias Chrissochoidis, "London Mozartiana: Wolfgang's disputed age & early performances of Allegri's Miserere", The Musical Times, vol. 151, no. 1911 (Summer 2010), 83–89.
- ^ Halliwell 1998, pp. 172, 183–185
- ^ Solomon 1995, p. 106
- ^ Solomon 1995, p. 103
- ^ Solomon 1995, p. 98
- ^ Solomon 1995, p. 107
- ^ Solomon 1995, p. 109
- ^ Vatican 1770
- ^ Halliwell 1998, p. 225. Archbishop Colloredo responded to the request by dismissing both Mozart and his father, though the dismissal of the latter was not actually carried out.
- ^ Sadie 1998
- ^ Deutsch 1965, p. 174
- ^ Solomon 1995, p. 149
- ^ Halliwell 1998, pp. 304–305
- ^ Abert 2007, p. 509
- ^ Halliwell 1998, p. 305
- ^ Halliwell 1998, chs. 18–19
- ^ Solomon 1995, p. 157
- ^ Halliwell 1998, p. 322
- ^ Sadie 1998, §3
- ^ Deutsch 1965, p. 176
- ^ Sadie 1980, vol. 12, p. 700
- ^ a b c d Sadie 1998, §4
- ^ Solomon 1995, p. 247
- ^ Solomon 1995, p. 253
- ^ Solomon 1995, p. 259
- ^ a b Solomon 1995, p. 258
- ^ Eisen
- ^ Solomon 1995, p. 270
- ^ Barry 2000. For detailed discussion of the influence of Opus 33 on the "Haydn" quartets.
- ^ Mozart & Mozart 1966, p. 1331. Leopold's letter to his daughter Nannerl, 14–16 May 1785.
- ^ a b Solomon 1995, p. 293
- ^ a b Solomon 1995, p. 298
- ^ Solomon 1995, p. 430
- ^ Solomon 1995, p. 578
- ^ Solomon 1995, §27
- ^ Solomon 1995, p. 431
- ^ Solomon 1995, p. 321
- ^ a b Solomon 1995
- ^ Solomon 1995, pp. 423–424
- ^ Haberl 2006, pp. 215–55
- ^ a b Sadie 1998, §6
- ^ Lorenz 2010
- ^ Sadie 1980, vol. 12, p. 710
- ^ Steptoe 1990, p. 208
- ^ Solomon 1995, §30
- ^ a b c Solomon 1995, p. 477
- ^ Solomon 1995, p. 487
- ^ Solomon 1995, p. 490
- ^ Solomon 1995, p. 485
- ^ Solomon 1995, p. 491
- ^ Solomon 1995, p. 493
- ^ Solomon 1995, p. 588
- ^ Sadie 1980, vol. 12, p. 716
- ^ Wakin 2010
- ^ Experts ... rule out foul play in the death of Mozart
- ^ a b Solomon 1995, p. 499
- ^ Solomon 1995, p. 308
- ^ Solomon 1995, p. 310
- ^ Solomon 1995, §20
- ^ Solomon 1995, p. 319
- ^ Solomon 1995, p. 169
- ^ Rosen 1998, p. 324
- ^ Solomon 1995, ch. 8. Discussion of the sources of style as well as his early imitative ability.
- ^ Heartz 2003
- ^ Einstein 1965
- ^ Solomon 1995, p. 574
- ^ Raptus
- ^ March, Greenfield & Layton 2005
References[link]
- Cited sources
- Abert, Hermann (2007). W. A. Mozart. Cliff Eisen (ed.), Stewart Spencer (trans.). New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-07223-5. OCLC 70401564. http://books.google.com/books?id=l6I6BwTMJ3sC.
- Barry, Barbara R (2000). The Philosopher's Stone: Essays in the Transformation of Musical Structure. Hillsdale, New York: Pendragon Press. ISBN 1-57647-010-5. OCLC 466918491. http://books.google.com/books?id=whSIM4Snh7YC.
- Deutsch, Otto Erich (1965). Mozart: A Documentary Biography. Peter Branscombe, Eric Blom, Jeremy Noble (trans.). Stanford: Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-0233-1. OCLC 8991008. http://books.google.com/books?id=e8AtwaddUW4C.
- Einstein, Alfred (1965). Mozart: His Character, His Work. Galaxy Book 162. Arthur Mendel, Nathan Broder (trans.) (6th ed.). New York City: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-304-92483-0. OCLC 456644858. http://books.google.com/books?id=U0KVSgAACAAJ.
- Eisen, Cliff; et al. "Mozart". Grove Music Online (Subscription required). http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/40258pg3. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
- (German) Haberl, Dieter (2006). "Beethovens erste Reise nach Wien: die Datierung seiner Schülerreise zu W. A. Mozart". Neues Musikwissenschaftliches Jahrbuch (14). OCLC 634798176.
- Fradkin, Robert A. (1996) The well-tempered announcer: a pronunciation guide to classical music. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-21064-X.
- Halliwell, Ruth (1998). The Mozart Family: Four Lives in a Social Context. New York City: Clarendon Press. ISBN 978-0-19-816371-8. OCLC 36423516. http://books.google.com/books?id=TUMyCTKlAr0C.
- Heartz, Daniel (2003). Music in European Capitals: The Galant Style, 1720–1780 (1st ed.). New York City: W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-05080-7. OCLC 50693068. http://books.google.com/books?id=Sq7rU0BGyREC.
- Holmes, Edward (2005). The Life of Mozart. New York: Cosimo Classics. ISBN 1-59605-147-7. OCLC 62790104. http://books.google.com/books?id=V6dBeXZ3GTwC&pg=PA268.
- Landon, Howard Chandler Robbins (1990). 1791: Mozart's Last Year. London: Flamingo. ISBN 978-0-00-654324-4. OCLC 20932333. http://books.google.com/books?id=oXdNwE0mQ9UC.
- Lorenz, Michael (9 August 2010). "Mozart's Apartment on the Alsergrund". http://homepage.univie.ac.at/michael.lorenz/alsergrund/. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
- March, Ivan; Greenfield, Edward; Layton, Robert (2005). Czajkowski, Paul. ed. Penguin Guide to Compact Discs And DVDs, 2005–2006 (30th ed.). London: Penguin. ISBN 0-14-102262-0. OCLC 416204627. http://books.google.com/books?id=_H6KQgAACAAJ.
- Mozart, Wolfgang; Mozart, Leopold (1966). Anderson, Emily. ed. The Letters of Mozart and his Family (2nd ed.). London: Macmillan. ISBN 0-393-02248-X. OCLC 594813. http://books.google.com/books?id=VMkuAAAAIAAJ.
- Mozart, Wolfgang (1972). Mersmann, Hans. ed. Letters of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. New York: Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-22859-2. OCLC 753483. http://books.google.com/books?id=KpjYoajWID8C&pg=PR8.
- "Mozart, Mozart's Magic Flute and Beethoven". Raptus Association for Music Appreciation. http://www.raptusassociation.org/beethmoze.html. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
- Rosen, Charles (1998). The Classical Style: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven (2nd ed.). New York City: W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-31712-9. OCLC 246977555. http://books.google.com/books?id=aAFUOreO-nMC.
- Sadie, Stanley, ed. (1998). The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. New York: Grove's Dictionaries of Music Inc.. ISBN 978-0-333-73432-2. OCLC 39160203.
- Sadie, Stanley, ed. (1980). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (6th ed.). London: Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-23111-2. OCLC 5676891.
- Solomon, Maynard (1995). Mozart: A Life (1st ed.). New York City: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-019046-0. OCLC 31435799. http://books.google.com/books?id=UuEHAQAAMAAJ.
- Steptoe, Andrew (1990). The Mozart-Da Ponte Operas: The Cultural and Musical Background to Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Così fan tutte. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-816221-9. OCLC 22895166. http://books.google.com/books?id=s7394NpN0YQC.
- Till, Nicholas (1995). Mozart and the Enlightenment: Truth, Virtue and Beauty in Mozart's Operas. New York City: W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-31395-6. OCLC 469628809. http://books.google.com/books?id=xCyegHQr2TwC.
- "Award of the Papal Equestrian Order of the "Golden Spur" to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart". Vatican Secret Archives. 4 July 1770. http://asv.vatican.va/en/doc/1770.htm. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
- Wakin, Daniel J. (24 August 2010). "After Mozart’s Death, an Endless Coda". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/25/arts/music/25death.html.
- Other sources
- Cairns, David (2006). Mozart and His Operas. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-22898-7. OCLC 62290645. http://books.google.com/books?id=4rNjwC5HShkC.
- Eisen, Cliff; Keefe, Simon P, eds. (2006). The Cambridge Mozart Encyclopedia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-85659-0. OCLC 60245611. http://books.google.com/books?id=8o6mVjlSzM4C.
- Gutman, Robert (2000). Mozart: A Cultural Biography. London: Harcourt Brace. ISBN 978-0-15-601171-6. OCLC 45485135. http://books.google.com/books?id=wKm3sCZeyr8C.
- "New Mozart Pieces Unveiled (VIDEO)". The Huffington Post. 8 February 2009. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/02/new-mozart-pieces-unveile_n_249532.html. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
External links[link]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart |
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart |
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Wikisource has original works written by or about: |
- Mozarthaus Salzburg
- Salzburg Tourist Office – Salzburg City Tourist Board website.
- Chronological-Thematic Catalog
- Works by or about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
- Digitized, scanned material (books, sheet music)
- "Mozart" Titles; Mozart as author from archive.org
- "Mozart" Titles; Mozart as author from books.google.com
- Digital Mozart Edition (Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum)
- (French) "Mozart" titles from Gallica
- From the British Library
- (German) Letters of Leopold Mozart und Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Badische Landesbibliothek)
- Sheet music
- Complete sheetmusic (scores) from the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe (Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum)
- "Mozart" Titles from the Munich Digitisation Centre (MDZ)
- "Mozart" Titles from the University of Rochester
- Free scores by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at the International Music Score Library Project
- Free scores by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)
- Free scores by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the Werner Icking Music Archive (WIMA)
- Free typeset sheet music of Mozart's works from Cantorion.org
- The Mutopia Project has compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- Mozart as author from archive.org
- Mozart as author from books.google.com
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus |
| Alternative names | Mozart, Johann Chrysostom Wolfgang Amadeus (full name) |
| Short description | Composer |
| Date of birth | 27 January 1756 |
| Place of birth | Salzburg, Austria |
| Date of death | 5 December 1791 |
| Place of death | Vienna, Austria |
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| Sir Paul McCartney MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM |
|
|---|---|
 McCartney performing in England, 2010 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | James Paul McCartney |
| Born | (1942-06-18) 18 June 1942 (age 70) Liverpool, England, UK |
| Genres | Rock, pop, classical, electronica |
| Occupations | Musician, composer, music producer, film producer, businessman |
| Instruments | Vocals, bass guitar, guitar, keyboards, drums, ukulele, mandolin, recorder |
| Years active | 1957–present |
| Labels | Hear, Apple, Parlophone, Capitol, Columbia, Concord, EMI, One Little Indian, Vee-Jay |
| Associated acts | The Quarrymen, The Beatles, Wings, The Fireman, Linda McCartney, Denny Laine |
| Website | www.paulmccartney.com |
| Notable instruments | |
| Höfner 500/1 Rickenbacker 4001S Epiphone Texan Gibson Les Paul Epiphone Casino Martin D-28 |
|
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM (born 18 June 1942) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of the Beatles (1960–1970) and Wings (1971–1981), he has been described by Guinness World Records as "The Most Successful Composer and Recording Artist of All Time", with 60 gold discs and sales of over 100 million albums and 100 million singles.[1] With John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, he gained worldwide fame as a member of the Beatles, and with Lennon formed one of the most celebrated songwriting partnerships of the 20th century. After leaving the Beatles, he began a solo career and later formed the band Wings with his first wife, Linda Eastman, and singer-songwriter Denny Laine.
According to the BBC, his Beatles song "Yesterday" has been covered by over 2,200 artists—more than any other song. Wings' 1977 release, "Mull of Kintyre", became one of the best-selling singles ever in the UK, and he is "the most successful songwriter" in UK chart history, according to Guinness.[2] As a songwriter or co-writer, he is included on thirty-one number one titles on the Billboard Hot 100, and as of 2012 he has sold over 15.5 million RIAA certified units in the United States.
He has composed film scores, classical and electronic music, and released a large catalogue of songs as a solo artist. He has taken part in projects to help international charities, and has been an advocate for animal rights, vegetarianism, and music education; he has been active in campaigns against landmines and seal hunting, and supported efforts such as Make Poverty History. His company MPL Communications owns the copyrights to more than 25,000 songs, including those written by Buddy Holly, as well as the publishing rights to the musicals Guys and Dolls, A Chorus Line, and Grease. He is one of the UK's wealthiest people, with an estimated fortune of £475 million in 2010. He has been married three times and is the father of five children.
Contents |
Childhood[link]
Main article: Jim and Mary McCartney
McCartney was born in Walton Hospital in Liverpool England, where his mother, Mary (née Mohin), had twelve years earlier, "satisfied her state registry requirements" for nursing, writes Beatles biographer Bob Spitz.[3] His father James, or "Jim" McCartney, was absent at his son's birth due to his work as a volunteer fire fighter during World War II.[3] McCartney has one brother, Michael, born 7 January 1944, and though they were baptised in their mother's Roman Catholic faith, "religion did not play a part in their upbringing" according to biographer Barry Miles, as McCartney's father was a Protestant turned agnostic.[4]
In 1947 he began attending Stockton Wood Road Primary School, by 1952 Joseph Williams Junior School,[5] where he passed the 11-plus exam in 1953 with three others out of ninety examinees, thus gaining admission to the Liverpool Institute.[6] However, when he took his A-level exams at age nineteen, he passed only one subject – Art.[7] In 1954, while taking the bus from his home in the suburb of Speke to the Institute, he met George Harrison,[8] who had also passed the exam, meaning they could both go to a grammar school rather than a secondary modern school, which the majority of pupils attended until they were eligible to work.[9]
In 1955 the McCartneys moved to 20 Forthlin Road in Allerton, where they lived through 1964.[10] Paul was the first member of his family to own a car and his mother rode a bicycle to houses where she worked as a midwife; he describes an early memory of her leaving at "about three in the morning" the "streets ... thick with snow".[11] On 31 October 1956, when he was fourteen, his mother died of an embolism after a mastectomy operation to stop the spread of her breast cancer.[12] The loss of his mother at fourteen was later a point of relation with John Lennon, whose mother Julia also died when he was young, after being struck by a car when he was seventeen.[13]
McCartney's father was a trumpet player and pianist who had led Jim Mac's Jazz Band in the 1920s and encouraged his son to be musical. He kept an upright piano in the front room that he purchased from Epstein's North End Music Stores.[14] His father, Joe McCartney, played an E-flat tuba.[15] Jim McCartney used to point out the bass parts in songs on the radio, and often took his son to local brass band concerts.[16] Jim gave his son a nickel-plated trumpet for his fourteenth birthday,[17] but when rock and roll became popular on Radio Luxembourg,[18] Paul traded it for a £15 Framus Zenith (model 17) acoustic guitar, realising it would be too difficult to sing, "with a trumpet stuck in your mouth."[17] Being left-handed, he found right-handed guitars difficult to play, but when he saw a poster advertising a Slim Whitman concert, he realised that Whitman played left-handed with his right-handed guitar strung the opposite way. He then restrung his guitar and after some adjustments, found it easier to play.[17] McCartney wrote his first song ("I Lost My Little Girl") on the Zenith, and an early tune which became, "When I'm Sixty-Four", on the piano, for which, despite his father's advice, he took only a couple of lessons for, preferring instead he says, to learn "by ear."[14] He was heavily influenced by American rhythm and blues music, and has stated that Little Richard was his idol when he was in school. The first song he ever sang on a stage in public was "Long Tall Sally", at a Butlins holiday camp talent competition.[19]
Musical career[link]
Main article: Paul McCartney's musical career
1957–1960: The Quarrymen[link]
Main article: The Quarrymen
McCartney met Lennon and the Quarrymen at the St. Peter's Church Hall fête in Woolton on 6 July 1957, when he was fifteen years old.[20] He joined the group soon after, and formed a close working relationship with Lennon. Harrison joined in 1958 as lead guitarist, followed in 1960 by Lennon's art school friend, Stuart Sutcliffe on bass.[21] By May 1960, they had tried several new names, including "Johnny and the Moondogs" and "the Silver Beetles", playing a tour of Scotland under that name with Johnny Gentle. They changed the name of the group to "the Beatles" in mid-August 1960 and recruited Pete Best on drums prior to the first of what would be five engagements in Hamburg, Germany.[22]
1960–1970: The Beatles[link]
Main article: The Beatles
From August 1960 the Beatles were booked by Allan Williams to perform in Hamburg, and during their extended stays there over the next two years, they performed as the resident group at two of Bruno Koschmider's clubs, the Indra, then the Kaiserkeller, and upon returns to Liverpool, at the Cavern Club.[23] In 1961 Sutcliffe left the band, and McCartney reluctantly became their bass player.[24] The Beatles recorded their first published music in Hamburg, performing as the backing band for Tony Sheridan on the single "My Bonnie".[25] The recording would later bring them to the attention of a key figure in their subsequent development and commercial success, Brian Epstein, who became their manager in January 1962.[26] Epstein eventually negotiated a record contract for the group with Parlophone in May of that year.[27] After replacing Best with Ringo Starr in August, they became increasingly popular in the UK during 1963 and in the US in 1964, in a frenzied adolation that became known as "Beatlemania",[28] during which McCartney was dubbed, "the cute Beatle", according to Miles.[29] In 1965 they were each appointed as a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE).[30]
After the recording of the Beatles hit "Yesterday" (1965), McCartney contacted the BBC Radiophonic Workshop in Maida Vale London, to ask if they would record an electronic version of the song, but he never followed up.[31] When visiting artist John Dunbar's flat in London, he would bring along tapes he had compiled at then girlfriend Jane Asher's home,[32] mixes of various songs, musical pieces and comments made by McCartney that Dick James made into a demo for him.[33] Heavily influenced by American avant-garde musician John Cage, he made tape loops by recording voices, guitars, and bongos on a Brenell tape recorder, and splicing the various loops together. He reversed the tapes, sped them up, and slowed them down to create the effects he wanted, some of which were later used on Beatles' recordings, such as "Tomorrow Never Knows" (1966). He referred to the tapes as "electronic symphonies".[34] In 1966 he rented a ground floor and basement flat from Starr at 34 Montagu Square, to be used as a small studio for spoken-word recordings by poets, writers (including William S. Burroughs) and avant-garde musicians.[35] The Beatles' Apple Records then launched a sub-label, Zapple with Miles as its manager, ostensibly to release recordings of a similar aesthetic, although few releases would ultimately come of the endeavour as Apple and the Beatles slid into business and personal difficulties.[35] After touring almost non-stop for a period of nearly four years, and giving more than 1,400 live performances internationally,[36] the group gave their final commercial concert at the end of their 1966 US tour.[37]
They continued to work in the recording studio and before their break-up in 1970 produced what some critics consider to be their finest material, including the innovative and widely influential albums Revolver (1966), Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), The Beatles (1968) and Abbey Road (1969).[38] Between 1963 and 1970 the group released twenty-two UK singles and twelve LPs, of which seventeen of the singles and eleven of the LPs became number ones.[39] The band topped the US Billboard Hot 100 twenty times, and recorded fourteen number one albums.[40] Lennon and McCartney became one of the most celebrated songwriting partnerships of the 20th century.[41] McCartney's contributions to the band's hit song's include: "Can't Buy Me Love" (1964), "Yesterday" (1965), Paperback Writer" and "Eleanor Rigby" (1966), "Hello, Goodbye" (1967), "Hey Jude" (1968), "Get Back (1969)", "Let It Be" and "The Long and Winding Road" (1970).[42]
In March 1969 he married Linda Eastman, whom he first met in May 1967. The couple had their first child together, Mary, named after Paul's late mother, in August 1969.[43] In October 1969 a rumour surfaced that McCartney had died in a car crash, but it was quickly proven false when a November Life magazine cover featured him and his family with the caption, "Paul is Still With Us."[44]
1970–1981: Wings[link]
Main article: Wings (band)
After the Beatles break-up in 1970 McCartney continued his musical career, releasing his first solo album, McCartney, in 1970, which contained the stand-out track "Maybe I'm Amazed", written for Linda.[45] With the exception of some vocal contributions from her, it is a "one-man album with Paul playing all the instruments" himself, writes Beatles biographer Bill Harry.[46] In 1971 Paul collaborated with Linda on a second album, Ram, a UK number one which included the co-written US number one hit song, "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey".[47] Later that year, the pair were joined by ex-Moody Blues guitarist Denny Laine and drummer Denny Seiwell to form the group Wings, and release their first album together, Wild Life. In September 1971 the McCartney family added a second child, Stella, named in honour of Linda's grandmothers.[48]
In 1973 McCartney wrote Wings' first US number one, "My Love", included on their second LP, Red Rose Speedway, and his collaboration with Linda and former Beatles' producer George Martin resulted in the James Bond theme song and Wings hit, "Live and Let Die", which was nominated for an Oscar, and earned Martin a Grammy for his orchestral arrangement.[49] In 1974 Paul wrote a second US number one for Wings, "Band on the Run"; the acclaimed album of the same name, Wings' third, was a massive success that became their first platinum LP.[50] They followed with the chart topping LPs, Venus and Mars (1975) and Wings at the Speed of Sound (1976).[51] In September 1977 a third child was born to the McCartneys, a son they named James,[52] and in November, the Wings song "Mull of Kintyre" was fast becoming "the best-selling single in UK history", writes Beatles biographer Peter Doggett.[53] Achieving double the sales of the previous record holder, "She Loves You", the track would go on to sell 2.5 million copies, and hold the UK sales record until the 1984 charity single, "Do They Know It's Christmas?".[54] In 1977 he released Thrillington, an orchestral arrangement of Ram, under the pseudonym Percy "Thrills" Thrillington[55], with a cover designed by Hipgnosis.[56]
While London Town (1978) and Back to the Egg (1979) passed with little critical or commercial notice,[57] the latter involved McCartney's collaboration with a rock supergroup dubbed, "the Rockestra", though credited to Wings, that included Pete Townshend, David Gilmour, Gary Brooker, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham.[58] Active through 1981, Wings produced seven studio albums, five of which topped the US charts,[59] as well as their live triple LP, Wings over America,[60] one of few live albums ever to achieve the top spot in America.[61] They also recorded six US number one singles including, "Listen to What the Man Said", "Silly Love Songs, "With a Little Luck", and "Coming Up".[62]
1982–1989[link]
In 1980 he released his second solo LP, the self-produced McCartney II, and as with his first, he composed all the music and performed the instrumentation himself. The album contained the hit songs "Coming Up", "Waterfalls", and "Temporary Secretary".[63] In 1982 he collaborated with Stevie Wonder on the Martin produced number one hit, "Ebony and Ivory", included on McCartney's Tug of War LP, and with Michael Jackson on "The Girl Is Mine" from Thriller.[64] The following year he worked with Jackson on the US number one, "Say Say Say", and he earned a UK number one with the title track of his LP release that year, "Pipes of Peace".[65]
In 1984 he wrote, produced, and starred in the feature film Give My Regards to Broad Street, a musical which "was savagely panned by the critics" according to Harry; and described by Variety as: "Characterless, bloodless, and pointless."[66] Roger Ebert awarded the film a single star and wrote, "you can safely skip the movie and proceed directly to the sound track",[67] which fared much better, reaching number one in the UK, and producing the hit single, "No More Lonely Nights", featuring Gilmour on lead guitar.[68]
He collaborated with Eric Stewart on Press to Play (1986), who co-wrote more than half the songs on the LP, and in 1988, McCartney released Снова в СССР, a Russia-only title that contained eighteen covers which he recorded over the course of two days.[69] In 1989 he joined forces with fellow Merseysiders including Gerry Marsden of Gerry and the Pacemakers and Holly Johnson of Frankie Goes to Hollywood to record a new version of "Ferry Cross the Mersey", originally recorded twenty-five years earlier by Gerry and the Pacemakers, to generate money for the appeal fund of the Hillsborough disaster, which occurred in April that year when ninety-five Liverpool F.C. fans died as a result of their injuries. The recording was a number one hit in the UK.[70] In 1989 he released Flowers in the Dirt, a collaborative effort with Elvis Costello which included musical contributions from Gilmour and Nicky Hopkins.[71]
1990–2000[link]
In 1990 he released the triple LP, Tripping the Live Fantastic, which contained select performances from The Paul McCartney World Tour, his first in over a decade.[72] The following year he ventured into orchestral music, when the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society commissioned a musical piece by him to celebrate its sesquicentennial. He collaborated with Carl Davis to release Liverpool Oratorio; involving opera singers Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Sally Burgess, Jerry Hadley and Willard White, with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and the choir of Liverpool Cathedral.[73] The Guardian was critical of the work stating that the music is, "afraid of anything approaching a fast tempo", and the piece has "little awareness of the need for recurrent ideas that will bind the work into a whole".[74] In response, McCartney wrote a defensive letter to the paper, which they published, where he states: "Happily, history shows that many good pieces of music were not liked by the critics of the time so I am content to ... let people judge for themselves the merits of the work."[74]
During the 1990s he twice collaborated with Youth of Killing Joke under the alias the Fireman, and released the electronica albums: Strawberries Oceans Ships Forest (1993) and Rushes (1998).[75] Released in 1993, the rock album Off the Ground was supported by "The New World Tour", which produced the album, Paul Is Live later that year.[76] Starting in 1994 he took a four-year hiatus from his solo career to work on Apple's the Beatles Anthology project with Harrison, Starr and Martin. He recorded a radio series called "Oobu Joobu" in 1995, for the American network Westwood One, which he described as being "wide-screen radio".[77] Also in 1995 Prince Charles presented him with an Honorary Fellowship of The Royal College of Music, "kind of amazing for somebody who doesn't read a note of music", commented McCartney,[78] and in December 1996 he was informed that he was to be named in the 1997 New Year Honours and knighted for services to music; his ceremony took place in March 1997.[79]
In 1997 he released the rock album Flaming Pie, and the classical work Standing Stone; in 1998 Rushes, his second electronica album as the Fireman.[80] Run Devil Run (1999), featuring Ian Paice and Gilmour, was primarily an album of covers with three McCartney originals, something he said he had "wanted to do for years", having been previously encouraged to do so by Linda, who had died in April 1998 after losing a seventeen-month battle with cancer.[81] He contributed a song, "Nova", to a tribute album of choral music dedicated to her called, A Garland for Linda (2000).[82] He continued his experimentation with orchestral music on Working Classical (1999), and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist in March of the same year.[83] In May 2000 he was awarded a Fellowship by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors, and in August he released the electronica album, Liverpool Sound Collage with Super Furry Animals and Youth, utilising the sound collage and musique concrète techniques that fascinated him in the mid-1960s.[84]
2001–present[link]
In 2001 McCartney released a live album of acoustic-only performances called, Unplugged (The Official Bootleg).[85] Having witnessed the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks from the JFK airport tarmac, he was inspired to take a lead role in organising The Concert for New York City, and his studio album release that year Driving Rain included the song "Freedom", written for the event as a response to the tragedy.[86] He toured in support of Driving Rain and in 2002 released the double live album Back in the U.S. (released internationally in 2003 as Back in the World.[87] In November 2002, on the first anniversary of Harrison's death, McCartney performed at the Concert for George.[88] He has also participated in the National Football League's Super Bowl, performing "Freedom" in the pre-game show for Super Bowl XXXVI[89] and headlining the halftime show at Super Bowl XXXIX.[90]
In 2005 he released the rock album Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, and the electronica offering, Twin Freaks; a collaborative project with bootleg producer and remixer Freelance Hellraiser, consisting of remixed versions of songs from throughout his solo career.[91] In 2006 he released the classical work Ecce Cor Meum; the rock album Memory Almost Full followed in 2007, and in 2008, his third Fireman release, Electric Arguments. In 2008 he performed at a concert in Liverpool to celebrate the city's year as European Capital of Culture.[92] In 2009, more than forty-five years after the Beatles first appeared on American television during The Ed Sullivan Show, he returned to the same New York theatre to perform on Late Show with David Letterman.[93] In 2010 he was honoured by Barack Obama with the Gershwin Prize for his contributions to popular music in a live show for the White House with performances by Stevie Wonder, Lang Lang and others.[94] He returned to the White House later that year as a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors.
McCartney's enduring fame has made him a popular choice to open new venues. In 2009 he played three sold out concerts at the newly built Citi Field in Queens, New York, constructed to replace Shea Stadium, and he released a double live album culled from those performances called, Good Evening New York City later that year.[95] In 2010 he opened the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,[96] and in 2011 he performed the first concerts at the new Yankee Stadium, and released the classical work, "Ocean's Kingdom". He has been touring since 2001 with guitarists Rusty Anderson and Brian Ray, Paul "Wix" Wickens on keyboards and drummer Abe Laboriel, Jr. An upcoming tribute album is expected in June 2012, to coincide with his 70th birthday, featuring recordings of his songs by Kiss, Garth Brooks, Billy Joel, Brian Wilson, Willie Nelson, Steve Miller, B.B. King and others.[97] Kisses on the Bottom, a collection of standards, was released in February 2012,[98] that same month he was honoured as MusiCares Person of the Year, two days prior to his performance at the 54th Grammy Awards.[99]
Musicianship[link]
As a musician, McCartney was largely self-taught, musicologist Ian MacDonald describes his approach as, "by nature drawn to music's formal aspects yet wholly untutoured ... [He] produced technically 'finished' work almost entirely by instinct, his harmonic judgement based mainly on perfect pitch and an acute pair of ears."[100]
- Bass guitar
He has been acknowledged by a diverse group of bass players including, Sting, long-time Dr. Dre bassist Mike Elizondo, and Colin Moulding of XTC.[101] McCartney is known to play using a plectrum, or pick almost exclusively, but he occasionally plays fingerstyle as well.[102] During his early years with the Beatles he primarily used a Höfner 500/1 bass live and when recording, though in 1965 he began using a Rickenbacker 4001s for recording, while consistently using Vox amplifiers.[103] In recent years he has used Mesa Boogie bass amplifiers live and while recording. McCartney confirms the influence of Motown on his playing, in particular that of James Jamerson, whom he described as a "hero", and included with Brian Wilson as his "two biggest influences".[104]
"He's an egomaniac about everything else but his bass playing he'd always been a bit coy about".[105]
~ John Lennon
Whereas MacDonald identifies "She's a Woman" as the point in time which McCartney's bass playing began to evolve dramatically,[106] Beatles biographer Chris Ingham singles out Rubber Soul as the time when his bass playing, "began to come into its own", particularly on "The Word".[105] Authors Tony Bacon and Gareth Morgan agree, calling his "groove" on the track, "a high point in pop bass playing" and "the first proof on a recording of his serious technical ability on the instrument."[107] MacDonald infers the influence of James Brown's "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag", and Pickett's "In the Midnight Hour", American soul tracks from which McCartney absorbed elements and drew inspiration as he "delivers his most spontaneous bass-part to date". He also played piano on the recording.[108]
Bacon and Morgan describe his bassline for the Beatles' song "Rain" as "an astonishing piece of playing ... [McCartney] thinking in terms of both rhythm and 'lead bass' ... [choosing] the area of the neck ... he correctly perceives will give him clarity for melody without rendering his sound too thin for groove."[109] MacDonald calls it the Beatles "finest B-side", its "clangorously saturated texture resona[ting] around McCartney's bass".[110] He describes the bassline as "so inventive that it threatens to overwhelm the track", and he draws attention to the influence of Indian classical music in "exotic melismas in the bass part".[110]
- Acoustic guitar
Examples of his acoustic guitar playing on Beatles tracks include: "Yesterday", "I'm Looking Through You", "Michelle", "Blackbird", "I Will", "Mother Nature's Son" and "Rocky Raccoon".[111] He played an Epiphone Texan on many, if not most of his acoustic recordings, but he has also used a Martin D-28.[112]
- Electric guitar
He played lead electric guitar on several Beatles' recordings, including what MacDonald describes as a "fiercely angular slide guitar solo" on "Drive My Car",[113] which he played on an Epiphone Casino, about which McCartney said: "If I had to pick one electric guitar it would be this."[114] He also contributed what MacDonald calls "a startling guitar solo" on the Harrison composition, "Taxman", and the "shrieking" guitar on "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and "Helter Skelter", as well as "a coruscating pseudo-Indian" solo on "Good Morning Good Morning".[115] In recent years he has primarily used a Gibson Les Paul for electric work, particularly while performing live.
- Piano
He played a piano on many Beatles' songs including, "Every Little Thing", "For No One", "A Day in the Life", "Hello, Goodbye", "Hey Jude", "Lady Madonna", "Let It Be" and "The Long and Winding Road".[116]
Creative outlets[link]
During the 1960s, McCartney delved into the visual arts, becoming a close friend of leading art dealers and gallery owners, explored experimental film, and regularly attended movie, theatrical and classical music performances. His first contact with the London avant-garde scene was through artist John Dunbar, who introduced him to the art dealer Robert Fraser, who in turn introduced McCartney to an array of writers and artists.[117] He later became involved in the renovation and publicising of the Indica Gallery in Mason's Yard, London — where Lennon first met Yoko Ono.[118] The Indica Gallery brought McCartney into contact with Miles, whose underground newspaper, the International Times, McCartney helped to start.[119] Miles would become de facto manager of Apple's short-lived Zapple Records label,[120] and he wrote McCartney's official biography, Many Years From Now (1997).[121]
While living at then girlfriend Jane Asher's parent's house, he took piano lessons arranged by Jane's mother, provided by a teacher from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, a school Beatles' producer Martin had previously attended.[122] McCartney studied composers such as Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Luciano Berio.[123] He later wrote and released several pieces of modern classical music and ambient electronica, as well as writing poetry and painting. He is lead patron of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, an arts school in the building formerly occupied by the Liverpool Institute for Boys. The 1837 building, which he attended during his schooldays, had become derelict by the mid-1980s, however, on 7 June 1996, Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the redeveloped building.[124]
- Painting
In 1966 he met art gallery-owner Robert Fraser, whose flat was visited by many well-known artists, some of which McCartney met, including; Andy Warhol, Claes Oldenburg, Peter Blake, and Richard Hamilton, and it was at Fraser's flat where McCartney first learned about art appreciation.[125] He later started buying paintings by Magritte, using his painting of an apple for the Apple Records logo, and McCartney now owns one of Magritte's easels and a pair of his spectacles.[126]
McCartney's love of painting surfaced after watching artist Willem de Kooning paint, in Kooning's Long Island studio.[127] He took up painting in 1983,[128] and in 1999, he exhibited his paintings (featuring McCartney's portraits of John Lennon, Andy Warhol, and David Bowie) for the first time in Siegen, Germany, and included photographs by Linda. He chose the gallery because Wolfgang Suttner (local events organiser) was genuinely interested in his art, and the positive reaction led to McCartney showing his work in UK galleries.[129] The first UK exhibition of his work was opened in Bristol, England with more than 50 paintings on display. McCartney had previously believed that "only people that had been to art school were allowed to paint" – as Lennon had.[129]
In October 2000, Ono and McCartney presented art exhibitions in New York and London. McCartney said, "I've been offered an exhibition of my paintings at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool where John and I used to spend many a pleasant afternoon. So I'm really excited about it. I didn't tell anybody I painted for 15 years but now I'm out of the closet."[130] McCartney designed a series of six postage stamps issued by the Isle of Man Post in 2002, and according to BBC News, he is the first major rock star in the world to do so.[131]
- Writing and poetry
When he was young, his mother read him poems and encouraged him to read books, and his father was interested in crosswords and invited he and his brother Michael to solve them with him, so as to increase their "word power", says McCartney.[132] He was later inspired – in his school years – by Alan Durband, an English literature teacher at the Liverpool Institute.[133] Durband was a co-founder and fund-raiser at the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool, where Willy Russell also worked, and introduced McCartney to Geoffrey Chaucer's works.[134]
In 2001 he published 'Blackbird Singing', a volume of poems and lyrics to his songs for which he gave readings in Liverpool and New York City.[135] In the foreword of the book, he explains: "When I was a teenager ... I had an overwhelming desire to have a poem published in the school magazine. I wrote something deep and meaningful——which was promptly rejected——and I suppose I have been trying to get my own back ever since."[136] Years later, he wrote a poem about the death of his childhood friend, Ivan Vaughan.[136] In 2005 he collaborated with author Philip Ardagh and animator Geoff Dunbar to write, High in the Clouds: An Urban Furry Tail, which The Guardian labelled an "anti-capitalist children's book".[137]
- Film
He was interested in animated films as a child, and in 1981 he asked Geoff Dunbar to direct a short animated film called Rupert and the Frog Song. McCartney was the writer and producer and he also added some of the character voices.[138] In 1992 he worked with Dunbar on an animated film about the work of French artist Honoré Daumier, which won both of them a BAFTA award.[139] In 2004 they worked together on the animated short film, Tropic Island Hum. In 1995 he made a guest appearance in the "Lisa the Vegetarian" episode of The Simpsons, and directed a short documentary about the Grateful Dead.[140]
In May 2000 he released Wingspan: An Intimate Portrait, a retrospective documentary that features behind-the-scenes film and photographs that he and Linda took of their family and bands.[141] Interspersed throughout the eighty-eight minute film is an interview by Mary McCartney with her father. Mary was the baby photographed inside McCartney's jacket on the back cover of his first solo album, McCartney, and was one of the producers of the documentary.[142]
Lifestyle[link]
- Drugs
McCartney's introduction to drugs started in Hamburg, Germany, when the Beatles would play for long hours and were often using Preludin to maintain energy, sometimes supplied by friend Astrid Kirchherr. According to McCartney, he would usually take only one, but Lennon would often take four or five by the end of a night.[143] He recalls getting "very high" and "giggling uncontrollably" when the Beatles were introduced to marijuana by Bob Dylan in a New York hotel room in 1964.[144] His use of which soon after became habitual,[145] and according to Miles, any future Beatles' lyrics containing the words "high", or "grass" were written specifically as a reference to cannabis, as was the phrase "another kind of mind" in "Got to Get You into My Life".[146] During the filming of Help!, he claims he occasionally smoked a joint in the car on the way to the studio during filming, which often made him forget his lines.[147] Director Dick Lester says that he overheard "two beautiful women" trying to cajole McCartney into using heroin, but he refused.[147] He was introduced to cocaine by art dealer Robert Fraser, and it was readily available during the recording of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.[148] McCartney admits that he used the drug for about a year but stopped because of his dislike of the unpleasant melancholy he felt after the drug wore off.[149]
While initially reluctant to try LSD, he eventually did so in the fall of 1966 with friend Tara Browne.[150] He took his second "acid trip" with Lennon on 21 March 1967 after a Sgt. Pepper studio session.[151] He later became the first Beatle to discuss the drug publicly, declaring in a magazine interview that "it opened my eyes" and "made me a better, more honest, more tolerant member of society."[152] His attitude about cannabis was made public in 1967, when he added his name to a 24 July advertisement in The Times which called for its legalisation, the release of all prisoners imprisoned because of possession, and research into marijuana's medical uses. The advertisement was produced by a group called Soma and was signed by sixty-five people, including Members of Parliament, the Beatles, Epstein, RD Laing, Francis Crick, and Graham Greene.[153]
Though never arrested by Norman Pilcher's Drug Squad, as Lennon, Harrison, and Mick Jagger had been,[154] in 1972 Swedish police fined him for cannabis possession, and soon after Scottish police found plants growing on his farm.[155] He was again arrested for marijuana possession in 1975, and in January 1980, when Wings flew to Tokyo for an eleven concert tour of Japan, as McCartney was going through customs, officials found approximately 8 ounces (218.3 g) of cannabis in his luggage, and he was arrested and taken to a local jail while the Japanese government decided what to do. After ten days, he was released without charge and deported.[156] He was again arrested for possession of marijuana in 1984 and in 1997, he spoke out in support of decriminalisation, stating "People are smoking pot anyway and to make them criminals is wrong."[157]
- Activism
Paul and Linda became outspoken animal rights activists after their vegetarianism was realised when Paul happened to notice through a window, lambs in a field, as they ate a meal of lamb.[158] He has also credited the 1942 Disney film Bambi, in which the young deer's mother is shot by a hunter, as the original inspiration for him to take an interest in animal rights.[159] In his first interview after Linda's death, he promised to continue working for animal rights.[160] In 1999 he spent £3,000,000 to ensure Linda McCartney Foods remained free of genetically engineered ingredients.[161]
Following his marriage to Mills, he joined her in a campaign against landmines, becoming patrons of Adopt-A-Minefield.[162] In 2003 he played a personal concert for the wife of a wealthy banker and donated his one million dollar fee to the charity.[163] He also wore an anti-landmines t-shirt during the Back in the World tour.[164] In 2006 the McCartneys travelled to Prince Edward Island to bring international attention to the seal hunt, this would be their final public appearance together. Their arrival sparked attention in Newfoundland and Labrador where the hunt is of economic significance.[165] The couple also debated with Newfoundland's Premier Danny Williams on the CNN show Larry King Live. They further stated that the fishermen should quit hunting seals and begin a seal watching business.[166] McCartney has also criticised China's fur trade[167] and supports the Make Poverty History campaign.[168]
He has been involved with several charity recordings and performances, such as the Concerts for the People of Kampuchea, Ferry Aid, Band Aid, Live Aid, and the recording of "Ferry Cross the Mersey" (1989) following the Hillsborough disaster.[169] In 2004 he donated a song to an album to aid the "US Campaign for Burma", in support of Burmese Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi,[170] and in 2008 he donated a song to Aid Still Required's CD to assist with the restoration of the devastation done to Southeast Asia from the 2004 Tsunami.[171]
In 2009, he wrote to the 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso, and asked him why he wasn't a vegetarian, McCartney explains: "He wrote back very kindly, saying, my doctors tell me that I must eat meat. And I wrote back again, saying, you know, I don't think that's right. So we had a little correspondence [and] I think now he's vegetarian most of the time. I think he's now being told ... that he can get his protein somewhere else. It's a little old-fashioned to think that he can only get it from meat [and] It just doesn't seem right – the Dalai Lama, on the one hand, saying, 'Hey guys, don't harm sentient beings ... Oh, and by the way, I'm having a steak.'"[172]
- Football
He attended the 1968 FA Cup Final played by West Bromwich Albion against the Everton Football Club, and after the match, shared cigarettes and whisky with other fans.[173] Though he has publicly professed support for Everton,[174] he has also shown support for Liverpool F.C., as in 1968 when he was photographed wearing their rosette.[175] The ex-Liverpool footballer, Albert Stubbins, was shown on the Sgt. Pepper cover,[176] and the video for his song "Pipes of Peace" (1983) recreated the 1915 Christmas football game played between German and British troops during World War I.[177] At the end of "Coming Up (Live at Glasgow)" the crowd chants "Paul McCartney!" until McCartney takes over and changes it to "Kenny Dalglish!", referring to then Liverpool and Scotland striker. At the same concert, Gordon Smith, former football player for the Rangers and Brighton & Hove Albion, met the McCartneys, and later accepted an invitation to visit their home in East Sussex in 1980. Smith later said that McCartney was "thrilled I knew Kenny Dalglish"[178]
He attended the 1986 FA Cup Final between Liverpool and Everton,[173] and performed at the Liverpool F.C. Anfield stadium in 2008, as a part of Liverpool's European Capital of Culture year. Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters sang with McCartney on "Band on the Run", and played drums on "Back in the U.S.S.R.".[179] Ono and Olivia Harrison attended the concert, along with Ken Dodd, and the former Liverpool F.C. football manager Rafael Benítez.[180] In 2008 he ended speculation about his allegiance when he said: "Here's the deal: my father was born in Everton, my family are officially Evertonians, so if it comes down to a derby match or an FA Cup final between the two, I would have to support Everton. But after a concert at Wembley Arena I got a bit of a friendship with Kenny Dalglish, who had been to the gig and I thought 'You know what? I am just going to support them both because it's all Liverpool."[181]
- Meditation
On 24 August 1967, McCartney met the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi at the London Hilton, and later went to Bangor, in North Wales, to attend a weekend 'initiation' conference, at which time he and the other Beatles learned Transcendental Meditation (TM).[182] "The whole meditation experience was very good and I still use the mantra ... I find it soothing and I can imagine that the more you were to get into it, the more interesting it would get."[183] The time McCartney later spent in India at the Maharishi's ashram was highly productive, as nearly all of the songs that would later be recorded for The White Album and Abbey Road were composed there.[184] Although he was told never to repeat the mantra to anyone else, he admitted he told Linda, and said he meditated a lot while he was in jail in Japan.[185] In 2009 McCartney and Starr headlined a benefit concert at Radio City Music Hall, raising three million dollars for the David Lynch Foundation to fund instruction in Transcendental Meditation for at-risk youth.[186]
Personal relationships[link]
Main article: Personal relationships of Paul McCartney
Girlfriends[link]
- Dot Rhone
McCartney's first serious girlfriend in Liverpool was Dot Rhone, whom he met at the Casbah club in 1959.[187] According to Spitz, Rhone feels McCartney had a compulsion to control situations, chosing clothes and make-up for Rhone, encouraging her to grow her hair out like Brigitte Bardot's,[188] and at least once insisting she have it re-styled, to disappointing effect.[189] When he first went to Hamburg with the Beatles, he wrote to Rhone regularly, and she accompanied Cynthia Lennon to Hamburg when they played there again in 1962.[190] The couple had a two-and-a-half-year relationship, and were due to marry until Rhone's miscarriage, when according to Spitz, McCartney now "free of obligation", ended the engagement.[191]
- Jane Asher
He first met the British actress Jane Asher on 18 April 1963, when a photographer asked them to pose together at a Beatles performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London.[192] The two began a relationship and he took up residence with Asher at her parents' house at 57 Wimpole Street London, where he lived for nearly three years before the couple moved to McCartney's own house in St. John's Wood.[193] He wrote several songs while at the Ashers', including "Yesterday" and several inspired by Asher, among them "And I Love Her", "You Won't See Me", and "I'm Looking Through You".[194] They had a five-year relationship, and planned to marry, but Asher broke off the engagement after she discovered he had become involved with another woman, Francie Schwartz.[195]
Wives[link]
- Linda Eastman
Linda Eastman was a music fan who once commented: "All my teen years were spent with an ear to the radio", and who would at times be truant from school to instead see artists such as: Fabian, Bobby Darin, and Chuck Berry.[196] She was a popular photographer with groups such as: the Jimi Hendrix Experience, the Grateful Dead, the Doors, and the Beatles, whom she first met at Shea Stadium in 1966, about which she commented: "It was John who interested me at the start. He was my Beatle hero. But when I met him the facination faded fast and I found it was Paul I liked."[197] The pair first properly met in 1967 at a Georgie Fame concert at The Bag O'Nails club,[198] during her UK assignment to take photographs of rock musicians in London,[199] Paul remembers: "The night Linda and I met, I spotted her across a crowded club, and although I would normally have been nervous chatting her up, I realised I had to ... Pushiness worked for me that night!"[197] Linda said this about their meeting: "I was quite shameless really. I was with somebody else [that night] ... and I saw Paul at the other side of the room. He looked so beautiful that I made up my mind I would have to pick him up."[197] The pair were married in 1969; he describes their relationship: "We had a lot of fun together ... just the nature of how we are, our favourite thing really is to just hang, to have fun. And Linda's very big on just following the moment."[200] He also added, "We were crazy. We had a big argument the night before we got married and it was nearly called off ... [its] miraculous that we made it. But we did."[201]
They collaborated musically after the break-up of the Beatles, and later formed Wings together in 1971, a commercially successful band that was active through 1981.[202] They were both vegetarian and supported the animal rights organisation PETA.[203] They had four children – Linda's daughter Heather (legally adopted by Paul), Mary, Stella and James – and remained married until Linda's death from breast cancer in 1998.[204] After her death, Paul stated in The Daily Mail: "I got a counsellor because I knew that I would need some help. He was great, particularly in helping me get rid of my guilt [about wishing I'd been] perfect all the time ... a real bugger. But then I thought, hang on a minute. We're just human. That was the beautiful thing about our marriage. We were just a boyfriend and girlfriend having babies."[205]
- Heather Mills
In 2002 he married Heather Mills, a former model and anti-landmines campaigner.[206] In 2003, the couple had a child, Beatrice Milly, the first name in honour of Heather's late mother, the second for one of Paul's aunts.[207] They separated in April 2006 and were divorced in March 2008.[208] In 2004 he commented on media animosity toward his partners, "They [the British public] didn't like me giving up on Jane Asher", "I married a New York divorcee with a child, and at the time they didn't like that."[209]
- Nancy Shevell
He married New Yorker Nancy Shevell in a civil ceremony at Old Marylebone Town Hall, London on 9 October 2011. The wedding was a "low-key affair" attended by a group of around 30 family and friends.[210] The couple had been dating since November 2007.[211] A breast cancer survivor,[212] she is a member of the board of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority as well as vice president of a family-owned transportation conglomerate which owns New England Motor Freight.[213]
Beatles[link]
This section is about social and other general interactions. For creative collaborations, see Collaborations between ex-Beatles.
- John Lennon
Despite a strained relationship with Lennon, they briefly became close again in 1974, and played music together on two occasions, the only times since the Beatles break-up in 1970.[214] In later years however, the two grew apart.[215] While McCartney would often phone, he was apprehensive about the reception he would receive, as during one call when he was told, "You're all pizza and fairytales!"[216] In McCartney's effort to avoid talking with him only about business, they often spoke of cats, baking bread, or babies.[217]
On 24 April 1976,[218] the two were watching an episode of Saturday Night Live together at Lennon's home in New York City, during which Lorne Michaels made a $3,000 cash offer for the Beatles to reunite, and while they seriously considered going to the SNL studio just a few blocks away, they decided it was "too late" and according to Lennon, this was the last time he and McCartney ever spent time together.[219] This event was fictionalised in the 2000 television film Two of Us.[220] His last telephone call to Lennon, just days before Lennon and Ono released Double Fantasy, was friendly, he said this about the phone call: "[It is] a consoling factor for me, because I do feel it was sad that we never actually sat down and straightened our differences out. But fortunately for me, the last phone conversation I ever had with him was really great, and we didn't have any kind of blow-up."[221]
-
- Reaction to Lennon's murder
Main article: Death of John Lennon
On the morning of 9 December 1980, he awoke to the news that Lennon had been murdered the previous night, his death creating a media frenzy around the surviving members of the band.[222] During the evening of 9 December, as he was leaving an Oxford Street recording studio, he was surrounded by reporters and asked for a reaction. He was later criticised for what appeared, when published, to be a superficial response: "It's a drag".[218] He later explained, "When John was killed somebody stuck a microphone at me and said: 'What do you think about it?' I said, 'It's a dra-a-ag' and meant it with every inch of melancholy I could muster. When you put that in print it says, 'McCartney in London today when asked for a comment on his dead friend said, "It's a drag."' It seemed a very flippant comment to make."[218] He describes his first exchange with Ono after the murder, and his last conversation with Lennon:
I talked to Yoko the day after he was killed and the first thing she said was, "John was really fond of you." The last telephone conversation I had with him we were still the best of mates. He was always a very warm guy, John. His bluff was all on the surface. He used to take his glasses down, those granny glasses, and say, "It's only me." They were like a wall, you know? A shield. Those are the moments I treasure.[218]
In 1983, he said: "I would not have been as typically human and standoffish as I was if I knew John was going to die. I would have made more of an effort to try and get behind his "mask" and have a better relationship with him."[218] He said that he went home that night and watched the news on television – while sitting with his children – crying most of the evening. In 1997, he admitted the ex-Beatles were nervous at the time that they might be the "next" one murdered.[223] In 2002 he told Mojo magazine that Lennon was his greatest "hero".[224] In June 1981, six months after the murder, McCartney sang backup on Harrison's tribute to their ex-bandmate, "All Those Years Ago", which also featured Starr on drums.[225] In 1982 McCartney released "Here Today", a song musicologist Walter Everett describes as "a haunting tribute" to their friendship.[226]
- George Harrison
Harrison said this about working with McCartney: "Paul would always help along when you'd done his ten songs—then when he got 'round to doing one of my songs, he would help. It was silly. It was very selfish, actually ... There were a lot of tracks, though, where I played bass ... because what Paul would do—if he'd written a song, he'd learn all the parts for Paul and then come in the studio and say (sometimes he was very difficult): "Do this." He'd never give you the opportunity to come out with something.[227]
In late 2001, McCartney learned that Harrison was losing his battle with cancer, and upon his death on 29 November 2001, McCartney issued a statement outside his home in St. John's Wood, calling him "a lovely guy and a very brave man who had a wonderful sense of humour", "We grew up together and we just had so many beautiful times together – that's what I am going to remember. I'll always love him, he's my baby brother."[228] Harrison spent his last days in a Hollywood Hills mansion that was once leased by McCartney.[229] On the first anniversary of his death, McCartney played Harrison's "Something" on a ukulele at the Concert for George.[88] He also performed "For You Blue" and "All Things Must Pass", as well as playing the piano on Eric Clapton's rendition of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps".[230]
- Ringo Starr
Though Starr once described McCartney as "pleasantly insincere", the two generally enjoy each other's company, and at least once vacationed together in Greece, including stops in Athens and on the islands Corfu and Rhodes.[231] Starr recalls: "We couldn't understand a word of the songs the hotel band were playing, so on the last night Paul and I did a few rockers like "What'd I Say." [231] There was at times discord between them as well, particularly during Beatles' sessions for "The White Album", as Apple's Peter Brown recalls, "It was a poorly kept secret among Beatle intimates that after Ringo left the studio Paul would often dub in the drum tracks himself ... [Starr] would pretend not to notice".[232] In August 1968 the two got into an argument over McCartney's critique of Starr's drum part for "Back in the USSR", which led to Starr temporarily leaving the band.[232] He returned in September[233] to find bouquets of flowers on his drum kit. Starr comments on working with McCartney: "Paul is the greatest bass player in the world. But he is also very determined ... [to] get his own way ... [thus] musical disagreements inevitably arose from time to time."[232]
Recognition and achievements[link]
Main article: List of awards received by Paul McCartney
McCartney has been described by Guinness World Records as "The Most Successful Composer and Recording Artist of All Time", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100 million albums, 100 million singles, and a writer's credit on forty-three songs that have sold over one million copies each.[1] According to Guinness, he is "the most successful songwriter" in UK singles chart history, and has written or co-written "188 charted records, of which 129 are different songs. Of these records, 91 reached the Top 10 and 33 made it to No.1. In total, the songs have spent 1,662 weeks on the chart (up to the beginning of 2007)."[2] In 1986 he received acclaim from the Guinness Book of Records Hall of Fame, "as the most successful musician of all-time."[234]
In the US, as a songwriter or co-writer, he is included on thirty-one number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100; including twenty with the Beatles and nine solo and/or with Wings,[235] one as a co-writer on Elton John's cover of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds",[236] and one as a co-writer of "A World Without Love", a number one single for Peter and Gordon.[237] As of 2012, he has sold 15.5 million RIAA certified units in the United States.[238]
Although Elvis Presley has achieved the most UK number-ones as a solo artist with eighteen,[239] McCartney has been involved in more number-ones in the UK than any other artist under a variety of credits, totalling twenty-four singles: including seventeen with the Beatles, one solo, and one each with Wings, Stevie Wonder, Ferry Aid, Band Aid, Band Aid 20 and one with "The Christians et all".[240] He is the only artist to reach the UK number one as a soloist ("Pipes of Peace"), duo ("Ebony and Ivory" with Wonder), trio ("Mull of Kintyre", Wings), quartet ("She Loves You", the Beatles), quintet ("Get Back", the Beatles with Billy Preston), and as part of a musical ensemble for charity (Ferry Aid).[241]
His song "Yesterday" is thought to be the most covered in history with more than 2,200 recorded versions,[242] and according to the BBC, "The track is the only one by a UK writer to have been aired more than seven million times on American TV and radio and is third in the all-time list ... [and] is the most played song by a British writer this century in the US."[243] His 1968 Beatles composition, "Hey Jude", is also a career highlight. It achieved the highest sales in the UK that year, and topped the US charts for nine weeks, longer than any other Beatles' single. It was also the longest single ever released by the band, and at seven minutes fifteen seconds was the longest of any number one to that point. Its been covered by several notable artists, including Presley, Bing Crosby, Count Basie, and Wilson Pickett.[244] It is the best-selling Beatles' single of all-time, with sales of over five million copies achieved soon after its release.[245]
He played for the largest stadium audience in history when 184,000 people paid to see him perform at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 21 April 1990,[246] that year the minor planet 4148, was named "McCartney" in his honour.[247] In July 2005 he was involved with the fastest-released single in history, when his performance of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" with U2 at Live 8 was released before the concert was over. The single reached number six on the Billboard charts, just hours after the single's release, and hit number one on numerous online download charts across the world.[248]
On 18 June 2006, McCartney celebrated his 64th birthday, a milestone that was the subject of a tune he wrote at the age of sixteen, which would later become the Beatles' song "When I'm Sixty-Four".[249] In 2008 he received a BRIT award for Outstanding Contribution to Music,[250] as well as an honorary Doctor of Music degree from Yale University.[251] In 2012 he became the last of the "Fab Four" to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[252]
- Business
McCartney is one of the UK's wealthiest people, with an estimated fortune of £475 million in 2010.[253] In addition to an interest in Apple Corps, MPL Communications, an umbrella company for his business interests, owns a significant music publishing catalogue, with access to over 25,000 copyrights,[254] including the publishing rights to the musicals Guys and Dolls, A Chorus Line, and Grease.[255] He earned £40 million in 2003, making him Britain's highest media earner.[256] This rose to £48.5 million by 2005.[257] In 2006 the Trademarks Registry reported that MPL had started a process to secure the protections associated with registering the name "Paul McCartney" as a trademark.[258]
- Northern Songs
Northern Songs was established in 1963 by Dick James to publish the songs of Lennon–McCartney.[259] The Beatles' partnership was replaced in 1968 by a jointly held company, Apple Corps, which continues to control Apple's commercial interests. Northern Songs was purchased by Associated Television (ATV) in 1969, and was sold in 1985 to Michael Jackson. For many years McCartney was unhappy about Jackson's purchase and handling of Northern Songs.[260]
Despite the lack of publishing rights to most of his Beatles' songs, he continues to receive his respective share of the writers' royalties, which together are 33⅓% of total commercial proceeds in the US and which vary elsewhere around the world between 50 and 55%.[261] Two of the Beatles' earliest songs—"Love Me Do" and "P.S. I Love You"—were published by an EMI subsidiary, Ardmore & Beechwood, before signing with James. McCartney acquired their publishing rights from Ardmore in the mid 1980s,[262] and they are the only two Beatles songs owned by MPL Communications.[263]
Discography[link]
- Solo
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- Wings, live, and compilations
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Tours[link]
Main article: List of Paul McCartney concert tours
See also: List of The Beatles' live performances
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Arms[link]
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Citations[link]
- ^ a b Harry 2002, pp. 388–389.
- ^ a b Guinness: World Records 2009. Guinness World Records. 2008. p. 168. ISBN 978-1-904994-37-4.
- ^ a b Spitz 2005, p. 75.
- ^ Miles 1997, p. 4.
- ^ "Beatle's schoolboy photo auction". BBC. 16 August 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/merseyside/8203923.stm. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
- ^ Miles 1997, p. 9.
- ^ Spitz 2005, p. 205.
- ^ Spitz 2005, p. 125.
- ^ Spitz 2005, pp. 82–83.
- ^ Harry 2002, pp. 340–341.
- ^ Miles 1997, p. 6.
- ^ Miles 1997, p. 20.
- ^ Miles 1997, p. 31.
- ^ a b Miles 1997, p. 22.
- ^ Spitz 2005, p. 71.
- ^ Miles 1997, pp. 23–24.
- ^ a b c Miles 1997, p. 21.
- ^ Spitz 2005, p. 86.
- ^ Harry 2002, pp. 509: McCartney: "The first song I ever sang in public was "Long Tall Sally"., 533–534: Harry: "Long Tall Sally", was "The first number Paul ever sang on stage".
- ^ Spitz 2005, p. 93.
- ^ Lewisohn 1992, p. 18.
- ^ Lewisohn 1992, pp. 17–25.
- ^ Lewisohn 1992, pp. 21–25: Hamburg, 31: the Cavern Club.
- ^ Miles 1997, p. 74: McCartney: "Nobody wants to play bass, or nobody did in those days."; Gould 2007, pp. 89: On McCartney playing bass when Sutcliff was indisposed., 94: "Sutcliff gradually began to withdraw from active participation in the Beatles, ceding his role as the group's bassist to Paul McCartney."
- ^ Spitz 2005, pp. 249–251.
- ^ Miles 1997, pp. 84–88.
- ^ Spitz 2005, p. 330.
- ^ Lewisohn 1992, pp. 75: Replacing Best with Starr., 88–94: "Beatlemania" in the UK., 136–140: "Beatlemania" in the US.
- ^ Miles 1997, p. 470.
- ^ Lewisohn 1992, p. 180.
- ^ Miles 1997, p. 207.
- ^ Miles 1997, p. 218.
- ^ Miles 1997, p. 217.
- ^ Miles 1997, pp. 219–220.
- ^ a b Miles 1997, pp. 238–239.
- ^ Gould 2007, p. 347.
- ^ Miles 1997, pp. 293–295.
- ^ Harry 2000a, pp. 1–3: Abbey Road, 107–109: The Beatles, 916–917: Revolver, 969–979: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band; Levy 2005, pp. 8–11: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, 14–15: Revolver, 28–29: The Beatles, 33: Abbey Road
- ^ Roberts 2005, p. 54.
- ^ Lewisohn 1992, pp. 350–351.
- ^ Gould 2007, p. 8–9: "one of the greatest phenomena in the history of mass entertainment", "widely regarded as the greatest concentration of singing, songwriting, and all-around musical talent that the rock'n'roll era has produced"; Spitz 2005, p. 856: "not anything like anything else ... [a] vastness of talent ... of genius, incomprehensible"
- ^ For song authorship see, Harry 2002, pp. 90: "Can't Buy Me Love", 313–316: "Eleanor Rigby", 358–359: "Get Back", 410–411: "Hello, Goodbye", 415–416: "Hey Jude", 508: "Let it Be", 533: "The Long and Winding Road", 678–679: "Paperback Writer", 925–929: "Yesterday". For release dates, US and UK peak chart positions of the preceding songs see, Lewisohn 1992, pp. 350–351
- ^ Sounes 2010, pp. 171–172: Paul and Linda's first meeting., 245–248: On their wedding., 261: On the birth of their first child Mary.
- ^ Gould 2007, pp. 593–594.
- ^ Harry 2002, p. 556.
- ^ Harry 2002, pp. 556–563.
- ^ Ingham 2009, pp. 105: Ram, 114–115: "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey".
- ^ Harry 2002, pp. 613–615.
- ^ Harry 2002, pp. 515–516: "Live and Let Die", 641–642: "My Love".
- ^ Harry 2002, pp. 51–54.
- ^ Harry 2002, pp. 882–883: Venus and Mars, 910–911: Wings at the Speed of Sound.
- ^ Harry 2002, p. 583–584.
- ^ Doggett 2009, p. 264.
- ^ Ingham 2009, pp. 107–108.
- ^ Lewisohn 2002, p. 168.
- ^ Harry 2002, pp. 840–841.
- ^ Ingham 2009, p. 108.
- ^ Harry 2002, pp. 42–43: Back to the Egg, 530–532: London Town, 758–760: the Rockestra.
- ^ Sounes 2010, pp. 326–327.
- ^ Harry 2002, pp. 904–910: Wings, 912–913: Wings over America.
- ^ Lewisohn 2002, p. 163.
- ^ Harry 2002, pp. 265–266: "Coming Up", 511–512: "Listen to What the Man Said", 788: "Silly Love Songs", 915: "With a Little Luck".
- ^ Harry 2002, p. 578.
- ^ Harry 2002, pp. 311: "Ebony and Ivory", 361–362: "The Girl Is Mine", 820: Eric Stewart.
- ^ Harry 2002, pp. 720–722: Pipes of Peace album and song., 776–777: "Say Say Say".
- ^ Harry 2002, pp. 365–374.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (1 January 1984). "Give My Regards to Broad Street review". Chicago Sun-Times. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19840101/REVIEWS/401010342/1023. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
- ^ Harry 2002, pp. 368–369.
- ^ Harry 2002, pp. 100: Снова в СССР, 728: Press to Play, 820: Eric Stewart.
- ^ Harry 2002, pp. 327–328.
- ^ Harry 2002, pp. 272–273: Elvis Costello, 337–338: Flowers in the Dirt.
- ^ Harry 2002, p. 851.
- ^ Harry 2002, pp. 526–528: Liverpool Oratorio, 861–862: Tripping the Live Fantastic.
- ^ a b Harry 2002, p. 528.
- ^ Harry 2002, pp. 332–334.
- ^ Harry 2002, pp. 656: Off the Ground, 685–686: Paul Is Live, 687: The New World Tour.
- ^ Miles 1997, pp. 218–219.
- ^ Sounes 2010, pp. 458: Honorary Fellowship, 477: McCartney; "Yeah, its kind of amazing for somebody who doesn't read a note of music".
- ^ Harry 2002, pp. 226–227.
- ^ Harry 2002, pp. 335–336: Flaming Pie, 807: Standing Stone, 770: Rushes.
- ^ Harry 2002, pp. 593–595: Linda's battle with cancer., 765–766: Run Devil Run.
- ^ Harry 2002, pp. 350–351.
- ^ Harry 2002, pp. 238: "as a solo artist", 710–711: Working Classical, 756–758: McCartney's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction.
- ^ Harry 2002, pp. 38, 242: Music fellowship, 528–529: Liverpool Sound Collage.
- ^ Harry 2002, pp. 873–874.
- ^ Harry 2002, pp. 268–270: The Concert for New York City, 346–347: "Freedom".
- ^ Sounes 2010, pp. 517–518.
- ^ a b Doggett 2009, pp. 332–333.
- ^ Harry 2002, pp. 825–826.
- ^ Sandford 2006, p. 396.
- ^ Raymer 2010, p. 82.
- ^ "Paul McCartney Treats Liverpool to "A Day in the Life" Live Debut". Rolling Stone. 2 June 2008. Archived from the original on 1 July 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080701222334/http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2008/06/02/paul-mccartney-treats-liverpool-to-a-day-in-the-life-live-debut/. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
- ^ "Paul McCartney Stuns Manhattan With Set on Letterman's Marquee". Rolling Stone. 16 July 2009. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/paul-mccartney-stuns-manhattan-with-set-on-lettermans-marquee-20090716. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
- ^ Pareles, Jon (2 June 2010). "McCartney Is Honored at White House". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/03/arts/music/03mccartney.html?src=mv. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
- ^ Sounes 2010, p. 560.
- ^ Mervis, Scott (14 June 2010). "Paul McCartney sells out two shows at Consol". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10165/1065544-100.stm. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
- ^ "Joel among stars recording McCartney tribute album". Orange News. 10 February 2012. http://web.orange.co.uk/article/news/joel_among_stars_recording_mccartney_tribute_album. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
- ^ "Paul McCartney – Kisses On The Bottom". paulmccartney.com. http://www.paulmccartney.com/web/guest/album-details?p_p_id=AlbumDetails_WAR_AlbumDetailsportlet&p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_state=normal&p_p_mode=view&p_p_col_id=column-1&p_p_col_count=1&p_r_p_564233524_tag=album-kisses+on+the+bottom&#p_AlbumDetails_WAR_AlbumDetailsportlet#TOP. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
- ^ "Paul McCartney Is 2012 MusiCares Person Of The Year". grammy.com. 13 September 2011. http://www.grammy.com/news/paul-mccartney-is-2012-musicares-person-of-the-year. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
- ^ MacDonald 2005, p. 13.
- ^ Bacon & Morgan 2006, p. 8.
- ^ Bacon & Morgan 2006, p. 28.
- ^ Babiuk & Bacon 2002, pp. 16–17: Höfner 500/1, 44–45: Rickenbacker 4001, 85–86, 92–93, 103, 116, 134, 140, 173, 175, 187, 211: Vox amplifiers.
- ^ Bacon & Morgan 2006, pp. 38–39.
- ^ a b Ingham 2009, p. 299.
- ^ MacDonald 2005, pp. 133–134.
- ^ Bacon & Morgan 2006, pp. 10, 44: Rubber Soul as the starting point for McCartney's bass improvement, 98: "a high point in pop bass playing".
- ^ MacDonald 2005, pp. 178–180.
- ^ Bacon & Morgan 2006, pp. 112–113.
- ^ a b MacDonald 2005, pp. 196–198.
- ^ MacDonald 2005, pp. 157–158: "Yesterday", 174–175: "I'm Looking Through You", 175–176: "Michelle", 291–292: "Blackbird", 305–306: "Mother Nature's Son", 308: "Rocky Raccoon", 315: "I Will".
- ^ Babiuk & Bacon 2002, pp. 146–147, 152, 161, 164: Epiphone Texan. 215, 218, 222, 239: Martin D-28.
- ^ MacDonald 2005, pp. 166–167: "Drive My Car".
- ^ Babiuk & Bacon 2002, p. 149.
- ^ MacDonald 2005, pp. 200–201: "Taxman", 232–234: "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", 234–235: "Good Morning Good Morning", 297–298: "Helter Skelter".
- ^ MacDonald 2005, pp. 128–129: "Every Little Thing", 205–206: "For No One", 227–232: "A Day In The Life", 272–273: "Hello, Goodbye", 275–276: "Lady Madonna", 337–338: "Let It Be", 239–241: "The Long and Winding Road", 302–304: "Hey Jude".
- ^ Harry 2002, p. 307.
- ^ Harry 2000a, pp. 549–550.
- ^ Miles 1997, p. 232.
- ^ Harry 2000a, pp. 1196–1198.
- ^ Harry 2002, pp. 549–550.
- ^ Miles 1997, pp. 104–106: McCartney living at the Asher home. 110: Martin at Guildhall, 281: McCartney's piano lessons.
- ^ Spitz 2005, p. 597.
- ^ Harry 2002, pp. 517–526.
- ^ Miles 1997, p. 243.
- ^ Miles 1997, pp. 256–267.
- ^ Spitz 2005, p. 84.
- ^ Miles 1997, p. 266.
- ^ a b "McCartney gets arty". BBC. 30 April 1999. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/331611.stm. Retrieved 29 January 2007.
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- ^ Miles 1997, p. 12: "word power" (primary source); Spitz 2005, p. 82: "word power" (secondary source)
- ^ Miles 1997, p. 40.
- ^ Miles 1997, p. 41.
- ^ Horovitz, Michael (14 October 2006). "Roll over, Andrew Motion". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2001/mar/17/poetry.music. Retrieved 13 July 2009.
- ^ a b McCartney & Mitchell 2001, p. 13.
- ^ Merritt, Stephanie (17 December 2005). "It took him years to write ...". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2005/dec/18/booksforchildrenandteenagers.features. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
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- ^ Harry 2002, p. 914.
- ^ Lewisohn 2002, p. 21.
- ^ Miles 1997, pp. 66–67.
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- ^ Brown & Gaines 2002, p. 182.
- ^ Miles 1997, p. 190.
- ^ a b Miles 1997, pp. 67–68.
- ^ Miles 1997, p. 247.
- ^ Miles 1997, pp. 384–385.
- ^ Miles 1997, pp. 379–380.
- ^ Miles 1997, p. 382.
- ^ Brown & Gaines 2002, p. 228.
- ^ Miles 1997, pp. 386–387.
- ^ Harry 2000b, pp. 712–713.
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- ^ "'Bambi' was cruel". BBC News. 12 December 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4520658.stm. Retrieved 29 January 2007.
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- ^ a b Ingle, Sean; Turner, Georgina; Aldred), Tanya (9 January 2004). "The Beatles and Football: Part Two". The Guardian (UK). http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2004/jan/09/theknowledge.sport. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
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- ^ Reynolds, Gillian (2 June 2008). "Sir Paul McCartney rocks Anfield stadium". The Daily Telegraph (UK). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/2063298/Sir-Paul-McCartney-rocks-Anfield-stadium.html. Retrieved 8 March 2010.
- ^ Prentice, David (5 July 2008). "Sir Paul McCartney's Everton 'secret' was no surprise". Everton Banter. http://www.evertonbanter.co.uk/2008/07/sir-paul-mccartneys-everton-se.html. Retrieved 10 May 2012.
- ^ Lewisohn 1992, p. 261.
- ^ Miles 1997, p. 396.
- ^ Miles 1997, p. 397.
- ^ Miles 1997, pp. 396–404.
- ^ Pareles, Jon (6 April 2009). "Just Say 'Om': The Fab Two Give a Little Help to a Cause". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/06/arts/music/06mcca.html. Retrieved 17 July 2009.
- ^ Spitz 2005, p. 163.
- ^ Miles 1997, p. 69.
- ^ Spitz 2005, p. 171.
- ^ Spitz 2005, pp. 239–240.
- ^ Spitz 2005, p. 348.
- ^ Miles 1997, pp. 101–102.
- ^ Miles 1997, p. 106.
- ^ Miles 1997, p. 108.
- ^ Harry 2002, pp. 27–32: Jane Asher, 777–778: Francie Schwartz.
- ^ Harry 2002, p. 585.
- ^ a b c Harry 2002, p. 587.
- ^ Harry 2002, p. 45.
- ^ Miles 1997, pp. 432–434.
- ^ Miles 1997, pp. 514–515.
- ^ Miles 1997, p. 525.
- ^ Harry 2002, pp. 904–910.
- ^ Harry 2002, pp. 716–718: PETA, 880–882: Vegetarianism.
- ^ Harry 2002, pp. 585–601.
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- ^ Sounes 2010, p. 523.
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- ^ "McCartney's lament: I can't buy your love". Sydney Morning Herald. 12 June 2004. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/06/11/1086749891275.html.
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- ^ "Nancy Shevell – Vice President – Administration". NEMF.com. http://www.nemf.com/nancy.html. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
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- ^ a b c d e Harry 2002, p. 505.
- ^ Miles 1997, p. 592.
- ^ Harry 2002, pp. 869–870.
- ^ Goodman, Joan. "Playboy Interview: Paul and Linda McCartney". Playboy 31, no. 12 (December 1984): 82.
- ^ Carlin 2009, pp. 255–257.
- ^ Miles 1997, p. 594.
- ^ Harry 2002, p. 506.
- ^ Harry 2002, p. 20.
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- ^ Glazer, Mitchell. "Growing Up at 33⅓: The George Harrison Interview". Crawdaddy (February 1977): 35–36.
- ^ Poole, Oliver; Davies, Hugh (1 December 2001). "I'll always love him, he's my baby brother, says tearful McCartney". The Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1363989/Ill-always-love-him-hes-my-baby-brother-says-tearful-McCartney.html. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
- ^ "Harrison death mystery solved". BBC News. 13 February 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1817780.stm. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
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- ^ a b Harry 2002, p. 815.
- ^ a b c Harry 2002, p. 816.
- ^ Lewisohn 1992, p. 296.
- ^ Harry 2002, p. 388.
- ^ "Most No. 1s By Artist (All-Time)". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/specials/hot100/charts/most-no1s-overall.shtml. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
- ^ "Chart History: Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds – Elton John". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/#/song/elton-john/lucy-in-the-sky-with-diamonds/6679060. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
- ^ "Peter & Gordon". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/peter-gordon/5409. Retrieved 3 May 2012. ; Harry 2002, p. 922; Gould 2007, p. 250
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- ^ Roberts 2005, pp. 398–400.
- ^ Roberts 2005, pp. 49: Band Aid & Band Aid 20, 54–55: the Beatles, 187: Ferry Aid, 311–312: Solo, Wings, Stevie Wonder and "The Christians et all".
- ^ Roberts 2005, pp. 311–312.
- ^ "Sir Paul is Your Millennium's greatest composer". BBC. 3 May 1999. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/334373.stm. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
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- ^ Harry 2000a, pp. 516–518.
- ^ Sounes 2010, p. 223.
- ^ Badman 1999, p. 444.
- ^ "Minor planet number 4148 has been named in honor of former Beatle Paul McCartney". IAU Minor Planet Center. http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/special/rocknroll/0004148.html. Retrieved 9 March 2010.
- ^ "Live 8 single". BBC. 13 July 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_4680000/newsid_4680500/4680519.stm. Retrieved 3 January 2010.
- ^ Miles 1997, p. 319.
- ^ "Sir Paul McCartney picks up special Brit award in London". UK: NME. 20 February 2008. http://www.nme.com/news/brit-awards-2008/34542/. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
- ^ "Yale gives Paul McCartney honorary music degree". USA Today. 26 May 2008. http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/2008-05-26-3778562167_x.htm. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
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- ^ Spitz 2005, p. 365.
- ^ Harry 2002, pp. 456–459.
- ^ Southall & Perry 2006, p. 195.
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Sources[link]
- Babiuk, Andy; Bacon, Tony (editor) (2002). Beatles Gear: All the Fab Four's Instruments, from Stage to Studio (Revised ed.). Backbeat UK/Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-0-87930-731-8. http://books.google.com/books?id=Eo743Uh2UOEC&dq.
- Bacon, Tony; Morgan, Gareth (2006). Paul McCartney – Bass Master – Playing the Great Beatles Basslines (1st ed.). Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-0-87930-884-1. http://books.google.com/books?id=V-BG7p7xPTQC&dq.
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- Miles, Barry (1997). Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now (1st Hardcover ed.). Henry Holt & Company. ISBN 978-0-8050-5248-0. http://books.google.com/books?id=-eh8BedNtLgC&dq.
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Further reading[link]
- Barrow, Tony (2005). John, Paul, George, Ringo & Me: The Real Beatles Story. Thunder's Mouth. ISBN 1-56025-882-9. http://books.google.com/books?id=BNnzcGw8JQsC&dq.
- Barrow, Tony (2004). Paul McCartney. Carlton Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84442-822-9.
- Benitez, Vincent Perez (2010). The Words and Music of Paul McCartney: The Solo Years. Praeger. ISBN 978-0-313-34969-0. http://books.google.com/books?id=bYxJWNiLO94C&dq.
- Davies, Hunter (2009). The Beatles: The Authorized Biography (3rd revised ed.). W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-33874-4.
- Gambaccini, Paul (1993). Paul McCartney: In His Own Words. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-86001-239-9. http://books.google.com/books?id=FikUAQAAIAAJ&q.
- Gambaccini, Paul (1996). The McCartney Interviews: After the Break-Up (2 ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-7119-5494-6. http://books.google.com/books?id=xKPEyk1WXFUC&q.
- Gracen, Jorie B. (2000). Paul McCartney: I Saw Him Standing There. Watson-Guptill Publications. ISBN 978-0-8230-8372-5.
- Kirchherr, Astrid; Voormann, Klaus (1999). Hamburg Days. Guildford, Surrey: Genesis Publications. ISBN 978-0-904351-73-6.
- Martin, George (1979). All You Need Is Ears. New York: St. Marten's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-11482-4. http://books.google.com/books?id=4Yoio9MewhcC&dq.
- McGee, Garry (2003). Band on the Run: A History of Paul McCartney and Wings. Taylor Trade Publishing. ISBN 978-0-87833-304-2. http://books.google.com/books?id=UG0IAQAAMAAJ&q.
- Pawlowski, Gareth L. (1989). How They Became The Beatles (1st ed.). E. P. Dutton. ISBN 978-0-525-24823-1. http://books.google.com/books?id=7IkIAQAAMAAJ&q.
- Peel, Ian (2002). The Unknown Paul McCartney: McCartney and the avant-garde. Reynolds & Hearn. ISBN 978-1-903111-36-9. http://books.google.com/books?id=uS4UAQAAIAAJ&q.
External links[link]
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | McCartney, Paul |
| Alternative names | Sir James Paul McCartney |
| Short description | English rock musician |
| Date of birth | 18 June 1942 |
| Place of birth | Liverpool, UK |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
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