Central America is a region found in the southern tip of North America and is sometimes defined as a subregion of the Americas. This region is bordered by Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south. Central America consists of seven countries: El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama; the combined population of Central America is estimated at 44.53 million. Central America is a part of the Mesoamerican biodiversity hotspot, which extends from northern Guatemala to central Panama. Due to the presence of several active geologic faults and the Central America Volcanic Arc, there is a great deal of seismic activity in the region, such as volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, which has resulted in death and property damage. In the Pre-Columbian era, Central America was inhabited by the indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica to the north and west and the Isthmo-Colombian peoples to the south and east. Following the Spanish expedition of Christopher Columbus' voyages to the Americas, Spain began to colonize the Americas.

From 1609 to 1821, the majority of Central American territories were governed by the viceroyalty of New Spain from Mexico City as the Captaincy General of Guatemala. On 24 August 1821, Spanish Viceroy Juan de O’Donojú signed the Treaty of Córdoba, which established New Spain's independence from Spain. On 15 September 1821, the Act of Independence of Central America was enacted to announce Central America's separation from the Spanish Empire and provide for the establishment of a new Central American state; some of New Spain's provinces in the Central American region were annexed to the First Mexican Empire. In 1838, Honduras, Costa Rica and Guatemala became the first of Central America's seven states to become independent autonomous countries, followed by El Salvador in 1841, Panama in 1903 and Belize in 1981. Despite the dissolution of the Federal Republic of Central America, there is anecdotal evidence that demonstrates that Salvadorans, Costa Ricans, Guatemalans and Nicaraguans continue to maintain a Central American identity.

For instance, Central Americans sometimes refer to their nations as if they were provinces of a Central American state. It is not unusual to write "C. A." after the country's name in formal and informal contexts. Governments in the region sometimes reinforce this sense of belonging to Central America in its citizens. For example, automobile licence plates in many of the region's countries include the moniker, alongside the country's name. Belizeans are associated to be culturally West Indian rather than Central American. "Central America" may mean different things to various people, based upon different contexts: The United Nations geoscheme for the Americas defines the region as all states of mainland North America south of the United States and includes all of Mexico. Middle America is thought to comprise Mexico to the north of the 7 states of Central America as well as Colombia and Venezuela to the south; the whole of the Caribbean to the northeast, sometimes the Guyanas, are included. According to one source, the term "Central America" was used as a synonym for "Middle America" at least as as 1962.

In Ibero-America, the Americas is considered a single continent, Central America is considered a subregion of North America comprising the seven countries south of Mexico and north of Colombia. For the people living in the five countries part of the Federal Republic of Central America there is a distinction between the Spanish language terms "América Central" and "Centroamérica". While both can be translated into English as "Central America", "América Central" is used to refer to the geographical area of the seven countries between Mexico and Colombia, while "Centroamérica" is used when referring to the former members of the Federation emphasizing the shared culture and history of the region. In Portuguese as a rule and in Spanish and other languages, the entirety of the Antilles is included in the definition of Central America. Indeed, the Dominican Republic is a full member of the Central American Integration System. In the Pre-Columbian era, the northern areas of Central America were inhabited by the indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica.

Most notable among these were the Mayans, who had built numerous cities throughout the region, the Aztecs, who had created a vast empire. The pre-Columbian cultures of eastern El Salvador, eastern Honduras, Caribbean Nicaragua, most of Costa Rica and Panama were predominantly speakers of the Chibchan languages at the time of European contact and are considered by some culturally different and grouped in the Isthmo-Colombian Area. Following the Spanish expedition of Christopher Columbus's voyages to the Americas, the Spanish sent many expeditions to the region, they began their conquest of Maya territory in 1523. Soon after the conquest of the Aztec Empire, Spanish conquistador Pedro de Alvarado commenced the conquest of northern Central America for the Spanish Empire. Beginning with his arrival in Soconusco in 1523, Alvarado's forces systematically conquered and subjugated most of the major Maya kingdoms, including the K'iche', Tz'utujil and the Kaqchikel. By 1528, the conquest of Guatemala wa

Rhododendron discolor is a rhododendron species native to many regions of China, where it grows at altitudes of 900–1900 meters. It is a shrub or small tree that grows to 1.5–8 meters in height, with leathery leaves that are oblong-elliptic or oblong-lanceolate, 9.5–18 × 2.4–5.4 cm in size. Flowers are pale pink to white. According to Flora of China, "Rhododendron discolor intergrades with R. fortunei, can reliably be separated from that species only by the proportionately narrower leaves." Rhododendron fortunei subsp. Discolor D. F. Chamb. Rhododendron fortunei var. houlstonii Rehder & E. H. Wilson Rhododendron fortunei var. kwangfuense G. Z. Li Rhododendron houlstonii Hemsl. & E. H. Wilson Rhododendron kwangfuense Chun & W. P. Fang Rhododendron mandarinorum Diels Franchet, J. Bot.. 9: 391. 1895. The Plant List Flora of China Encyclopedia of Life

Art Blakey et les Jazz Messengers au Théâtre des Champs-Élysées is a live album by Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers recorded at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris on November 15, 1959 and released on the French RCA Records label. The first official release of this material on CD was in the 2015 Sony box set, The Complete Columbia and RCA Albums Collection, with three bonus tracks. Allmusic gave the album 3 stars with Ken Dryden's review stating: "Most of the four pieces featured give the band a chance to stretch out and are the typical high-energy performances one has come to expect from bands led by the veteran drummer... The rather muddy sound of this live recording is somewhat disappointing...therefore, it is worth the investment for obsessive Art Blakey collectors, while most jazz fans will gravitate to better-sounding releases first". "Close Your Eyes" - 9:43 "Goldie" - 9:03 "Ray's Idea" - 5:03 "Lester Left Town" - 10:06Bonus tracks on The Complete Columbia and RCA Albums Collection:"Blues March" - 9:00 "Are You Real" - 10:31 "A Night in Tunisia" - 7:56 Art Blakey – drums Lee Morgan – trumpet Wayne Shorter – tenor saxophone Walter Davis Jr. – piano Jymie Merritt – bass