1.
Galicians
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Galicians are a national, cultural and ethnolinguistic group whose historic homeland is Galicia, in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. Two Romance languages are spoken and official in Galicia, the native Galician. Galician is a Romance language belonging to the Western Ibero-Romance branch, as such and it has official status in Galicia. Galician is also spoken in the autonomous communities of Asturias and Castile and León. The Galician-Portuguese language developed a literary tradition from the last years of the 12th century. Galician-Portuguese diverged into two linguistic varieties - Galician and Portuguese - from the 15th century on, Galician became a regional variety open to the influence of Castilian Spanish, while Portuguese became the international one, as language of the Portuguese Empire. The two varieties are close together, and in particular northern Portuguese dialects share an important number of similarities with Galician ones. The drift toward Spanish is ascribed to the growth of centres, the emergence of a Galician middle class, and the worldly influences of education. Galicia also boasts a rich tradition, in the form of songs, tales, and sayings. Still flourishing today, this tradition shares much with that of Portugal, for example, surnames like Orxás, Veiga, Outeiro, became Orjales, Vega, Otero. Toponyms like Ourense, A Coruña, Fisterra became Orense, La Coruña, in many cases this linguistic assimilation created confusion, for example Niño da Aguia was translated into Spanish as Niño de la Guía and Mesón do Bento was translated as Mesón del Viento. In pre-historic times Galicia was dominated by a culture, common to other areas of Atlantic Europe. Galicians are descended from Spains second wave of Celtic invaders who came across the Pyrenees mountains, later, it was taken over by the Roman Republic and Empire. It was at time that Latin, which is the ancestor of modern Galician. The decline of the Roman Empire was followed by the rule of two Germanic tribes, the Suevic, who settled in numbers, and the Visigoths. The official Statistical body of Galicia is the Instituto Galego de Estatística, according to the IGE, Galicias total population in 2008 was 2,783,100. The most important cities in this region, which serve as the administrative centres, are Vigo, Pontevedra, Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, Ferrol, Lugo. The official languages are Galician and Spanish, knowledge of Spanish is compulsory according to the Spanish constitution and virtually universal
2.
Old Havana
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Old Havana is the city-center and one of the 15 municipalities forming Havana, Cuba. It has the second highest population density in the city and contains the core of the city of Havana. The positions of the original Havana city walls are the boundaries of Old Havana. Old Havana is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Havana Vieja was founded by the Spanish in 1519 in the natural harbor of the Bay of Havana. It became a point for the treasure laden Spanish Galleons on the crossing between the New World and the Old World. In the 17th century it was one of the shipbuilding centers. The city was built in baroque and neoclassic style, many buildings have fallen in ruin in the later half of the 20th century, but a number are being restored. The narrow streets of Old Havana contain many buildings, accounting for perhaps as many as one-third of the approximately 3,000 buildings found in Old Havana and it is the ancient city formed from the port, the official center and the Plaza de Armas. In 1555 Old Havana was destroyed and burned by the French corsair Jacques de Sores, the pirate had taken Havana easily, plundering the city and burning much of it to the ground. After limiting the scarce defenders, De Sores left without obtaining the wealth that he was hoping to find in Havana. The city remained devastated and set on fire, since the incident, the Spanish brought soldiers and started building fortresses and walls to protect the city. Castillo de la Real Fuerza was the first fortress built, initiated in 1558, Old Havana resembles Cadiz and Tenerife. Alejo Carpentier called it de las columnas, but it could also be named for the gateways, the revoco, the deterioration and the rescue, the intimacy, the shade, the cool, the courtyards. In her there are all the big ancient monuments, the forts, the convents and churches, the palaces, the alleys, the arcade, the human density. The Cuban State has undertaken efforts to preserve and to restore Old Havana through the efforts of the Office of the Historian of the City. The Malecón is the avenue runs along the seawall at the northern shore of Havana. The Paseo del Prado, Havana is the street forms the western edge of Old Havana. Castillo del Morro, picturesque fortress guarding the entrance to Havana bay, the construction of the castle Los Tres Reyes del Morro owed to the step along in Havana of the English pirate Sir Francis Drake
3.
Havana
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Havana is the capital city, largest city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city extends mostly westward and southward from the bay, which is entered through a narrow inlet, the sluggish Almendares River traverses the city from south to north, entering the Straits of Florida a few miles west of the bay. King Philip II of Spain granted Havana the title of City in 1592, walls as well as forts were built to protect the old city. The sinking of the U. S. battleship Maine in Havanas harbor in 1898 was the cause of the Spanish–American War. Contemporary Havana can essentially be described as three cities in one, Old Havana, Vedado and the suburban districts. The city is the center of the Cuban government, and home to various ministries, headquarters of businesses, the current mayor is Marta Hernández of the Communist Party of Cuba. In 2009, the city/province had the third highest income in the country, the city attracts over a million tourists annually, the Official Census for Havana reports that in 2010 the city was visited by 1,176,627 international tourists, a 20% increase from 2005. Old Havana was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982, the city is also noted for its history, culture, architecture and monuments. As typical of Cuba, Havana also features a tropical climate, in May 2015, Havana was officially recognized as one of the New7Wonders Cities together with Vigan, Doha, La Paz, Durban, Beirut, and Kuala Lumpur. Most native settlements became the site of Spanish colonial cities retaining their original Taíno names, an alternate theory is that Habana is derived from the Middle Dutch word havene, referring to a harbour, etymologically related to the English word haven. All attempts to found a city on Cubas south coast failed, however, an early map of Cuba drawn in 1514 places the town at the mouth of this river. The town that became Havana finally originated adjacent to what was then called Puerto de Carenas, the quality of this natural bay, which now hosts Havanas harbor, warranted this change of location. Pánfilo de Narváez gave Havana – the sixth town founded by the Spanish on Cuba – its name, the name combines San Cristóbal, patron saint of Havana. Shortly after the founding of Cubas first cities, the served as little more than a base for the Conquista of other lands. Havana began as a port, and suffered regular attacks by buccaneers, pirates. The first attack and resultant burning of the city was by the French corsair Jacques de Sores in 1555, ships from all over the New World carried products first to Havana, in order to be taken by the fleet to Spain. The thousands of ships gathered in the bay also fueled Havanas agriculture and manufacture, since they had to be supplied with food, water. On December 20,1592, King Philip II of Spain granted Havana the title of City, later on, the city would be officially designated as Key to the New World and Rampart of the West Indies by the Spanish Crown
4.
Cuba
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Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is a country comprising the island of Cuba as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located in the northern Caribbean where the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, and it is south of both the U. S. state of Florida and the Bahamas, west of Haiti, and north of Jamaica. Havana is the largest city and capital, other cities include Santiago de Cuba. Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean, with an area of 109,884 square kilometres, prior to Spanish colonization in the late 15th century, Cuba was inhabited by Amerindian tribes. It remained a colony of Spain until the Spanish–American War of 1898, as a fragile republic, Cuba attempted to strengthen its democratic system, but mounting political radicalization and social strife culminated in the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in 1952. Further unrest and instability led to Batistas ousting in January 1959 by the July 26 Movement, since 1965, the state has been governed by the Communist Party of Cuba. A point of contention during the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States, a nuclear war broke out during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Culturally, Cuba is considered part of Latin America, Cuba is a Marxist–Leninist one-party republic, where the role of the vanguard Communist Party is enshrined in the Constitution. Independent observers have accused the Cuban government of human rights abuses. It is one of the worlds last planned economies and its economy is dominated by the exports of sugar, tobacco, coffee, according to the Human Development Index, Cuba is described as a country with high human development and is ranked the eighth highest in North America. It also ranks highly in some metrics of national performance, including health care, the name Cuba comes from the Taíno language. The exact meaning of the name is unclear but it may be translated either as where fertile land is abundant, authors who believe that Christopher Columbus was Portuguese state that Cuba was named by Columbus for the town of Cuba in the district of Beja in Portugal. Before the arrival of the Spanish, Cuba was inhabited by three distinct tribes of indigenous peoples of the Americas, the Taíno, the Guanajatabey, and the Ciboney people. The ancestors of the Ciboney migrated from the mainland of South America, the Taíno arrived from Hispanola sometime in the 3rd century A. D. When Columbus arrived they were the dominant culture in Cuba, having a population of 150,000. The name Cuba comes from the native Taíno language and it is derived from either coabana meaning great place, or from cubao meaning where fertile land is abundant. The Taíno were farmers, while the Ciboney were farmers as well as fishers and hunter-gatherers, Columbus claimed the island for the new Kingdom of Spain and named it Isla Juana after Juan, Prince of Asturias. In 1511, the first Spanish settlement was founded by Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar at Baracoa, other towns soon followed, including San Cristobal de la Habana, founded in 1515, which later became the capital
5.
Opera house
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An opera house is a theatre building used for opera performances that consists of a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and set building. While some venues are constructed specifically for operas, other houses are part of larger performing arts centers. In contrast, there was no house in London when Henry Purcell was composing. Early United States opera houses served a variety of functions in towns and cities, hosting community dances, fairs, plays, with the rise of bourgeois and capitalist social forms in the 19th century, European culture moved away from its patronage system to a publicly supported system. In the 2000s, most opera and theatre companies raise funds from a combination of government and institutional grants, ticket sales, the Teatro San Carlo in Naples introduces the plant horseshoe, the oldest in the world, a model for the Italian theater. On this model were built following theaters of Italy and Europe, among others, the theater of the Palace of Caserta. Given the popularity of opera in 18th and 19th century Europe, opera houses are large, with generally more than 1,000 seats. Modern opera houses of the century such as New Yorks Metropolitan Opera. Many operas are better suited to being presented in smaller theatres, in a traditional opera house, the auditorium is U-shaped, with the length of the sides determining the audience capacity. Around this are tiers of balconies, and often, nearer to the stage, are boxes and this is especially true of Wagners Bayreuth Festspielhaus where the pit is almost completely covered. The size of an opera orchestra varies, but for some operas, oratorios and other works, it may be large, for some romantic period works. Similarly, an opera may have a large cast of characters, chorus, dancers, therefore, a major opera house will have extensive dressing room facilities. Opera houses often have on-premises set and costume building shops and facilities for storage of costumes, make-up, masks, and stage properties, major opera houses throughout the world often have highly mechanized stages, with large stage elevators permitting heavy sets to be changed rapidly. At the Metropolitan Opera, for instance, sets are changed during the action, as the audience watches. This occurs in the Mets productions of such as Aida. Much the same happened in the remodeling of Milans La Scala opera house between 2002 and 2004, since the 1990s, however, many opera houses have begun using a subtle form of sound reinforcement called acoustic enhancement. Often, operas are presented in their languages, which may be different from the first language of the audience. For example, a Wagnerian opera presented in London may be in German, therefore, since the 1980s modern opera houses have assisted the audience by providing translated supertitles, projections of the words above or near to the stage
6.
Performing arts center
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This sort of space has a long history extending to the Roman Colosseum and Greek amphitheatres. The modern version of this came into being only in the 1960s, an example of this type of PAC is the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D. C. which contains nine distinctive performance spaces. Examples of this practice is the Celebrity Series of Boston renting venues in Bostons Boch Center, pACs became a draw for touring shows and eventually included visual art in their facilities. Today, these centers are valuable resources that provide education, access, exchange of creative discourse, opportunities for cultural expression. List of concert halls List of contemporary amphitheatres List of opera houses
7.
Flamenco
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Flamenco, in its strictest sense, is a professionalized art-form based on the various folkloric music traditions of Southern Spain. It includes cante, toque, baile, jaleo, palmas, the oldest record of flamenco dates to 1774 in the book Las Cartas Marruecas by José Cadalso. The genre originated in the music and dance styles of Andalusia, Flamenco has been influenced by and become associated with the Romani people in Spain, however, unlike Romani music in Eastern Europe, its origin and style is uniquely Andalusian. In recent years, flamenco has become popular all over the world and is taught in many countries, especially the United States. In Japan, there are more flamenco academies than there are in Spain, on November 16,2010, UNESCO declared flamenco one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. There are many suggestions for the origin of the word flamenco as a musical term, the word was not recorded as a musical and dance term until the late 18th century. The Spanish word flamenco could have been a derivative of fire or flame, the word flamenco may have come to be used for fiery behaviour, which could have come to be applied to the Gitano players and performers. Palos are flamenco styles, classified by criteria such as rhythmic pattern, mode, chord progression, stanzaic form, there are over 50 different palos, some are sung unaccompanied while others have guitar or other accompaniment. Some forms are danced while others are not, there are many ways to categories Palos but they traditionally fall into three classes, the most serious is known as cante jondo, while lighter, frivolous forms are called cante chico. Forms that do not fit either category are classed as cante intermedio, Cante jondo has clear traces of Arabic and Spanish folk melodies, as well as vestiges of Byzantine, Christian and Jewish religious music. Each song of a set of verses, which are punctuated by guitar interludes called falsetas, the guitarist also provides a short introduction which sets the tonality, compás and tempo of the cante. Flamenco uses the Flamenco mode, in addition to the major and minor scales used in modern Western music. The Phrygian mode occurs in such as soleá, most bulerías, siguiriyas. A typical chord sequence, usually called the Andalusian cadence may be viewed as in a modified Phrygian, according to Manolo Sanlúcar E is here the tonic, F has the harmonic function of dominant while Am and G assume the functions of subdominant and mediant respectively. Guitarists tend to use two basic inversions or chord shapes for the tonic chord, the open 1st inversion E. Montoya also created a new palo as a solo for guitar, later guitarists have further extended the repertoire of tonalities, chord positions and scordatura. There are also palos in major mode, most cantiñas and alegrías, guajiras, some bulerías and tonás, the minor mode is restricted to the Farruca, the milongas, and some styles of tangos, bulerías, etc. In general traditional palos in major and minor mode are limited harmonically to two-chord or three-chord progressions, however modern guitarists have introduced chord substitution, transition chords, and even modulation
8.
Seating capacity
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Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats hundreds of thousands of people. The International Fire Code, portions of which have adopted by many jurisdictions, is directed more towards the use of a facility than the construction. It specifies, For areas having fixed seating without dividing arms and it also requires that every public venue submit a detailed site plan to the local fire code official, including details of the means of egress, seating capacity, arrangement of the seating. Once safety considerations have been satisfied, determinations of seating capacity turn on the size of the venue. For sports venues, the decision on maximum seating capacity is determined by several factors, chief among these are the primary sports program and the size of the market area. Seating capacity of venues also plays a role in what media they are able to provide, in contracting to permit performers to use a theatre or other performing space, the seating capacity of the performance facility must be disclosed. Seating capacity may influence the kind of contract to be used, the seating capacity must also be disclosed to the copyright owner in seeking a license for the copyrighted work to be performed in that venue. Venues that may be leased for private functions such as ballrooms and auditoriums generally advertise their seating capacity, seating capacity is also an important consideration in the construction and use of sports venues such as stadiums and arenas. The seating capacity for restaurants is reported as covers, a restaurant that can seat 99 is said to have 99 covers, seating capacity differs from total capacity, which describes the total number of people who can fit in a venue or in a vehicle either sitting or standing. Use of the term public capacity indicates that a venue is allowed to more people than it can actually seat. Again, the total number of people can refer to either the physical space available or limitations set by law
9.
Cuban National Ballet
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The Cuban National Ballet is a classical ballet company based at Alicia Alonso Great Theatre of Havana in Havana, Cuba. Founded by the Cuban prima ballerina assoluta, Alicia Alonso in 1948, the official school of the company is the Cuban National Ballet School. The company was founded by Alicia Alonso, her husband Fernando, two years later, a school was established to promote the talents of young Cuban dancers. Although the school was thriving artistically, it struggled financially, when Fidel Castro took control of Cuba in 1959, he committed to leveling the social structure and to make the arts available to everyone. “The old government was out and the new hope was coming for the arts, the coming of the Revolution, marked the beginning of a new stage for the Cuban ballet, Castro gave $200,000 to Alonso, a supporter of the revolution. With state funding, suddenly the ballet became important to the country and that year, as a part of a new cultural program, the company was reorganized and it took the name of National Ballet of Cuba. The BNC has choreographed and performed new versions of classics such as Giselle. With the revolution in 1959 and its policy to make art available to everyone, government funding for the Ballet Nacional continues to this day. These funds allow the Ballet to scour the country and hand pick gifted students and they set off to search all over the country to find children with aptitude whom they might teach. They travel to over 14 provinces, with the criteria that prospective students should have musicality, good body proportions, Cuba funds a country-wide teaching organization called the National School of Ballet, directed by Ramona de Saá. The system remains the same today, boys have been encouraged to audition as much as girls, and over the years this has become an easier task now that parents realize the financially rewarding future that awaits good dancers. During their eight-year period of training, all students receive support from the government, after completing the training, a dancer earns approximately $30 a month, which compares to the salaries of doctors and skilled workers. Following the classical Soviet system, the National Ballet School turns out 40 professionals a year, the choreographic versions of the classics are known internationally, because of the many performances at major theatres. This includes theatres such as The Ballet of the Paris Opera, where Giselle was performed, and the Grand Pas de Quarte, in addition, the school has performed Giselle at other major theatres including the Vienna State Opera and the San Carlos of Naples. Furthermore, performances such as La Fille Mall Gardee occurred at the Opera Prague, besides its intense activity in Cuba, the National Ballet of Cuba develops a program of international tours. These tours take the BNC to stages of different countries within Europe, Asia, important awards, such as the Grand Prix of the Ville of Paris and the Order Félix Varela, of the Republic of Cuba, joined with frequent acclamation of specialized critics. In addition to the acclaim of the most prominent representatives of the critics and awards received by their figures, individuals have won awards in international competitions, outstanding members of the company have consistently received distinctions and awards in competitions and international festivals. The success is known as the reflection of its founder Alicia Alonso, the company has created more than 600 works and performed in more than 60 countries worldwide
10.
International Ballet Festival of Havana
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The International Ballet Festival of Havana, is a ballet festival held in the Great Theater of Havana, Cuba every two years. In the year 2000 it celebrated its 40th anniversary and this defines it as one of the oldest of all held in the world. Created in 1960 it quickly became one of the most transcendental events of the national Cuban culture, the 5th Festival was dedicated to the 30th Anniversary of the Granma landing. The 6th festival was dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the Foundation of the Ballet Nacional de Cuba and this festival also made an emphasis on “the premiere of works created for the company by well-known international choreographers, Cuban and foreign”. The 8th festival gave special attention to The presence of Latin America in its choreographic creation allowed knowing roots, experiences, ways and achievements of the dance in the continent. Festival put an emphasis on The styles and the choreographers, this made possible to see a panoramic of the principal choreographic landmarks that ballet has known throughout its history. Had a slogan, Past, present and choreographic future and showed a sample of styles and tendencies present in the dance of our times. The 15th Festival emphasized on The composers or musical styles that had the greatest influence in dance, the 16th Festival was dedicated to a transcendental anniversary, the 50th Anniversary of the foundation of the Ballet Nacional de Cuba. There were also representatives from seventeen countries of America, Asia and Australia. The 18th festival was inaugurated by Fidel Castro, President of the State and Ministers Council of Cuba, during the event it was announced the winning work of the 3rd Iberian American Choreographic Competition that corresponded to the Cuban George Enrique Céspedes’ work Por favor, no me limites. A wide group of activities that included plastic arts, photographic and movie exhibitions and conferences. After more than four decades of work, the International Ballet Festival of Havana goes forward keeping its creative potentiality in the future of the 21st century. Enough to say that in these years of existence, fifty-eight foreign companies have been present. Asia Philippines, Japan, Vietnam, China, Israel and Kazakhstan Africa Angola, Algeria, Egypt, north America Canada, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Martinique, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, and United States. South America Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, French Guyana, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela
11.
Alicia Alonso
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Alicia Alonso is a Cuban prima ballerina assoluta and choreographer. Her company became the Ballet Nacional de Cuba in 1955 and she is most famous for her portrayals of Giselle and the ballet version of Carmen. From the age of nineteen, Alonso was afflicted with an eye condition and her partners always had to be in the exact place she expected them to be, and she used lights in different parts of the stage to guide herself. Alonso was born in Havana in 1921, and began dancing there as a child, in June 1931 she began studying ballet at Sociedad Pro-Arte Musical in Havana with Nikolai Yavorsky. She performed publicly for the first time December 29,1931 and her first serious debut was in Tchaikovskys Sleeping Beauty at the Teatro Auditorium October 26,1932. She originally danced in Cuba under the name of Alicia Martínez, rapid progress in her lessons came to an abrupt halt in 1937, when the teenager fell in love with a fellow ballet student, Fernando Alonso, whom she married at age 16. After her marriage, she changed her surname to Alonso, the new couple moved to New York City, hoping to begin their professional careers. There they found a home with relatives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and she gave birth to a daughter, Laura, in 1938, but managed to continue her training at the School of American Ballet where she studied with Enrico Zanfretta, Alexandra Fedorova and others. In 1938, she made her debut in the US, performing in the musical comedies Great Lady and she arranged to travel to London to study with Vera Volkova. Meanwhile, her husband had joined the newly-formed Mordkin Ballet Company in New York, after seeing the doctor for worsening vision problems, Alonso was diagnosed in 1941 with a detached retina. She had surgery to correct the problem, unable to comply completely, Alonso practiced with her feet alone, pointing and stretching to, as she put it, keep my feet alive. When the bandages came off, she was dismayed to find that the operation had not been completely successful, the doctors performed a second surgery, but its failure caused them to conclude that the dancer would never have peripheral vision. Finally, she consented to a procedure in Havana. She was not permitted to play with Laura, chew food too hard, laugh or cry and her husband sat with her every day, using their fingers to teach her the great dancing roles of classical ballet. She recalled of that period, I danced in my mind, blinded, motionless, flat on my back, I taught myself to dance Giselle. Finally, she was allowed to leave her bed, although dancing was still out of the question, instead, she walked with her dogs and, against doctors orders, went to the ballet studio down the street every day to begin practicing again. Then, just as her hope was returning, Alonso was injured when a hurricane shattered a door in her home, spraying glass splinters onto her head, amazingly, her eyes were not injured. When her doctor saw this, he cleared Alonso to begin dancing, figuring that if she could survive an explosion of glass, Alonso traveled back to New York City in 1943 to begin rebuilding her skills
12.
Paseo del Prado, Havana
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Paseo del Prado, is a street in Havana, Cuba, on the dividing line between Centro Habana and Old Havana. Lining the boulevard are important buildings such as hotels, cinemas, theaters, El Prado was the first paved street in Havana. When El Capitolio was built in 1929 that section of the promenade was removed, at the corner of Cárcel street the car dealership Packard & Cunnighamm was located, and in 1940 the radio network RHC-Cadena Azul established its studios on the Prado. Already in the 1950s rich families were moving from the Prado to Miramar, Vedado, after the revolution the street and many of its buildings continued to deteriorate physically, to such point that many collapsed and are still in a ruined state. Nonetheless, many buildings have been renovated. In the first decade of the 2000s the high-end Hotel Parque Central was completed, anchoring the southeast end of the Paseo
13.
Enrico Caruso
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Enrico Caruso was an Italian operatic tenor. He sang to acclaim at the major opera houses of Europe. Caruso also made approximately 260 commercially released recordings from 1902 to 1920, all of these recordings, which span most of his stage career, remain available today on CDs and as downloads and digital streams. Enrico Caruso came from a poor but not destitute background, born in Naples in the Via San Giovannello agli Ottocalli 7 on 25 February 1873, he was baptised the next day in the adjacent Church of San Giovanni e Paolo. His parents originally came from Piedimonte dAlife in the Province of Benevento, in the Province of Caserta in Campania, called Errico in accordance with the Neapolitan language, he would later adopt the formal Italian version of his given name, Enrico. This change came at the suggestion of a singing teacher, Caruso was the third of seven children and one of only three to survive infancy. There is a story of Carusos parents having had 21 children,18 of whom died in infancy. However, on the basis of research, biographers Pierre Key, Francis Robinson. Caruso himself and his brother Giovanni may have been the source of the exaggerated number, Carusos widow Dorothy also included the story in a memoir that she wrote about her husband. She quotes the tenor, speaking of his mother, Anna Caruso, twenty boys and one girl – too many. Carusos father, Marcellino, was a mechanic and foundry worker, initially, Marcellino thought his son should adopt the same trade, and at the age of 11, the boy was apprenticed to a mechanical engineer who constructed public water fountains. Caruso later worked alongside his father at the Meuricoffre factory in Naples, at his mothers insistence, he also attended school for a time, receiving a basic education under the tutelage of a local priest. He learned to write in a script and studied technical draftsmanship. During this period he sang in his church choir, and his voice showed enough promise for him to contemplate a career in music. Caruso was encouraged in his musical ambitions by his mother. To raise cash for his family, he work as a street singer in Naples. Aged 18, he used the fees he had earned by singing at an Italian resort to buy his first pair of new shoes and his progress as a paid entertainer was interrupted, however, by 45 days of compulsory military service. He completed this in 1894, resuming his voice lessons upon discharge from the army
14.
Sarah Bernhardt
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Sarah Bernhardt was a French stage and early film actress. She was referred to as the most famous actress the world has ever known, Bernhardt made her fame on the stages of France in the 1870s, at the beginning of the Belle Epoque period, and was soon in demand in Europe and the Americas. She developed a reputation as a dramatic actress and tragedienne. In her later career she starred in some of the earliest films ever produced, Sarah Bernhardt was born in Paris as Rosine Bernardt on October 23,1844. She was the daughter of a Dutch-Jewish courtesan, or upper-class prostitute, Judith Bernard. Four different addresses in Paris are claimed as her birthplace,125 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré,5 rue de lEcole-de-Medicine,22 rue de la Michodière and 265 rue Saint-Honoré. The father, whoever he was, left a sum of one hundred francs for her future dowry when she came of age. Sarah lived for months with the nurse and her husband in the tiny apartment of the concierge. While there, the child showed the first signs of tuberculosis. Sarah was discovered on the street by her aunt Rosine, who was passing by, when Sarahs mother finally returned to Paris, Sarah was taken to her apartment at 265 rue Saint-Honoré, where she lived, attended by servants, rarely ever seeing her mother. At the age of eight, Sarah could neither read or writer and her mother sent her away to a school for young ladies in Auteuil run by a Madame Fressard, where for the first time she was with other children her own age. The other children made fun of her appearance and curly hair. During the two years she attended the school, her mother came to see her only twice and she completely forgot all of her lines and fled the stage in tears. At the age of ten, by obtaining the sponsorship of the Duc de Morny, her mother sent Sarah to Grandchamp, at the convent, she was soon on the stage again, performing the part of the Archangel Raphael in the story of Tobias and the Angel. She received her first communion as a Roman Catholic in 1856, however, she never forgot her Jewish heritage. When asked years later by a reporter if she were a Christian, she replied, No, Im a Roman Catholic, Im waiting until Christians become better. At the age of fifteen, her mother withdrew her from the school and her mother summoned a family council, which also included the Duc de Morny, one of her friends. Morny proposed that Sarah should become an actress, an idea which horrified the young girl, Morny arranged for her to attend her first theater performance at the Comedie Française in a party which included her mother, the Duc de Morny, and his friend Alexandre Dumas
15.
Giuseppe Moretti
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Giuseppe Moretti was an Italian émigré sculptor who became known in America for his public monuments in bronze and marble. Most notable among his works is Vulcan in Birmingham, Alabama, on a personal level, Moretti was known for his eclectic personality and for always wearing a green tie, but professionally, is claimed to be the first man to use aluminum in art. Moretti enjoyed some celebrity in his lifetime, and was a friend of famed Italian tenor Enrico Caruso and it is even reported that the singer repeatedly praised Morettis voice. Giuseppe Moretti was born in Siena, Italy, on 3 February 1857, the nephew of Vincenzo Cardinal Moretti, a noted art patron. He began studying marble sculpting at the age of 9 with the monks of San Domenico and with sculptor Tito Serrochi, Morettis precocious nature is emphasized in an anecdote about his early fascination with becoming an artist. Apparently aware that distant Florence was the nexus of Italian art, an alert neighbor returned the would-be runaway, and soon after, Moretti was placed under the tutelage of Serrochi. Moretti later studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze, intrigued by the medium of marble, Moretti moved to Carrara to perfect his skill. In about 1879, a Dalmatian sculptor, Ivan Rendić, who saw his work was impressed and invited Moretti to assist him in his studio in Zagreb, Moretti set up shop in Zagreb and made several important commissions before a large earthquake devastated the area. Morettis next residence was in Budapest, Hungary, where he executed works to commemorate the citys history. Moretti arrived in New York City and opened a studio, soon, Moretti was working on his first commission in America, sculpture for Marble House, the seasonal residence of William K. and Alva Vanderbilt in Newport, Rhode Island. After working on the Vanderbilt estate, Moretti became well known in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Edward Bigelow, Pittsburghs director of public works commissioned Moretti in 1885 for works in Schenley Park. Moretti immediately recognized the potential of Pittsburghs rugged terrain for such a vast project, arthur Hamerschlag, the first president of the Carnegie Institute of Technology, also did much to popularize Morettis work in Pittsburgh. When Bigelow failed to get reelected, Morettis commission was discarded by the new city officers, however, in two years the company collapsed and Pivo withdrew support. Yet Bertelli bought out Morettis share, reorganized the business, despite his financial misdealings, Moretti retained his reputation as an artist, and soon won his most famous commission from James A. MacKnight, secretary of Birmingham, Alabamas Commercial Club. Moretti agreed to charge only $6,000 for the plaster model of Vulcan. Moretti created the model in New York City and moved to Alabama to work on the sculpture in 1904, in 1907, he took Geneva Mercer of Alabama on as an apprentice. She served as his apprentice until 1909, after which she stayed on as his assistant until his death in 1935, having discovered Alabamas rich marble deposits, Moretti made it a personal goal to institute proper mining procedures for the material. Circa 1911–14, Moretti and Mercer worked together on their greatest achievement, Moretti moved around east of the Mississippi frequently after 1916, returning to Pittsburgh, where he established a permanent residence and studio on Bigelow Boulevard
16.
United States Secretary of State
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Secretary of State is a Level I position in the Executive Schedule and thus earns the salary prescribed for that level. The current Secretary of State is former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson and those that remain include storage and use of the Great Seal of the United States, performance of protocol functions for the White House, and the drafting of certain proclamations. The Secretary also negotiates with the individual States over the extradition of fugitives to foreign countries, under Federal Law, the resignation of a President or of a Vice President is only valid if declared in writing, in an instrument delivered to the office of the Secretary of State. Accordingly, the resignations of President Nixon and of Vice-President Spiro Agnew, domestic issues, were formalized in instruments delivered to the Secretary of State, six Secretaries of State have gone on to be elected President. Former Secretaries of State retain the right to add the title Secretary to their surnames, as the head of the United States Foreign Service, the Secretary of State is responsible for management of the diplomatic service of the United States. The foreign service employs about 12,000 people domestically and internationally, the U. S. Secretary of State has the power to remove any foreign diplomat from U. S. soil for any reason. The nature of the means that Secretaries of State engage in travel around the world. The record for most countries visited in a secretarys tenure is 112, second is Madeleine Albright with 96. The record for most air miles traveled in a secretarys tenure is 1.380 million miles, second is Condoleezza Rices 1.059 million miles and third is Clintons 956,733 miles. S
17.
John Kerry
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John Forbes Kerry is an American politician who served as the 68th United States Secretary of State from 2013 to 2017. A Democrat, he previously served Massachusetts in the United States Senate from 1985 to 2013 and he was the Democratic nominee in the 2004 presidential election, losing narrowly to Republican incumbent George W. Bush. Kerry was born in Aurora, Colorado and attended boarding school in Massachusetts and he graduated from Yale University in 1966 with a major in political science. Kerry enlisted in the Naval Reserve in 1966, and between 1968 and 1969, he served an abbreviated four-month tour of duty in South Vietnam as officer-in-charge of a Swift Boat. For that service, he was awarded combat medals that include the Silver Star Medal, Bronze Star Medal and he appeared in the Fulbright Hearings before the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs where he deemed United States war policy in Vietnam to be the cause of war crimes. After receiving a J. D. from Boston College Law School and he served as Lieutenant Governor under Michael Dukakis from 1983 to 1985 and was elected to the U. S. Senate in 1984 and was sworn in the following January. On the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he led a series of hearings from 1987 to 1989 which were a precursor to the Iran–Contra affair, Kerry was re-elected to additional terms in 1990,1996,2002, and 2008. In his 2004 presidential campaign, Kerry criticized George W. Bush for the Iraq War and he and his running mate, North Carolina Senator John Edwards, lost the election, finishing 35 electoral votes behind Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. Kerry returned to the Senate, becoming Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship in 2007 and then of the Foreign Relations Committee in 2009. In January 2013, Kerry was nominated by President Barack Obama to succeed outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and then confirmed by the U. S. Senate, John Forbes Kerry was born on December 11,1943, in Aurora, Colorado, at Fitzsimons Army Hospital. He is the second of four born to Richard John Kerry, a Foreign Service officer and lawyer, and Rosemary Isabel Forbes. His father was raised Catholic and his mother was Episcopalian and he was raised with an elder sister named Margaret, a younger sister named Diana and a younger brother named Cameron. The children were raised in their fathers faith, John Kerry served as an altar boy, Kerry grew up a military brat until his father was discharged from the Army Air Corps, causing the family to settle in Washington, D. C. in 1949. While in Washington, Richard took a spot in the Department of the Navys Office of General Counsel and his extended maternal family enjoyed great wealth as members of the Forbes and Dudley–Winthrop families. Kerrys parents themselves were upper-middle class, and a great aunt paid for him to attend elite boarding schools. In 1957, his father was stationed at the U. S. Embassy in Oslo, Norway, and Kerry was sent back to the United States to attend boarding school. He first attended the Fessenden School in Newton, Massachusetts, and later St. Pauls, Concord, New Hampshire, Kerry founded the John Winant Society at St. Pauls to debate the issues of the day, the Society still exists there. In 1962, Kerry entered Yale University, majoring in political science and he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1966
18.
Barack Obama
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Barack Hussein Obama II is an American politician who served as the 44th President of the United States from 2009 to 2017. He is the first African American to have served as president and he previously served in the U. S. Senate representing Illinois from 2005 to 2008, and in the Illinois State Senate from 1997 to 2004. Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, two years after the territory was admitted to the Union as the 50th state and he grew up mostly in Hawaii, but also spent one year of his childhood in Washington State and four years in Indonesia. After graduating from Columbia University in 1983, he worked as a community organizer in Chicago, in 1988 Obama enrolled in Harvard Law School, where he was the first black president of the Harvard Law Review. After graduation, he became a civil rights attorney and professor, Obama represented the 13th District for three terms in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004, when he ran for the U. S. Senate. In 2008, Obama was nominated for president, a year after his campaign began and he was elected over Republican John McCain, and was inaugurated on January 20,2009. Nine months later, Obama was named the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, during his first two years in office, Obama signed more landmark legislation than any Democratic president since LBJs Great Society. Main reforms were the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, after a lengthy debate over the national debt limit, Obama signed the Budget Control and the American Taxpayer Relief Acts. In foreign policy, Obama increased U. S. troop levels in Afghanistan, reduced nuclear weapons with the U. S. -Russian New START treaty, and ended military involvement in the Iraq War. He ordered military involvement in Libya in opposition to Muammar Gaddafi, after winning re-election over Mitt Romney, Obama was sworn in for a second term in 2013. Obama also advocated gun control in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, and issued wide-ranging executive actions concerning climate change and immigration. In foreign policy, Obama ordered military intervention in Iraq in response to gains made by ISIL after the 2011 withdrawal from Iraq, Obama left office in January 2017 with a 60% approval rating. He currently resides in Washington, D. C and his presidential library will be built in Chicago. Obama was born on August 4,1961, at Kapiʻolani Maternity & Gynecological Hospital in Honolulu and he is the only President to have been born in Hawaii. He was born to a mother and a black father. His mother, Ann Dunham, was born in Wichita, Kansas, of mostly English descent, with some German, Irish, Scottish, Swiss and his father, Barack Obama Sr. was a married Luo Kenyan man from Nyangoma Kogelo. Obamas parents met in 1960 in a Russian language class at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, the couple married in Wailuku, Hawaii on February 2,1961, six months before Obama was born. In late August 1961, Obamas mother moved him to the University of Washington in Seattle for a year
19.
Cuban thaw
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The United States–Cuban Thaw is a warming of Cuba–United States relations that began in December 2014, ending a 54-year stretch of hostility between the nations. In March 2016, Barack Obama became the first U. S. President to visit Cuba since 1928. On December 17,2014, U. S. President Barack Obama, the normalization agreement was secretly negotiated in preceding months, facilitated by Pope Francis and largely hosted by the Government of Canada. Meetings were held in both Canada and Vatican City, on April 14,2015, the Obama administration announced that Cuba would be removed from the United States State Sponsors of Terrorism list. With no congressional action to block this within the time period. This marked a departure by the United States from the Cold War conflict. On July 20,2015, the Cuban and U. S. interests sections in Washington, despite initial U. S. refusals, the prisoner swap eventually took place in December 2014 following the Presidents announcement of intent to move towards normalized relations. In addition to Gross, the swap included Rolando Sarraff Trujillo, additionally, in early January 2015, the Cuban government began releasing a number of imprisoned dissidents, as requested by the United States. On January 12,2015, it was reported that all 53 dissidents had been released, the prisoner swap marked the biggest shift in White House policy towards Cuba since the imposition of the embargo in 1962, and removed a key obstacle to bilateral relations. Since the exchange, Gross has become an advocate of normalization of relations. In his 2015 State of the Union Address to Congress, Obama called on lawmakers to lift the embargo against Cuba, in February 2015, Conan OBrien became the first American television personality to film in Cuba in more than half a century. In May 2015, the Minnesota Orchestra performed several concerts in Havana, Major League Baseball held talks about playing spring training games in Cuba in 2015, but lacked time to arrange them. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said on March 19,2015, that the league would play an exhibition game in Cuba sometime in early 2016. On March 22,2016, the Tampa Bay Rays played a game against the Cuban national team at Estadio Latinoamericano in Havana with Presidents Obama. Sun Country Airlines began operating flights between New Yorks John F. Kennedy International Airport and Havanas José Martí International Airport in March 2015. On May 5,2015, the United States granted approval to four companies to offer chartered ferry service between Miami and Cuba, in March 2016, Carnival Cruise Line received permission from Cuba to resume cruises from Miami to Havana for the first time in fifty years. Cuba, however, still prohibited the Cuban-born from returning by sea, between January and May 2015, the number of Americans visiting Cuba who had no family ties there was 36% higher than during the same months in 2014. A report by the Pew Research Center found that the number of Cubans entering the U. S. in 2015 was 78% higher than in 2014 and it has been said that the United States–Cuban Thaw was spurred by Cubas main international partner, Venezuela, experiencing sharp economic decline
20.
Ole Bull
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Ole Bornemann Bull was a Norwegian virtuoso violinist and composer. According to Robert Schumann, he was on a level with Niccolò Paganini for the speed, Bull was born in Bergen, Norway. He was the eldest of ten children of Johan Storm Bull and his brother, Georg Andreas Bull became a noted Norwegian architect. He was also the uncle of Edvard Hagerup Bull, Norwegian judge and his father wished for him to become a minister, but he desired a musical career. At the age of four or five, he could all of the songs he had heard his mother play on the violin. At age nine, he played first violin in the orchestra of Bergens theatre and was a soloist with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, at eighteen, he was sent to the University of Christiania, but failed his examinations. He joined the Musical Lyceum, a society, and after its director Waldemar Thrane took ill, Bull became the director of Musical Lyceum. He also became friends with Henrik Wergeland, who wrote a biography of Bull. After living for a while in Germany, where he pretended to study law, he went to Paris, in 1832 in Paris he shared rooms with the Moravian violin virtuoso Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst. He was eventually successful in becoming a virtuoso, giving thousands of concerts. In England alone these included 274 in 1837, during which visit he also travelled to some of the remote parts of Britain. Bull became very famous and made a huge fortune and he is believed to have composed more than 70 works, but only about 10 are known today. He also was a luthier, after studies in Paris with Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume. He collected many beautiful violins and violas of Amati, Gasparo da Salò, Guarneri, Stradivari and he was the owner of one of the finest violins of the world, made by Gasparo da Salò about 1574 for Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria. He played a Guarneri del Gesù, the violin, a gift of his widow to Bulls birthplace, is now in the Bergen Vestlandske Kustindustrimuseum. A commercial signature line of Ole Bull violins was manufactured in Germany, Bull was caught up in a rising tide of Norwegian romantic nationalism, and acclaimed the idea of Norway as a sovereign state, separate from Sweden—which became a reality in 1905. In 1850, he co-founded the first theater in which actors spoke Norwegian rather than Danish, in the summer of 1858, Bull met the 15-year-old Edvard Grieg. Bull was a friend of the Grieg family, since Ole Bulls brother was married to the sister of Griegs mother, Bull noticed Edvards talent and persuaded his parents to send him to further develop his talents at the Leipzig Conservatory
21.
Fanny Elssler
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Fanny Elssler was an Austrian ballerina of the Romantic Period. She was born in Gumpendorf, a neighborhood of Vienna and her father Johann Florian Elssler was a second generation employee of Nikolaus I, Prince Esterházy. Both Johann and his brother Josef were employed as copyists to the Princes Kapellmeister, Johann was to eventually become valet to Haydn and attended Haydn up to and was present at Haydns death. From her earliest years she was trained for the ballet, after some years experience together in Vienna, the sisters went in 1827 to Naples. While there, she had an affair with Leopold, Prince of Salerno, the son of King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies and their success in Naples, to which Fanny contributed more than her sister, led to an engagement in Berlin in 1830. This was the beginning of a series of triumphs for Fannys personal beauty, and Mrs. Grote, who practically adopted the little girl who was born three months after the mothers arrival in England. However, Elssler and Taglioni were exceptionally different dancers, and the Operas management saw this as an opportunity to incite some controversy by hiring Elssler, Taglioni was known as a danseur ballonné, represented by the lightness of her leaps and jumps. Elssler, on the hand, distinguished her dancing with the precision in which she performed small. Elsslers type of dancing was known as danse tacquetée, the results of her performances, however, were another triumph for Elssler, and the temporary eclipse of Taglioni. Taglioni, although the finer artist of the two, could not for the moment compete with the newcomers personal fascination and it was conspicuous in her performance of the Spanish Cachucha that Elssler outshone all rivals. Elssler was not Spanish, but her performances of the Cachucha were filled with fire, the poet Théophile Gautier titled her the pagan dancer because of her performances in the Cachucha, juxtaposed with Taglioni, the Christian dancer. The success of Elssler and the Cachucha led to a demand for more choreographed ballet dances of specific national flavor. These types of dances became popular, and Elssler herself added a Polish cracovienne. Her image was identified with pink satin and black lace as the fleshy, sensuous Spanish dancer. Elssler did not only possess technical gifts, her ability to perform dramatically was exceptional and her performances of the great Romantic ballets, including La Sylphide, Giselle and La Esmeralda, portrayed heightened aspects of their former characters. This earned Elssler a place among the most talented and notable ballerinas of the Romantic ballet period, in 1840 she sailed with her sister for New York for a tour arranged by Henry Wikoff, and after two years of unmixed success they returned to Europe. While in New York City, Fanny dined with and was escorted by John Van Buren, son of the President of the United States, during the following five years Fanny appeared in Germany, Austria, France, England, and Russia. In 1845, she was invited to perform along with her rivals Marie Taglioni, Carlotta Grisi and Fanny Cerrito in Jules Perrots Pas de Quatre in London, in the same year, having amassed a fortune, she retired from the stage and settled near Hamburg
22.
Jenny Lind
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Johanna Maria Lind, better known as Jenny Lind, was a Swedish opera singer, often known as the Swedish Nightingale. She was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music from 1840, Lind became famous after her performance in Der Freischütz in Sweden in 1838. Within a few years, she had suffered damage. She was in demand in opera roles throughout Sweden and northern Europe during the 1840s. After two acclaimed seasons in London, she announced her retirement from opera at the age of 29, in 1850, Lind went to America at the invitation of the showman P. T. Barnum. She gave 93 large-scale concerts for him and then continued to tour under her own management and she earned more than $350,000 from these concerts, donating the proceeds to charities, principally the endowment of free schools in Sweden. With her new husband, Otto Goldschmidt, she returned to Europe in 1852 where she had three children and gave occasional concerts over the two decades, settling in England in 1855. From 1882, for years, she was a professor of singing at the Royal College of Music in London. Born in Klara, in central Stockholm, Lind was the daughter of Niclas Jonas Lind, a bookkeeper, and Anne-Marie Fellborg. Linds mother had divorced her first husband for adultery but, for religious reasons, Linds parents married when she was fourteen. Linds mother ran a day school for girls out of her home, when Lind was about nine years old, her singing was overheard by the maid of Mademoiselle Lundberg, the principal dancer at the Royal Swedish Opera. Lind began to sing onstage when she was ten and she had a vocal crisis at the age of 12 and had to stop singing for a time, but recovered. Her first great role was Agathe in Webers Der Freischütz in 1838 at the Royal Swedish Opera, at age 20 she was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music and court singer to the King of Sweden and Norway. Her voice became seriously damaged by overuse and untrained singing technique, so damaged was her voice that he insisted that she should not sing at all for three months, to allow her vocal cords to recover, before he started to teach her a secure vocal technique. After Lind had been with García for a year, the composer Giacomo Meyerbeer, an early and faithful admirer of her talent, arranged an audition for her at the Opéra in Paris, but she was rejected. The biographer Francis Rogers concludes that Lind strongly resented the rebuff, Lind returned to the Royal Swedish Opera, greatly improved as a singer by Garcías training. She toured Denmark where, in 1843, Hans Christian Andersen met, although the two became good friends, she did not reciprocate his romantic feelings. She is believed to have inspired three of his tales, Beneath the Pillar, The Angel and The Nightingale
23.
Anna Pavlova
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Anna Pavlovna Pavlova was a Russian prima ballerina of the late 19th and the early 20th centuries. She was a principal artist of the Imperial Russian Ballet and the Ballets Russes of Sergei Diaghilev, Pavlova is most recognized for the creation of the role The Dying Swan and, with her own company, became the first ballerina to tour ballet around the world. Anna Pavlovna Pavlova was born on February 12,1881 in Ligovo, Saint Petersburg and her mother, Lyubov Feodorovna, was a laundress. When she was three years old her mother married Matvey Pavlov, who adopted her and gave her his surname. Pavlovas passion for the art of ballet was ignited when her mother took her to a performance of Marius Petipas original production of The Sleeping Beauty at the Imperial Maryinsky Theater, the lavish spectacle made an impression on Pavlova. When she was nine, her mother took her to audition for the renowned Imperial Ballet School, because of her youth, and what was considered her sickly appearance, she was rejected, but at age 10 in 1891 she was accepted. She appeared for the first time on stage in Marius Petipas Un conte de fées, young Pavlovas years of training were difficult. Classical ballet did not come easily to her and her severely arched feet, thin ankles, and long limbs clashed with the small, compact body favoured for the ballerina of the time. Her fellow students taunted her with such nicknames as The broom, undeterred, Pavlova trained to improve her technique. She would practice and practice after learning a step, in 1898, she entered the classe de perfection of Ekaterina Vazem, former Prima ballerina of the Saint Petersburg Imperial Theatres. During her final year at the Imperial Ballet School, she performed roles with the principal company. She graduated in 1899 at age 18, chosen to enter the Imperial Ballet a rank ahead of corps de ballet as a coryphée and she made her official début at the Mariinsky Theatre in Pavel Gerdts Les Dryades prétendues. Her performance drew praise from the critics, particularly the great critic, such a style in many ways harked back to the time of the romantic ballet and the great ballerinas of old. Pavlova performed in various variations, pas de deux and pas de trois in such ballets as La Camargo, Le Roi Candaule, Marcobomba. She tried desperately to imitate the renowned Pierina Legnani, Prima ballerina assoluta of the Imperial Theaters, once during class she attempted Legnanis famous fouettés, causing her teacher Pavel Gerdt to fly into a rage. It is positively more than I can bear to see the pressure such steps put on your delicate muscles, I beg you to never again try to imitate those who are physically stronger than you. You must realize that your daintiness and fragility are your greatest assets and you should always do the kind of dancing which brings out your own rare qualities instead of trying to win praise by mere acrobatic tricks. Pavlova rose through the ranks quickly, becoming a favorite of the old maestro Petipa and it was from Petipa himself that Pavlova learned the title role in Paquita, Princess Aspicia in The Pharaohs Daughter, Queen Nisia in Le Roi Candaule, and Giselle
24.
La Argentina (dancer)
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Antonia Mercé y Luque, stage name La Argentina, was a dancer known for her creation of the neoclassical style of Spanish dance as a theatrical art. She was one of the influences on Japanese butoh dancer Kazuo Ohno. It is to one such artist representative of her art, of her country, the recent unexpected renaissance of Spanish dancing, an art whose creative power seemed to have been exhausted, is due primarily to the singular genius of one dancer, La Argentina. Alone she has epitomized and regenerated a form long cheapened and falsified by the music-hall gypsies turned out wholesale in Seville, and her indescribable success has loosened a new onslaught of Spanish dancing, the oldest and noblest of European exotics. She was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, a talented young dancer, her career was greatly influenced by her parents Manuel Mercé, and Josefina Luque, themselves professional Spanish dancers. It was due to them that La Argentinas entire life was focused on dance. She studied ballet with her parents in her youth and she trained mainly with her father, who taught her to dance at the age of four. When she was nine years old, she debuted at the Teatro Real in Madrid, at the age of 11, she was a star dancer at the Madrid Opera. Shortly after the death of her father, La Argentina retired from ballet, after this life-transforming event, at the age of 14, La Argentina started studying native Spanish dances with her mother. For several years to come, her style of dancing was not highly admired in her society and she danced wherever she could, which meant performing in café cantantés and music halls. Prior to World War I, La Argentina was extremely admired in Paris, where she accepted invitations to dance at the Moulin Rouge, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, years later, she took interest in a gypsy-style dance and made it her own. In her career she made six tours in North America. She received several awards, including the French Légion dhonneur and the Spanish Orden de Isabel la Católica and she died on July 18,1936, in Bayonne, France. La Argentina was 46 years old when she died and her contributions to formal dance are expressed in her style, her choice of music, her use of castanets, and her structuring of performances. « For the past year I have had a passion for Argentina, the rigour of her classical formation, her knowledge and her taste bring dignity and nobleness to Spanish folklore, and fills me with respect. I feel like I am entering the Escurial when I am with her, » « While there had always been a great flowering of folkloric dances in Spain, the history of formal dance itself began only in 1920 with Argentina and Escudero. » « From what it was, a facet of popular culture, Spanish formalized dance turns, thanks to her genius and infinite patience. » La Argentina created her own style, Spain has 49 provinces with very different traditions, where the levels of artistic interpretation go from the crudest popular taste to the most austere sobriety
25.
Ruth St. Denis
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Ruth Saint Denis was an American modern dance pioneer, introducing eastern ideas into the art. She was the co-founder of the American Denishawn School of Dance, Ruth Denis was raised on a small farm in New Jersey, daughter of Ruth Emma Denis, where she studied both Christian Science and theosophy. As a child, she learned exercises based on François Delsartes Society Gymnastics and this was the beginning of St. Deniss dance training, and was instrumental in developing her technique later in life. In 1894, after years of practicing Delsarte poses, she debuted as a dancer for Worths Family Theater. From this modest start, she progressed to touring with a producer and director, David Belasco, under whom her stage name. While touring in Belascos production of Madame DuBarry in 1904 her life was changed and she was at a drugstore with another member of Belascos company in Buffalo, New York, when she saw a poster advertising Egyptian Deities cigarettes. From then on, St. Denis was immersed in Oriental philosophies, in 1905, St. Denis left Belascos company to begin her career as a solo artist. The first piece that resulted from her interest in the Orient was Radha performed in 1906, drawing from Hindu mythology, Radha is the story of Krishna and his love for a mortal maid. Radha was originally performed to music from Léo Delibes opera Lakmé. This piece was a celebration of the five senses and appealed to a fascination with the Orient. Although her choreography was not culturally accurate or authentic, it was expressive of the themes that St. Denis perceived in Oriental culture, St. Denis believed dance to be a spiritual expression, and her choreography reflected this idea. In 1911, a dancer named Ted Shawn saw St. Denis perform in Denver. In 1914, Shawn applied to be her student, and soon became her artistic partner, together they founded Denishawn, the cradle of American modern dance. One of her more famous pupils was Martha Graham, together St. Denis and Shaw founded the Los Angeles Denishawn school in 1915. Students studied ballet movements without shoes, ethnic and folk dances, Dalcroze eurhythmics, and Delsarte gymnastics. In 1916 they created a collection of inspired by Egypt which included Tillers of the Soil. Her exploration into the orient continued into 1923 when she staged Ishtar of the Seven Gates in which she portrayed a Babylonian goddess, together St. Denis and Shawn toured throughout the 1910s and 1920s often performing their works on the vaudeville stage. Other notable dancers such as Doris Humphrey, Lillian Powell, Evan-Burrows Fontaine, Graham, Humphrey, Weidman and the future silent film star Louise Brooks all performed as dancers with the Denishawn company. At Denishawn, St. Denis served as inspiration to her young students, Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn were also instrumental in creating the legendary dance festival, Jacobs Pillow
26.
Ted Shawn
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Ted Shawn, originally Edwin Myers Shawn, was one of the first notable male pioneers of American modern dance. Along with creating Denishawn with former wife Ruth St. Denis he is responsible for the creation of the well known all-male company Ted Shawn. With his innovative ideas of masculine movement, he is one of the most influential choreographers and dancers of his day. He is also the founder and creator of Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival in Massachusetts, Ted Shawn was born in Kansas City, Missouri on October 21,1891. Originally intending to become a minister of religion, he attended the University of Denver, while attending the University, he caught diphtheria at the age of 19 causing him temporary paralysis from the waist down. It was during his therapy for the disease that Shawn was first introduced to dance by way of studying with Hazel Wallack in 1910. In 1912, Shawn relocated to Los Angeles where he became part of a ballroom dance troupe. It wasnt until moving to New York in 1914 that Shawn realized his potential as an artist upon meeting Ruth St. Denis. The two were married within 2 months on August 13th,1914, St. Denis served not only as partner but an extremely valuable creative outlet to Shawn. Both artists believed strongly in the potential for dance as an art form becoming integrated into every day life, in addition to spawning the careers of Weidman and Graham, the Denishawn school also housed Doris Humphrey as a student. Together, Shawn and Ruth St. Denis established an eclectic grouping of dance including ballet. To add to St. Denis mainly eastern influence, Shawn brought the spirit of North African, Spanish, due to marital problems of Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn and financial difficulties, Denishawn concluded in the early 1930s. Consequently, Shawn went on to form a dance company. Shawns mission in creating this company was to fight for acceptance of the American male dancer, the all-male company was based out of a farm that Shawn purchased near his hometown Lee, Massachusetts. On July 14,1933, Ted Shawn and His Men Dancers had their performance at Shawns farm. Through these creative works Shawn showcased athletic and masculine movement that soon would gain popularity, the company performed in the United States and Canada, touring more than 750 cities, in addition to international success in London and Havana. Ted Shawn and His Men Dancers concluded at Jacobs Pillow on August 31,1940 with a homecoming performance, one of the leading stars of the company, Barton Mumaw would emerge onto the dance industry and be considered the American Nijinsky. While with Shawn, Mumaw began a relationship with a John Christian, later, Shawn formed a partnership with John Christian, with whom he stayed from 1949 until his death in 1972
27.
Maya Plisetskaya
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Maya Mikhailovna Plisetskaya was a Soviet-born ballet dancer, choreographer, ballet director, and actress, who held Spanish and Lithuanian citizenship. She danced during the Soviet era at the time as Galina Ulanova. In 1960 she ascended to Ulanovas former title as prima ballerina assoluta of the Bolshoi, Plisetskaya studied ballet from age nine and first performed at the Bolshoi Theatre when she was eleven. She joined the Bolshoi Ballet company when she was eighteen, quickly rising to become their leading soloist and her early years were also marked by political repression, however, partly because her family was Jewish. She was not allowed to tour outside the country for sixteen years after joining the Bolshoi, during those years, her fame as a national ballerina was used to project the Soviet Unions achievements during the Cold War. Premier Nikita Khrushchev, who lifted her travel ban in 1959, considered her not only the best ballerina in the Soviet Union, but the best in the world. As a member of the Bolshoi until 1990, her skill as a dancer changed the world of ballet, among her most acclaimed roles was Odette-Odile in Swan Lake. A fellow dancer stated that her portrayal of Carmen, reportedly her favorite role, helped confirm her as a legend. Her husband, composer Rodion Shchedrin, wrote the scores to a number of her ballets, having become “an international superstar” and a continuous “box office hit throughout the world, ” Plisetskaya was treated by the Soviet Union as a favored cultural emissary. Although she toured extensively during the years that other dancers defected, including Rudolf Nureyev, Natalia Makarova and Mikhail Baryshnikov. Beginning in 1994, she presided over the international ballet competitions, called Maya. In 1991 she published her autobiography, I, Maya Plisetskaya, Plisetskaya was born on 20 November 1925, in Moscow, into a prominent family of Lithuanian Jewish descent, most of whom were involved in the theater or film. Her mother, Rachel Messerer-Plisetskaya, was a silent-film actress, dancer Asaf Messerer was a maternal uncle and Bolshoi ballerina Sulamith Messerer was a maternal aunt. Her father, Mikhail Plisetski, was a diplomat, engineer and mine director and her brother Alexander Plisetski became a famous choreographer, and her niece Anna Plisetskaya would also become a ballerina. In 1938, her father was arrested and later executed during the Stalinist purges, according to ballet scholar Jennifer Homans, her father was a committed Communist, and had earlier been proclaimed a national hero for his work on behalf of the Soviet coal industry. Soviet leader Vyacheslav Molotov presented him one of the Soviet Unions first manufactured cars. Her mother was arrested soon after and sent to a camp in Kazakhstan for the next three years. Maya and her baby brother were taken in by their maternal aunt, ballerina Sulamith Messerer
28.
Clorinda Corradi
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Clorinda Corradi was an Italian opera singer and one of the most famous contraltos in history. Clorinda Corradi Pantanelli was born in Urbino, Italy and she was the daughter of a nobleman, Filippo Corradi, and countess Vittoria Peroli. Corradi received her education in Urbino. Initially, her father enrolled her at the Cappella Musicale di Urbino under the direction of teacher and composer Filippo Celli. She was obliged to make a living by singing because of the economic situation. She began her career at the Recanati theatre in 1823 with the Rossinis operas LItaliana in Algeri and La Cenerentola and was received well by audiences, between 1823 and 1835 she gave a series of performances in the most famous Italian theatres. In Europe, Corradi sang in Spain and she also sang the title role at the premiere of Donizettis Ugo, conte di Parigi at La Scala Theatre in Milan. In 1823 she married Raffaele Pantanelli and they had one daughter, Alaide, and one son, Romeo. Both children moved to Chile between 1835 and 1847, in 1831, she was elected as an honorary member of Accademia Veneziana. On November 20,1839 she debuted in the Tacon Theatre and she toured South America extensively, and frequently sang tenor leads. In April–July 1837 and March–April 1842, Corradi and members of the Lyrical Company came to New Orleans to give a series of performances at the Theatre dOrleans and St. Charles Theatre. On September 2,1840, Corradi debuted in Lima, Peru with Giulietta e Romeo and, together, the last performance in Lima was on September 2,1843. In 1844, the Lyrical Company moved to Santiago, Chile, on April 2,1844 they gave I Capuleti e i Montecchi at Santiago University Theatre. On December 16,1844 Corradi inaugurated the new famous Victory Theatre in Valparaiso with Nicola Vaccais Giulietta e Romeo and she remained in Valparaiso until February 28,1847. Between 1847 and 1856, critical reviews of the Lyrical Company are limited to performances in Santiago except for some references to those in other provincial cities such as Valparaíso. In March 1861, Corradi was named teacher of Santiago Conservatory and she retired on December 20,1876. Clorinda Corradi died in misery in 1877 in Santiago at age 72, Clorinda Corradi was portrayed by Raymond Monvoisin in 1845 and in 1842 by Clara Filleul. During her life she gave hundreds of performance of Vincenzo Bellini, Saverio Mercadante, Donizetti, Verdi, Carlo Coccia, Nicola Vaccai and Gioacchino Rossini
29.
American Ballet Theatre
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American Ballet Theatre is a classical ballet company based in New York City. It has an annual season at the Metropolitan Opera House in the spring and a shorter season at the David H. Koch Theater in the fall. ABT was founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant and is recognized as one of the leading classical ballet companies. ABT is also the parent company of the American Ballet Theatre Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, in 1939, Pleasant and Chase developed big ideas to create a large scale company with an eclectic repertory. They and a group from Mordorkin Ballet formed Ballet Theatre. During this period, American Ballet Theatre shifted its focus to recruiting ballet stars, in 1977, the company began its spring season at the Metropolitan Opera House, its new official venue, then in 1980 Mikhail Baryshnikov became Artistic Director for American Ballet Theatre. Baryshnikov staged, restaged, and refurbished numerous classical ballets and, according to the company, Baryshnikov was replaced by Jane Hermann and Oliver Smith in 1989, and the pair remained as Artistic Directors until in 1992 Kevin McKenzie was appointed. McKenzie satisfied the demands of the traditional ballet audience by prioritizing full-length narrative ballets as well as succeeding in keeping the company afloat during financially unstable times and they are, Apprentice, Corps de Ballet, Soloist and Principal. The American Ballet Theatres current Corps de Ballet includes, The American Ballet Theatres current apprentices includes
30.
Royal Winnipeg Ballet
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The Royal Winnipeg Ballet is one of the worlds premier dance companies. Based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, it is Canadas oldest ballet company and it was founded in 1939 as the Winnipeg Ballet Club by Gweneth Lloyd and Betty Farrally. The name was changed to the Winnipeg Ballet in 1941 and the company began touring Canada in 1945, in 1948, with the initiative of the Winnipeg Ballet, the Canadian Ballet Festival was formed. The Royal Winnipeg Ballet was granted its royal title in 1953 and it completed its first American tour in 1954. In June that year the RWBs rented premises were devastated by fire, Conductor Eric Wild served as the companys music director from 1955 to 1962. The company solidified its reputation under the directorship of Saskatchewan-born Arnold Spohr from 1958 to 1988. Spohr was succeeded by RWB principal dancer Henny Jurriëns who was assistant to Dutch National Ballet director Rudi van Dantzig. Jurriëns, however, died in a car accident in April 1989, in 1990 John Meehan from American Ballet Theatre became artistic director but left in 1993 following the companys persistent financial difficulties. William Whitener, formerly the director of Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal, was chosen to succeed Meehan. Continuing financial problems and dancer unrest, Whitener was released in less than two years later, André Lewis was appointed in 1996 as artistic director. Lewis decades-long association with the RWB began in 1975 when he was accepted into the Professional Division at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, in 1979, he was joined the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Company and performed as a dancer with the RWB until 1990. Lewis roles include, Gunther in Nutcracker, Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, Company Music Director and Conductor is Tad Biernacki and Senior Ballet Master is Johnny W. Chang. The dancer most associated with the RWB has been Evelyn Hart, born in Toronto, Ontario, in 1956, Hart made her professional debut with the RWB in 1976. Both medals were awarded for her performance of Belong pas de deux, Hart was awarded the Order of Canada in 1983. She left the RWB in 2005, Peregrine was made an officer of the Order of Canada in 1986. In 1992, Gweneth Lloyd, co-founder of the company, became the first recipient of the Governor Generals Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement. The company spends 20 or more weeks a year on the road, the company also mounts four productions a year in Winnipegs performing arts venue, the Centennial Concert Hall. The Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, Professional Division is an exclusive, the school includes approximately 72 young dancers, selected from around the world, and graduates have international careers in top companies in Canada and abroad
31.
Antonio Gades
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Antonio Esteve Ródenas, well-known as Antonio Gades was a Spanish flamenco dancer and choreographer. He helped to popularise the art form on the international stage and he was father of actress María Esteve and singer Celia Flores, daughters of his ex-partner Marisol, a popular actress and singer. In the 1990s, he toured the world with his show Fuenteovejuna and he also co-founded and became the artistic director of the Spanish National Ballet in 1978. Gades was prominent as a political activist in Alicante, where he proclaimed self-determination for the Catalan nation during the Spanish Transition between the late 1970s and early 1980s and he was a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Peoples of Spain, a Marxist-Leninist organization. In 1987 he was a member of the jury at the 15th Moscow International Film Festival and he was married to the Spanish actress and singer Marisol for 4 years, they had three daughters. He died in Madrid after suffering cancer for a long time. About six weeks before his death, Gades received the Order of José Marti, one of the highest honors of Cuba, from the Cuban leader Fidel Castro, in Havana, Cuba. In 2004 his ashes were interred at the Mausoleum of the Frank País Second Eastern Front, los Tarantos 1963 With the East Wind 1966 El amor brujo 1967 The Last Meeting 1967 Bodas de sangre 1981 Carmen 1983 El amor brujo 1986 Ermanna Carmen Mandelli, Antonio Gades. ISBN 88-8302-235-1 Cuban Governments webpage on Gades Antonio Gades biography and films or products in which he has taken part Antonio Gades at the Internet Movie Database
32.
Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires is the capital and most populous city of Argentina. The city is located on the shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata. The city of Buenos Aires is neither part of Buenos Aires Province nor the Provinces capital, rather, in 1880, after decades of political infighting, Buenos Aires was federalized and removed from Buenos Aires Province. The city limits were enlarged to include the towns of Belgrano and Flores, the 1994 constitutional amendment granted the city autonomy, hence its formal name, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires. Its citizens first elected a chief of government in 1996, previously, Buenos Aires is considered an alpha city by the study GaWC5. Buenos Aires quality of life was ranked 81st in the world and one of the best in Latin America in 2012 and it is the most visited city in South America, and the second-most visited city of Latin America. Buenos Aires is a top tourist destination, and is known for its preserved Spanish/European-style architecture, Buenos Aires held the 1st Pan American Games in 1951 as well as hosting two venues in the 1978 FIFA World Cup. Buenos Aires will host the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics and the 2018 G20 summit, Buenos Aires is a multicultural city, being home to multiple ethnic and religious groups. Several languages are spoken in the city in addition to Spanish, contributing to its culture, the hill was known to them as Buen Ayre, as it was free of the foul smell prevalent in the old city, which is adjacent to swampland. During the siege of Cagliari, the Aragonese built a sanctuary to the Virgin Mary on top of the hill, in 1335, King Alfonso the Gentle donated the church to the Mercedarians, who built an abbey that stands to this day. In the years after that, a story circulated, claiming that a statue of the Virgin Mary was retrieved from the sea after it miraculously helped to calm a storm in the Mediterranean Sea, the statue was placed in the abbey. Spanish sailors, especially Andalusians, venerated this image and frequently invoked the Fair Winds to aid them in their navigation, a sanctuary to the Virgin of Buen Ayre would be later erected in Seville. Pedro de Mendoza called the city Holy Mary of the Fair Winds, mendoza’s settlement soon came under attack by indigenous people, and was abandoned in 1541. For many years, the name was attributed to a Sancho del Campo, a second settlement was established in 1580 by Juan de Garay, who sailed down the Paraná River from Asunción. Garay preserved the name chosen by Mendoza, calling the city Ciudad de la Santísima Trinidad y Puerto de Santa María del Buen Aire. The short form Buenos Aires became the common usage during the 17th century, the usual abbreviation for Buenos Aires in Spanish is Bs. As. It is common as well to refer to it as B. A. or BA /ˌbiːˈeɪ/ bee-AY), while BA is used more by expats residing in the city, the locals more often use the abbreviation Baires, in one word. Seaman Juan Díaz de Solís, navigating in the name of Spain, was the first European to reach the Río de la Plata in 1516 and his expedition was cut short when he was killed during an attack by the native Charrúa tribe in what is now Uruguay
33.
Wayback Machine
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The Internet Archive launched the Wayback Machine in October 2001. It was set up by Brewster Kahle and Bruce Gilliat, and is maintained with content from Alexa Internet, the service enables users to see archived versions of web pages across time, which the archive calls a three dimensional index. Since 1996, the Wayback Machine has been archiving cached pages of websites onto its large cluster of Linux nodes and it revisits sites every few weeks or months and archives a new version. Sites can also be captured on the fly by visitors who enter the sites URL into a search box, the intent is to capture and archive content that otherwise would be lost whenever a site is changed or closed down. The overall vision of the machines creators is to archive the entire Internet, the name Wayback Machine was chosen as a reference to the WABAC machine, a time-traveling device used by the characters Mr. Peabody and Sherman in The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, an animated cartoon. These crawlers also respect the robots exclusion standard for websites whose owners opt for them not to appear in search results or be cached, to overcome inconsistencies in partially cached websites, Archive-It. Information had been kept on digital tape for five years, with Kahle occasionally allowing researchers, when the archive reached its fifth anniversary, it was unveiled and opened to the public in a ceremony at the University of California, Berkeley. Snapshots usually become more than six months after they are archived or, in some cases, even later. The frequency of snapshots is variable, so not all tracked website updates are recorded, Sometimes there are intervals of several weeks or years between snapshots. After August 2008 sites had to be listed on the Open Directory in order to be included. As of 2009, the Wayback Machine contained approximately three petabytes of data and was growing at a rate of 100 terabytes each month, the growth rate reported in 2003 was 12 terabytes/month, the data is stored on PetaBox rack systems manufactured by Capricorn Technologies. In 2009, the Internet Archive migrated its customized storage architecture to Sun Open Storage, in 2011 a new, improved version of the Wayback Machine, with an updated interface and fresher index of archived content, was made available for public testing. The index driving the classic Wayback Machine only has a bit of material past 2008. In January 2013, the company announced a ground-breaking milestone of 240 billion URLs, in October 2013, the company announced the Save a Page feature which allows any Internet user to archive the contents of a URL. This became a threat of abuse by the service for hosting malicious binaries, as of December 2014, the Wayback Machine contained almost nine petabytes of data and was growing at a rate of about 20 terabytes each week. Between October 2013 and March 2015 the websites global Alexa rank changed from 162 to 208, in a 2009 case, Netbula, LLC v. Chordiant Software Inc. defendant Chordiant filed a motion to compel Netbula to disable the robots. Netbula objected to the motion on the ground that defendants were asking to alter Netbulas website, in an October 2004 case, Telewizja Polska USA, Inc. v. Echostar Satellite, No.02 C3293,65 Fed. 673, a litigant attempted to use the Wayback Machine archives as a source of admissible evidence, Telewizja Polska is the provider of TVP Polonia and EchoStar operates the Dish Network
34.
Bacardi Building (Havana)
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The Bacardi Building is an Art Deco building in Havana, Cuba. It is located at Avenida de Bélgica No.261 between Empedrado y San Juan de Dios, in Old Havana, the building was designed by architects Rafael Fernández Ruenes, Esteban Rodríguez Castell and José Menéndez, for the Bacardi rum company. The art deco landmark was completed in 1930 and was at the time the largest building in the city, after the Cuban revolution and the departure of Bacardi from Cuba, the building continued to be used for offices. At the end of the 1990s it was renovated by the city historians office, in 1963 Bacardi opened their US head office in a building in Miami
35.
Coppelia (ice cream parlor)
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Coppelia is an ice cream parlor chain in Cuba. Coppelia is state-run and sells in both Cuban pesos and Cuban convertible pesos, havanas Coppelia, for instance, employs more than 400 workers and serves 4,250 US gallons of ice cream to 35,000 customers each day. When business started in 1966, it ran with a count of 26 flavors and 25 combinations. Today, lines are long and the supply and selection of flavors is scarce. Havanas Coppelia is a Cuban Revolution modernist building from 1966, the flying-saucer-shaped building represents a UFO that has landed in Havana. Is one of the largest ice cream parlors in the world, the original aim was to produce more ice cream flavors than the big American brands, buying the best machines from the Netherlands and Sweden. Fidels longtime secretary, Celia Sánchez, named Coppelia after her favorite ballet Coppélia, the site of Coppelia Havana was the Hospital Reina Mercedes, functioning from 1886–1954. The hospital was demolished and originally there were plans to build another hospital on the site, the plans then changed and a 50-story skyscraper was to be built on the site, but these plans fell through. A tourism promotion pavilion, Parque INIT, then occupied the site, mario Girona was the architect of the new ice cream palace built on the site in 1966. Populist ideology helped shape the design and use of the public space, the park area surrounding the building features lush groundcover and a canopy of towering Banyan trees which provide shade for open-air dining areas. Curvilinear paths lead to a circular pavilion inside of which the only indoor seating is located. In March 2012 Venezuela announced plans to cooperate with Cuba to build a Coppelia ice cream plant in the country, among the problems were broken freezers. Location, 1st avenue, between 44 &26 streets, Varadero, Matanzas, originally designed as a multipurpose solution for beach goers. Varadero, though it was a vacation spot with several stay-in hotels. To solve this problem, Varaderos Coppelia included a floor with 8000 lockers. At ground level, it has a cafeteria and the ice cream parlor surrounded by a park and this level offers view into the gardens using a double curving rail of hyperbolic paraboloids, frequent in the Latin American architecture of the 1950s and 1960s. The complex was first called the 8000 lockers park, the complex was revitalized in 2008 following a project led by architect Noriel Santamaría Sánchez. For the rescue of this landmark the Magazine Obras granted a first prize in restoration to its authors, location, Corner of Mujica and Colón streets, Santa Clara, Villa Clara
36.
El Capitolio
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El Capitolio, or National Capitol Building in Havana, Cuba, was the seat of government in Cuba until after the Cuban Revolution in 1959, and is now home to the Cuban Academy of Sciences. El Capitolio has a size of 681 by 300 ft and its design and name recall the United States Capitol in Washington, D. C. Completed in 1929, it was the tallest building in Havana until the 1950s, the project began on April 1926, during the Gerardo Machado administration. Construction was overseen by the U. S. firm of Purdy, prior to the Cuban Revolution of 1959, the Cuban Congress was housed in the building. When the Congress was abolished and disbanded following the Cuban Revolution in 1959, later it ended up as the headquarters of the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment. As of 2013, the Government of Cuba is restoring the building for use again as the home of Cubas National Assembly. According to its designer, Eugenio Rayneri Piedra, who had studied architecture in the United States, in the original design the dome was to be decorated with stylised palm leaves but this addition was never executed. At almost 92 m high, the dome was the highest point in the city of Havana until the 1950s and it was the third highest cupola in the world at the time of its construction. Around the building are laid out by French landscape architect. Based on the designs of some of the beautiful simple European gardens they consist of areas of lawn bordered by paths, four groups of Royal Palms accent the design. The 55 steps leading to the entrance, known as La Escalinata are flanked on either side by 6.5 m statues by the Italian artist Angelo Zanelli. To the left is Work and to the right The Tutelary Virtue, the steps lead up to the central portico, which is 36 m wide and more than 16 m tall. There are 12 granite Roman style columns arranged in two rows and each over 14 m tall, beyond the portico, three large bronze doors with bas-reliefs by Zanelli allow access to the main hall. The inside of the hall under the cupola is dominated by the huge Statue of the Republic. The statue, also by Zanelli, was cast in bronze in Rome in three pieces and assembled inside the building after its arrival in Cuba and it is covered with 22 carat gold leaf and weighs 49 tons. At 15 m tall, it was the second highest statue under cover in the world at the time, the statue stands on a plinth 2.5 m high bringing the total height to 17.54 m. A Creole Cuban, Lily Valty served as the model for the body for Zanelli, and the inspiration for the statue came from Athena, embedded in the floor in the centre of the main hall is a replica 25 carat diamond, which marks Kilometre Zero for Cuba. To either side of the hall is the Salón de Pasos Perdidos
37.
FOCSA Building
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The FOCSA Building is, at 121 metres high, the tallest building in Cuba, located in the Vedado neighborhood of Havana. It is considered one of the seven wonders of Cuban civil engineering and its construction took about 2 years and 4 months. At completion in 1956 it was considered a national sensation due to its modern technology, in an era when concrete construction of buildings more than 18 storeys tall was considered unaffordable, the FOCSA was only the second project of its kind in the world. The project was managed by engineer, Luis Sáenz Duplace, the architect was Ernesto Gómez Sampera, there is a 500-car parking area in four levels, a swimming pool and a club, among other facilities. There are three sections, The ground floor, which includes a restaurant El Emperador, cafeterias, shops. The provincial administrative offices for radio, as well as the stations COCO, the basic cost of the apartments was $21,500 for the larger units and $17,500 for the smaller ones. It was stipulated that an additional $30 per each floor was charged the higher the unit was located, takes up the block bordered by Calles 17,19, M and N in Vedado. The FOCSA Building was originally built to house offices of the CMQ Radio, the company Fomento de Hipotecas Aseguradas financed 80% of the cost of the houses and 60% of the shops. El Banco Continental Cubano granted a credit of 6 million pesos, work began in February 1954 and finished in June 1956. When completed it was the second largest concrete building in the world, second only to the Martinelli Building in São Paulo, Brazil. The building was chosen in February 1997 by the Unión Nacional de Arquitectos e Ingenieros de la Construcción de Cuba as one of the seven wonders of Cuban civil engineering. In the early 1960s middle-class owners of residential as well as owners of commercial lower floor units had their properties nationalized by the current government, in the 1970s the building housed Soviet and Eastern bloc specialists and advisors and the ground store supermarket was for non-Cubans only. In 2000 an elevator cable snapped killing one person, in the 2000s the building was repainted and renovated. After renovation much of the building was given over to housing foreign guest workers. El edificio más alto de Cuba Edificio FOCSA, EcuRed
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Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital
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It has a footprint of 35,500 square metres, and 79,500 square metres of floor space. The monumental lobby measures 75 metres by 45 metres with a 15-metre-high ceiling, the site of the hospital was occupied from 1852 until the 1950s by the Havana House of Charity and Maternity. At the time of the Revolution in 1959 the building was partially completed - it was to be the Banco Nacional de Cuba. The decision was made to complete the construction and turn it into a hospital. The hospital was named after the Ameijeiras Brothers, which the Cuban state considers to be heroes of the Revolution. S, where those patients would not have money or insurance to pay for good care in the private U. S. health care system. In 2009 dissident Orlando Zapata died at the hospital after a hunger strike
39.
Lonja del Comercio building
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The Lonja del Comercio building in Old Havana, Cuba served as the stock exchange in the capital until the 1959 Cuban Revolution. Today, it is an office building, based in the building are local and foreign companies, the Brazilian Embassy, news agencies like the BBC, The AP, and the Habana Radio Station. Its construction began in 1907 and ended in 1909, on land that belonged to rich families, the imposing building was designed by architect Thomas Mur and Jose Toraya, under the auspices of the U. S. company Purdy and Henderson. It is recorded since then as one of the most prominent of the twentieth century Cuba. After the Cuban Revolution, there were placed various offices and the building suffered some neglect, in 1995 it began a general renovation project held by the Cuban-Spanish joint venture Aurea SA. Renaissance style and character eminently eclectic, at the top was placed a bronze statue of Mercury, the Greek god of trade, which is visible from a distance. In the original design there were five stories for stock, warehouse, office
40.
Palacio de los Capitanes Generales
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The Palacio de los Capitanes Generales is the former official residence of the governors of Havana, Cuba. Located on the side of the Plaza de Armas in Old Havana it is home to the Museum of the City of Havana. It houses exhibitions of art and historical artefacts and many of the rooms are preserved with their original Colonial decoration, the plan for the building was put forward to the city council on 28 January 1773 by the governor Felipe de Fondesviela y Ondeano, marqués de la Torre. Construction from the designs of the Cuban engineer and architect, Antonio Fernández de Trebejos y Zaldívar, the prison, located in the west wing, was closed in 1834. The last of the Colonial governors vacated the palace in 1898 when Cuba gained independence under the terms of the Treaty of Paris, the municipal authorities moved elsewhere in 1967 and in 1968 the palace became the City Museum. The building is in the Cuban Baroque style and it is a thick-walled square building, little altered from the time of its original construction. The front of the building has an arcade with arches supported by columns, above the arcade the first storey has a limestone façade created from local limestone, notable for the numerous marine fossils embedded in the stone. Small balconies extend out from the full length windows, level with the top of the columns below. In the centre of the building is an open leafy courtyard overlooked by a gallery on all four sides, the ground floor and mezzanine contain artwork and artefacts from Havanas past. La Giradilla, a statue that became the symbol of the city, the Espada Cemetery was the first cemetery in the city, founded by Juan José Diaz de Espada in 1806. Also on display are some of the original stone baths in the shape of a nautilus shell, on the top floor the rooms of the governors residence are preserved with much of the original furniture and decoration. The Hall of Heroic Cuba contains important objects from the wars of independence and many flags of national significance including the flag of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, the Father of the Homeland. The building also houses the Office of the City Historian, headed by Eusebio Leal, world Heritage List, Old Havana and its Fortifications. Cuba,400 Years of Architectural Heritage
41.
Embassy of Russia in Havana
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The Embassy of Russia in Havana, Cuba is a striking constructivist building in the Miramar district of the city. Some liken it to a sword, others to a syringe, the embassy is located at #6402 Quinta Avenida, between Calles 62 and 66, on a site of about 4 hectares. Construction began in December 1978 and was completed in November 1987, the embassy opened as the Soviet embassy, in an era when Soviet influence in Cuba was immense and transitioned to its status as the Russian Embassy. 25 December 1991 –6 May 2000, Arnold Kalinin 27 June 2000 –14 April 2008, Andrey Dmitriev 14 April 2008 – present, Mikhail Kamynin Cuba–Russia relations List of diplomatic missions of Russia
42.
Oriental Park Racetrack
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Oriental Park Racetrack in Marianao, Havana, Cuba, was a thoroughbred horse-racing facility operated during the winter by the Havana-American Jockey Club of Cuba. Founded in 1915, Oriental Park was the race track in Cuba in the days before Fidel Castro came to power in 1959. Shoemaker won on the day at Agua Caliente Racetrack in Tijuana. Many American celebrities on vacation or who were performing at the nearby Tropicana Club visited fashionable Oriental Park Racetrack, in his book Little Man, Meyer Lansky and the Gangster Life, author Robert Lacey wrote that in 1937, gangster Meyer Lansky gained control of the racetrack and casino. At Calder Race Course in Miami Gardens, Florida, is a wall in its Hall of Fame dedicated to the famous Cuban horsemen who raced at Oriental Park, Oriental Park also hosted automobile races in 1920. Photos and data about the Oriental Park during the 50s, mostly in Spanish March 4,1929 TIME magazine article on John McEntee Bowman Lacey, Robert Little Man, Meyer Lansky and the Gangster Life Random House ISBN 978-0-517-10536-8
43.
Tropicana Club
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Tropicana, also known as Tropicana Club, is a world-known cabaret and club in Havana, Cuba. It was launched in 1939 at Villa Mina, a suburban estate with lush tropical gardens in Havanas Marianao neighborhood. The Tropicana had an impact in spreading Cuban culture internationally, new Yorks Tropicana was a Latin music club launched in 1945 by two Cuban restaurateurs, the brothers Manolo and Tony Alfaro, who made it the most glamorous nightclub in the Bronx. In 2004, the Atlantic City Tropicana opened The Quarter, which attempts to recreate the architecture, atmosphere and cuisine of Old Havana during the 1940s. In its September 1956 issue, Show magazine displayed a spread on Tropicana. The spectacular showplace that became The Tropicana evolved out of a Depression-era bohemian nightclub called Edén Concert, one day, two casino operators approached de Correa about opening a combination casino and cabaret on property on the outskirts of Havana rented from Guillermina Pérez Chaumont, known as Mina. The operators felt that the gardens of her Villa Mina. They cut a deal, and in December 1939, de Correa moved his company of singers, dancers, de Correa provided the food and entertainment, while Rafael Mascaro and Luis Bular operated the casino located in the chandeliered dining room of the estates mansion. Originally known as El Beau Site, de Correa decided to rename the club Tropicana, because of its atmosphere and na after the last syllable of the original owner. With a fanfare from the Alfredo Brito Orchestra, the Club Tropicana and its popularity with tourists grew steadily until the entry of the USA into World War II, which sharply curtailed tourism to Cuba. During this time, Martín Fox, a burly, gregarious and well-connected gambler, eventually, by 1950, he would amass enough profits to take over the lease of what would become The Tropicana. Martin Fox came to Havana from the countryside, nicknamed the Guajiro Fox, for being a country bumpkin peasant, he became big in the numbers rackets. Raised in the country and uneducated, he was bold and had close relations with more solvent groups. Hanging on through tough times, including a period with a ban on casino gambling, Fox bought out de Correas interest in 1951. This is when Tropicanas glory years really began, giant fruit trees were left in situ during construction to punctuate the interior. But it was the arrival in Havana in 1946 of Floridian mobster Santo Louie Santos Trafficante Jr. that would alter the future of The Tropicana. Trafficante, Jr. had been sent by his father, Tampa godfather Santo Trafficante, Sr. to oversee La Cosa Nostra and Tampa Family casino, upon Trafficante, Sr. s death in 1954, Santo, Jr. succeeded his father as boss of Tampa. Lansky would become the top figure in Cuba, appointing Trafficante his second in command
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