Gracias

Gracias (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈɡɾasjas]) is a small Honduran town/municipality that was founded in 1536, and is the capital of Lempira Department.

It has a population of approximately 50,000 people (12,000 in the urban center). It is found in the mountainous centre of western Honduras.

History

The word gracias means "thanks" in Spanish. It is said that upon arriving at the site of the city of Gracias, the Spanish explorers, tired after having trekked through the mountainous terrain, said "Gracias a Dios hemos llegado a tierra plana," meaning "Thank God we have arrived at flat land."

The city was made the regional capital of the Audiencia de los Confines in 1544. However, this decision created resentment in the populated areas of Guatemala and El Salvador. In 1549, the capital was moved to Antigua, Guatemala, and Honduras remained a province within the Captaincy General of Guatemala until 1821.

Geography

Elevation ranges from roughly 800 meters at the town square to 2,870 meters at the peak of Montaña Celaque (also known as Cerro Las Minas). Climate is greatly influenced by elevation, with the low-lying portions having a wet-dry (monsoonal) pattern. Montaña Celaque is the highest mountain and largest cloud forest in Honduras, and is protected through Celaque Mountain National Park.

Vicente Fernández

Vicente "Chente" Fernández Gómez (born February 17, 1940) is a Mexican recording singer, actor, and film producer. Nicknamed as "El Rey de la Cancion Ranchera" (The King of Ranchera Music) throughout the Hispanosphere, Fernández started his career singing for tips on the street, and has since become a cultural icon, recording more than 50 albums and contributing to more than 30 films. He is the father of the popular singer Alejandro Fernández and Vicente Fernandez Jr, and uncle of Jackeline ("Jackie") Fernandez.

For over 40 years, Vicente Fernandez has maintained his position as the greatest living singer of Mexico, gathering an operatic vocal range, with a deep understanding of the roots of ranchera music. He is renowned for his melodramatic voice. In the dozens of Mexican films in which he has been a star, a role he often was left to perfection: the proud charro, or Mexican cowboy.

Although less well-known to English-speaking audiences, Fernandez has consistently filled stadiums and venues throughout his 35-plus years of performing. His repertoire consists of rancheras and other Mexican classics. He is accompanied live by a mariachi group, but he is not technically a mariachi musician, as he plays no instrument live.

El Salvador

Coordinates: 13°50′N 88°55′W / 13.833°N 88.917°W / 13.833; -88.917

El Salvador (ⁱ/ɛl ˈsælvədɔːr/; Spanish: [el salβaˈðor]), officially the Republic of El Salvador (Spanish: República de El Salvador, literally "Republic of The Savior"), is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. El Salvador's capital and largest city is San Salvador. As of 2015, El Salvador had a population of approximately 6.38 million, making it the most densely populated country in the region. Its population consists largely of Mestizos of European and Indigenous American descent.

El Salvador was for centuries inhabited by several Mesoamerican nations, especially the Cuzcatlecs, as well as the Lenca and Maya. In the early 16th century, the Spanish Empire conquered the territory, incorporating it into the Viceroyalty of New Spain. In 1821, the country achieved independence from Spain as part of the First Mexican Empire, only to further secede as part of the Federal Republic of Central America in 1823. Upon the republic's dissolution in 1841, El Salvador became sovereign until forming a short-lived union with Honduras and Nicaragua called the Greater Republic of Central America, which lasted from 1895 to 1898.

Wisin & Yandel

Wisin & Yandel are a Puerto Rican reggaeton duo, composed of Juan Luis Morera Luna (Wisin) and Llandel Veguilla Malavé (Yandel). They started their career in 1998 and have been together since, winning several awards during that time, including a Grammy award in 2009, being the first and the only reggaeton artists who won it. In late 2013, they announced to take a pause in their careers as a duo, after their Líderes tour. According to Yandel, they have not disbanded.

Music career

Beginning (1998–2004)

In 1998, Wisin & Yandel participated in the album No Fear 3, produced by DJ Dicky as well as on the compilation album La Misión Vol. 1, edited by Fresh Productions label. The success of this collection (which was certified gold) led the label to produce Los Reyes del Nuevo Milenio, the first album by Wisin & Yandel.

From that moment the duo started a successful career. They continued posting new topics in the successive editions of La Misión and recorded three new albums: De Nuevos a Viejos (2001), Mi Vida... My Life (2003) and De Otra Manera (2004), all of which were certified gold. The duo also received the Tu Música Award for Best Rap/Reggaeton Duo in 2002.

Marcos Witt

Marcos Witt (born May 19, 1962) is an American Christian singer and pastor.

Biography

Witt was the second of three children born to Jerry and Nola Witt, a young American missionary couple. The Witt family moved to Durango, Mexico, in 1960 and started a missionary outreach. Jerry was killed when his small aircraft was shot down in 1964 while he was dropping gospels of St. John over small villages in Mexico. Nola Witt continued the mission work after his death. Some years later, she married Frank Warren. Together, they began to build new churches in Durango, México. The couple had two children, twin daughters Nolita and Lorena Warren.

Witt's education began with basic studies at the American School of Durango. He then studied classical music at the University of Juarez (Durango, México) and eventually started his theological studies at the International Bible College in San Antonio, Texas. Currently, Witt is working towards his masters degree at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma.