Palencia is a city south of Tierra de Campos, in north-northwest Spain, the capital of the province of Palencia in the autonomous community of Castile-Leon. The municipality had a population of 82,626 in 2008.

Palencia lies in the north sector of the central Spanish plateau, the Meseta Central, in the middle of the Carrión river valley, near the river's confluence with the Pisuerga, which flows through the town and creates four islands, Dos Aguas and Sotillo being the biggest ones.

Two hills surround the city in its north-east area. At the closest one stands the huge statue of Christ known as El Cristo del Otero, the third biggest Christ statue in the world after the one of Rio de Janeiro.

Palencia has a big forest of 1,438 hectares (3,550 acres) 6 km away. Inhabitants call it "Monte el Viejo" ("Old Mount"). This park is a popular amusement area for the locals.

The Canal de Castilla runs close to the city.

Palencia's municipality includes the village of Paredes de Monte, 14 km away.

The region of Palencia has a Continental Mediterranean climate with very cool winters, due to altitude (749 m) and isolation from maritime influences, chilly winds, including some days of snow in the winter and minimum temperatures usually below 0 °C (32 °F). Fogs are also frequent because of the Carrion river. Summer tends to be warm and nice with temperatures that consistently surpass 25 °C (77 °F) in July and that can rarely reach 30 °C (86 °F). Due to Palencia's altitude, nightly temperatures tend to be cooler, leading to a lower average in the summer months. Precipitation levels are moderated, but precipitation can be observed throughout the year (except July and August). Summer and winter are the driest seasons, with most rainfall occurring in the autumn and spring.[14]

Juan Francisco Palencia Hernández (born April 28, 1973 in Mexico City) is a former Mexican football striker, his last team was Pumas UNAM.

Palencia made his international debut for the Mexican national football team on June 8, 1996 against Bolivia at the U.S. Cup tournament in Dallas, Texas, scoring the winning goal.

Palencia played in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, taking his side to the quarterfinals where they were defeated by Nigeria, the eventual winners. He was a member of the national team for the 1996, 1998 and 2003 Gold Cup tournaments and the 1999 Confederations Cup tournament, where he helped Mexico win all four competitions. Palencia also played in two FIFA World Cups, France'98 and Korea-Japan 2002, but could only help his team reach the "Round of 16" of the tournaments before being eliminated. He has also represented his country in three Copa América tournaments in 1997, 1999 and 2004, as well as two Confederations Cup appearances in 1997 and 1999.

A veteran of 396 career games at club level with 121 goals to his name, 79 international caps for his country and 12 international goals. His experience has made him one of Mexico's best players. Palencia trained with the Cruz Azul youth system at age 13 and made his debut in the Primera División de México in 1994 at age 21. After finishing the 1995-1996 season with highly anticipated performances, Palencia was awarded the "Rookie of the Year Award", for most outstanding young player in the Mexican First Division. Palencia would go on to play seven seasons, captaining and scoring 91 goals for Mexico City's Club Deportivo Cruz Azul, and leading them to two championship titles in the CONCACAF Tournaments of 1996 and 1997, one championship title in the Mexican First Division in 1997, and second place in the Copa Libertadores of 2001.

Cuauhtémoc Blanco Bravo (Spanish pronunciation: [kwauˈtemok ˈblaŋko]; born 17 January 1973) is a Mexican professional footballer who currently plays for Dorados de Sinaloa in the Mexican Liga de Ascenso.

Known for his aggressive yet charismatic personality on the field, playing most of his career as a deep-lying forward and his last years as an attacking midfielder. He is widely considered one of the greatest and most talented Mexican players in the last two decades.

Blanco is the only Mexican football player with an award in a major international FIFA competition, as he won the Silver Ball and the Silver Shoe awards in the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup. He has been awarded the MVP of the Mexican First League Division five times.

He is tied with Ronaldinho as the leading Confederations Cup goalscorer. Blanco is the second leading goal scorer for the Mexican national football team and his debut team Club América; he is also Mexico's second top scorer in both the FIFA World Cup and the Copa Libertadores tournament.