Flemish Region Vlaams Gewest
—  Region of Belgium  —
Flag
Anthem: De Vlaamse Leeuw
Country	Belgium
Seat of the Parliament	Brussels (but is not a part of the Flemish Region)
Government
• Minister-President	Kris Peeters
Area
• Total	13,522 km2 (5,221 sq mi)
Population (1 January 2011)[1]
• Total	6,306,638
• Density	470/km2 (1,200/sq mi)
Demographics
• Languages	Dutch
ISO 3166 code	BE-VLG
Celebration Day	July 11
Website	www.flanders.be

The Flemish Region (Dutch:  Vlaams Gewest (help·info)) is one of the three official regions of the Kingdom of Belgium—alongside the Walloon Region and the Brussels-Capital Region. Colloquially, it is usually simply referred to as Flanders, of which it is the institutional iteration within the context of the Belgian political system. It occupies the northern part of Belgium and covers an area of 13,522 km² (44.29% of Belgium). It is one of the most densely populated regions of Europe with around 455 inhabitants per square kilometer.

Politics[link]

Immediately after its establishment in 1980, the region transferred all its constitutional competencies to the Flemish Community. The current Flemish authorities (Flemish Parliament, Flemish Government) therefore represent all the Flemish people, including those living in the Brussels-Capital Region. Hence, the Flemish Region is governed by the Flemish Community institutions. However, members of the Flemish Community parliament who were elected in Brussels-Capital Region, have no right to vote on Flemish regional affairs.

Administrative divisions[link]

Provinces in the Flemish Region

The Flemish Region comprises 5 provinces, each consisting of administrative arrondissements which in turn contain municipalities (in total 308 municipalities in Flanders).

Brussels city, the seat of the Flemish parliament, is located within the Brussels-Capital Region, which is surrounded by the province of Flemish Brabant. Brussels contains both the Flemish Community and the French Community, both having their institutions in Brussels.

Province		Capital city	Administrative arrondissements	Population	Area	Population density
1	Antwerp (Antwerpen)	Antwerp (Antwerpen)	Antwerpen, Mechelen, Turnhout	1,744,862	2,867 km²	587 / km²
2	Limburg (Limburg)	Hasselt	Hasselt, Maaseik, Tongeren	838,505	2,414 km²	333 / km²
3	East Flanders (Oost-Vlaanderen)	Ghent (Gent)	Aalst, Dendermonde, Eeklo, Gent, Oudenaarde, Sint-Niklaas	1,432,326	2,991 km²	459 / km²
4	Flemish Brabant (Vlaams-Brabant)	Leuven	Halle-Vilvoorde, Leuven	1,076,924	2,106 km²	493 / km²
5	West Flanders (West-Vlaanderen)	Bruges (Brugge)	Brugge, Diksmuide, Ieper, Kortrijk, Oostende, Roeselare, Tielt, Veurne	1,159,366	3,125 km²	362 / km²

Economy[link]

Flanders is home to a diversified, relatively modern economy, with emphasis put on research and development. Many enterprises work closely with local knowledge and research centres to develop new products and services. ^[2]

Transport[link]

Bus of "De Lijn"

"De Lijn" serves as the main public transport company, run by the Flemish government. It consists of buses and trams. TEC is the equivalent company in Wallonia, and MIVB-STIB in Brussels. The railway network run by the NMBS, however, is still a federal responsibility.

The Flemish government is also responsible for about 500 kilometers of regional roads (Dutch: gewestwegen) and about 900 kilometers of highways in the territory of the Flemish Region. Other types of roads are provincial roads and municipal roads.

Demographics[link]

Cities[link]

Largest cities in the region include (with population figures in 2010):^[3]

• Antwerp (483,505)
• Ghent (243,366)
• Bruges (116,741)
• Leuven (95,463)
• Mechelen (80,940)
• Aalst (80,043)
• Kortrijk (74,911)
• Hasselt (73,067)
• Sint-Niklaas (71,806)
• Ostend (69,064)
• Genk (64,757)
• Roeselare (57,432)

The Flemish Diamond (Dutch: Vlaamse Ruit) is the name of the central, populous area in Flanders and consists of several of these cities, such as Antwerp, Ghent, Leuven and Mechelen. Approximately 5,500,000 people live in the area.

Language[link]

The official language is Dutch, sometimes colloquially referred to as Flemish. The main dialect groups include West Flemish, East Flemish, Brabantian and Limburgish.

The municipalities with language facilities near Brussels

French may be used for certain administrative purposes in a limited number of the so-called "municipalities with language facilities" around the Brussels-Capital Region and on the border with Wallonia.

"Rim municipalities" (around Brussels) are Drogenbos, Kraainem, Linkebeek, Sint-Genesius-Rode (French: Rhode-Saint-Genèse), Wemmel and Wezembeek-Oppem. Brussels was originally a Dutch-speaking city, but has been frenchified in the 19th and 20th century and is now largely French-speaking. A few municipalities in the Flemish agglomeration of Brussels are now also frenchified.

Municipalities with language facilities on the border with Wallonia are Bever (French: Biévène), Herstappe, Mesen (French: Messines), Ronse (French: Renaix), Spiere-Helkijn (French: Espierres-Helchin), Voeren (French: Fourons)

Education[link]

Education in Belgium is regulated by the communities. In Flanders this is done by the Flemish Community and in Brussels by both the Flemish and French Community.

• List of schools in Antwerp
• List of schools in East Flanders
• List of schools in Flemish Brabant
• List of schools in Limburg
• List of schools in West Flanders

See also[link]

• Communities and regions of Belgium
• Provinces of regions in Belgium
• De Vlaamse Leeuw
• Count of Flanders
• Flanders
• Flemish

References[link]

External links[link]

• (English) Flemish authorities (Dutch: Vlaamse overheid).
• (English) Flanders online (also in French, German and Dutch).
• Toerisme Vlaanderen
• (French) French Flanders
• (Dutch) Frans-Vlaanderen
• (Dutch) The Flemish region reaches 6 million inhabitants

v t e  Flanders topics Territories Modern Belgium:  Flemish Region • Flemish Community Neighbouring and historical:  County of Flanders (862–1795) • French Flanders • Zeelandic Flanders • Romance Flanders Local regions:  Flemish Ardennes • Campine • Hageland • Haspengouw • Pajottenland • Meetjesland • Westhoek • Waasland • ... Provinces and cities West Flanders (Bruges) • East Flanders (Ghent) • Antwerp (Antwerp) • Flemish Brabant (Leuven) • Limburg (Hasselt) See also:  Brussels • list of municipalities • Flemish Diamond Politics Flemish Parliament • Flemish Government • Political parties History and symbols Flag • Coat of arms • De Vlaamse Leeuw (anthem) • De Leeuw van Vlaanderen (epic) • Day of the Flemish Community (Guldensporenslag) Other Flemish people • Flemish • Flemish Movement • Literature • Painting • Science and technology

v t e Subdivisions of Belgium Communities Flemish French German Regions and Provinces Capital (Brussels)   Flemish (Flanders) Antwerp East Flanders Flemish Brabant Limburg West Flanders Walloon (Wallonia) Hainaut Liège Luxembourg Namur Walloon Brabant Municipalities by region Capital (Brussels) Flemish (Flanders) Walloon (Wallonia) Arrondissements Administrative Electoral Judicial

Coordinates: 51°00′N 4°30′E / 51°N 4.5°E / 51; 4.5

Luis Miguel
Background information
Birth name	Luis Miguel Gallego Basteri
Also known as	El Sol de México, "Luismi", "Micky"
Born	(1970-04-19) April 19, 1970 (age 42) San Juan, Puerto Rico
Origin	Mexico
Genres	Latin pop, pop music, bolero, mariachi
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, record producer
Instruments	Vocal, piano
Years active	1981–present
Labels	EMI Latin (1981-1986) Warner Music (1987-present)
Associated acts	Frank Sinatra Armando Manzanero Manuel Alejandro Sheena Easton
Website	Official website

Luis Miguel Gallego Basteri (April 19, 1970) is a Mexican singer.^[1][2] He is widely known only by the name Luis Miguel. An icon in the Spanish-speaking countries, he is often referred to as "El Sol de México" (The Sun of Mexico) or simply "El Sol" (The Sun).^[3][4]

Beginning his musical career in his childhood, Luis Miguel has won five Grammys and four Latin Grammys among other numerous awards.^[5] He is considered as one of the top male pop vocalists in the world nowadays. His contribution to Latin pop music, along with his hermetic personal life, has made him a global figure of Latin music for almost three decades. He debuted on the professional music at 11 years old. At the age of fifteen, Luis Miguel received his first Grammy for his duet "Me Gustas Tal Como Eres" (I Like You Just The Way You Are) with Sheena Easton.^[3] In 1991, the RIAA gave him a recognition for the high sales of the albums Romance and Segundo Romance.^[3] Luis Miguel is the only Latin artist to have two Spanish-language albums (Romance and Segundo Romance) go platinum in the USA. He has achieved a long string of distinctions. Also among those was having his album Luis Miguel achieve gold and platinum certifications in four countries, including the United States, within just three days of its release.

Luis Miguel is also known by his high-grossing tours and his outstanding live performances. His Amarte Es Un Placer Tour had a length of 8 months during 1999–2000 and run through 8 countries in two continents. The tour consisted of 105 concerts and was attended by approximately 1.5 million fans. It was the highest-grossing tour ever made by a Latin artist, as well as the most extended. These two records have been broken by his Mexico En La Piel Tour of 2005–2007, with a total of 124 concerts, over 1.4 millions spectators, and grossing over $95 million.

Early life[link]

He was named Luis Miguel in honor of fame Spanish bullfighter Luis Miguel Dominguín.^[6] Although Luis Miguel has lived almost his entire life in Mexico, he was born in Puerto Rico, where his father performed occasionally as a singer. His parents were Spanish singer Luisito Rey and Italian actress Marcella Basteri.^[7] Luis Miguel has two younger brothers. His father was from Cadiz, a city in southwestern Spain. During his child years, his father, who was also his manager, encouraged him to watch and analyze nearly every movie, recording, and concert performance of Elvis Presley.^[7] Luis Miguel's mother was from Carrara, Italy. She disappeared mysteriously in 1986, when he was a teenager. Luis Miguel spent much of his childhood in Spain and Italy as well.^[7]

Career[link]

In 1981, at the age of 11, Luis Miguel released his first album, Un Sol, by the Mexican branch of EMI Records.^[8] Two years later, he started touring Latin American countries including Colombia, Venezuela, Chile and Argentina.

In 1985, at age of 15, he took part at the Sanremo Music Festival, where he won the second place award with his song "Noi Ragazzi Di Oggi".^[7] That same year, he was also presented with the "Antorcha de Plata" Award in the Viña del Mar Music Festival for his duet single "Me Gustas Tal Como Eres" ("I Like You Just As You Are") with Scottish singer Sheena Easton.^[3] In 1984, he co-starred in the film Ya Nunca Más and in 1985, Fiebre de Amor with singer Lucero as his co-star.^[7]

In 1986, Luis Miguel gave his career a brief break, as his relationship with his father was souring due to alleged mismanagement, poor financial decisions and risking his earnings of his career. Shortly after signing with Warner Records, in 1987, he fired his father and started to work with Juan Carlos Calderón.^[7] Luis Miguel's album Soy Como Quiero Ser in May 1987 sold well.^[7] The album featured hits such as "Cuando Calienta El Sol", "Ahora Te Puedes Marchar", and "Yo Que No Vivo Sin Ti".

On November 25, 1988, Luis Miguel's second album Busca Una Mujer was released. The first single La Incondicional became a top-ten hit throughout Latin America in the first half of 1989,^[7] thanks in part to the music video. The video was shocking to many fans as he had cut his signature long hair. This cemented his transition from a child star into an adult superstar. By the end of 1989, the second single Fría Como El Viento reached No. 1 on the Hot Latin Tracks.^[9] He also had a top-ten single Separados in early 1990, peaking at #8.

In 1990, he made a successful transition from a child singer to an adult showman with the album 20 Años and an ensuing string of sold-out shows first in Mexico then throughout Latin America and elsewhere in the world. 20 Años which sold 600,000 copies in its first week of release,^[7] resulted in release of three singles Tengo Todo Excepto A Ti, Entrégate, Amante Del Amor with the two former hitting number 1 on Billboard's Hot Latin Tracks in 1990.^[9]

In 1991, Luis Miguel's career went to even greater heights and earned him the respect of a wider audience with the release of Romance, an album of romantic boleros, most of them from the 1940s and 1950s. He has been credited with reinventing the bolero for modern audiences. The album Romance, which became his most successful material ever eventually sold 15 million units worldwide.^[7]

In 1993, Luis Miguel's fifth studio album, Aries, was released, which won him that year's Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album.^[3] That same year, Luis Miguel was personally invited by Frank Sinatra to join him on his Duets II album and to perform live in a nationally televised special in honor of Sinatra's 80th birthday; along with other stars such as Stevie Wonder and Natalie Cole.^[7]

In 1994, he released a sequel to Romance, Segundo Romance, featuring Luis Miguel as a convincing pop singer with mastery over timeless Latin classics such as "Solamente Una Vez" and "Sin Ti". The album went on to earn a Grammy Award^[3] as well as reaching a Platinum status in the United States.^[10]

In 1996, Luis received a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame.^[3] Soon after, Luis Miguel quickly returned to the studios and released Nada Es Igual, a pop album featuring "Sueña", the main theme for Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame.^[3] In 1997, Luis Miguel released his third album of the bolero series Romances, which earned him a World Music Award and another Grammy Award.^[7]

In 1999, Luis Miguel released his ninth studio album Amarte Es Un Placer which, in 2000, earned him two Latin Grammys for being Best Album of the Year and Best Pop Album of the Year.^[3] The single "O Tú, O Ninguna" of Amarte Es Un Placer became number 1 on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks and perched at the top position for eight consecutive weeks.^[9] Following the success of Amarte Es Un Placer, Luis Miguel released Mis Romances in 2001, his fourth album in the bolero series. The album, which sold over two million copies worldwide was followed by the launch of Mis Romances Tour which took place throughout the U.S., Europe, and Latin America.

In 2003, Luis Miguel released his first pop album in over four years entitled 33, indicative of his age. The album, which featured a collection of ballads and uptempo songs climbed to number 1 on Billboard's Latin Charts earning Luis Miguel two Billboard Awards as well as Grammy and Latin Grammy award nominations.^[8] On the 33 Tour, Luis Miguel filled the largest halls in the U.S., toured throughout Latin America and in Chile where his album 33 sold 2.5 million copies (more records than any other artist in the history of Chile).^[8] He also performed at Mexico's sold-out National Auditorium, and various sold-out shows at Buenos Aires, as well as other prestigious international venues such as Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas in Spain. That same year, Prince Felipe of Spain presented him with a special award for being the best-selling foreign artist in his country's history, and hosted a special party in his honor in Madrid.^[7]

In 2004, Luis Miguel released his Mexico En La Piel. The album, which was a collection of traditional Mexican mariachi songs went on to sell three million copies worldwide.^[11] He launched his Mexico En La Piel Tour in 2005. In 2006, Luis Miguel performed thirty sold out shows between January 18 and February 27 at the National Auditorium in Mexico City.^[7] The 123-date tour started in September 2005 in Mexico which then stretched to Argentina, Chile and Uruguay.

Luis Miguel in 2005

In 2005, Luis Miguel released Grandes Exitos, his first greatest hits album, that featured his greatest songs he recorded during all his career, including two never-released singles: "Misterios Del Amor" and "Si Te Perdiera".

That same year, he released a Christmas album called Navidades. The playlist includes many Christmas standards in Spanish. The album reached number one on Billboard's Top Latin Albums chart during the first week of its release.^[12] The album released two singles "Santa Claus Llegó A La Ciudad" ("Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"), and "Mi Humilde Oración" ("My Grown-up Christmas List").

On May 6, 2008, Luis Miguel released Cómplices, produced by him and written by Spanish composer Manuel Alejandro. It sold almost 350,000 copies in the first 24 hours.^[13] The first single, "Si Tú Te Atreves" was released on April 7, 2008, the second single of the album was "Te Desean". His Complices Tour began in Seattle, Washington on September 3, 2008.

Luis Miguel released his self-titled studio album on September 14, 2010. Its first single "Labios de Miel" is a smooth Latin pop song. His current world tour started on November 4, 2010 in the city of Lima, Peru and runs through the United States, South America, Mexico and Spain among other countries.^[14] On February 22, 2012, he sang at the Viña del Mar International Song Festival. With one million dollars for his performance, he became the most expensive artist in the history of the festival.

Summary of Distinctions[link]

At the age of fifteen, Luis Miguel received a Grammy Award for his duet "Me Gustas Tal Como Eres" (I Like You Just The Way You Are) with Sheena Easton.^[3] In 1991, the RIAA gave him a recognition for the high sales of the albums Romance and Segundo Romance.^[3] Luis Miguel is the only Latin artist to have two Spanish-language albums (Romance and Segundo Romance) go platinum in the USA.

He was the only Latin artist to perform at the show "SINATRA: 80 Years My Way", along with other pop icons such as Bruce Springsteen, Natalie Cole and Bob Dylan.^[3] His album Romances of 1997, became the first Spanish-language album ever debuting at No. 14 on the Billboard Top 200.^[3] Warner Music recognized Luis Miguel as the best-selling artist in the history of Chile with over 2.5 million records sold.^[3] In 2003, Prince Felipe of Spain presented him with a special award for being the best-selling foreign artist in his country's history. In 2008, Luis Miguel's album Navidades became the first Christmas album ever being nominated to the Grammy in the category of Pop.^[3] His album Cómplices broke records in Mexico, by selling over 320,000 copies in its first day of release.^[3] Just three days after its release, his new album achieved Quadruple Platinum certification in Mexico, Platinum in Argentina and gold records in Chile and the United States.

Luis Miguel is also known by his high-grossing tours and his outstanding live performances. His Amarte Es Un Placer Tour had a length of 8 months and run through Mexico, USA, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Venezuela, Brazil and Spain between 1999 and 2000. The tour consisted of 105 concerts and was attended by approximately 1.5 million fans. It was the highest-grossing tour ever made by a Latin artist, as well as the most extended. These two records have been broken by his Mexico En La Piel Tour. His 33 Tour peaked at No. 1 in the Billboard World Top Boxscore.^[3] The Mexico En La Piel Tour of 2005–2007, with a total of 124 concerts, peaked at No. 1 in the Billboard World Top Boxscore. The tour spanned two years with a total of 124 concerts attended by over 1.5 millions spectators, and grossed around $950 million.^[3] In 2006, during the Mexico En La Piel Tour, after giving 30 consecutive sold-out concerts at the Auditorio Nacional in Mexico, gathering over 260,000 spectators he was awarded with the "Estela de Plata" at the last concert.^[3] His Luis Miguel Tour is ranked at number five of the highest-grossing tours of 2011 in North America.^[15]

Cultural impact[link]

Luis Miguel's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Luis Miguel is considered as one of the top male pop singers worldwide today. In a career that has spanned over twenty-five years, he has become the main singer from Latin America, having performed successfully pop music, bolero, mariachi and romantic ballads.^[16][17] In the late 1980s, Luis Miguel made the transition from child star to consolidated international singer, and since then, he became one of the most revered and popular Latin American artists ever.^[16][17] His wide vocal range and performance has been praised by critics and other artists all over the world.^[16][17]

Frank Sinatra personally invited Luis Miguel to participate on a duet in the album Duets II. Luis Miguel has been dubbed several times by the press and the media as the "Latin Frank Sinatra".^[18]

His music has reached to non-Spanish speaking continents such as Asia and Africa. The press stated that at the time of his capture, the dictator Saddam Hussein, had the album Segundo Romance, among his belongings.^[19]

Awards and recognitions[link]

Personal life[link]

Luis Miguel refuses to speak to the media about his personal life and keeps the matter private. Luis Miguel rarely grants interviews or attends award ceremonies. He is always escorted by a diligent security team and he is transported in several trucks to distract paparazzis and reporters.^[20]

He is recognized for his taste for haute cuisine and for being a self-taught sommelier. He released his own vintage of wine, "Unico. Luis Miguel", a Cabernet Sauvignon.^[21][22] He is a native Spanish speaker and also speaks fluent English, Italian and Portuguese.^[23][24]

Luis Miguel is the father of three children: Michelle Salas, born on June 13, 1989, from his relationship with Stephanie Salas; Miguel, born on January 1, 2007 and Daniel, born on December 18, 2008, both from his relationship with actress Aracely Arámbula. His numerous relationships are widely covered by the Latin media.^[25]

In April 2010, he was briefly hospitalized at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. The cause of the hospitalization was not disclosed.^[26]

Discography[link]

Album certifications[link]

• Soy Como Quiero Ser: 5 Platinum Discs, 8 Gold Discs
• Romance: 70 Platinum Discs, 3 Gold Discs
• Aries: 40 Platinum Discs 6 Gold Discs
• Segundo Romance: 50 Platinum Discs
• Nada Es Igual: 30 Platinum Discs
• Romances: 50 Platinum Discs
• Amarte Es Un Placer: 4 Platinum Discs, 4 Gold Discs
• Mis Romances: 8 Platinum Discs, 3 Gold Discs
• 33: 11 Platinum Discs, 2 Gold Discs
• México En La Piel: 1 Diamond Disc, 11 Platinum Discs, 1 Gold Disc
• Grandes Exitos: 5 Platinum Discs, 3 Gold Discs
• Grandes Exitos Videos: 1 Platinum Discs, 1 Gold Disc
• Navidades Luis Miguel: 1 Diamond Discs, 10 Platinum Discs, 2 Gold Disc.
• Cómplices: 1 Diamond Disc, 9 Platinum Discs, 1 Gold Disc

Total career: 3 Diamond Discs, 304 Platinum Discs, 34 Gold Discs

Total career counting singles: 16.7 million discs^{[3][27][28][29][30]}

^[31][32][33]

Tours[link]

• (1990–1991) Gira 20 Años
• (1991–1992) Romance Tour
• (1993–1994) Aries Tour
• (1994–1995) Segundo Romance Tour
• (1995) El Concierto Tour
• (1996) America Tour
• (1997–1998) Romances Tour
• (1999–2000) Amarte Es Un Placer Tour
• (2002) Mis Romances Tour
• (2003–2004) 33 Tour
• (2005–2007) Mexico En La Piel Tour
• (2008–2009) Complices Tour
• (2010–2011) Luis Miguel Tour

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Luis Miguel

• Official Site
• Official Facebook
• Luis Miguel at Allmusic
• Mundo Luis Miguel