Populares ("favoring the people", singular popularis) were aristocratic leaders in the late Roman Republic who relied on the people's assemblies and tribunate to acquire political power. They are regarded in modern scholarship as in opposition to the optimates, who are identified with the conservative interests of a senatorial elite. The populares themselves, however, were also of senatorial rank and might be patricians or noble plebeians.

The populares addressed the problems of the urban plebs, particularly subsidizing a grain dole, and in general favored limiting slavery, since slavery took jobs from poor free citizens. They also garnered political support by attempts to expand citizenship to communities outside Rome and Italy.

Popularist politics reached a peak under the dictatorship of Julius Caesar, who had relied on the support of the people in his rise to power. After the creation of the Second Triumvirate (43 BC–33 BC), the populares ceased to function as a political movement.

Besides Caesar, notable populares included the Gracchi brothers, Gaius Marius, Lucius Cornelius Cinna, Publius Clodius Pulcher, and (during the First Triumvirate) Marcus Licinius Crassus and Pompey. Both Pompey and Crassus had, however, fought on the side of Sulla during the civil war, and after the death of Crassus, Pompey eventually reverted to his position as a conservative optimas. These shifting allegiances are reminders that the designation populares refers as much to political tactics as to any perceived policy. Indeed Republican politicians 'had always been more divided on issues of style than of policy'.

Danna Paola Rivera Munguía (born 23 June 1995), better known as Danna Paola, is a Mexican actress and singer. She is best known for playing "Patito" in Atrevete a Soñar.

Danna Paola was born in Mexico City, Mexico. She is the daughter of Patricia Munguia and Juan Jose Rivera, the former singer of Grupo Ciclón and Los Caminantes. She has an older sister, Vania Rivera Munguia.

In 1999 Televisa began a casting search for talented children to participate in the children's program Plaza Sésamo, her mom decides to take her and her sister to the casting in which both are selected. In 2000 Rosy Ocampo gives her the opportunity to participate in her first telenovela Rayito de Luz with the role of Lupita, a dreamy girl.

In 2001 at the age of six she receives her first protagonist role in the childrens telenovela María Belén, causing a great impact and is highly accepted by viewers. This telenovela allowed her to win the El Heraldo de México award as child revelation of the year. The telenovela was broadcasted in over 19 countries worldwide with great acceptance and rating, it even brought a doll with its image in Brazil. Universal Music discovers her singing talent in this telenovela, so they record her first CD, Mi globo azul which contains children songs of Cri-Cri followed by a VHS of the same name. So, thanks to her talent, Danna is given the opportunity to sing to the Pope John Paul II , with the song Mensajero de paz, which comes from a tribute album to him.

Laura Esquivel (born September 30, 1950) is a Mexican author making a noted contribution to Latin-American literature. She was born the third of four children of Julio César Esquivel, a telegraph operator, and Josefa Valdés.

In her first novel Como agua para chocolate (Like Water for Chocolate), released in 1989, Esquivel uses magical realism to combine the ordinary and the supernatural, similar to Isabel Allende. The novel, taking place during the revolution in early twentieth century Mexico, shows the importance of the kitchen in Esquivel's life. The book is divided into twelve sections, named after the months of the year, each section beginning with a Mexican recipe. The chapters outline the preparation of the dish and ties it to an event in the protagonist's life. Esquivel believes that the kitchen is the most important part of the house and characterizes it as a source of knowledge and understanding that brings pleasure. The "title refers to a colloquial phrase used by the Spanish that means an extremity of feeling. It refers to a boiling point in terms of anger, passion and sexuality." The idea for the book came to Esquivel "while she was cooking the recipes of her mother and grandmother." Reportedly, "Esquivel used an episode from her own family to write her book. She had a great-aunt named Tita, who was forbidden to wed. Tita never did anything but care for her own mother. Soon after her mother died, so did Tita." "The book has been a tremendous international success: The No. 1 best-selling book in Mexico for three years, it's also been translated into 23 languages."