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Sacbe at Dzibilchaltun in the Yucatán

Arch at the end of the sacbé, Kabah, Yucatán

Sacbe, plural Sacbeob, (Yucatec Maya: singular sakbej, plural sakbejo'ob) or "white ways" are raised paved roads built by the Maya civilization of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. Most connect temples, plazas, and groups of structures within ceremonial centers or cities, but some longer roads between cities are also known. The term "sacbe" is Yucatec Maya for "white road"; white because they were originally coated with limestone stucco, which was over stone and rubble fill.

Many sacbeob can be seen by modern visitors to Maya sites; perhaps the most familiar is the one in Chichen Itza running from the main group around El Castillo to the Sacred Cenote, which is traveled on by thousands of tourists daily. Few of the longer roads still exist in their entirety. A well known sacbe connects Uxmal with Kabah, which is marked by corbel arches at either end. The 62 mile (100 km) long road connecting the ancient cities of Coba and Yaxuna was for decades the longest known to archaeologists. The remains of an even longer route have recently received the attention of archaeologists. This long sacbe apparently ran from the site of Ti'ho (modern Mérida, Yucatán), through such sites as Ake and Izamal, to the Caribbean Sea near modern Puerto Morelos, a total distance of some 300 km.

While the longer roads could be used for trade and communication, all sacbeob apparently had ritual or religious significance as well. Travel writer and early Mayanist John Lloyd Stephens reported that some local Maya people in Yucatán still said a short ritual prayer when crossing a sacbe in the early 1840s, even though they had been overgrown with jungle for centuries at the time.

While the sacbeob in the Yucatán are the best known, they are documented throughout the Maya area. Some appear to have been built as early in Maya history as the Pre-Classic; a number have been found around El Mirador.

In modern times, some of the ancient sacbeob have been used as bases or incorporated into modern highways and railway lines.

External links[link]

• The Mérida to coast sacbe
• Causeways of Yucatan

Reed college web site with Kabah and Labná sacbes. http://academic.reed.edu/uxmal/contents.html

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (September 2011)

Luis Conte (born 16 November 1954) is a Cuban percussionist.^[1]

Early years[link]

As a child in Cuba, Conte began his musical odyssey playing the guitar. However, he soon switched to percussion, and that has remained his mode since.

He was sent to Los Angeles by his parents in 1967, in order to prevent him from being forced to serve in the Cuban military. This was a turning point in Conte's life, as the musical community in Los Angeles during this period was vibrant. It was during this time that he studied at Los Angeles City College.

Musical career[link]

Luis Conte (rear), plays with James Taylor's "Band of Legends."

Conte proved himself versatile musically, and by 1973, he was playing regularly in local clubs. He quickly became a busy studio musician, and throughout the 1970s, he played in the Latin fusion band Caldera.

In the 1980s, Conte toured with several different musicians, including Madonna, guitarist Al Di Meola, and Andy Narell. His debut as a bandleader came in 1987, when he released La Cocina Caliente, which included a Latinized version of Chopin's "Susarasa". Conte also played percussion on the Pat Metheny Group release 'We Live Here', in 1995, as well as I Mother Earth's first two albums Dig (1994) and Scenery and Fish (1996).

Recently, Conte has toured as part of James Taylor's "Band of Legends." He has also played alongside such famed musicians as Alex Acuña, Jaguares, Larry Klimas, and David Garfield, both as a bandleader and a sideman.

Luis Conte was part of Phil Collins 1997 "Dance into the Light" tour and 2004 "First Farewell Tour", performing in both of them Afro-Cuban percussion and adding more depth into the concert songs.

In 1999 Conte collaborated in Maná MTV Unplugged project.

In 2009 worked together with Sergio Vallín in his Bendito Entre Las Mujeres album.

Discography[link]

• La Cocina Caliente (1987)
• Black Forest (1989)
• "En Casa de Luis" (2011) [BFM Jazz]

References[link]

Notes[link]

• Yanow, Scott (2000). Afro-Cuban Jazz. San Francisco: Miller Freeman Books. ISBN 0-87930-619-X. 

External links[link]

• Official website
• MySpace
• BFM Jazz
• Luis Conte School of Percussion

For other uses of the title The Grid, see Grid (disambiguation).

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2010)

The Grid are an English electronic dance group, consisting of Richard Norris and David Ball (formerly of Soft Cell),^[1] with guest contributions from other musicians. They are best known for the hits "Swamp Thing", "Crystal Clear", "Rollercoaster", "Floatation", and "Cybernetic" (with Robert Fripp and Phil Manzanera).

Band members[link]

• Richard Norris (born 23 June 1965, London) - keyboards
• David Ball (born 3 May 1959, Blackpool, Lancashire) - keyboards
• Sacha Rebecca Souter (musician) (born 26 November 1963, Cockerton, County Durham) - Vocals

Biography[link]

The Grid formed in 1988 and had their first success with debut single, "Floatation", released on East West Records in 1990. They went on to release a string of ten UK hit singles and four albums,^[1] and toured the UK, Europe, Asia and Australia. The group's 1994 album Evolver reached #14 in the UK Albums Chart.^[1] The lead single from this album, "Swamp Thing", featuring elaborate banjo lines played by Roger Dinsdale. "Swamp Thing" proved to be a commercial success in the UK, Europe and Australia, reaching #3 in the UK^[1] and Australia and selling a total of one million copies.^{[citation needed]}

In 1996, Norris and Ball agreed to a hiatus period in order pursue individual music interests. Norris formed the Droyds, which went on to remix tracks by musicians including Armand Van Helden and Siobhan Fahey, and wrote the official biography of Paul Oakenfold (published in 2007): Ball reformed Soft Cell with Marc Almond, and also wrote music scores for films.^{[citation needed]} Norris has since formed the psychedelic duo, Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve, with DJ Erol Alkan, and has released a number of solo records and remixes under the name The Time and Space Machine.

The duo reunited in 2005, initially playing two gigs under the name GDM with female singer Misty Woods, before writing and recording new material as the Grid. A single, "Put Your Hands Together", was released in 2007 and an album, Doppelgänger, followed in 2008. Both were released on the Some Bizzare label. The album featured vocals by the British musician, Chris Braide.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Singles[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Grid Central - An Unofficial Page for The Grid
• Death of Roger Dinsdale.
• The Grid on allmusic.com
• The Grid MySpace page