Saint Barthélemy (French: Saint-Barthélemy, French pronunciation: [sɛ̃baʁtelemi]), officially the Territorial collectivity of Saint Barthélemy (French: Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Barthélemy), is an overseas collectivity of France. Often abbreviated to Saint-Barth in French, or St. Barts (also, St. Barth's) in English, the indigenous people called the island Ouanalao. The collectivity is one of four territories among the Leeward Islands in the northeastern Caribbean that comprise the French West Indies, along with Guadeloupe (200 km southeast), Martinique and Saint Martin. St. Barts lies c. 35 km southeast of Sint Maarten/Saint Martin, and north of St Kitts. Puerto Rico is 240 km to its west in the Lesser Antilles.

Saint Barthélemy, a volcanic island fully encircled by shallow reefs, has an area of 21 km² and a population of 8,823 (census 2008). Its capital is Gustavia, which also contains the main harbour to the island. It is the only Caribbean island which was a Swedish colony for any significant length of time; Guadeloupe was under Swedish rule only briefly, at the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Symbolism from the Swedish national arms, the Three Crowns, still appears in the island's coat of arms. The language, cuisine and culture, however, are distinctly French. The island is a popular tourist destination during the winter holiday season, especially the rich and famous during the Christmas and New Year period.

Nicolas Flamel (French pronunciation: [nikɔˈla flaˈmɛl]; Pontoise?, ca 1330 - Paris, March 22, 1418) was a successful French scrivener and manuscript-seller who developed a posthumous reputation as an alchemist due to his reputed work on the philosopher's stone.

According to the introduction to his work and additional details that have accrued since its publication, Flamel was the most accomplished of the European alchemists, and had learned his art from a Jewish converso on the road to Santiago de Compostela. As Deborah Harkness put it, "Others thought Flamel was the creation of 17th-century editors and publishers desperate to produce modern printed editions of supposedly ancient alchemical treatises then circulating in manuscript for an avid reading public." The modern assertion that many references to him or his writings appear in alchemical texts of the 16th century, however, has not been linked to any particular source. The essence of his reputation are claims that he succeeded at the two magical goals of alchemy: that he made the Philosopher's Stone, which turns common metals into gold and ordinary stones into precious gems, and that he and his wife Perenelle achieved immortality through the "Elixir of Life".

Goran Bregović (Serbian Cyrillic: Горан Бреговић, pronounced [ɡɔ̌ran brɛ̂ːɡɔʋitɕ], born 22 March 1950 in Sarajevo, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia) is one of the most internationally known modern musicians and composers of the Balkans. He currently splits his time between Paris and Belgrade, where he settled down during the Yugoslav Wars.

Bregović has composed for such varied artists as Iggy Pop and Cesária Évora. He rose to fame playing guitar with his rock band Bijelo dugme. Among his better known scores are Emir Kusturica’s films (Time of the Gypsies, Arizona Dream, Underground).

Bregović’s compositions, extending Balkan musical inspirations to innovative extremes, draw upon European classicism and Balkan rhythms.

Bregović's music carries Serbian, Bosnian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Greek and Romani themes (in that order) and is a fusion of popular music with traditional polyphonic music from the Balkans, tango and brass bands.

Bregović was born in Sarajevo, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia, to a Serbian mother and Croatian father. His father was an officer in the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA). When his parents divorced he remained living with his mother in Sarajevo.