Plaza ( /ˈplɑːzə/; Castilian Spanish: [ˈplaθa] or Latin American Spanish: [ˈplasa]) is a Spanish word related to "field" which describes an open urban public space, such as a city square. All through Spanish America, the plaza mayor of each center of administration held three closely related institutions: the cathedral, the cabildo or administrative center, which might be incorporated in a wing of a governor's palace, and the audiencia or law court. The plaza might be large enough to serve as a military parade ground. At times of crisis or fiesta, it was the space where a large crowd might gather. Like the Italian piazza, the plaza remains a center of community life that is only equaled by the market-place.

Most colonial cities in Spanish America and the Philippines were planned around a square plaza de armas, where troops could be mustered, as the name implies, surrounded by the governor's palace and the main church. A plaza de toros is a bullring.

In modern usage, a plaza can be any gathering place on a street or between buildings, a street intersection with a statue, etc. Today's metropolitan landscapes often incorporate the "plaza" as a design element, or as an outcome of zoning regulations, building budgetary constraints, and the like. Sociologist William H. Whyte conducted an extensive study of plazas in New York City: his study humanized the way modern urban plazas are conceptualized, and helped usher in significant design changes in the making of plazas.

Aubrey Christina Plaza (born June 26, 1984) is an American actress and comedian who has gained popularity through her deadpan-style comedy, and currently co-stars in Parks and Recreation as April Ludgate.

Plaza was born in Wilmington, Delaware, the daughter of Bernadette, an attorney, and David Plaza, a financial advisor. She has two younger sisters, Renee and Natalie, the latter of whom she uses as inspiration for her teenage character April Ludgate on Parks and Recreation.

Plaza was named after the song "Aubrey" by Bread. Her father is Puerto Rican and her mother is of Irish and English descent. Plaza has stated: "I was like the only diverse kid in my high school, and I'm half-Puerto Rican. But yeah, I have a huge family and tons of cousins in Puerto Rico." She participated in productions with the Wilmington Drama League.

Plaza graduated from Ursuline Academy in 2002, and New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 2006. While at NYU in 2004, Plaza suffered a stroke that caused temporary paralysis and expressive aphasia, but she has fully recovered.

Alia Martine Shawkat ( /ˈæliə ˈʃoʊkɑːt/; born April 18, 1989) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Maeby Fünke in the Fox series Arrested Development.

Shawkat was born in Riverside, California, to actor Tony Shawkat and Dina Burke. She grew up in nearby Palm Springs. She has two brothers. Her maternal grandfather was actor Paul Burke.

Shawkat is of Kurdish descent on her father's side and Irish and Norwegian descent on her mother's side.

Shawkat made her acting debut in both film and television in 1999. In that year, she played the daughter of the character Amir in the feature film Three Kings, in which her father Tony Shawkat played a member of the Iraqi Republican Guard, and appeared as a young Sarah "Mac" MacKenzie on one episode of JAG. She landed her first starring role in 2001, playing Hannah Rayburn in the television sitcom State of Grace, which aired in the United States on the cable television channel Fox Family (subsequently renamed ABC Family) until 2002.

As Maeby Fünke, Shawkat was a regular cast member of Arrested Development for the entire run of the show (2003–2006). The series received nearly universal positive reviews, with Shawkat's performance occasionally singled out for praise; pop-culture commentator Brian M. Palmer remarked that she was "one of the brightest lights on a show populated solely by bright lights," and Scott Weinberg of eFilmCritic described her as "one funny young lady." In an interview with The A.V. Club in 2010, Shawkat remarked that many of her "formative moments" as an actress took place on the Arrested Development set: " [Show creator] Mitch Hurwitz was like a father figure to me...In a way, it was great to be around [the cast], because I feel that my understanding of comedy was able to grow really well during that time." Shawkat, along with the rest of the main cast, are set to reprise their roles in the upcoming Arrested Development feature film.

Dane DeHaan (born February 6, 1986) is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Jesse on HBO series In Treatment and his role in the 2012 film Chronicle.

DeHaan was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania. His father, Jeff DeHaan, is a computer programmer, and his mother, Cynthia Boscia, is a Knoll Furniture executive. He has an elder sister, Meghann. DeHaan is a graduate of Emmaus High School in Emmaus, Pennsylvania and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

He has been dating Chronicle co-star Anna Wood since 2006.

He got his start in Broadway Theatre as the understudy for Haley Joel Osment in "American Buffalo". He made his television debut in 2008 with a guest appearance on Law & Order Special Victims Unit. He made his feature film debut in John Sayles' Amigo and starred as Jesse in the third season of In Treatment. He played Timbo in the fourth season of True Blood. He has been cast as Cricket in the film Lawless. In 2012, DeHaan was cast in the science fiction motion picture Chronicle.

Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego (born 19 April 1960) is a Colombian politician of the Political Independent movement Progresistas (Progressivists) and the current Mayor of Bogotá. As a young man he became and active member of the 19th of April Movement, which later evolved into the Alianza Democrática M-19, a political party in which Petro also participated. Years later he would become the presidential candidate of the Alternative Democratic Pole in the 2010 Colombian election, but lost at ranking fourth after the now President Juan Manuel Santos, Antanas Mockus and German Vargas Lleras respectively. After departing of the Pole in 2010, Petro was elected mayor of Bogota in the Colombian regional elections of 2011.

Petro studied at the Colegio de Hermanos de La Salle, where he founded the student newspaper Carta al Pueblo ("Letter to the People"). At the age of 18 he became a member of the 19th of April Movement, and was involved in military and political activities. During his time in 19 April Petro became a popular leader, and was elected ombudsman of Zipaquirá in 1981 and councilman from 1984 to 1986.