Caracas Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, the centre of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas. Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range. Terrain suitable for building lies between 760 and 1,140 m above sea level, although there is some settlement above this range; the valley is close to the Caribbean Sea, separated from the coast by a steep 2,200-metre-high mountain range, Cerro El Ávila. The Metropolitan Region of Caracas has an estimated population of 3 million inhabitants, it is the seventh largest metropolitan area in terms of population in Latin America. Speaking, the centre of the city is still Catedral, located near Bolívar Square though it is assumed that it is Plaza Venezuela, located in the Los Caobos neighbourhood. Chacaíto area, Luis Brión Square and El Rosal neighborhood are considered the geographic center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas.

Businesses in the city include service companies and malls. Caracas has a service-based economy, apart from some industrial activity in its metropolitan area; the Caracas Stock Exchange and Petróleos de Venezuela are headquartered in Caracas. PDVSA is the largest company in Venezuela. Caracas is Venezuela's cultural capital, with many restaurants, theaters and shopping centers. Caracas has some of the tallest skyscrapers such as the Parque Central Towers. Caracas has been considered one of the most important cultural, tourist and economic centres of Latin America; the Museum of Contemporary Art of Caracas is one of the most important in South America. The Museum of Fine Arts and the National Art Gallery of Caracas are noteworthy; the National Art Gallery was projected to be the largest museum in Latin America, according to its architect Carlos Gómez De Llarena. Caracas has one of the highest per capita murder rates in the world, with 111.19 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants. At the time of the founding of the city in 1567, the valley of Caracas was populated by indigenous peoples.

Francisco Fajardo, the son of a Spanish captain and a Guaiqueri cacica, attempted to establish a plantation in the valley in 1562 after founding a series of coastal towns. Fajardo's settlement did not last long, it was destroyed by natives of the region led by Guaicaipuro. This was the last rebellion on the part of the natives. On 25 July 1567, Captain Diego de Losada laid the foundations of the city of Santiago de León de Caracas; the foundation − 1567 – "I take possession of this land in the name of God and the King" These were the words of Don Diego de Losada in founding the city of Caracas on 25 July 1567. In 1577, Caracas became the capital of the Spanish Empire's Venezuela Province under Governor Juan de Pimentel. During the 17th century, the coast of Venezuela was raided by pirates. With the coastal mountains as a barrier, Caracas was immune to such attacks. However, in 1595, around 200 English privateers including George Sommers and Amyas Preston crossed the mountains through a little-used pass while the town's defenders were guarding the more often-used one.

Encountering little resistance, the invaders sacked and set fire to the town after a failed ransom negotiation. As the cocoa cultivation and exports under the Compañía Guipuzcoana de Caracas grew in importance, the city expanded. In 1777, Caracas became the capital of the Captaincy General of Venezuela. José María España and Manuel Gual led an attempted revolution aimed at independence, but the rebellion was put down on 13 July 1797. Caracas was the site of the signing of a Declaration of independence on 17 August 1811. In 1812, an earthquake destroyed Caracas; the war for independence continued until 24 June 1821, when Bolívar defeated royalists in the Battle of Carabobo. Caracas grew in economic importance during Venezuela's oil boom in the early 20th century. In 1941, Caracas was the site at which ratifications for the López de Mesa-Gil Borges Treaty were exchanged. During the 1950s, Caracas began an intensive modernization program which continued throughout the 1960s and early 1970s; the Universidad Central de Venezuela, designed by modernist architect Carlos Raúl Villanueva and declared World Heritage by UNESCO, was built.

New working- and middle-class residential districts sprouted in the valley, extending the urban area toward the east and southeast. Joining El Silencio designed by Villanueva, were several workers' housing districts, 23 de Enero and Simon Rodriguez. Middle-class developments include Bello Monte, Los Palos Grandes, El Cafetal; the dramatic change in the economic structure of the country, which went from being agricultural to dependent on oil production, stimulated the fast development of Caracas, made it a magnet for people in rural communities who migrated to the capital city in an unplanned fashion searching for greater economic opportunity. This migration created the rancho belt of the valley of Caracas; the flag of Caracas consists of a burgundy red field with the version of the Coat of Arms of the City. The red field symbolises the blood spilt by Caraquenian people in favour of independence and the highest ideals of the Venezuelan Nation. In the year 1994 as a result of the change of municipal authorities, it was decided to increase the size of the Caracas coat of arms and move it to the centre of the field.

This version of the flag is still in use today. The coat of arms of

Brianna Van Buren is a mixed martial artist from the United States, competing in the strawweight division for UFC. She is a former Invicta FC Strawweight Champion. Van Buren fought primary in California, she amassed a record of 3-1 prior signed by Invicta FC. Van Buren made her Invicta FC debut on February 27, 2015 at Invicta FC 11: Cyborg vs. Tweet against Amy Montenegro, she lost the fight via unanimous decision. Van Buren next faced Jamie Moyle on December 15, 2018 at Invicta FC 33: Frey vs. Grusander II, she won the fight by unanimous decision. On May 3, 2019, Van Buren competed in the first Phoenix Series tournament. A new one-night tournament to determine a new strawweight champion. In the opening round, she faced Manjit Kolekar and won the fight via submission by way of armbar in the first round, she moved on winning the fight via unanimous decision. In the finals, Van Buren faced Kailin Curran, she submitted Curran in the second round with a rear naked choke to become the new Invicta FC Strawweight Champion.

She would vacate her title in order to sign with the UFC. In her UFC debut, van Buren faced Lívia Renata Souza, replacing injured Cynthia Calvillo, on July 13, 2019 at UFC Fight Night: de Randamie vs. Ladd, she won the fight via unanimous decision. Van Buren was scheduled to face Hannah Cifers on January 25, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 166; however Van Buren was pulled from the event with undisclosed reason and she was replaced by Angela Hill. Invicta Fighting Championships Invicta FC Strawweight Champion Van Buren's moniker "Tha Bull" or "The Bull" was coined by her grandfather when she was young as she used to running around with such attitude that her grandfather called her "El Torito", "The baby bull" in Spanish. List of current Invicta FC fighters List of female mixed martial artists Professional MMA record for Brianna Van Buren from Sherdog Buren Brianna Van Buren at UFC

Let It Rock! is the Connection's first full-length LP, released in June 2013. While all rock and roll, the songs on Let It Rock! are otherwise diverse in nature, one of them incorporates touches of country music. A single, "Crawling from the Wreckage", was released before the album as a 7-inch single. Let It Rock! was album of the summer on El Sotano Radio in Madrid, Spain, in 2013. Goldmine magazine named Let It Rock number 14 on its Top 20 Albums of 2013, stating, "A helping of punk energy, plenty of pop songwriting smarts and a whole lotta rock and roll attitude sums up these New Hampshire boys." The record features two covers: "Connection" by the Rolling Stones, Chuck Berry's classic "Let it Rock." The other tracks are original Marino/Palmer compositions. According to Marino, "Some of the songs are like the first album... that 1964 AM radio, three chord, we have some other songs where they sound more like a 1972 Rolling Stones' song. We have saxophone, piano... I tune my guitar to the Keith Richards tuning... we just let it rip."

Released earlier than the album on May 27, 2013 was a promo single "Crawling from the Wreckage." The song is an original Marino/Palmer composition, is an up-tempo number that pays homage to Dave Edmunds and his 1979 Graham Parker-penned song, "Crawling from the Wreckage." In June 2013, The Connection's first full-length LP Let It Rock! was released in the US on King Yum Records and Collectors Club Records. By December 2013, the album was released in Spain; the American LP record had 13 tracks, there were 14 tracks in Europe. The album was reissued as a 22-track CD by adding the songs from the Connection Collection Vol.1 EP. This version was released in Japan. Let It Rock! was album of the summer on El Sotano Radio in Madrid in 2013. Goldmine Magazine named Let It Rock number 14 on its Top 20 Albums of 2013, stating, "A helping of punk energy, plenty of pop songwriting smarts and a whole lotta rock and roll attitude sums up these New Hampshire boys." According to a review, "There is no one—no one—on the scene today that does rock'n' roll better than The Connection.

Their music takes us back to the early days of rock innocence and exuberance when people like Eddie Cochran, Chuck Berry, the Rolling Stones and the Fab Four sang songs that affirmed the uncontaminated perceptions of youth... The Connection prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that rock still has its vibrance, its power and its relevance in the 21st century." Brad Marino – vocals, guitar Geoff Palmer – lead guitar, vocals Bobby Davis – bass Zack Sprague – drums Kris Rodgers – piano TheConnectionOfficial.com