Joara was a large Native American settlement, a regional chiefdom of the Mississippian culture, located in what is now Burke County, North Carolina. Joara is notable as a significant archaeological and historic site. It was a place of encounter in 1540 between the Mississippian people and the party of Spanish conquistador Hernando De Soto. A later expedition under Juan Pardo in 1567 created the first brief European settlement in the interior of the continent.

Recent archaeological finds have established evidence of both substantial Mississippian and sustained Spanish 16th-century settlement in the interior of North Carolina. Joara was the site of Fort San Juan, established by the Juan Pardo expedition as the earliest Spanish outpost (1567–1568) in the interior of what is now North Carolina. This was 40 years before the English settlement at Jamestown and nearly 20 years before their "Lost Colony" at Roanoke Island.

Located northwest of Morganton, the site has been excavated in portions by the Upper Catawba Valley Archaeology Project. They hold regular open houses and educational events for the public during the summer excavation season.

Raul Santos Seixas (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʁaˈuɫ ˈsejʃɐs]; June 28, 1945 Salvador Northeast Brazil – August 21, 1989), was a Brazilian rock composer, singer, songwriter and producer. He is sometimes called the "Father of Brazilian Rock" and "Maluco Beleza". He was born in Salvador (Bahia), Brazil, and died of pancreatitis in São Paulo. Every year on Seixas' birthday, legions of fans, including hundreds of impersonators (many even changing their last name to Seixas as a sign of idolatry), throw a parade in his honor in downtown São Paulo.

His body of work consists of 21 albums released along his 26-year career. His musical style is mostly rock and ballad, although he wrote songs in many different styles, including variations of styles typical of his native Northeastern Brazil like Forró and Baião, and in fact often used more than one style in the same song, as in "Let Me Sing, Let Me Sing". His debut album, Raulzito e Os Panteras (1968), was produced when he was part of a band of the same name. However, he only gained prominence and critical audience with songs from the album Krig-Há, Bandolo! (1973), such as "Ouro de Tolo" ("Fool's Gold"), "Mosca na Sopa" ("Fly in the Soup"), and "Metamorfose Ambulante" ("Walking Metamorphosis"). Raul Seixas developed a unique musical style that emphasized the maverick and the mystic. His album Gita (1974), influenced by figures such as Aleister Crowley, expresses his views very directly.