1.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
2.
Spain
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By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union. Spains capital and largest city is Madrid, other urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao. Modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 35,000 years ago, in the Middle Ages, the area was conquered by Germanic tribes and later by the Moors. Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a government under a constitutional monarchy. It is a power and a major developed country with the worlds fourteenth largest economy by nominal GDP. Jesús Luis Cunchillos argues that the root of the span is the Phoenician word spy. Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean the land where metals are forged, two 15th-century Spanish Jewish scholars, Don Isaac Abravanel and Solomon ibn Verga, gave an explanation now considered folkloric. Both men wrote in two different published works that the first Jews to reach Spain were brought by ship by Phiros who was confederate with the king of Babylon when he laid siege to Jerusalem. This man was a Grecian by birth, but who had given a kingdom in Spain. He became related by marriage to Espan, the nephew of king Heracles, Heracles later renounced his throne in preference for his native Greece, leaving his kingdom to his nephew, Espan, from whom the country of España took its name. Based upon their testimonies, this eponym would have already been in use in Spain by c.350 BCE, Iberia enters written records as a land populated largely by the Iberians, Basques and Celts. Early on its coastal areas were settled by Phoenicians who founded Western Europe´s most ancient cities Cadiz, Phoenician influence expanded as much of the Peninsula was eventually incorporated into the Carthaginian Empire, becoming a major theater of the Punic Wars against the expanding Roman Empire. After an arduous conquest, the peninsula came fully under Roman Rule, during the early Middle Ages it came under Germanic rule but later, much of it was conquered by Moorish invaders from North Africa. In a process took centuries, the small Christian kingdoms in the north gradually regained control of the peninsula. The last Moorish kingdom fell in the same year Columbus reached the Americas, a global empire began which saw Spain become the strongest kingdom in Europe, the leading world power for a century and a half, and the largest overseas empire for three centuries. Continued wars and other problems led to a diminished status. The Napoleonic invasions of Spain led to chaos, triggering independence movements that tore apart most of the empire, eventually democracy was peacefully restored in the form of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Spain joined the European Union, experiencing a renaissance and steady economic growth
3.
Autonomous communities of Spain
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Spain is not a federation, but a highly decentralized unitary state. Some scholars have referred to the system as a federal system in all. There are 17 autonomous communities and two cities that are collectively known as autonomies. The two autonomous cities have the right to become autonomous communities, but neither has yet used this right and this unique framework of territorial administration is known as the State of Autonomies. The autonomous communities are governed according to the constitution and their own organic laws known as Statutes of Autonomy, since devolution was intended to be asymmetrical in nature, the scope of competences vary for each community, but all have the same parliamentary structure. Spain is a country made up of different regions with varying economic and social structures, as well as different languages. While the entire Spanish territory was united under one crown by the 16th century, the constituent territories—be it crowns, kingdoms, principalities or dominions—retained much of their former institutional existence, including limited legislative, judicial or fiscal autonomy. These territories also exhibited a variety of customs, laws. From the 18th century onwards, the Bourbon kings and the government tried to establish a more centralized regime, leading figures of the Spanish Enlightenment advocated for the building of a Spanish nation beyond the internal territorial boundaries. This culminated in 1833, when Spain was divided into 49 provinces and these were the Basque Country and Catalonia. This gave rise to peripheral nationalisms along with Spanish nationalism, therefore, economic and social changes that had produced a national cultural unification in France had the opposite effect in Spain. In a response to Catalan demands, limited autonomy was granted to Catalonia in 1913 and it was granted again in 1932 during the Second Spanish Republic, when the Generalitat, Catalonias mediaeval institution of government, was restored. During General Francos dictatorial regime, centralism was most forcefully enforced as a way of preserving the unity of the Spanish nation, peripheral nationalism, along with communism and atheism were regarded by his regime as the main threats. When Franco died in 1975, Spain entered into a phase of transition towards democracy, the then Prime Minister of Spain, Adolfo Suárez, met with Josep Tarradellas, president of the Generalitat of Catalonia in exile. An agreement was made so that the Generalitat would be restored and limited competencies would be transferred while the constitution was still being written. In the end, the constitution, published and ratified in 1979, found a balance in recognizing the existence of nationalities and regions in Spain, within the indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation. The starting point in the organization of Spain was the second article of the constitution. In order to exercise this right, the established a open process whereby the nationalities
4.
Community of Madrid
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The Community of Madrid is one of the seventeen autonomous communities of Spain. It is located in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, and its capital is the city of Madrid, which is also the capital of the country. The Community of Madrid is bounded to the south and east by Castile–La Mancha and to the north and west by Castile and it was formally created in 1983, based on the limits of the province of Madrid, until then conventionally included in the historical region of New Castile. The Community of Madrid is the third most populous in Spain with 6,369,167 inhabitants mostly concentrated in the area of Madrid. It is also the most densely populated autonomous community, Madrids economy is of roughly equal size to Catalonias, which remains Spains largest. Madrid thus has the highest GDP per capita in the country, some notable discoveries of the region the bell-shaped vase of Ciempozuelos. During the Roman Empire, the region was part of the Citerior Tarraconese province, except for the south-west portion of it and it was crossed by two important Roman roads, the via xxiv-xxix (joining Astorga to laminium and via xxv, and contained some important conurbations. The city of Complutum became an important metropolis, whereas Titulcia, during the period of the Visigothic Kingdom, the region lost its importance. The population was scattered amongst several small towns, Alcalá de Henares was designated the bishopric seat in the 5th century by orders of Asturio, archbishop of Toledo, but this event was not enough to bring back the lost splendor of the city. The centre of the peninsula was one of the regions of the Al-Andalus until the 11th century when it became important. The Muslim governors created a system of fortresses and towers all across the region with which they tried to stop the advance of the Christian kingdoms of the north. The fortress of Mayrit was built somewhere between 860 and 880 AD, as a walled precinct where a military and religious community lived, and it soon became the most strategic fortress in defense of the city of Toledo above the fortresses of Talamanca de Jarama and Qal-at-Abd-Al-Salam. In 1083, king Alfonso VI of Castile conquered the city of Madrid, Alcalá de Henares fell in 1118 in a new period of Castilian annexation. The feudal and ecclesiastical lords came into constant conflict with the different councils that had granted the authority to repopulate. Specifically, Alcalá de Henares was under the hands of the archbishopric of Toledo, Castilian monarchs showed a predilection for the center of the peninsula, with abundant forests and game. El Pardo was a region visited frequently by kings since the time of Henry III, the Catholic Monarchs started the construction of the Royal Palace of Aranjuez. In the 16th century, San Lorenzo de El Escorial was built, besides its growing political importance, it also became a cultural center with the foundation of the University of Alcalá de Henares in 1508. In 1561, King Philip II made Madrid the capital of the empire, the surrounding territories became economically subordinated to the town itself, even beyond the present day limits of the Community of Madrid
5.
Provinces of Spain
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Spain and its autonomous communities are divided into fifty provinces. The layout of Spains provinces closely follows the pattern of the division of the country carried out in 1833. The only major change of provincial borders since that time has been the sub-division of the Canary Islands into two rather than one. Historically, the provinces served mainly as transmission belts for policies enacted in Madrid, the importance of the provinces has declined since the adoption of the system of autonomous communities in the period of the Spanish transition to democracy. They nevertheless remain electoral districts for national elections and as references, for instance in postal addresses. A small town would normally be identified as being in, say, Valladolid province rather than the community of Castile. The provinces were the building-blocks from which the communities were created. Consequently, no province is divided more than one of these communities. Only two capitals of autonomous communities—Mérida in Extremadura and Santiago de Compostela in Galicia—are not also the capitals of provinces, seven of the autonomous communities comprise no more than one province each, Asturias, Balearic Islands, Cantabria, La Rioja, Madrid, Murcia, and Navarra. These are sometimes referred to as uniprovincial communities, the table below lists the provinces of Spain. For each, the city is given, together with an indication of the autonomous community to which it belongs. The names of the provinces and their capitals are ordered according to the form in which they appear in the main Wikipedia articles describing them. Unless otherwise indicated, their Spanish-language names are the same, locally valid names in Spains other co-official languages are indicated where they differ
6.
Comarcas of Spain
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In Spain traditionally and historically, some autonomous communities are also divided into comarcas. Some comarcas have a clearly defined status, are regulated by law, there is even a comarca, the Cerdanya that is divided between two states, the southwestern half being counted as a comarca of Spain, while the northeastern half is part of France. In English, a comarca is equivalent to a district, county, or sometimes four, Tierra de Pinares. However, historic approaches establish six comarcas, Tierra de Pinares, Tierras de Cantalejo y Santa María la Real de Nieva. Tierra de Campos Montes Torozos Páramos del Esgueva Tierra de Pinares Campo de Peñafiel Campiña del Pisuerga Tierras de Medina Alfoz de Toro, Spain Comarcas, list of the Spanish comarcas
7.
Madrid metropolitan area
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The Madrid Metropolitan Area comprises the city of Madrid and 20 surrounding municipalities. It has a population of 6,321,398 people and it is the largest metropolitan area in Spain, the 4th largest in the European Union and the 54th largest in the world. The GDP of the area of Madrid was estimated to be 189 billion euros in 2009. The GDP per capita was 37,758 euros in the area while it reached 30,453 euros for the Madrid region
8.
Demonym
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A demonym is a word that identifies residents or natives of a particular place, which is derived from the name of that particular place. It is a neologism, previously gentilic was recorded in English dictionaries, e. g. the Oxford English Dictionary, thus a Thai may be any resident or citizen of Thailand, of any ethnic group, or more narrowly a member of the Thai people. Conversely, some groups of people may be associated with multiple demonyms, for example, a native of the United Kingdom may be called a British person, a Brit, or a Briton. In some languages, when a parallel demonym does not exist, in English, demonyms are capitalized and are often the same as the adjectival form of the place, e. g. Egyptian, Japanese, or Greek. Significant exceptions exist, for instance the adjectival form of Spain is Spanish, English widely includes country-level demonyms such as Ethiopian or Guatemalan and more local demonyms such as Seoulite, Wisconsinite, Chicagoan, Michigander, Fluminense, and Paulista. Some places lack a commonly used and accepted demonym and this poses a particular challenge to those toponymists who research demonyms. The word gentilic comes from the Latin gentilis and the English suffix -ic, the word demonym was derived from the Greek word meaning populace with the suffix for name. National Geographic attributes the term demonym to Merriam-Webster editor Paul Dickson in a recent work from 1990 and it was subsequently popularized in this sense in 1997 by Dickson in his book Labels for Locals. However, in What Do You Call a Person From, a Dictionary of Resident Names attributed the term to George H. Scheetz, in his Names Names, A Descriptive and Prescriptive Onymicon, which is apparently where the term first appears. Several linguistic elements are used to create demonyms in the English language, the most common is to add a suffix to the end of the location name, slightly modified in some instances. Cairo → Cairene Cyrenaica → Cyrene Damascus → Damascene Greece → Greek Nazareth → Nazarene Slovenia → Slovene Often used for Middle Eastern locations and European locations. Kingston-upon-Hull → Hullensian Leeds → Leodensian Spain → Spaniard Savoy → Savoyard -ese is usually considered proper only as an adjective, thus, a Chinese person is used rather than a Chinese. Monaco → Monégasque Menton → Mentonasque Basque Country → Basque Often used for French locations, mostly they are from Africa and the Pacific, and are not generally known or used outside the country concerned. In much of East Africa, a person of an ethnic group will be denoted by a prefix. For example, a person of the Luba people would be a Muluba, the plural form Baluba, similar patterns with minor variations in the prefixes exist throughout on a tribal level. And Fijians who are indigenous Fijians are known as Kaiviti and these demonyms are usually more informal and colloquial. In the United States such informal demonyms frequently become associated with mascots of the sports teams of the state university system. In other countries the origins are often disputed and these will typically be formed using the standard models above
9.
Daylight saving time
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Daylight saving time is the practice of advancing clocks during summer months by one hour so that evening daylight lasts an hour longer, while sacrificing normal sunrise times. Typically, regions that use Daylight Savings Time adjust clocks forward one hour close to the start of spring, American inventor and politician Benjamin Franklin proposed a form of daylight time in 1784. New Zealander George Hudson proposed the idea of saving in 1895. The German Empire and Austria-Hungary organized the first nationwide implementation, starting on April 30,1916, many countries have used it at various times since then, particularly since the energy crisis of the 1970s. The practice has both advocates and critics, DST clock shifts sometimes complicate timekeeping and can disrupt travel, billing, record keeping, medical devices, heavy equipment, and sleep patterns. Computer software often adjusts clocks automatically, but policy changes by various jurisdictions of DST dates, industrialized societies generally follow a clock-based schedule for daily activities that do not change throughout the course of the year. The time of day that individuals begin and end work or school, North and south of the tropics daylight lasts longer in summer and shorter in winter, with the effect becoming greater as one moves away from the tropics. However, they will have one hour of daylight at the start of each day. Supporters have also argued that DST decreases energy consumption by reducing the need for lighting and heating, DST is also of little use for locations near the equator, because these regions see only a small variation in daylight in the course of the year. After ancient times, equal-length civil hours eventually supplanted unequal, so civil time no longer varies by season, unequal hours are still used in a few traditional settings, such as some monasteries of Mount Athos and all Jewish ceremonies. This 1784 satire proposed taxing window shutters, rationing candles, and waking the public by ringing church bells, despite common misconception, Franklin did not actually propose DST, 18th-century Europe did not even keep precise schedules. However, this changed as rail transport and communication networks came to require a standardization of time unknown in Franklins day. Modern DST was first proposed by the New Zealand entomologist George Hudson, whose shift work job gave him time to collect insects. An avid golfer, he also disliked cutting short his round at dusk and his solution was to advance the clock during the summer months, a proposal he published two years later. The proposal was taken up by the Liberal Member of Parliament Robert Pearce, a select committee was set up to examine the issue, but Pearces bill did not become law, and several other bills failed in the following years. Willett lobbied for the proposal in the UK until his death in 1915, william Sword Frost, mayor of Orillia, Ontario, introduced daylight saving time in the municipality during his tenure from 1911 to 1912. Starting on April 30,1916, the German Empire and its World War I ally Austria-Hungary were the first to use DST as a way to conserve coal during wartime, Britain, most of its allies, and many European neutrals soon followed suit. Russia and a few other countries waited until the year
10.
Central European Summer Time
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It corresponds to UTC + two hours. Other names which have been applied to Central European Summer Time are Middle European Summer Time, Central European Daylight Saving Time, and Bravo Time. Since 1996 European Summer Time has been observed between 1,00 UTC on the last Sunday of March and 1,00 on the last Sunday of October, the following countries and territories use Central European Summer Time. In addition, Libya used CEST during the years 1951–1959, 1982–1989, 1996–1997, European Summer Time Other countries and territories in UTC+2 time zone Other names of UTC+2 time zone
11.
Peter of Castile
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Peter, called the Cruel or the Just, was the king of Castile and León from 1350 to 1369. Peter was the last ruler of the branch of the House of Ivrea. Peter was born in the tower of the Monasterio de Santa Maria la Real de Las Huelgas in Burgos. His parents were Alfonso XI of Castile and Maria of Portugal, according to chancellor and chronicler Pero López de Ayala, he had a pale complexion, blue eyes and very light blonde hair, he was tall and muscular. He was accustomed to long, strenuous hours of work, lisped a little and he was well read and a patron of the arts, and in his formative years he enjoyed entertainment, music and poetry. Peter began his reign when almost sixteen years old and subjected to the control of his mother and her favourites, joan soon contracted the disease and died. Though at first controlled by his mother, Peter emancipated himself with the encouragement of the minister Alburquerque, becoming attached to María de Padilla, he married her in secret in 1353. María turned him against Alburquerque, who fled to Portugal, in the summer of 1353, the young king was practically coerced by his mother and the nobles into marrying Blanche of Bourbon, he deserted her at once. This marriage necessitated Peters denying that he had married María, but his relationship with her continued and he also apparently went through the form of marriage with Juana de Castro, widow of Don Diego de Haro, convincing her that his previous marriage to Queen Blanche was a nullity. The bishops of Avila and Salamanca were asked to concur, and were afraid to say otherwise, Peter and Juana were married in Cuellar, and Juana was proclaimed Queen of Castile. After two nights he then deserted her, a period of turmoil followed in which the king was for a time overpowered and in effect imprisoned. The dissension within the party striving to coerce him enabled him to escape from Toro, in 1361, Queen Blanche died at Medina Sidonia. Legend claims that Peter murdered her, one version of the story says she was poisoned, also that year Maria de Padilla died in Seville, possibly of the plague. The king of Aragon then supported Peters bastard brothers against him and it was during this period that Peter perpetrated the series of murders which made him notorious. In 1366 began the calamitous Castilian Civil War, which would see him dethroned, Peters rival Henry of Trastámara continuously depicted Peter as King of the Jews, and had some success in taking advantage of popular Castilian resentment towards the Jews. Henry of Trastámara instigated pogroms beginning a period of anti-Jewish riots, Peter took forceful measures against this, including the execution of at least five anti-Jewish leaders of a riot. In the summer of 1366, Peter took refuge with Edward, the Black Prince, but he disgusted his ally with his faithlessness and ferocity, as well as his failure to repay the costs of the campaign, as he had promised to do. The health of the Black Prince broke down, and he left the Iberian Peninsula, meanwhile, Henry of Trastámara returned to Castile in September,1368
12.
Getafe
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Getafe is a city in the south of the Madrid metropolitan area, Spain, and one of the most populated and industrialised cities in the area. It is home to one of the oldest Spanish military air bases, within the city is the Cerro de los Ángeles, or Hill of the Angels, a site considered the geographical center of the Iberian Peninsula. Getafe is located 13 km south of Madrids city centre, within an area of Spains Meseta Central in the Manzanares River basin. Getafes proximity to Madrid fostered industrial development during the 20th and 21st centuries, the citys industrialisation led to an increase in population, reaching 170,115 in 2011. Due to its industrial and social networks, the majority of work or study within the city. The increase in population led to the construction of access roads, an increase in available public services. During the Middle Ages, a number of villages were located in the area of Getafe. One of the villages was Alarnes, which was very close to the current urban center. In 1326, the villagers united themselves into one town, situated on the road that linked Madrid with Toledo. This new town was called Xatafi, a name came from the Arab word jata. It is assumed that the name Xatafi referred to the royal road, the towns name evolved over time, from Xetafe to Jetafee to Jetaphe to Jetafe to Getafe. The history of Getafe can be split into three clearly defined eras, in the first era, which lasted from Prehistory until 1326, there existed distinct villages in the area, though Getafe itself did not exist as a municipality. The second era lasted from the 14th century until the 20th century, during which Getafe was established as a town, the presence of humans in the area of Getafe dates back to the Lower Paleolithic period. Various stone tools, pots, and bracelets from this period have been excavated from the banks of the Manzanares River, the Romans dominated the Iberian Peninsula from the 2nd century BCE until the 5th century AD. In the 3rd century AD, the Romans constructed a villa called La Torecilla, the area was subsequently overrun by a series of Germanic tribes, including Suebi, Vandals and Visigoths, and the Indoeuropean Alans. The area currently encompassed by the Getafe municipal district was invaded by the Moors in the 8th century, King Alfonso VI conquered the villages of the area in 1085. In 1326, the inhabitants of the villages moved closer to the road connecting Madrid and Toledo, in effect creating a new town. In that same century, the hermitage of La Magdalena was built
13.
Valdemoro
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Valdemoro is a municipal district, located in the Southern zone of the autonomous community of Madrid, Spain. Located 27 kilometers from the capital, Valdemoro is officially part of the comarca of La Sagra, the municipality has experienced strong population growth in the past fifteen years, eventually reaching 72,265 inhabitants. Valdemoros proximity to the capital has favored the demographic and economic development of the area, Due to the recent population boom, Valdemoro has had to construct new transportation, educational, sanitation, health, and entertainment facilities. The municipalitys recent history is linked to that of the Guardia Civil. Valdemoro is home to the Colegio de Guardias Jóvenes Duque de Ahumada, Valdemoro is a located on the drainage basin of the Tagus River on the Southern slopes of the Sistema Central mountain range. The population of Valdemoro is concentrated in the parts of the municipal district. The region is flat, except in the area of the Espartinas hills in the South. The highest point of elevation in the district is the Cerro de la Mira at 712 meters. The lowest point of elevation is the La Cañada stream at 543 meters, the average altitude of Valdemoro is 615 meters above sea level. The ground slopes in an Easterly direction, averaging a 3% incline, the La Cañada stream originates in the municipal district, and then feeds into the Jarama River. The Jarama runs parallel to Valdemoro and never enters its limits, a part of the Continental Mediterranean climate, Valdemoros temperatures average between 13 °C and 17 °C annually. Though winters are relatively gentle, the sky remains overcast and the frozen from November to April. Summers are hot and dry, averaging 26 °C in July, all precipitation originates over the Atlantic and is heavily influenced by the mountain chains that border the Meseta Central and the anticyclones of the Azores. Rainfall is scarce, making Valdemoro one of the driest regions on the peninsula, Valdemoro does not possess overly abundant populations of flora or fauna, though 794 hectares of the municipal district are part of the Parque Regional del Sureste. Valdemoro is one of the few locations in Europe where the Russian silverberry Elaeagnus angustifolia occurs naturally, recent urban growth has significantly diminished the land available for natural forest growth. The area is home to 3 species of amphibians,7 species of reptiles. Of these species,21 are hibernating species and 27 are nomadic. Valdemoro has 12 neighborhoods, Río Nilo, Brezo, Campo Olivar, El Caracol, El Restón I, El Restón II, La Estación, La Villa, Las Vírgenes, Viva Verde, Las Comunidades, and UDE Norte-Oeste
14.
Parla
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Parla is a municipality of the Madrid Metropolitan Area, Spain. It is located in the part of the autonomous community, approximately 20 km from the capital. As of 2013, it has a population of 164,182, earliest evidence of human occupation includes stone tools made of Paleolithic chert, of the kind utilized by Stone Age people. Starting in approximately 200 CE, nomadic people from the coast began to settle the area, bringing their knowledge of metalworking, ranching, agriculture and these early settlers lived primarily along the Humanejos stream. During the 4th and 5th centuries, the ranks of the local populations swelled to include newly arrived Celtic tribes from central Europe, the Celts brought with them various advanced technologies that included ironworking and fired ceramics. The local population was sustained mostly by ranching and agriculture, independent local development was interrupted by the arrival of the Carthagineans and Romans, the latter of whom recorded the history of the pre-Roman villages of the area. Local Roman artifacts include a number of markers and coins. After the Battle of Guadalete, which signified the beginning of the Islamic conquest of Hispania, Parla, Parla once again appeared as an independent township during the Reconquista. The territory was part of the Alfoz of Madrid, a Spanish medieval territorial designation for the surrounding a village during the Reconquista. At the time, there were two villages in the area, Parla, to the north, and Humanejos to the south. Humanejos disappeared around the year 1650 and this document was later affirmed by King Peter of Castile on 7 December 1351. After the Peninsular War, Parla became home to a number of poor refugees from other localities. Around this time it achieves the status of township, the current mayor is José María Fraile, who was elected in 2008. The previous mayor, Tomás Gómez Franco, resigned from his post in October 2008 to accept the position of general of the PSOE. The majority of local politics involves three of the political parties, the Spanish Socialist Workers Party, the Popular Party. During the 2007 Spanish regional elections, the PSOE carried 74. 43% of the vote, in comparison, the Peoples Party carried only 16. 61% of the vote, while the IU carried 6. 15%. The other political parties were unable to obtain sufficient votes to gain representation on the town council, local elections take place every four years, and are held in conjunction with the autonomous elections of the Community of Madrid. The next elections will take place in the year 2011, the local government is divided into the following departments, The municipality of Parla covers an area of 24.43 km²
15.
Fuenlabrada
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Fuenlabrada is a city and municipality in the Madrid Metropolitan Area, Spain. It is to the southwest of the region,22.5 km from the capital, the name probably has its origin in Fuente Labrada. By 1975, the municipality had already reached a population of 18,442, foreign workers have also settled in the city, most of them coming from Latin America, Africa, the Maghreb, China and Romania. Famous people from Fuenlabrada include Spain and Atletico Madrid striker Fernando Torres, the first news about Fuenlabrada came out 200 years later after its founding because of an ambitious project promoted by Philip II of Spain, the Topographic Relations of Philip II. It is all about the relations of all the villages of Spain. With the many pieces of information gathered by that questionnaire an accurate report of Fuenlabrada was created in the 16th century, roads The city is linked with the M-50, A-42, M-506, M-407 and M-409 highways. It is connected as well to the towns of Humanes de Madrid and Moraleja de Enmedio through the M-413 and M-405 local roads. Metro Fuenlabrada has good connections with Madrid, Móstoles, Getafe, Alcorcón and Leganés through the Madrid Metro line 12, including five stations. Railway Fuenlabrada is connected to Madrid via the Cercanías Madrid line C-5, primary and Secondary education Fuenlabrada has 33 kindergarten and daycare centers,50 primary schools and 15 secondary schools. The UNED also has a branch here, the city is home to ACB basketball team Baloncesto Fuenlabrada, currently relegated to the second tier division. It is one of the foremost teams, having competed in the top division of Spanish basketball for several years. Their home games are played at Fernando Martín sports centre, which has a capacity of 5,700, CF Fuenlabrada is the local football team, playing in 2ª División B. Their current coach is famous former striker Fernando Morientes and they play as home team at the Fernando Torres stadium, inaugurated by the footballer himself on September 1,2011. The stadium has a capacity of 2,500, Fernando Torres, born in Fuenlabrada on March 20,1984 Roberto, born in Fuenlabrada on February 10,1986 Official website of Fuenlabrada
16.
Union, Progress and Democracy
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Union, Progress and Democracy is a Spanish political party founded in September 2007. It is a liberal party which rejects any form of nationalism, especially peripheral nationalism like the separatist Basque. The party is deeply pro-European and wants the European Union to adopt a system without overlap between the European, national and regional governments. Progress because they affirm to be a party with social liberal roots. And Democracy because of their commitment to radical regeneration of democracy, UPyD first stood for election in the 9 March 2008 general election. Although its core is in the Basque Autonomous Community, with roots in anti-ETA civic associations, prominent members of the party include philosopher Fernando Savater, party founder and former PSOE MEP Rosa Díez, philosopher Carlos Martínez Gorriarán and writer Álvaro Pombo. At its Second Party Congress in November 2013, UPyD reported 6,165 registered members (down from a high of 6,634 in 2011. In 2009 the party founded the think tank Fundación Progreso y Democracia, in the general elections held on 20 November 2011, the party won 1,143,225 votes, five seats in the Congress of Deputies and became the fourth-largest political force in the country. It had the greatest increase of votes over the general election of any party. It lost all its seats at the 2015 general election and suffered a decline in its vote, to 0. 2%. On 19 May 2007,45 people met in San Sebastián to discuss the creation of a new party opposing both major parties at the national level. Most present were Basques, many of whom had experience in political, union and civic organizations with left-wing, liberal. After the meeting, to create a social and political project they formed the Plataforma Pro organization. This united those who considered it necessary to form a new political party appealing to people across the democratic political spectrum. Coordinator and spokesman Carlos Martínez Gorriarán and former Spanish Socialist Workers Party MEP Rosa Díez, Díez resigned her PSOE membership and her MEP position in August 2007 to become involved with the UPyD project. Groups supporting Plataforma Pro included Citizens of Catalonia and ¡Basta Ya, a major influence on the new movement. At a 29 September 2007 meeting in the auditorium of the Casa de Campo in Madrid, participants in its formation included Catalan dramatist Albert Boadella, Basque philosopher Fernando Savater, Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa and Rosa Díez. Maura joined the new advisory council on 6 November 2007
17.
Podemos (Spanish political party)
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Podemos is a left-wing political party in Spain. The party was founded in March 2014 in the aftermath of the 15-M Movement protests against inequality, Podemos is a left wing populist party, which seeks to address the problems of inequality, unemployment and economic malaise that followed in the wake of the European debt crisis. Podemos has called for a renegotiation of austerity measures and seeks to curtail the Treaty of Lisbon, the term populist is sometimes used by political opponents to refer to the party in a pejorative way. In the 2014 European Parliament elections on 25 May 2014, Podemos received 7. 98% of the vote, with 1,200,000 votes cast. At the elections for the parliament on December 20,2015, Podemos received 21% of the vote and became the third largest party in the parliament. On 9 May 2016, Podemos formed the electoral alliance Unidos Podemos with United Left, Equo, Podemos came from the aftermath of the Indignados movement against inequality and corruption in 2011. This manifesto argued that it was necessary to create a party list for the European Parliament elections that year, with the goal of opposing the dominant policies of the EU from the left. One of the highlighted by Iglesias was the derogation of the 135th article of the Constitution, full application of the 128th article of the constitution. They also demanded Spain exit from NATO, and support self-determination rights, the Podemos movement was officially launched on 16 January 2014 in the Teatro del Barrio, in the Lavapiés neighbourhood of Madrid. Its fundamental goal was to oppose the austerity policies which were being applied, the 50,000 signatures were obtained in less than 24 hours and the Podemos website crashed due to the high traffic. On 25 May 2014 Podemos entered candidates for the 2014 European Parliament election, polling with 7. 98% of the national vote, the partys MEPs join the European United Left–Nordic Green Left group. Regarding the election Pablo Iglesias was described as pessimistic by El País and they have been won by the Peoples Party. We cannot be happy about this and he stated that his objective is to move forward until we throw the PP and the PSOE out of power. We will now work with parties from the south of Europe to make it clear that we don’t want to be a German colony. On 5 June 2014, Pablo Iglesias announced that the Asamblea Ciudadana Sí se puede would take place in the autumn, the vote took place over the Internet on 12 and 13 June. Two lists were presented, one of them headed by Pablo Iglesias, the technical details of the election and the deadlines generated discussion within Podemos. In a meeting of Podemos circles which took place on June 8 in Madrid, the electoral process, in which 55,000 people participated, gave the victory to Pablo Iglesias list, with a 86. 8% of the vote. A major part of the assembly consisted in the writing of documents defining the political and organizational principles of the party
18.
Anthony the Great
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Saint Anthony or Antony was a Christian monk from Egypt, revered since his death as a saint. He is distinguished from other saints named Anthony by various epithets, Anthony the Great, Anthony of Egypt, Anthony the Abbot, Anthony of the Desert, Anthony the Anchorite, and Anthony of Thebes. For his importance among the Desert Fathers and to all later Christian monasticism and his feast day is celebrated on January 17 among the Orthodox and Catholic churches and on Tobi 22 in the Egyptian calendar used by the Coptic Church. The biography of Anthonys life by Athanasius of Alexandria helped to spread the concept of Christian monasticism and he is often erroneously considered the first Christian monk, but as his biography and other sources make clear, there were many ascetics before him. Anthony was, however, the first to go into the wilderness, Anthony is appealed to against infectious diseases, particularly skin diseases. In the past, many afflictions, including ergotism, erysipelas. Anthony was born in Coma in Lower Egypt in AD251 to wealthy landowner parents, when he was about 18 years old, his parents died and left him with the care of his unmarried sister. Shortly thereafter, he decided to follow the Evangelical counsel of Jesus which reads, If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasures in heaven. Anthony gave away some of his familys lands to his neighbors, sold the remaining property and he then left to live an ascetic life, placing his sister with a group of Christian virgins, a sort of proto-convent. For the next fifteen years, Anthony remained in the area, there are various legends associating Anthony with pigs, one is that he worked as a swineherd during this period. Anthony is sometimes considered the first monk, and the first to initiate solitary desertification, philo opined that this class of persons may be met with in many places, for both Greece and barbarian countries want to enjoy whatever is perfectly good. Christian ascetics such as Thecla had likewise retreated to isolated locations at the outskirts of cities, Anthony is notable for having decided to surpass this tradition and headed out into the desert proper. He left for the alkaline Nitrian Desert on the edge of the Western Desert about 95 km west of Alexandria and he remained there for 13 years. According to Athanasius, the devil fought Anthony by afflicting him with boredom, laziness, and the phantoms of women, after that, he moved to a tomb, where he resided and closed the door on himself, depending on some local villagers who brought him food. When the devil perceived his ascetic life and his worship, he was envious and beat him mercilessly. When his friends from the village came to visit him and found him in this condition. After he recovered, he made an effort and went back into the desert to a farther mountain by the Nile called Pispir. There he lived strictly enclosed in an old abandoned Roman fort for some 20 years, according to Athanasius, the devil again resumed his war against Anthony, only this time the phantoms were in the form of wild beasts, wolves, lions, snakes, and scorpions
19.
Jesus
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In Christology, the Person of Christ refers to the study of the human and divine natures of Jesus Christ as they co-exist within one person. There is no discussion in the New Testament regarding the dual nature of the Person of Christ as both divine and human. Hence, since the days of Christianity theologians have debated various approaches to the understanding of these natures. In the period following the Apostolic Age, specific beliefs such as Arianism and Docetism were criticized. On the other end of the spectrum, Docetism argued that Jesus physical body was an illusion, docetic teachings were attacked by St. Ignatius of Antioch and were eventually abandoned by proto-orthodox Christians. However, after the First Council of Nicaea in 325 the Logos, historically in the Alexandrian school of christology, Jesus Christ is the eternal Logos paradoxically humanized in history, a divine Person who became enfleshed, uniting himself to the human nature. The views of these schools can be summarized as follows, Alexandria, Antioch, Logos assumes a specific human being The First Council of Ephesus in 431 debated a number of views regarding the Person of Christ. At the same gathering the council debated the doctrines of monophysitism or miaphysitism. The council rejected Nestorianism and adopted the term hypostatic union, referring to divine, the language used in the 431 declaration was further refined at the 451 Council of Chalcedon. However, the Chalcedon creed was not accepted by all Christians, because Saint Augustine died in 430 he did not participate in the Council of Ephesus in 431 or Chalcedon in 451, but his ideas had some impact on both councils. On the other hand, the major theological figure of the Middle Ages. The Third Council of Constantinople in 680 held that both divine and human wills exist in Jesus, with the divine will having precedence, leading and guiding the human will. John Calvin maintained that there was no element in the Person of Christ which could be separated from the person of The Word. Calvin also emphasized the importance of the Work of Christ in any attempt at understanding the Person of Christ, the study of the Person of Christ continued into the 20th century, with modern theologians such as Karl Rahner and Hans von Balthasar. Balthasar argued that the union of the human and divine natures of Christ was achieved not by the absorption of human attributes, thus in his view the divine nature of Christ was not affected by the human attributes and remained forever divine
20.
Crucifix
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A crucifix is an image of Jesus on the cross, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the corpus, the crucifix is a principal symbol for many groups of Christians, and one of the most common forms of the Crucifixion in the arts. The symbol is less common in churches of other Protestant denominations, the crucifix emphasizes Jesus sacrifice — his death by crucifixion, which Christians believe brought about the redemption of mankind. Most crucifixes portray Jesus on a Latin cross, rather than any other shape, Western crucifixes usually have a three-dimensional corpus, but in Eastern Orthodoxy Jesus body is normally painted on the cross, or in low relief. Strictly speaking, to be a crucifix, the cross must be three-dimensional, an entire painting of the Crucifixion of Jesus including a landscape background and other figures is not a crucifix either. Large crucifixes high across the axis of a church are known by the Old English term rood. By the late Middle Ages these were a feature of Western churches. The standard, four-pointed Latin crucifix consists of an upright post or stipes, there may also be a short projecting nameplate, showing the letters INRI. The corpus of Eastern crucifixes is normally a two-dimensional or low relief icon that shows Jesus as already dead, his face peaceful, more sculptural small crucifixes in metal relief are also used in Orthodoxy, including as pectoral crosses and blessing crosses. Western crucifixes may show Christ dead or alive, the presence of the wound in his ribs traditionally indicating that he is dead. In either case his face very often shows his suffering, in Orthodoxy he has normally been shown as dead since around the end of the period of Byzantine Iconoclasm. Eastern crucifixes have Jesus two feet nailed side by side, rather than crossed one above the other, as Western crucifixes have shown them since around the 13th century. The crown of thorns is also absent in Eastern crucifixes, since the emphasis is not on Christs suffering. The S-shaped position of Jesus body on the cross is a Byzantine innovation of the late 10th century, probably more from Byzantine influence, it spread elsewhere in the West, especially to Italy, by the Romanesque period, though it was more usual in painting than sculpted crucifixes. Its in Italy that the emphasis was put on Jesus suffering and realistic details, during the 13th century the suffering Italian model triumphed over the traditional Byzantine one anywhere in Europe also due to the works of artists such as Giunta Pisano and Cimabue. Since the Renaissance the S-shape is generally less pronounced. He may be robed as a prophet, crowned as a king, on some crucifixes a skull and crossbones are shown below the corpus, referring to Golgotha, the site at which Jesus was crucified, which the Gospels say means in Hebrew the place of the skull. Very large crucifixes have been built, the largest being the Cross in the Woods in Michigan, prayer in front of a crucifix, which is seen as a sacramental, is often part of devotion for Christians, especially those worshipping in a church, and also privately
21.
Dominic of Silos
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Dominic of Silos, O. S. B. was a Spanish monk, to whom the Abbey of Santo Domingo de Silos, where he served as the abbot, is dedicated. He is revered as a saint in the Catholic Church and his feast day is December 20. Born in Cañas, La Rioja, to a family of peasants, under the protection of King Ferdinand I of León, in 1041 they found refuge in the town of Silos at the decaying Abbey of St. Sebastian, occupied by only six monks. Dominic was appointed as the abbot of the community and, inspired by the reforms of Cluny, proceeded to rebuild the monastery, Dominic became known for works of healing. The monastery became one of the centers of the Mozarabic liturgy, wealthy patrons endowed the monastery, and Dominic raised funds to ransom Christians taken prisoner by the Moors. By the time of his death, on 20 December 1073, dominics relics were translated to the monastery church on 5 January 1076. Churches and monasteries were dedicated to him as early as 1085 and his annual feast day is celebrated on December 20. The mother of the better-known Saint Dominic of Guzmán, the Blessed Joan of Aza, is said to have prayed at his shrine before she was able to conceive the son she named for him and that son would grow up to found the Dominican Order. St. Dominic of Silos is patron saint of prisoners, pregnant women, the noted 13th-century priest and poet, Gonzalo de Berceo, wrote an account of his life. Saint of the Day, Lives, Lessons, and Feast Franciscan Media ISBN 978-0-86716-887-7
22.
Ana de Mendoza, Princess of Eboli
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Ana, Countess of Melito and Duchess of Pastrana, married Rui Gomes da Silva, 1st Prince of Éboli when she was 13 years old, by recommendation of the regent of Spain, the future King Philip II. Her husband was a councillor and favourite with Philip. Although she may have been blind in one eye, the Princess of Éboli was considered very attractive and she was an energetic person, and prominent in court life. One of her friends was the queen, Isabel de Valois and they were accused of betraying state secrets which led to her arrest in 1579. Ana died 13 years later in prison on 2 February 1592, there was a character called Princess Eboli based on Ana in Schillers play Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien, and Verdis opera Don Carlos. She is also the subject of Kate OBriens novel That Lady, La Tuerta, a stage play charting the life of Ana de Mendoza was performed at Bedlam Theatre as part of The Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2008. Julia Ormond played her in La Conjura de El Escorial and Belén Rueda in the TV film La Princesa de Éboli
23.
Infanta Cristina of Spain
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Infanta Cristina of Spain is the younger daughter of King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía of Spain. As of 2015 she is sixth in the line of succession to the Spanish throne, after her brother King Felipe VIs children, her sister Elena, and Elenas children. From 2013 she was under investigation and later tried for fraud relating to accusations of corruption involving a company owned by Cristina and her husband. Cristina de Borbón was born at Our Lady of Loreto Clinic in Madrid and was baptized into the Church at the Palacio de La Zarzuela by the Archbishop of Madrid and her godparents were Alfonso, Duke of Anjou and Cádiz, and Infanta Maria Cristina of Spain. She received her education at Santa María del Camino School before graduating from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid in 1989 with a degree in political science. She pursued postgraduate studies at New York University, obtaining an MA in international relations in 1990, in 1991, she gained practical experience working at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. She speaks fluent Spanish, Catalan, English and Greek, Cristina married team handball player Iñaki Urdangarín in Barcelona on 4 October 1997. On this occasion, she was created Duchess of Palma de Mallorca for life, the couple have four children, all born in Barcelona, Juan, Pablo, Miguel, and Irene. They lived in Washington, D. C. from 2009 to 2012 and her husband was investigated from early 2012 on suspicion of fraudulently obtaining millions in public funds in the Nóos case. In April 2013, Infanta Cristina was formally named as a suspect in the case by the judge in charge, in the light of the forthcoming trial, she and her children moved to Geneva, Switzerland, in summer 2013. On 7 January 2014, a Spanish judge charged her with tax fraud and money laundering, the Infanta made her first appearance in the Majorca Court on 8 February 2014, where she denied any knowledge of her husbands dealings. Spanish judge Jose Castro formalised charges against Infanta Cristina on 25 June 2014, in November 2014 the High Court of Palma de Mallorca upheld tax fraud charges against the princess, paving the way for her to face trial, however, it decided to drop money-laundering charges. Her lawyers maintained that they remained completely convinced of her innocence, on December 22,2014, the High Court of the Balearic Islands announced that Infanta Cristina, her husband, and 15 others would stand trial on tax fraud charges as soon as next year. On 12 June 2015, King Felipe VI officially deprived his sister of her dukedom, pursuant to their meeting in person on 12 June Infanta Cristina wrote to the king requesting the forfeiture of her noble title, immediately following which a royal decree to that effect was issued. According to newspaper El País, between 1995 and 2013 the Spanish monarchys approval rating dropped from 7.5 to 3.68 out of 10 amongst Spaniards, the Spanish media also attributed, in no small part, King Juan Carlos abdication to these ongoing proceedings. Her right of succession to the throne and to the title of infanta were unaffected. Cristinas trial began on 11 January 2016, presided over by three judges in Palma, with a potential sentence of eight years if found guilty. She took the stand in March 2016, denying being an accessory to tax evasion and she insisted on her right to answer only questions from her own lawyer
24.
Catholic Monarchs
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The Catholic Monarchs is the joint title used in history for Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon. They married on October 19,1469, in the city of Valladolid, Isabella was eighteen years old and it is generally accepted by most scholars that the unification of Spain can essentially be traced back to the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella. The court of Ferdinand and Isabella was constantly on the move, the title of Catholic King and Queen was bestowed on Ferdinand and Isabella by Pope Alexander VI in 1494, in recognition of their defence of the Catholic faith within their realms. Catholic monarchs or kings can also be used in a generic sense, Isabella was named heir to the throne of Castile by her half brother Henry IV of Castile in the Treaty of the Bulls of Guisando. She became Queen of Castile in 1474 and her niece, Joanna of Castile, attempted to gain the throne by bringing in the foreign help of Afonso V of Portugal, leading to the War of Castilian Succession. More recently, some speculate that Joanna was the legitimate successor, Isabellas supporters came out ahead in good part due to Aragons support through Ferdinand, and she officially won in 1479 via the Treaty of Alcáçovas. Ferdinand became the King of Aragon in 1479, the Catholic Monarchs set out to restore royal authority in Spain. To accomplish their goal, they first created a group named the Holy Brotherhood and these men were used as a judicial police force for Castile, as well as to attempt to keep Castilian nobles in check. To establish a more uniform system, the Catholic Monarchs created the Royal Council. This establishment of authority is known as the Pacification of Castile. Even after his death and the union of the crowns under one monarch, the Aragonese, Catalan, further, the monarchs continued ruling through a form of medieval contractualism, which made their rule pre-modern in a few ways. One of those is that they traveled from town to town throughout the kingdom in order to promote loyalty, another is that each community and region was connected to them via loyalty to the crown, rather than bureaucratic ties. Ferdinand and Isabella were noted for being the monarchs of the newly united Spain at the dawn of the modern era and they had a goal of conquering the Muslim kingdom of Granada and completing the Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula. The beginnings of a series of known as the Granada War began with the attack on Alhama de Granada. The attack was led by two Andalusian nobles, Rodrigo Ponce de León and Diego de Merlo, the city fell to Andalusian forces in 1482. The Granada War was aided by Pope Sixtus IV by granting a tithe, after 10 years of fighting the Granada War ended in 1492 when Emir Boabdil surrendered the keys of the Alhambra Palace in Granada to the Castilian soldiers. After a number of revolts, Ferdinand and Isabella ordered the expulsion from Spain of all Jews, the Inquisition had been created in the twelfth century by Pope Lucius III to fight heresy in the south of what is now France and was constituted in a number of European kingdoms. The Catholic Monarchs decided to introduce the Inquisition to Castile, the bull gave the monarchs exclusive authority to name the inquisitors
25.
Francisco Rabal
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Francisco Rabal, perhaps better known as Paco Rabal, was a Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter born in Águilas, a small town in the province of Murcia, Spain. In 1936, after the Spanish Civil War broke out, Rabal and his family left Murcia, young Francisco had to work as a street salesboy and in a chocolate factory. When he was 13 years old, he left school to work as an electrician at Estudios Chamartín, Rabal got some sporadic jobs as an extra. Dámaso Alonso and other people advised him to try his luck with a career in theater, during the following years, he got some roles in theater companies such as Lope de Vega or María Guerrero. It was there that he met actress Asunción Balaguer, they married and remained together for the rest of Rabals life and their daughter, Teresa Rabal, is also an actress. In 1947, Rabal got some jobs in theater. He used his name, Francisco Rabal, as stage name. However, the people who knew him called him Paco Rabal. Paco Rabal became his stage name. During the 1940s, Rabal began acting in movies as an extra, but it was not until 1950 that he was first cast in speaking roles and he starred in three films directed by Luis Buñuel - Nazarín, Viridiana and Belle de jour. William Friedkin thought of Rabal for the French villain of his 1971 movie The French Connection, however, he could not remember the name of that Spanish actor. Mistakenly, his staff hired another Spanish actor, Fernando Rey, Friedkin discovered that Rabal did not speak English or French, so he decided to keep Rey. Rabal had previously worked with Rey in Viridiana, Rabal did, however, work with Friedkin in the much less successful but Academy Award-nominated cult classic Sorcerer, a remake of The Wages of Fear. It is widely considered that Rabals best performances came after Francisco Francos death in 1975. In the 1980s, Rabal starred in Los santos inocentes, winning the Award as Best Actor in Cannes Film Festival, in El Disputado Voto del Señor Cayo, in 1989, he was a member of the jury at the 39th Berlin International Film Festival. In the 1999 he played the character of Francisco Goya in Carlos Saura Goya en Burdeos, Francisco Rabal is the only Spanish actor to have received an honoris causa doctoral degree from the University of Murcia. Rabals final movie was Dagon directed by Stuart Gordon, the film, which was released after his death in 2001, was dedicated to him. The dedication, which appeared before the end credits, read, Dedicated to Francisco Rabal, Rabal died in 2001 from compensatory dilating emphysema, while on an airplane travelling to Bordeaux, when he was coming back from receiving an Award at Montreal Film Festival
26.
Alberto Contador
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Alberto Contador Velasco is a Spanish professional cyclist, one of six riders to have won all three Grand Tours of road cycling. He was the winner of the 2007 Tour de France with the Discovery Channel team, with the Astana team he has won the 2008 Giro dItalia, the 2008 Vuelta a España and the 2009 Tour de France. Following his return from a suspension, he won the 2012 Vuelta a España, the 2014 Vuelta a España and the 2015 Giro dItalia. Notable summit stage finishes on which he has victories include the Alto de El Angliru in the Vuelta and he has earned a reputation as an all-rounder, a cyclist who excels in all aspects of stage racing which are needed for high places in the general classification. Contadors career has been marked by doping allegations, the Operación Puerto doping case led his Astana–Würth team to withdraw en masse from the 2006 Tour de France before it began. He was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing and he was also suspended until 5 August 2012, and his contract with Team Saxo Bank was annulled. Upon the completion of his ban, Contador rejoined the renamed Saxo Bank–Tinkoff Bank team, Contador was born on 6 December 1982 in Pinto in the Community of Madrid, the third of four children. He has a brother and sister and a younger brother. Having previously practised other sports, such as football and athletics, when Contador was 15, he began to compete in races at the amateur level in Spain, joining the Real Velo Club Portillo from Madrid. Although he got no victories that year or the next, he demonstrated great qualities and was soon nicknamed Pantani for his climbing skills, in 2000, he experienced his first victories, winning several mountains classification prizes from prominent events on the Spanish amateur cycling calendar. He dropped out of school at the age of 16 without having finished his Bachillerato and signed with Iberdrola-Loinaz, in 2001, he won the under-23 Spanish time trial championship. Contador lives with his wife Macarena in the city of Pinto when not competing and he has a fascination for birds, keeping personally bred canaries and goldfinches at home. Contador turned professional in 2003 for ONCE–Eroski, in his first year as a professional he won the eighth stage of the Tour de Pologne, an individual time trial. During the first stage of the 2004 Vuelta a Asturias he started to feel unwell, as a result of the surgery, he has a scar that runs from one ear to the other over the top of his head. He subsequently described this win as the greatest of his career and he went on to win the third stage and the overall classification of the Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme, thus winning his first stage race as a professional. He also won a time trial during the Tour of the Basque Country, where he finished third, and the fourth stage of the Tour de Romandie. In 2006, he won stages at the Tour de Romandie, prior to the start of the race he was implicated along with several teammates in the Operación Puerto doping case by the Spanish authorities, and the team was not able to start. He was later cleared by the Union Cycliste Internationale, cyclings governing body, Contador returned to racing in the Vuelta a Burgos but he crashed after finishing fifth in stage 4, when he was riding back down to the team bus, and briefly lost consciousness
27.
Madrid
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Madrid is the capital city of the Kingdom of Spain and the largest municipality in both the Community of Madrid and Spain as a whole. The city has a population of almost 3.2 million with an area population of approximately 6.5 million. It is the third-largest city in the European Union after London and Berlin, the municipality itself covers an area of 604.3 km2. Madrid lies on the River Manzanares in the centre of both the country and the Community of Madrid, this community is bordered by the communities of Castile and León. As the capital city of Spain, seat of government, and residence of the Spanish monarch, Madrid is also the political, economic, the current mayor is Manuela Carmena from Ahora Madrid. Madrid is home to two football clubs, Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid. Madrid is the 17th most liveable city in the according to Monocle magazine. Madrid organises fairs such as FITUR, ARCO, SIMO TCI, while Madrid possesses modern infrastructure, it has preserved the look and feel of many of its historic neighbourhoods and streets. Cibeles Palace and Fountain have become one of the monument symbols of the city, the first documented reference of the city originates in Andalusan times as the Arabic مجريط Majrīṭ, which was retained in Medieval Spanish as Magerit. A wider number of theories have been formulated on possible earlier origins, according to legend, Madrid was founded by Ocno Bianor and was named Metragirta or Mantua Carpetana. The most ancient recorded name of the city Magerit comes from the name of a built on the Manzanares River in the 9th century AD. Nevertheless, it is speculated that the origin of the current name of the city comes from the 2nd century BC. The Roman Empire established a settlement on the banks of the Manzanares river, the name of this first village was Matrice. In the 8th century, the Islamic conquest of the Iberian Peninsula saw the changed to Mayrit, from the Arabic term ميرا Mayra. The modern Madrid evolved from the Mozarabic Matrit, which is still in the Madrilenian gentilic, after the disintegration of the Caliphate of Córdoba, Madrid was integrated in the Taifa of Toledo. With the surrender of Toledo to Alfonso VI of León and Castile, the city was conquered by Christians in 1085, Christians replaced Muslims in the occupation of the centre of the city, while Muslims and Jews settled in the suburbs. The city was thriving and was given the title of Villa, since 1188, Madrid won the right to be a city with representation in the courts of Castile. In 1202, King Alfonso VIII of Castile gave Madrid its first charter to regulate the municipal council, which was expanded in 1222 by Ferdinand III of Castile
28.
Alcobendas
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Alcobendas is a city located in the Community of Madrid, central Spain. It is located roughly 13 kilometres north of Madrid and 7 kilometres from Barajas International Airport, a huge business park called Valdelacasa for high-tech firms is being built. It is the location of a basketball museum organised by the Pedro Ferrándiz Foundation where the FIBA Hall of Fame is located, Alcobendas is in the B1 zone for Madrids transport network. Both Alcobendas and its city, San Sebastián de los Reyes are connected with Madrid with buses operated by the Interbús bus company. There are currently eight bus lines go to and from different districts of Alcobendas to Plaza de Castilla. Alcobendas also has eight bus lines connect the different zones of Alcobendas between themselves. Metro, Alcobendas presently has four Metro stations which are all on line 10 of the Madrid Metro network and these stations were recently opened by Esperanza Aguirre, President of the Autonomous Community of Madrid. Buses Buses going to and from Plaza de Castilla are,151 Madrid - Alcobendas 153 Madrid - Alcobendas 153B a. k. a, b53 Madrid - Alcobendas 155 Madrid - Alcobendas 155B a. k. a. B55 Madrid - Alcobendas 157 Madrid - Alcobendas 157C a. k. a, both form part of the C-4a Cercanías line and can get to Sol and Atocha in half an hour. Private Transport Alobendas is easily reached by car as well, there are a number of motorways going round Alcobendas and through it. In the Casco district it is challenging to find a parking space, however this problem is not posed in the newer areas where ample parking facilities are available. Air Madrid used to have its office in Alcobendas, until the company folded in 2006. During the 2008 Oscar Ceremony, after receiving the prize for best Supporting Actress, marcos Pérez Jiménez, former Venezuelan dictator. Residence after being exiled from Venezuela where he lived until his death in 2001, bing Crosby died of a heart attack while on a golf course in Alcobendas. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is Csa
29.
Coslada
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Coslada is a city and municipality in the autonomous community of Madrid in central Spain. As of 2015, the mayor of Coslada is Ángel Viveros Gutiérrez, the Dry Port of the Community of Madrid is located in Coslada, which turns the city into a strategic point. The majority of the companies which transport important commodities that operate in Spain have branch offices in Coslada, another economic asset is its proximity to the Airport of Barajas, where a great percentage of its population is employed. Area,12 km² There are 102,890 inhabitants, migration, there are 17,000 foreign-born inhabitants, who represent 12% of the total population. Most are Romanians, though there are small numbers of Chinese, Latin Americans, Guineans, Vietnamese. Population density,6,907. 8/km² Inhabitants of Coslada are called Cosladeños, Coslada is located at 40, 25° North,3, 32° West. 12 kilometres east of downtown Madrid, Coslada is part of the metropolitan area, the city is surrounded by other municipalities such as Madrid and San Fernando de Henares. Daniel Parejo, footballer Amaia Salamanca, actress Ayuntamiento de Coslada, Town Hall of Coslada
30.
Las Rozas de Madrid
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Las Rozas de Madrid is one of the larger townships and municipalities in the autonomous community of Madrid, Spain, with an area of between 58.8 and 59.14 km². It is located some 17 –20 km northwest of the city of Madrid itself, Las Rozas is the beginning of this freeway, near the fork road M-505 to El Escorial, which marks the southern boundary of this comarca or rural district. The municipality is served by four RENFE railway stations– Las Rozas, Las Matas, El Pinar, a fifth stop, at Peñascales was closed. The municipality shares borders with Torrelodones to the north, Villanueva del Pardillo and Galapagar to the west, Las Rozas has one of the highest average per capita incomes in the Community of Madrid. The provisioning for local services has at times been outpaced by the high birth. However, by 2010 the community was served in all health, education. Various theories exist, for example, The clearing by Romans for military exercises, according to some historians Las Rozas could be the old Miacum, the name associated with the city of Madrid, dating from about the third century. Las Rozas is situated near the river Guadarrama and along the ancient road between Segovia and Titulcia, the part of this ancient road near Las Rozas is now approximately the A6/M505 route. In the winter of 1936 the pro-Franco troops advanced for the west of Madrid from their bases at Brunete, Villaviciosa de Odón and Campamento. In the middle of a fog with freezing temperature, Francos nationalists, supported by the air force. The inhabitants of Las Rozas took refuge in other places of the nearby Sierra such as the caves in Hoyo de Manzanares and these roceños who fled were nicknamed cucos. When the war was over, the Church of San Miguel and of the 270 houses of the settlement,92 were severely damaged and only 13 were intact. The Ministerio de la Gobernación created the Dirección General de Regiones Devastadas for the reconstruction of towns destroyed by the war, Las Rozas can be reached from the Autopista del Noroeste, from N-VI National Road form Madrid to A Coruña M-50 and M-505. This freeway is one of the first in Spain, put on service in early 1967, then,22 km from Las Rozas, to Northwest, in Collado Villalba, this freeway, become to Tollway. There are 7 bus lines connect the town with Moncloa 621,624,622,623,626,628,629. There is also another bus line that connects Las Rozas with Aluche, passing through Majadahonda, Las Rozas has three main train stations, Las Rozas, near the Old Town in the south of the municipality, Las Matas in the North, and El Pinar. The Lines 8 +9 run from Atocha in the south of Madrid and Chamartín in the north of Madrid via El Tejar, El Pinar and Las Matas to end-stations El Escorial, Cercedilla and Cotos Ski station. Line 10 runs also runs from Atocha, but via a circular route to Principe Pio in the west of Madrid via Las Rozas, Pinar
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Majadahonda
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Majadahonda is a municipality in Spain, situated 16 km northwest of Madrid, in the Community of Madrid. It lies alongside the motorway A6 Madrid-A Coruña, the Puerta de Hierro university hospital was relocated to Majadahonda from the western part of the city of Madrid into a newly built medical complex in 2009. According to tradition, a small village emerged as a station called Majadahonda. By the 16th century Majadahonda had become a village, with a population of about 400 inhabitants. At the end of the 16th century there were almost two hundred houses and some 800 inhabitants, Majadahonda is mentioned in Miguel de Cervantes Don Quixote and El Buscón by Francisco de Quevedo. The centre of the village at the time was the Church of Santa Catherine, a small hospital, the town extended through streets named San Roque, Calle Real, and Calle Christ. In the 17th century a dramatic reduction of population occurred, in the 18th century there was a considerable population increase, reaching a total of some 800 inhabitants, according to the census of Floridablanca. The majority of the men were day laborers, serving a minority of rich farmers, in the early 19th century bad harvests, the plague, and the effects of the wars left the town almost desolate. In 1812, during the War of Spanish Independence, it was the site of a battle between the French and British troops which left the town in ruins, ecclesiastical and civil confiscation enforced the sale of land, which was acquired by the rich and powerful nobility. The Spanish Civil War greatly damaged the area, which, like Madrid, was mostly Republican, from 1936 to 1939 the town was mostly deserted. The town was reconstructed with a more modern grid format. Throughout the 1960s a process of transformation and population increase took place. Majadahonda abandoned agricultural activities, becoming a town for Madrid. The population increase prompted the paving of the streets, the construction of systems. In 1970, alongside the motorway A6, a series of private “garden cities” appeared and these were followed by a great number of closed apartment blocks, which now predominate. The political changes across Spain have been supported by Majadahonda. In the first municipal elections, the old oligarchy lost the power, near Majadahonda, at Las Rozas, is the most powerful broadcasting station in Spain, which transmits the programs of RNE-1 on 585 kHz at 600 kW. The antenna is on a 264 meters tall mast built in 1962, the facility also has a second mast,130 metres tall used for broadcasting RNE-5 on 657 kHz and COPE Madrid on 999 kHz at 50 kW power
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Rivas-Vaciamadrid
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Rivas-Vaciamadrid is the 15th most populated city in the Community of Madrid, Spain. It belongs to the Madrid metropolitan area and is located just 15 km from central Madrid, in the southern part of the municipality, the Manzanares river flows into the Jarama, which is part of the Lower Manzanares and Jarama Rivers Regional Park. Almost three quarters of the municipality form part of the park, making it an important ecological centre with numerous lakes and various species of wildlife and fauna. It has been one of the fastest growing municipalities in Spain in recent years and it is the most populated city in Spain governed by United Left. In 1845, the area of Vaciamadrid, previously part of the village of Vallecas, was joined to the town of Rivas, the area was devastated during the Spanish civil war and had to be rebuilt in the post-civil war period. In 1954 the name was changed to its current title, at the end of the 1980s the area was designated as a future nucleus for new urbanisation projects under a project titled Rivas-Urbanizaciones. The first developments were those in the current districts of Pablo Iglesias, in 2004 the municipal boundary with the city of Madrid was altered. This involved the transfer of areas known as Covibar-Madrid to Rivas-Vaciamadrid, in exchange, some uninhabited areas in Los Berrocales district were transferred to the Vicálvaro district of Madrid in order to allow the construction of a new housing project. Rivas-Vaciamadrid has always governed by left-wing parties, mostly United Left. The current mayor is Pedro del Cura, who took office in 2014 after José Masas resignation, however, the 2015 election gave the worst result to United Left since its creation in 1986, due to the big support that the Podemos-linked candidacy Rivas Puede obtained. Source, The main road serving Rivas-Vaciamadrid is the A-3 motorway, the exits to Rivas-Vaciamadrid are numbers 12,15 and 17. The main public transport in Rivas-Vaciamadrid is the bus, there are four lines connecting with Madrid and three connecting with other municipalities. The main festivals are the festival of Romería del Cristo de Rivas, San Isidro, the festivals of Rivas-Urbanizaciones. Locally there are 15 kindergartens,14 public primary schools,5 secondary education institutions
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San Fernando de Henares
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San Fernando de Henares is a municipality in Spain, in the province and autonomous community of Madrid. It has an area of 39.9 km² and 41,380 inhabitants and its agricultural production includes olives, cereals, vegetables, cattle and wool. Its industries include metalworking, mechanical engineering, food processing and graphic arts, in 1746 King Philip V bought the area where San Fernando now stands to install a royal fabric factory. After the kings death shortly thereafter, the project was developed by Ferdinand VI, around the factory workers dwellings were built, which resulted in the origin of the town. In front of the factory a great square was opened which was linked with another now named Plaza de Fernando VI, the whole area has been recently declared a historic and artistic monument so it cannot be modified, to protect the original houses that still remain. Throughout its 200-year history, the municipality has suffered ups and downs and its emblematic building, the factory, has been intended for several uses, notably as a hospice. Currently only the main stands, has been restored and incorporated into the new city hall. Direct access form the A II and the M-40 and M-45 highways Public transport Bus from Madrid, línes 281 to 289) Also UR-2, San Fernando de Henares is twinned with, Vaslui, Romania Municipal elections in San Fernando de Henares San Fernando de Henares
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