Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Churriguera, José Benito chûrˌēgərĕskˈ [key] describes the architecture of the late 17th and early 18th cent. in Spain, marked by extravagance of design and capricious use of Renaissance motive...

(Encyclopedia) Pizarro, Hernando pēthärˈrō [key], fl. 1530–60, Spanish conquistador, half-brother of Francisco Pizarro. Much older than his half-brothers, Francisco, Juan, and Gonzalo, and, unlike them, legit...

(Encyclopedia) French Southern and Antarctic Lands, overseas territory of France, including Adélie Land, which covers c.200,000 sq mi (520,000 sq km) in Antarctica, and a number of islands in the S Indian Ocean. Th...

(Encyclopedia) Toledo, city (1990 pop. 60,671), capital of Toledo prov. and of Castile–La Mancha, central Spain, on a granite hill surrounded on three sides by a gorge of the Tagus River. Historically and cultural...

(Encyclopedia)  Pacheco, Johnny (Juan Azarías Pacheco Knipping), 1935-2021, Dominican-American salsa musician, bandleader, and recording executive, b. Santiago de lo...

(Encyclopedia) Pickett, George Edward, 1825–75, Confederate general in the American Civil War, b. Richmond, Va. After distinguishing himself in the Mexican War (especially at Chapultepec), Pickett served on the Te...

(Encyclopedia) Comonfort, Ignacio ēgnäˈsyō kōmōnfôrtˈ [key], 1812–63, Mexican general and president (1855–58). He was one of the leaders in the Revolution of Ayutla, which in 1855 overthrew Santa Anna an...

(Encyclopedia) flamenco, Spanish music and dance typical of the Romani (Gypsy), or gitano. Flamenco dancing is characterized by colorful costumes, intense and erotic movements, stamping of the feet (zapateado), and ...

(Encyclopedia) Vermigli, Pietro Martire pyĕˈtrō märtēˈrā vārmēˈlyē [key], 1500–1562, Italian Protestant reformer, also known as Peter Martyr. He joined the Augustinian canons and in that order received ...

(Encyclopedia) Gil Robles, José María hōsāˈ märēˈä hēl rōˈblās [key], 1898–1980, Spanish politician. In 1931, after the proclamation of the Second Republic, he became leader of the newly organized rig...