Brazzaville
Partial view of downtown (in image Nabemba Tower)
Brazzaville Map of the Republic of Congo showing Brazzaville.
Coordinates: 4°16′S 15°17′E / 4.267°S 15.283°E / -4.267; 15.283Coordinates: 4°16′S 15°17′E / 4.267°S 15.283°E / -4.267; 15.283
Country	Republic of the Congo
Capital district	Brazzaville
Government
• Mayor	Hugues Ngouelondélé (nonpartisan)
Area
• City	100 km2 (40 sq mi)
Population (2001)[1][2]
• City	1,018,541
• Density	10,185.4/km2 (26,380/sq mi)
• Urban	1.5 million

Brazzaville is the capital and largest city of the Republic of the Congo and is located on the Congo River. As of the 2001 census, it has a population of 1,018,541 in the city proper, and about 1.5 million in total when including the suburbs located in the Pool Region.^[1] The populous city of Kinshasa (more than 10 million inhabitants in 2009),^[2] capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, lies just across the Congo River from Brazzaville. Together with Kinshasa, the combined conurbation of Kinshasa-Brazzaville has thus nearly 12 million inhabitants (although significant political and infrastructure challenges prevent the two cities from functioning with any meaningful connection). Over a third of the population of the Republic of Congo lives in the capital, and it is home to 40% of non-agricultural employment. It is also a financial and administrative capital.

Geography[link]

Kinshasa seen from Brazzaville. The two capitals are separated by the Congo River.

Brazzaville district

Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza Mausoleum

View of Brazzaville from space

In order to distinguish between the two African countries with "Congo" in their names, the Republic of the Congo is sometimes called Congo-Brazzaville, as opposed to Congo-Kinshasa (the Democratic Republic of the Congo, known from 1971 to 1997 as Zaire, the capital of which is Kinshasa). Kinshasa lies on the southern bank of the Congo, across from Brazzaville. This is the only place in the world where two national capital cities are situated on opposite banks of a river, within sight of each other.

While Kinshasa lies to the south, Brazzaville lies to the north of the Congo River. The city is 506 km (314 mi) inland from the Atlantic Ocean and south of the equator. The city is a commune that is separated from the other regions of the republic; it is surrounded by the Pool Region. Around the city is a large savanna. The town is relatively flat, and situated at an altitude of 317 metres (1,040 ft).

History[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

The city was founded on 10 September 1880 on the site of a Bateke village named Nkuna by a Franco-Italian explorer, Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, after whom the city was named. The local leader, Makoko of the Téké, signed a treaty of protection with de Brazza which subjugated his lands to the French Empire. The city was built four years later in order to become a competitor with Léopoldville (now Kinshasa) which was built by the Belgians on the other side of the river. The site was occupied from October 1880 until May 1882 by a small squad of troops led by Senegalese Sergeant Malamine Camara, who prevented the land from falling into Belgian hands.

French control over the area was made official by the Berlin Conference of 1884. The city became the capital first of the French Congo, and then of French Equatorial Africa, a federation of states which encompassed Gabon, the Central African Republic and Chad. In 1924, the Congo-Océan railway was brought into service which linked Brazzaville with the port of Pointe-Noire.

During World War II Brazzaville, and the rest of French Equatorial Africa, remained beyond the control of Vichy France. In 1944, Brazzaville hosted a meeting of the Free French forces and representatives of France's African colonies. The resulting Brazzaville Declaration was intended to redefine the relationship between France and its African colonies after the war.

Until the 1960s, the city was divided into European (the center of the city) and African sections (Poto-Poto, Bacongo, and Makélékélé). In 1980 it became a "commune" separated from the Pool Region and divided into seven "arrondissements": Makélékélé (1), Bacongo (2), Poto-Poto (3), Moungali (4), Ouenzé (5), Talangaï (6) and Mfilou (7).

The city has frequently been a staging ground for wars, including conflicts between rebel and government forces and between forces of the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Angola. It was also the scene of bloody civil wars throughout the 1990s which resulted in thousands of civilian deaths and which forced hundreds of thousands of refugees to flee the city.

Economy[link]

This section requires expansion.

Industries present in Brazzaville include machine shops, textiles, tanning, and manufacturing. As a key port on the Congo River, the city takes deliveries of raw materials, such as rubber, wood and agricultural products. From here they are generally sent onward to Pointe-Noire for export.

Buildings and institutions[link]

Notable buildings in the city include St Anne's Basilica, built in 1949 by Roger Erell, and known for its green tiled roof; Erell also designed a house in the city for Charles de Gaulle. Other buildings include the Nabemba Tower and the Congressional Palace. Other features include the Marien Ngouabi Mausoleum, Brazzaville Zoo and the Poto-Poto School of Painting. The United States Embassy for the Republic of the Congo is also located in Brazzaville.

The World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa is based in Brazzaville on a vast campus at the Cité du Djoué.

Climate[link]

Brazzaville, much like neighboring Kinshasa, features a tropical wet and dry climate. Its wet season, which runs from October–May, is longer than its dry season, which covers the remaining months. Brazzaville's driest months, July and August, see on average no significant precipitation. Since Brazzaville is south of the equator, its dry season begins at around its "winter" solstice, which is the month of June. The city experiences relatively constant temperatures throughout the course of the year.

Transport[link]

Taxis in Brazzaville

The city is home to Maya-Maya Airport and a railway station on the Congo-Ocean Railway. It is also an important river port, with ferries sailing to Kinshasa and to Bangui via Impfondo. The Livingstone Falls lie on the outskirts of the city, where the Djoué River meets the Congo, rendering river transport to the coast impossible, qualifying the railway as a portage railway.

Taxis are available on every street and are easily recognized, being painted with a green body and white top, and the fare for a short trip is CF700. About twenty percent of the vehicles in Brazzaville are taxis. There are also collective taxis that drive certain routes and charge CF150.

Notable People[link]

• Gaitana, Ukrainian singer who lived for five years in Brazzaville
• Serge Ibaka, professional basketball player born in Brazzaville.

Twin towns and sister cities[link]

• Dresden, Germany
• Olathe, Kansas, United States
• Weihai, China
• Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

References[link]

• Chavannes, Charles de. (1929) "Le Sergent Sénégalais Malamine." Annales de l'Académie des Sciences Coloniales, vol. 3:159-187.
• Petringa, Maria. (2006) Brazza, A Life for Africa (2006) ISBN 978-1-4259-1198-0
• Tiepolo, M. (1996) "City Profile: Brazzaville" in Cities v. 13, pp. 117–124
• Brisset-Guibert, Hervé (2007) Brazzaville petit guide historique, in the site www.presidence.cg ("palais presidentiel")

External links[link]

• BRAKIN, the fusion city of Brazzaville and Kinshasa, urban analysis seminar with vectorised maps of the agglomeration by TU Darmstadt, 2009
• Maria Petringa's 1997 biographical article on Savorgnan de Brazza, describing events leading to the founding of Brazzaville
• Brazzaville travel guide from Wikitravel

v t e Departments of the Republic of the Congo Departments Bouenza Brazzaville Cuvette Cuvette-Ouest Kouilou Lékoumou Likouala Niari Plateaux Pointe-Noire Pool Sangha

Michael Cera
Michael Cera: This Is Our Youth Tour, Play Comes To Sydney Opera House 2012
Born	Michael Austin Cera (1988-06-07) June 7, 1988 (age 24) Brampton, Ontario, Canada
Occupation	Actor, occasional musician
Years active	1998–present

Michael Austin Cera ( /ˈsɛrə/; born June 7, 1988)^[1] is a Canadian actor best known for his roles in Arrested Development, Youth in Revolt, Superbad, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist and Juno. In 2010, he won the Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture for Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.

Early life[link]

Cera was born in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. He is the son of Linda, a native of Quebec, and Luigi Cera, a technician who is originally from Sicily.^[2][3][4] His parents both worked for Xerox.^[5] Cera has an older sister, Jordan, and a younger sister, Molly. He became interested in acting after viewing Ghostbusters repeatedly when sick with the chicken pox at the age of three. He memorized all the dialogue and idolized Bill Murray.^[6] He enrolled in The Second City Toronto and took improvisation classes.^[6]

He attended Conestoga Public School, Robert H. Lagerquist Senior Public School and Heart Lake Secondary School until grade nine, but then completed school online through grade 12.^[2][7]

Acting[link]

His first role was an unpaid appearance in a Tim Hortons summer camp commercial.^[2][7][8] That eventually led to a Pillsbury commercial in which he poked the Pillsbury Doughboy, his first role with lines.^[9]

Rise[link]

Cera's career began when he was cast as Larrabe Hicks in the Canadian television series I Was a Sixth Grade Alien in 1999. In 2002, Cera played the young Chuck Barris in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and he also provided the voice for Brother Bear in The Berenstain Bears animated series. Also in 2002, he was cast in The Grubbs, a new Fox TV series. It received a poor critical response, including an E! Online review that called it "the worst sitcom ever produced".^[10] He also voiced Josh Spitz in the cartoon Braceface. He played George Michael Bluth in the award-winning television series Arrested Development for three seasons before it was canceled.^[11] In 2005, he starred as Harold in the award winning short film Darling Darling, for which he was awarded Best Actor at the San Gio Festival in Verona, Italy. In 2006, he created and starred in a parody of Impossible is Nothing, a video résumé created by Aleksey Vayner.^[12] He also guest-starred in an episode of teen noir drama Veronica Mars – in the episode "The Rapes of Graff", which also featured Arrested Development co-star Alia Shawkat – and also in the Adult Swim series Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!.

Cera, along with best friend Clark Duke, wrote and starred in a series of short videos released on their website.^[11] The idea came from Duke, who was enrolled at Loyola Marymount University and did it for his film school studies.^[13] In 2007, they signed a deal with CBS Television to write, produce, direct, and act in a short-form comedy series entitled Clark and Michael.^[14] The show featured guest stars such as David Cross, Andy Richter and Patton Oswalt, and was distributed via CBS's new internet channel, CBS Innertube.^[15] Duke and Cera are both members of the band The Long Goodbye.

Cera also appeared in a staged comedy video that shows him being fired from the lead role of the film Knocked Up after belittling and arguing with the director, in a scene that mocks the David O. Russell blow up on the set of I Heart Huckabees.^[11]

Continuation into movies[link]

Cera starred alongside Jonah Hill in the film Superbad, which was written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. The film opened in North America on August 17, 2007. In November 2007, he hosted Saturday Night Live on strike, a live staged version of SNL not shown on television due to the 2007 Writers Guild of America Strike.^[16] Also in 2007, Cera co-starred in Juno as Paulie Bleeker, a teenager who impregnates his long-time school friend Juno (Ellen Page). For Superbad and Juno, Cera won Breakthrough Artist in the Austin Film Critics Association Awards 2007.

In 2007, Cera appeared in the comedy short "Drunk History", playing Alexander Hamilton in a comedic retelling of Hamilton's duel with Aaron Burr.^[17]

Cera starred in the independent film Paper Heart. It was written by and co-starred Charlyne Yi, and premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival where it won a screenwriting award. Cera and Yi composed the movie's soundtrack. He also starred alongside Jack Black in the 2009 comedy Year One.

In 2009, Cera's first published short story, "Pinecone", appeared in McSweeney's Quarterly. In January 2010, Cera starred in a film adaptation of the novel Youth in Revolt, in the role of the lead character, Nick Twisp.^[11][18]

Cera dressed as Captain America, in promotion of Scott Pilgrim, and parody of Captain America: The First Avenger, at the 2010 San Diego Comic Con

Cera played the titular character in the film adaptation of the graphic novel Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, released in August 2010.^[19]

Upcoming projects[link]

According to press reports, Cera will appear in the Arrested Development film.^[20] He is also set to return to his role as George Michael in a fourth season of the television series with some episodes airing before the release of the movie.^[21][22]

Sherwood Schwartz is on the record as saying he would like to see Cera play Gilligan in the film remake of Gilligan's Island.^[23]

Cera was being considered for the voice of the new Muppet Walter, for The Muppets, but the role was given to muppeteer Peter Linz.^[24] Cera is set to star in a film by Sebastian Silva in Chile, and he is “spending five hours a day learning Spanish" for the role.^[25]

Music[link]

In 2010 Cera contributed mandolin and backing vocals to the Weezer song "Hang On" from their album Hurley.^[26] Cera has also established himself as the touring bass player in Mister Heavenly, an indie rock band originating in the American northwest.^[27] Cera also played bass and sang back up during songs in both Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.

Filmography[link]

Film[link]

Television[link]

Awards[link]

See also[link]

Canada portal

• List of former child actors from Canada

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Michael Cera

• Michael Cera at the Internet Movie Database
• Clark and Michael official site
• Michael Cera's Crew Profile on The 1 Second Film