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Ian Hart

Ian Davies (born 8 October 1964), better known by his stage name Ian Hart, is an English actor. His most notable roles have been in One Summer (1983), Backbeat (1994), Land and Freedom and Nothing Personal (1995), Michael Collins (1996), Liam (2000), as Professor Quirrell in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001), as Ludwig van Beethoven in Eroica (2003), My Mad Fat Diary (2013–2015), as Father Beocca in The Last Kingdom (2015–2020), and as Carl in The Responder (2022).

Early life
Hart was born Ian Davies, in the Knotty Ash district of Liverpool on 8 October 1964. He has two siblings and was brought up in an Irish Catholic family. He attended Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School in Liverpool's West Derby suburb, and was a member of the Everyman Youth Theatre, Liverpool, in his earlier years. He studied drama at the now-defunct Mabel Fletcher College of Music and Drama in Liverpool's Wavertree district.

Career
In 1991, Hart played John Lennon in the low-budget independent film The Hours and Times. He played Lennon twice more: a slightly younger Lennon during The Beatles' 1960-62 Hamburg period in Backbeat (1994), and a 50-year-old Lennon (having avoided his true fate at age 40) in the Playhouse Presents television production Snodgrass (2013).

In 1995, Hart portrayed a POUM militia volunteer in Ken Loach's Spanish Civil War film Land and Freedom. The same year, he played psychotic Northern Irish Protestant gangster 'Ginger' in the Thaddeus O'Sullivan directed 1995 Irish-British drama film Nothing Personal, alongside John Lynch, James Frain and Michael Gambon, for which, Hart won the Volpi Cup for best supporting actor at the 52nd Venice International Film Festival.

In 2000, he was back in Liverpool as an unemployed shipyard worker, father of three, including the protagonist, in the film Liam. His best-known role, however, is perhaps that of Professor Quirrell in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001). He also provided the voice and motion capture for the computer-generated face of Lord Voldemort.

In 2003, Hart and fellow actor Linus Roache fasted for three months and lost 2 stones each, to achieve a malnourished look for the filming of Blind Flight, where he played Middle-Eastern hostage Brian Keenan.

In 2004, Hart played Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in the film Finding Neverland, having already played Doyle's creation Dr Watson in a BBC One television film of The Hound of the Baskervilles in 2002, and reprising the role in 2004 in Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking, with a different actor playing Sherlock Holmes. He also played schizophrenic paparazzo Don Konkey in the FX series Dirt in 2007 and 2008.

In 2009 he played Tom Ripley in BBC Radio Four's adaptations of all five of Patricia Highsmith's "Ripliad" series. The same year, Hart worked alongside John Simm at the Duke of York's Theatre production of Andrew Bovell's play Speaking in Tongues.

In 2011, he played Adolf Hitler in the BBC drama The Man Who Crossed Hitler.

In 2015, he landed the role of Father Beocca in The Last Kingdom and remained as a main character until the end of series 4 in 2020.

In 2018, he starred as Sailing Master Thomas Blanky in the AMC produced series The Terror.

In 2022, Hart was back in Liverpool playing drug dealer Carl Sweeney, in the BBC One British police drama series The Responder alongside Martin Freeman.

Personal life
In order to relax, and control his twitchy hyperactivity, Hart has participated in the art of both yoga and kung-fu.

title: Ian Hart


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San Miguel de Allende

San Miguel de Allende is the principal city in the municipality of San Miguel de Allende, located in the far eastern part of Guanajuato, Mexico. A part of the Bajío region, the town lies 274 km from Mexico City, 86 km (53 mi) from Querétaro and 97 km from the state capital of Guanajuato. The town's name derives from a 16th-century friar, Juan de San Miguel, and a martyr of Mexican Independence, Ignacio Allende, who was born in a house facing the central plaza. San Miguel de Allende was a critical epicenter during the historic Chichimeca War (1540–1590) when the Chichimeca held back the Spanish Empire during the initial phases of European colonization. Today, an old section of the town is part of a proclaimed World Heritage Site, attracting thousands of tourists and new residents from abroad every year.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the town was in danger of becoming a ghost town after an influenza pandemic. Gradually, its Baroque/Neoclassical colonial structures were "discovered" by foreign artists who moved in and began art and cultural institutes such as the Instituto Allende and the Escuela de Bellas Artes. This gave the town a reputation, attracting artists such as David Alfaro Siqueiros, who taught painting.

This in turn drew foreign art students, especially former US soldiers studying on the G.I. Bill after World War II. Since then, the town has attracted a significant number of foreigners from the US, Canada and Europe, shifting the area's economy from agriculture and industry to commerce catering to tourists and retired foreigner residents.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated the Protective town of San Miguel and the Sanctuary of Jesús Nazareno de Atotonilco as a World Heritage Site in 2008. The area of designation includes part of the town of San Miguel de Allende and part of the town of Atotonilco, which is about 14 kilometers north. The World Heritage Site is highlighted by a core zone of 43 hectares in San Miguel de Allende's well-preserved historic center, filled with buildings from the 17th and 18th centuries. The other part of the World Heritage Site, the Sanctuary of Atotonilco, has a core zone of .75 hectares surrounded by a buffer zone of about 4.5 hectares.

Founding of the city
Before the arrival of the Spanish in the early 16th century, San Miguel was an indigenous Chichimeca village called Itzcuinapan. Then a small chapel was built near Itzcuinapan by Miguel Palanca. He decided to dedicate the Spanish town to the Archangel Michael. However, Spanish invasion and attempts to enslave women, men and children to work the silver mines quickly created a hostile environment with the Chichimeca natives. The Chichimecas began defending their ancestral lands against the invasion by Spanish soldiers and colonizers. In 1551, the Guamare people, a Chichimeca group, attacked Spanish military posts and settlements. This overt hostility, along with multiple failed attempts by the Spanish to provide water to their own settlements in the area, caused the original location to be pushed out.

The village was officially re-established in 1555 by Juan de San Miguel's successor, Bernardo Cossin, and indigenous leader Fernando de Tapia. It was refounded both as a mission and as a military outpost. The new site was a mile east of the old one at a place with two fresh water springs (called Batán and Izcuinapan) and with terrain better suited for defense. "The two springs supplied all of the town's water until the 1970s", Palanca said.

Colonial period
By the mid-16th century, silver had been discovered in Guanajuato and Zacatecas and a major road between this area and Mexico City passed through San Miguel. Indigenous attacks on caravans continued and San Miguel became an important military and commercial site. This led to the 40-year Chichimeca War. The viceroy in Mexico City granted lands and cattle to a number of Spaniards to motivate them to settle the area. He also gave indigenous groups limited self-rule and excused them from taxation. The location of the town created a melting pot as Spanish, indigenous peoples and later criollos exchanged cultural influences.

Eventually, major roads would connect the town with the mining communities in San Luis Potosí, Zacatecas and the rest of the state of Guanajuato. Serving travelers' needs and providing supplies to mining camps made the town rich. Textile manufacture was a major industry. Locals claim that the serape was invented here. By the mid-18th century, the city was at its height and this was when most of its large mansions, palaces and religious buildings were constructed. Most still remain. The town was also home to the area's wealthy hacienda owners. At the time, it was one of the most important and prosperous settlements in New Spain with a population reaching 30,000. By comparison, in the mid-18th century Boston had a population of only 16,000 and New York 25,000. The town's apogee came during the transition period between Baroque and Neoclassical architecture and many of the mansions and churches show both influences. Mansions built in San Miguel are larger than normal for a settlement of its size.

Independence
The prominence of the city declined at the beginning of the 19th century, mostly due to the Mexican War of Independence. However, it played an important early role in this conflict. It is the birthplace of two significant figures of the war, Juan Aldama and Ignacio Allende. Both were involved in a conspiracy against the colonial government in Mexico City, along with Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla and Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez. When this conspiracy was discovered, the warning to Hidalgo and Allende passed through this town and onto Dolores (Hidalgo), just to the north. This prompted Hidalgo's "Grito de Dolores" assembling the insurgent army on 15 and 16 September 1810. The new insurgent army first came to San Miguel, stopping at a religious sanctuary in Atotonilco just outside. Hidalgo took a standard bearing an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe from here; this standard is now in the Museo del Ejercito in Spain. Then the army entered San Miguel proper to name officers and to free prisoners in the local jail. San Miguel was the first Mexican town to gain its independence from Spain.

While there was no further military action in the immediate area, economically the town waned as agriculture suffered and the population declined. This continued for most of the rest of the 19th century as the country was torn between Liberal and Conservative factions vying for power. After the war, the town was declared a city by the state congress in 1826 and its name was modified to San Miguel de Allende in honor of Ignacio Allende.

There was some economic recovery near the end of the 19th century during the rule of Porfirio Díaz. During this time, dams, aqueducts and railroads were built. Agriculture made a comeback with the introduction of fruit orchards. However, decline returned with the end of mining in almost all of the state of Guanajuato. Between this and the beginning of the Mexican Revolution, San Miguel almost became a ghost town. What remained was preserved after the new Mexican government, under the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH), declared San Miguel a "Historic and Protected Town" in 1926, establishing guidelines and restrictions aimed at keeping its colonial appearance. Historian Lisa Pinley Covert denies that such an event occurred in 1926, yet acknowledges that a federal law of 1926 nationalized many Catholic properties in the city, even if historic preservation had not been the motivation.

20th century to the present
American artist and writer Stirling Dickinson arrived in 1937 and should be credited with creating the first wave of advertising abroad about San Miguel's virtues. Dickinson met Peruvian intellectual, author and painter Felipe Cossio del Pomar, who had the idea of establishing an art colony in the heart of Mexico. The first art school was established in 1938 in an old convent—still in use provisionally as a school, after having been soldiers' barracks—which Cossio del Pomar secured from then Mexican president Lázaro Cárdenas. The school was called Escuela de Bellas Artes and continues to exist today, known locally as Bellas Artes or Centro Cultural El Nigromante. In the 1940s, Dickinson also assisted Cossio del Pomar and Enrique Fernández Martinez, the former governor of the state of Guanajuato, to establish what became the Instituto Allende. Despite their rural location, both schools found success after World War II. US veterans studying under the G.I. Bill were permitted to study abroad and these schools took advantage of that to attract former soldiers as students. Enrollment at the schools rose and this began the town's cultural reputation. This attracted more artists and writers, including José Chávez Morado and David Alfaro Siqueiros, who taught painting at the Escuela de Bellas Artes. This, in turn, spurred the opening of hotels, shops and restaurants to cater to the new visitors and residents. Many of the American veterans who came to study in San Miguel returned later to retire, some marrying and raising international families such as the Vidargas, Andre, Maxwell and Breck families.

The town's cultural, foreign and cosmopolitan nature has continued since that time. The city took on a bohemian quality starting in the 1950s with the party ambience of many resident immigrants and artists. In the 1960s, Cantinflas promoted the area among his friends in the film industry. Hippies were taken in for haircuts by the authorities in the 1970s and now the town is generally too expensive for the backpacking travelers of the 21st century. The growing attraction of the town and its colonial buildings has created a vibrant real estate market, which until recently was not affected by Mexico's fluctuating economy. Many of the old "ruins" of colonial houses have been sold for more than a house in Mexico City.

The city and nearby sanctuary at MAtotonilco were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in July 2008. It was chosen both for its well-preserved Baroque colonial architecture and layout and for its historic role in the Mexican War of Independence. The area that has been inscribed includes 64 blocks of the historic center and the sanctuary of Atotonilco with the title "Villa Protectora de San Miguel el Grande y el Santuario de Jesus Nazareno de Atotonilco".

Demographics
Despite being less than 5% of the total municipal population, foreign residents have considerable cultural and economic impact. Most foreign residents are retirees from the United States, Canada, and Europe attracted by the mild climate, cultural opportunities, and low crime. It is only a ten-hour drive from the U.S. border. Many of the home buyers are from this segment of the population as well. Estimates of foreign residents range from 20,000 to 25,000, with at least half of these from the United States. The large foreign presence has established a number of institutions here, most notably the Biblioteca Pública in the former convent of Santa Ana, which has the second-largest English-language book collection in Mexico and serves as a community center for foreigners. There is also a chapter of the Lion's Club (est. 1987). A post of the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars is located there, as well as Mexico's only Audubon Society chapter.

While the town and municipality have grown since the coming of foreigners in the 1940s, the highest rates of growth occurred between 1980 and 2000, rising from 77,624 to 110,692, or about 43%. However, since that time growth has slowed and as of the 2005 census, the population stood at 139,297. Most of the drop has been due to the fall in birthrates. The overall population of the municipality is young: about 40% is under the age of 15, with those between 15 and 64 making up about 54% of the population. While the majority of the population of the municipality of Allende lives in a collection of small rural communities that do not exceed 2,500 people, the largest single population center is the town of San Miguel de Allende, which houses 59,691 people, about 44% of the municipality's population. The next three largest towns each have populations smaller than 3,000 people: Los Rodríguez (2,768), Colonia San Luis Rey (1,850), and Corral de Piedras de Arriba (1,701).

These smaller communities are populated by the municipality's indigenous groups, mostly Otomi and Nahuas. The Otomi are the largest group, accounting for just under 38% of the municipal population. The Nahuas follow at about 20%. Other groups include the Mazahua, Huasteca and Purépecha. However, according to the 2002 census, only 520 people speak an indigenous language, 472 of whom also speak Spanish.

Catholicism is practised by 96% of the population, with most others being Protestants, among them Evangelicals. The municipality is home to three institutions of higher education, the Instituto Tecnológico SSC, a campus of the Universidad Tecnólogica de León, and the Universidad Tecnológica de San Miguel de Allende. The city also has bilingual schools that follow the curriculum of the American educational system. As of 2000, 17.5% of the population is considered to be illiterate, compared to 12.1% for the rest of the state.

Historic core zone
The historic core zone of San Miguel was defined by the federal government in 1982 and adopted by UNESCO in 2008. This is a 43 hectare area, partly defined by Insurgentes to the north, Quebrada to the west, and Terraplen and Huerta to the south. Two buffer zones totaling about forty hectares are adjacent to the core zone.

At the entrance of the city stand the statues of Ignacio Allende, Juan Aldama, Miguel Hidalgo and Josefa Ortiz de Dominguez, with one of the Archangel Michael in the center. While the outlying areas of the town and municipality have changed over time, the historic center remains much as it was 250 years ago. The layout of the center of the city is mostly a straight grid, as was favored by the Spanish during colonial times. However, due to the terrain, many roads are not straight. There are no parking meters, no traffic signals and no fast food restaurants. These roads are lined with colonial-era homes and churches. With a few exceptions, the architecture is domestic rather than monumental, with well-tended courtyards and rich architectural details. The houses have solid walls against the sidewalks, painted in various colors, many with bougainvillea vines falling down the outside and the occasional iron-grated window. Many of the larger structures have large entrances that once accommodated horses and carriages.

Jardín Allende (Allende Garden) is the town's main plaza, which serves as a venue for music concerts and other cultural activities. The plaza includes formal landscaping and wrought-iron benches throughout, and is a center of social activity in San Miguel.

In the historic center, there are an estimated two thousand doors, behind which there are at least two thousand courtyards of various sizes. Many of these have been restored to their former colonial state, with façades of ochre, orange and yellow, windows and doors framed by handcrafted ironwork and made of hewn wood. The interior roofs are flat, of heavy mortar supported by large beams. Very few structures have atriums or front yards; instead, open private space is behind the main façade in courtyards. These courtyards are where the private gardens were, protected from dust, excess water and crime.

The town is noted for its streetscapes with narrow cobblestone lanes, that rise and fall over the hilly terrain. It is still a small city, and at night, many wander the narrow streets in relative safety. Several publications have named it one of the top 10 places to retire. The town has attracted residents such as Jose Guadalupe Mojica, Pedro Vargas and Cantinflas. Additionally, indigenous Otomis and Nahuas (Chichimecas) can be seen on the streets, as they come from rural communities to trade and attend church.

Since the 1920s, steps have been taken to preserve the historic center's charm. The first set of protections was put into place by the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH) when it was declared a national monument. This required all restoration and new construction to conform to the area's colonial architecture. To preserve the city's trademark colonial look, a civil society regulates the renovation and maintenance of the city, especially its historic center. This includes aspects such as traffic, garden spaces and the kinds of social events that may be held. The town has also put effort into preserving the cobblestone streets. The most recent designation is that of a World Heritage site, along with the religious sanctuary in nearby Atotonilco, which also puts restrictions and protections into place.

About half of the colonial buildings have been partially or fully converted into businesses such as stores, restaurants, galleries, workshops and hotels. Since there is no zoning, residential and commercial establishments are mixed. Although it is small and rural, it has a wide variety of restaurants, specialty shops and art galleries. Around the historic center there are over 80 bars and cantinas as well as various nightclubs.

In September 2010, the first contemporary architectural structure arrived in the historic colonial center with the opening of Hotel Matilda. The hotel's four buildings have a modern design, with public areas decorated with the art works of contemporary Latin artists, many of them very large pieces. Only the exterior street wall, along Calle Aldama, reflects the colonial style.

The oldest part of the town is the El Chorro neighborhood. This is where the village of San Miguel was moved to in 1555. The Nahuatl name for the area was Izcuinapan or "place of dogs", and according to legend, dogs led Juan de San Miguel to this area to find this spring. This area is the home of the Parish of San Miguel, the Jardin Principal (main garden) and an earlier church called the San Rafael or Santa Escuela Church.

La Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel, the current parish church of San Miguel, is unique in Mexico and the emblem of the town. It is one of the most-photographed churches in Mexico and the two tall towers of its neo-Gothic façade can be seen from most parts of town. The church was built in the 17th century with a traditional Mexican façade. The current Gothic façade was constructed in 1880 by Zeferino Gutierrez, an indigenous bricklayer and self-taught architect. It is said Gutierrez's inspiration came from postcards and lithographs of Gothic churches in Europe; however, the interpretation is his own and more a work of imagination than a faithful reconstruction. In front of this façade is a small atrium, which is guarded by a wrought iron fence. There is a monument in the atrium dedicated to Bishop José María de Jesús Diez de Sollano y Davalos. The San Rafael or Santa Escuela Church is located to the side of the parish. It was founded by Luis Felipe Neri de Alfaro in 1742. The main façade has two levels with arches, pilasters, floral motifs and a frieze on the first level. The second level has a choir window framed by pink sandstone. The bell tower is Moorish. According to legend, this older chapel was the site of the first Christian ceremony in San Miguel.

At the entrance of the main church, there is an inscription which states that Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla and his brother Jose Joaquin served as priests here. There is another one acknowledging Gutierrez's work on the façade. The interior of the church still has the original 17th-century layout and interior design, but the church was looted several times during Mexico's history so much of its decoration is lost. However, one significant image here is the "Señor de la Conquista", which was made of cornstalk paste by indigenous people in Michoacán. The sacristy contains a painting depicting the founding of the town in 1542 and its subsequent move to Izcuinapan in the El Chorro neighborhood. There is a small crypt under the altar with access through a small door to the right. This crypt contains the remains of former bishops of the church and other dignitaries, including a former president of Mexico. It is opened to the public one day each year, on 2 November, Day of the Dead.

In front of the church complex is the Plaza Allende, popularly known as Jardin Principal (main garden), but most often referred to simply as el jardin. It was designed in French style, with wrought iron benches and filled with Indian laurel trees. It is a popular place to sit and relax and bands often play in the kiosk on weekends. In addition to the parish, other important structures, such as the Ignacio Allende House, the Canal House and the municipal palace overlook the garden.

The Centro Cultural Ignacio Ramirez, also called the Escuela de Bellas Artes or El Nigromante, is housed in the former Hermanas de la Concepción (Sisters of the Conception) convent. The Concepcion convent and adjoining church were founded in 1775 by a member of the De la Canal family, María Josefina Lina de la Canal y Hervás. In the latter 19th century, the convent was closed by the Reform Laws and it remained empty until the mid-20th century. The Escuela de Bellas Artes was established in 1938 by Peruvian Felipe Cossío del Pomar and American Stirling Dickinson. This and other art institutions began to attract American exchange students who came to study and live. The cultural center today is part of the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes (INBA) and is often referred to by locals as "Bellas Artes". It is a two-story cloister surrounded an extremely large courtyard with large streets and a large fountain in the middle. It houses art exhibits, classrooms for drawing, painting, sculpture, lithography, textiles, ceramics, dramatic arts, ballet, regional dance, piano and guitar.

One hall of the old convent is dedicated to a mural by David Alfaro Siqueiros along with students from the art school, but it was never finished. The complex has a museum, an auditorium, two art galleries and the Las Musas restaurant. Next to the cultural center is the Inmaculada Concepcion Church, locally known as Las Monjas (The Nuns). It was originally constructed as part of the convent. The church was constructed between 1755 and 1842 with an elegant cupola added by Zeferino Gutierrez in 1891, inspired by the Les Invalides in Paris. The cupola is octagonal and decorated with Corinthian columns in the lower area and the upper area has a window with a balustrade and statues of saints. Topping the cupola is a lantern window with a statue depicting the Immaculate Conception. Inside, there are paintings by Juan Rodriguez Juarez. The Casa de Allende (Allende House) museum was the home of Ignacio Allende, who was a principal figure in the early part of the Mexican War of Independence. The structure was built in 1759 with Baroque and Neoclassical elements, located next to the San Miguel parish church. The museum it houses is officially called the Museo Histórico de San Miguel de Allende, and it is one of many "regional museums" of Mexico. This kind of museum focuses on the history of the local area from the prehistoric period to the present, especially the area's role in Mexico's national history. The lower floor contains exhibits about the founding of the town, its role in protecting the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro Road and more. The upper floor contains exhibits related to Ignacio Allende and some of the rooms are preserved as they looked when he lived there. There are 24 rooms that chronicle the history of the area from the foundation of the town to the Ruta de la Plata (Silver Route), the genealogy of Ignacio Allende and the Mexican War of Independence. It was remodeled as part of the preparations for Mexico's Bicentennial. The restored museum was re-inaugurated by President Felipe Calderón in 2009.

The Casa del Mayorazgo de la Canal dates from the 18th century, constructed by Mariano Loreto de la Canal y Landeta. During the late colonial period, this house was the most important secular building, being home to the De la Canal family, one of the wealthiest in New Spain. The original construction was inspired by French and Italian palaces of the 16th to 18th centuries. The house is considered to be a transitional work between Baroque and Neoclassical, as its façade was redesigned by Manuel Tolsá in the early 19th century. The façade is Neoclassical with the coat of arms of the family. The main portal has two levels with an arch and a relief of an eagle on the keystone. The main door is profusely decorated with high reliefs. Today, it houses the Casa de Cultura de Banamex (Banamex Cultural Center), which houses a collection of historic paintings and offers diverse expositions during the year.

On the north side of the Jardin Principal is the municipal palace. It was first constructed in 1736 and called the Casa Consistorial. However, this building was heavily damaged several times since then and little of the original structure remains. The current building has two floors. It is home to what is considered to be the first "independent" or modern municipal government formed after the beginning of the Mexican War of Independence. This reestablishment of the city government under Liberal principles was done by Miguel Hidalgo, Ignacio Allende and Ignacio Aldama on 17 September 1810.

Very close to the Nuestra Señora de la Salud and Oratorios de San Felipe Neri churches is the Plaza Civica or Civic Plaza. This plaza was originally constructed in 1555 and was supposed to be the original center of the town. It is next to the Plaza de la Soledad and served as the main marketplace. Today, it has an equestrian statue of Ignacio Allende that dominates it.

The San Francisco Church was begun in 1778 and was finished more than twenty years later, when architectural styles were changing. The façade is pure Churrigueresque with stone figures and fine columns. The later bell tower was constructed in 1799 in Neoclassical style by architect Francisco Eduardo Tresguerras.

The Biblioteca Pública (public library) serves as the community center for San Miguel's large foreigner population. This library was established by Helen Wale, a Canadian, who wanted to reach out to local children. It is the largest privately funded, publicly accessible library in Mexico with the second-largest English-language book collection. The library has a café, sponsors tours and prints a bilingual newspaper. While self-supporting, it also sponsors educational programs for local youth including scholarships, donations of school supplies and free English and computer classes for children. Its "Club de Amigos" promotes friendship between Mexicans and foreigners.

To the far south of the historic center is Parque Juárez (Juarez Park). This park was established at the beginning of the 20th century on the banks of a river in French style with fountains, decorative pools, wrought iron benches, old bridges and footpaths. There is an area for children with playground and basketball. The garden area is filled with plants and trees of the region, chirimoyos, various berries and walnuts. The water areas host a large number of herons. After dark on many days, it is possible to catch an impromptu concert by local amateur musicians. Nearby there is a small commercial center on Zacateros Street where typical of the area such as objects made of brass and glass can be found. Near here there is a fountain dedicated to Ignacio Allende.

Another important market is the Mercado de Artesanias, which sells a wide variety of items such as those made from wool, brass, paper mache and blown glass, tin and silver. One figure that features prominently on merchandise is that of a frog, as the state's name of Guanajuato means "place of frogs". The market is located in a narrow alley filling three blocks behind the city's main fruit and vegetable market. The merchandise here is more authentic and cheaper than that found around the main square.

The Institute Allende is located in an enormous complex, which the De la Canal family built as a retreat and hacienda. The old house is filled with various courtyards, a private chapel with colonial-era frescos, modern art gallery and restaurant. In 1951, it was converted into an art institute, offering courses in silverwork, ceramic and Spanish, and attracting hundreds of students each year.

Other important churches in the town include the Santo Domingo church, the Santa Cruz del Chorro Chapel, Tercera Orden Church and the San Juan de Dios Church. The Santo Domingo church was part of a monastery complex. The church has a sober façade and dates from 1737. The Santa Cruz del Chorro Chapel is one of the oldest religious buildings. The Tercera Orden Church dates from the beginning of the 17th century. The San Juan de Dios Church and San Rafael Hospital are attributed to Juan Manuel de Villegas in 1770. The complex has a main portal in sandstone with two auxiliary portals. The first has an access arch and a door made of mesquite wood, with reliefs of geometric shapes and fish, along with a hand with pomegranate in sandstone. These symbolize the Archangel Raphael and John of God. Recent research establishes the founding of San Juan de Dios complex in 1546 per maps from the Royal Library in Seville, Spain. The royal cartographers did not understand the native Mexican mapmaking methods and they had been forgotten in storage for centuries until they were brought to Mexico and San Miguel de Allende's exhibition at the Centro Cultural Los Arcos. The Camino Real (Royal Road is the theme of the maps, San Juan de Dios being its port-of-entry into San Miguel de Allende.

The Casa de Inquisidor (Inquisitor's house) is located between Hernandez Macias and Hospicio streets. It was built in 1780 with an elaborate French façade and was the seat of the inquisition in the late 18th century.

The Angela Peralta Theater was originally designed to host opera. It was inaugurated in 1873 with a performance by the most-prominent soprano of Mexico at that time, Angela Peralta. It continues to host a variety of musical events such as the Jazz Festival and the Chamber Music Festival.

Other cultural venues include the Otra Cara de Mexico, the bullring, the old train station now restored with a native market on Sundays, the casa de Marqués de Jaral de Berrio, the Casa de los Condes de Loja and the Museo de la Esquina—for traditional toys with a collection that comes from all parts of the Mexican Republic, which was gathered over 50 years' time—and Museo Interactiveo Fragua de la Independencia. La Otra Cara de Mexico (The Other Face of Mexico) is a small private museum sponsored by Bill Levasseuro, which has a large number of masks from Mexico's traditional cultures. On Calle de Recreo is the bullring that was constructed at the end of the 19th century. The old train station was part of the Mexico City–Laredo (Tamaulipas) line of the Ferrocarril Nacional Mexicano. This line was constructed in the 1880s with service beginning in 1888. The Casa del Marqués de Jaral de Berrio was constructed at the end of the 17th century as well as the Casa de los Condes de Loja. The Museo Interactivo Fragua de la Independencia (Fire of Independence Interactive Museum) is dedicated to the Mexican War of Independence and San Miguel's role in it.

Outside the core zone
The Oratorio de San Felipe Neri Church was built by Juan Antonio Perez Espinosa in 1712. This church was partially built by incorporating a former chapel used by the mulatto population of the town. That church became the chapel on the east side. The façade is of pink sandstone in Baroque style with profuse vegetative ornamentation. The decorative work of the portal also contains indigenous influences. The interior of the church has a number of paintings by Miguel Cabrera, including one of the Virgin of Guadalupe signed by him. The sacristy contains this last painting along with others depicting the life of Philip Neri. This room is cordoned off by a grate covered with leather from Córdoba, Spain. At the back there is a Baroque chamber/chapel dedicated to the Virgin of Loreto. This chapel was sponsored by Manuel Tomás de la Canal in 1735. It is richly decorated with three altars covered in gold leaf and is a replica of the Basilica della Santa Casa (Basilica of the Holy House) of Loreto, Italy.

The Nuestra Señora de la Salud Church was built by Luis Felipe Neri in the 18th century. The main portal is in Churrigueresque (Spanish Baroque) style with two levels and a crest in the shape of a large seashell. The first level has an arch flanked by pilasters and niches with sculptures of the Sacred Heart and John the Evangelist. The interior has a layout of a Latin cross covered with vaults with side walls covered in oil paintings done by Agapito Ping between 1721 and 1785. One altar contains an image of Christ, the Good Shepherd, defending his sheep from various dangers including a group of unicorns. The church served as the chapel of the Colegio de San Francisco de Sales next door. The Colegio de San Francisco de Sales was as important as the college of San Ildefonso in Mexico City in the 18th century. Both Ignacio Aldama and Ignacio Allende attended school here.

The holds various specimens including cactuses from the surrounding area.

Outside of the city one can find an Otomi archaeological site, Cañada de la Virgen.

Geography
The city of San Miguel de Allende is in the state of Guanajuato and lies 74 mi east of Guanajuato, Guanajuato. It is centrally located within the municipality of San Miguel de Allende, 40 mi northwest of Queretaro and 179 mi northwest of Mexico City.

The city is located at a nexus of four arroyos: El Atascadero, Las Cachinches, La Cañadita and El Obraje. The last of these, El Obraje, collects water in a dam of the same name. Several dams are located in the municipality to control the flow of rivers and manage the water supply. The most important of these is the Ignacio Allende Dam.

Foreign influence
According to biographer John Virtue, "Stirling Dickinson is without doubt the person most responsible for San Miguel de Allende becoming an international art center". Although only an amateur painter himself, Dickinson became co-founder and director of the Escuela Universitaria de Bellas Artes, an art institute that he opened in a former convent only a few months after his arrival.

Due to its growth as a tourist destination, some of the most obvious culture seen on the streets of the town relates to visitors, both foreign and Mexican. To cater to these visitors, the town contains cafes, boutiques, art galleries, upscale restaurants and hotels, and a wide variety of bars and nightclubs. Bars and nightclubs range from DJs or loud bands catering to young people, to jazz clubs, sports bars and even those that specialize in traditional Mexican music such as mariachi. Some were founded by foreigners and reflect that ownership, for example the Berlin Bar & Bistro. Just outside Centro, the avant-garde 'black box' Shelter Theater offers open mic, live concerts, films and intimate theater shows, mostly in English.

Shops around the Jardín Principal sell art, handcrafts, furniture and decorative items. The Fabrica La Aurora is an old textile mill that has been converted into galleries and shops selling art, furnishings and antiques; it has a lot of open space along with a café and restaurant. San Miguel has several schools for learning Spanish, most catering to foreign visitors. These include the Instituto Allende (with credits transferable to US or Canadian colleges), Language Point and Warren Hardy Spanish. Some universities such as the University of Texas-Pan American offer study abroad programs in the city, not only in Spanish but also in the arts, literature and creative writing.

Festivals
Many of the festivals are purely Mexican, combining social activity with religious expression. Throughout the year there are pilgrimages, all-night vigils, ringing church bells, processions and fireworks. The largest celebration of the year is that of the town's patron saint, the Archangel Michael. The angel's feast day is 29 September, but festivities take place for an entire week. Activities include private parties, sporting events, cultural events, indigenous dance and more. The week is popularly called the Fiestas de San Miguel de Allende. The finale is a procession of the actual image of St. Michael, usually high on the main altar of La Paroquia, taken on a flower-covered dais to "visit" the main churches in the historic district. Fireworks are a part of all festivities. Elaborate structures that spin and light in sequence, called "castillos"—castles—are installed in the esplanade at the Jardín, and sometimes at other churches in town.

Holy Week begins with an exhibition of altars dedicated to the Virgin of Sorrows and ends with the Procession of Silence. Prior to the Procession of Silence, there is a reenactment of the judgment of Jesus by Pontius Pilate on one side of the San Miguel Parish. Then the procession begins, which represents the 14 scenes of the Passion before the crucifixion. Many of the townspeople participate in the event, with children dressed as angels and adults in period clothing carrying statues of Jesus. The procession winds its way along the main streets of the historic center completely in silence. Another large religious celebration is the feast of Nuestro Señor de la Columna.

There are also secular and cultural festivals during the year. The annual Festival de Música de Cámara or Chamber Music Festival occurs each year in August in the city's historic center. One of the purposes of the event is to bring this type of music to streets and other public venues as well as traditional concert halls such as the event's home, the Angela Peralta Theater. Other events include the Jornada de Cultura Cubana in March, the Festival de Tìteres in April, the Festival de Convivencia y Hermandad Universal in May, the Desfile de Locos in June, the Festival Expressiones Cortos in July, the Feria Nacional de Lana y Latón and the festival de Jazz y Blues in November and the Festival de San Miguel de Allende in December. The most important political celebration is the reenactment of the "Grito de Dolores", as the original occurred in the nearby town of Dolores Hidalgo, marking the beginning of the Mexican War of Independence. As the birthplace of Ignacio Allende, the town was a focal point of 2010s Bicentennial celebrations with reenactments of events such as the arrival of the message from Querétaro from Josefa Ortiz. Bicentennial celebrations also included events such as the Ballet Mazatl. Festivities were concentrated in and around the Jardín Principal, the Ignacio Allende House and the Centro Cultural.

SMART is a multi-media cultural festival, held annually in May, that combines exhibits by Mexican artists with a variety of culinary and social events at local hotels, including the festival founder Hotel Matilda, Dos Casas Hotel and L'Otel.

Arts, music and literature
San Miguel de Allende has long had a reputation as a haven for visual artists. In the Spanish colonial period, San Miguel was the largest recipient of funding for the arts. The city was full of rich arts patrons from the start in the 1500s. Rich Spanish families such as the Condes de la Canal paid for the sumptuous Chapel of Loreto and employed artists in all aspects including baroque music compositions. A fragment of that musical past is used in the Holy Week music accompanying the celebration of mass around Easter. Religious and secular music continues to be a focal point, with the English composer and pianist Michael Hoppe performing frequently.

Since the 1950s, when Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros worked there, it has attracted professional and amateur painters, sculptors and printmakers to frequent classes and workshops. In addition to two major art institutions (Instituto Allende and Bellas Artes), artists and art venues can be seen in various parts of the town. It is not unusual to see sketch artists working on the street and selling their work. Some notable immigrant painters associated with San Miguel are Canadians Mai Onno, principal painting professor in the Bellas Artes founding school of the arts, Toller Cranston, Marion Perlet, Gary Slipper, Mack Reynolds, and Andrew Osta. More recently, the town has been attracting writers, film makers, and musicians. The town annually hosts an important free film festival, the GIFF. One annual event that caters to the writing community is the Writers' Conference, which brings together authors, editors and literary agents. The 2009 event attracted names such as Erica Jong, Todd Gitlen and Josephine Humphreys. Writers have lived here since the mid 20th century. Beat poet Neal Cassady died on the railroad tracks just outside town.

Billy Collins's poem "The Symphony Orchestra of San Miguel de Allende", in his collection Whale Day, describes the city's inspirational ambience whose "church bells, roosters, doves and barking dogs" predate the brass, strings and woodwinds of that comprise the more typical instruments of the modern orchestra. Other writers who have lived or spent time here include W.D. Snodgrass, Beverly Donofrio, Sandra Gulland, Tony Cohan, Joe Persico, Gary Jennings, Vance Packard, Lynette Seator, Richard Gabrio and Dianna Hutts. Some have written books about the town, such as Elisa Bernick who wrote The Family Sabbatical Handbook: The Budget Guide To Living Abroad With Your Family and Rue who wrote "My Favorite Second Chance" (Book 2 of The Lake Effect Series). Another writing event is Poetry Week, which began in 1997. Barbara Faith, a well-known author of romance books lived in San Miguel with her husband Alfonso Covarrubias. The biggest writers' conference in Latin America takes place in San Miguel annually. The San Miguel Poetry Week was founded in 1997 by Jennifer Clement and Barbara Sibley and takes place in early January. Leading poets from Mexico, the US and UK meet for poetry workshops and readings.

Film
San Miguel began hosting film and television production in the 1940s. Columbia Pictures produced the first Hollywood film to feature the town, filming The Brave Bulls in 1950. Disney set The Littlest Outlaw in San Miguel and MGM filmed scenes for two westerns, Guns for San Sebastian and Hour of the Gun. Mexican productions included the telenovela Los caudillos and Jose Mojica's Yo pescador. In addition to Mojica, Cantinflas and Anthony Quinn established residences in San Miguel.

Tourism and commerce
Much of the municipality's economy is tied to the influx of tourists and foreigners who come to live, mostly retirees. In 2002, 250,000 visitors spent about US$8.4 million at the town's attractions, but those who live here contribute far more to the economy. Most of this is concentrated in the town of San Miguel proper. It accounts for over 36% of the municipality's jobs and most of the municipality's income. Tourism accounts for almost all of the municipality's income from outside. This began in the mid-20th century as a cheap place to live; however, despite recent economic downturns, it no longer is. This has not lessened San Miguel's attraction for foreign visitors and retirees as homes and hotels here are still significantly less expensive than in the US or Europe. Despite not having a casino or an airport and being 400 mi from the nearest beach, this small city has been ranked by magazines such as Travel and Leisure and Condé Nast Traveler as a preferred place to live and visit.

Hotel occupancy typically reaches 80% on weekends with about 50% occupancy on weekdays, when rates can be about half. Most visitors are vacationers and about 60% are domestic visitors, interested in the town's history and role in the Mexican War of Independence. Other attractions for visitors are the two main art/cultural institutions of Instituto Allende and Bellas Artes as well as a number of Spanish-language schools. Most domestic visitors come from Mexico's large urban centers like Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey and Querétaro. This growth has spurred the development of newer hotels, resort and vacation home developments, especially on the corridor between San Miguel and Atotonilco. There are 149 hotels, 9 of which are 5-star. The town has just over 9% of all hotel rooms in the state, and this percentage is growing. Another important sector is restaurants. In 2006, the town invested 800,000 pesos to implement an online marketing plan to increase services to potential tourists.

Agriculture
Outside of the town of San Miguel, the economy is more traditional. A bit over half of the land is used for grazing with 37% used for crops. Over 80% of the crops are grown during the rainy season with less than 20% grown on irrigated lands. Forestry is minimal. Agriculture produces 25% of the employment in the municipality. Principal crops include corn, beans, wheat, and alfalfa, which account for 84% of harvests. Another important agricultural activity is fruit orchards. The most important livestock is domestic fowl, especially poultry. The municipality raises over 12% of the state's chickens. Another important product is honey, of which the municipality provides 7.5% of the state's total. Since the 1990s, there have been active reforestation efforts to replace much of what was lost previously to logging.

Industry
Industry is not as well developed here as in other parts of the state although it provides about 33% of the jobs. One important industry is the production of electrical energy. Other industries include metal products, food processing, wood products and mineral processing. The area is known for the crafting of objects from brass and glass. Two notable artisans here are the brothers Marcelino and Abeck Leon Rosa, who produce handmade glass items. They began producing pieces in the courtyard of their home, but today they have a studio with two large workshops and operate a school for glassmakers, which trains about 50 people per year. One of their specialties is Tiffany-style lamps.

Since at least the 1950s, San Miguel de Allende is a backdrop for the production of films and television programs. Both Mexican and foreign productions and advertisements have been filmed there. Projects that have been filmed here include Once Upon a Time in Mexico, a television biopic of the Francisco "Pancho" Villa, and The Mask of Zorro II. A group of entrepreneurs is working to increase the town's reputation as a film location, opening a privately financed studio complex called The Film Colony. Recently, U.S. television series Royal Pains, Top Chef and Million Dollar Listing have filmed episodes in the town.

Notable people

 * Sandra Cisneros (b. 1954), American writer

Twin towns – sister cities
San Miguel de Allende is twinned with:
 * 🇮🇹 Acquaviva delle Fonti, Italy
 * 🇵🇪 Cusco, Peru
 * 🇺🇸 La Habra, California, United States
 * 🇺🇸 Laredo, Texas, United States
 * 🇺🇸 Redlands, California, United States
 * 🇺🇸 Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States
 * 🇺🇸 St. Augustine, Florida, United States
 * 🇺🇸 Tyler, Texas, United States
 * 🇦🇷 Ushuaia, Argentina
 * 🇺🇸 West Palm Beach, Florida, United States
 * 🇺🇸 Vail, Colorado, United States

title: San Miguel de Allende


text:
Jaguar XJR-15

The Jaguar Sport XJR-15 is a two-seater sports car produced by JaguarSport, a subsidiary of Jaguar and Tom Walkinshaw Racing between 1990 and 1992. Only 50 were planned (although 53 chassis were eventually made), each selling for £500,000.

The chassis was mechanically based on the Le Mans-winning XJR-9, designed by Tony Southgate. The body of the XJR-15 was designed by Peter Stevens, who went on to co-design the McLaren F1. The car competed in a single-make racing series called the Jaguar Intercontinental Challenge, which supported three Formula 1 races (Monaco, Silverstone and Spa) in 1991. The XJR-15 was the world's first road-car made entirely from carbon-fibre.

History
Tom Walkinshaw conceived the concept in 1988 after seeing the XJ220 concept at the British Motor Show. Following Jaguar's success at Le Mans, he enlisted Peter Stevens to develop a road-going version of the XJR-9, originally designated the R-9R. A number of wealthy racing enthusiasts were keen to own such a car and pressed Walkinshaw into manufacturing a 'road going racer'. This car was originally intended to be a better alternative to the XJ220. Original owners included Derek Warwick, Bob Wollek, Vern Schuppan, Matt Aitken, Andy Evans and the Sultan of Brunei.

In order to adapt the XJR-9 for road use, Stevens made a number of modifications to increase space and improve access. "Taking the race car as a base, we widened the cockpit by 75 mm and raised the roof by 40 mm to allow more headroom", he said when interviewed in 1991. "The scale model was ready by Easter 1989, from there we went to clay... which was finished by October (1989). The first prototype was held up by Le Mans preparations but it was ready for Tom (Walkinshaw) to drive when he came back from France in July 1990".

TWR explicitly developed the XJR-15 as a road-going racing car, in the mould of the Jaguar C and D types, the Ford GT40 and the Ferrari 250 GTO. As such, the car complied with British construction and use regulations and could be registered by the owner for road-use in the UK, although with such a limited production run, the car was never type-approved.

The car's production was announced in a press release on 15 November 1990 with an official launch at Silverstone early in 1991. The XJR-15 was built by JaguarSport in Bloxham, Oxfordshire, (a subsidiary of TWR; it was a joint venture between Jaguar Cars and TWR to produce high performance sports cars) England from 1990 to 1992 and had no official involvement from Jaguar itself.

Design and reception

The XJR-15 is powered by a 5993 cc 450 hp, naturally aspirated 24-valve Jaguar V12 engine. The engine features an advanced electronically managed fuel injection system with a very advanced (for its time) 'fly by wire' throttle. The standard transmission is a TWR unsynchronised six-speed manual transmission while a five-speed, synchromesh transmission was also available as an optional extra.

The XJR-15's chassis and bodywork are composed of carbon fibre and Kevlar (it was the first road-going car built entirely of carbon and Kevlar composites, before the McLaren F1 used similar construction techniques in 1992). The overall proportions differed from the XJR-9, with the XJR-15 being 480 cm long, 190 cm wide and 110 cm tall. The final weight amounted to be 1050 kg.

A fully independent suspension was used, with non-adjustable Bilstein shock absorbers all round. Front suspension consists of wide-based wishbones and working push-rods to spring damper units mounted horizontally across the centre of the car. The car retains the rear suspension unit from the XJR-9 with vertical coil-springs mounted in units with uprights within the rear wheels, allowing for the maximum possible venturi tunnels. The engine forms a stressed member for the rear-frame. The bottom of the car is completely flat, in line with Group C practice.

The brakes are steel disc units with AP four-piston callipers.

The XJR-15 has a 0 – time of 3.9 seconds and a gearing limited top speed of 191 mi/h.

The ride height was somewhat higher than required to take full advantage of under-body aerodynamics due to the road going nature of the car. Additionally, the suspension was softer than would be found on the XJR-9 racer and - in a last-minute deal - Tom Walkinshaw switched tyre suppliers from Goodyear to Bridgestone just before the race series started. When interviewed by Autosport in 2011, Ian Flux recalled: "The worst thing was that Tom had done a deal with Bridgestone. At first, it was going to be on road tyres, but then they changed to slicks and wets. The fronts weren't a problem, but they didn't have moulds for the rears, so used F40 moulds instead. They went off very quickly and it was hard to judge how hard to push."

As Tiff Needell, who road-tested a development car at Silverstone early in 1991, put it: "the result is oversteer". However, once accustomed to the characteristics, he went on: "Through the very tight chicane, the XJR-15 showed excellent change of direction and I was able to pick up power early for the long right hander leading up to Beckett's. This gradually became a long right-hand power slide as my confidence increased."

As a road-car, the suspension was more softly set-up and with the right tyres, testers were unanimous in their praise. Ian Kuah, writing in World Sports Cars in 1992: "Considering its racing pedigree, ride quality is pretty good - at low speeds, better than a Ferrari 348...Levels of grip are far beyond those transgressed by any sane man, except perhaps when exiting a tight corner in a low gear when the sheer grunt pushing you through can persuade the huge Bridgestones to relinquish some grip. Seat of the pants feel and communication is terrific and the steering nicely weighted so that smooth inputs are easy. When it comes to stopping, the huge AP Racing brakes - with softer pads for road use - wash off speed with steely determination."

Ron Grable, the racing driver, writing in Motor Trend in May 1992: "As the engine sprang into a muted rumbling idle, it was impossible to keep from grinning. Easing the unsynchronised six-speed into gear, I accelerated onto the straight. Many race cars are diabolical to get moving...not so the Jag, the smooth V-12 pulled cleanly away, nearly as docile as a street-car. On the track, the XJR-15 is a truly wonderful ride, the perfect compromise between racing and street. You can say the savage edge of a pure race car has been softened slightly, or conversely, that it's the best handling street car you can imagine. Being 100% composite, it's so light that every aspect of performance is enhanced. Relatively low spring and roll rates are enough to keep it stable in pitch and roll, as well as deliver a high level of ride compliance. The brakes are phenomenal and the acceleration fierce. And always, there's that V-12, a medley of mechanical noises superimposed over the raucous rise and fall of the exhaust."

The XJR-15 offers little in the way of practicality. Entry to the car, over a wide sill, requires the driver to step onto the driving seat. The gear-lever is mounted on the right-hand side of the driver (all cars are right-hand-drive), while the driver and passenger seat are extremely close together - almost central in the car. Due to minimal sound insulation, an in-car head-set system is fitted. There is no storage space in the car due to its racecar-like nature. However, considering the purpose for which it was intended, the interior was highly praised in contemporary automotive press publications. Ron Grable wrote: "Aesthetically, the XJR-15's interior is breathtaking. Expanses of shiny black carbon fibre woven with yellow Kevlar are everywhere, all fitting together with meticulous precision. Instrumentation is detailed and legibly analogue. The shift lever is less than 3 in from the small steering wheel, and the motion between gears is almost imperceptible. The reclined seating position provides excellent forward visibility - over the top of the instrument panel you see only racetrack."

Technical specifications

 * Engine
 * Type: Naturally aspirated 60° V12
 * Construction: aluminium-alloy block and heads, forged-alloy pistons, nitrided forged EN40B steel crankshaft with Holset harmonic damper, seven main bearings, cast-iron 'wet' cylinder liners, Cosworth pistons
 * Bore X Stroke: 90x78.5 mm
 * Valvetrain: Operated by Single OverHead Camshaft per bank of cylinders, 2 valves per cylinder
 * Fuel System: Zytek fuel injection and electronic engine management
 * Displacement: 5993 cc
 * Compression ratio: 11.0:1
 * Max. Power: 450 hp at 6,250 rpm
 * Specific output: 75.1 hp per litre
 * Max. Torque: 420 lbft at 4,500 rpm
 * Engine weight: 299 kg including clutch and accessories
 * Transmission
 * The following data is for the TWR 5-speed manual (with synchromesh)
 * Gear Ratio 1st: 3.00 :1
 * Gear Ratio 2nd: 2.13 :1
 * Gear Ratio 3rd: 1.66 :1
 * Gear Ratio 4th: 1.38 :1
 * Gear Ratio 5th: 1.18 :1
 * Gear Ratio 6th: 0.91 :1
 * Final drive ratio: 2.90 :1
 * AP carbon triple-plate clutch
 * Body
 * Body/Frame type: carbon fibre
 * Body/Chassis details: Carbon fibre and Kevlar composite construction monocoque chassis with engine used as rear suspension load bearer; lightweight composite and carbon fibre reinforced body with under-surface adopting ground-effect, venturi channels' to the rear and regulation flat floor (race trim)
 * Coefficient of Drag: 0.30
 * Weight distribution: 48% front, 52% rear
 * Wheels/tyres: 17-inch OZ forged alloy wheels (9.5 front/13 rear), Pirelli P Zero tyres.
 * Performance
 * 0–60 mi/h: 3.2 seconds
 * Top speed: 191 mi/h
 * Power to weight ratio: 429.39 hp/tonne

Racing history
According to a press release by Jaguar Sport, a limited number of XJR-15s were built specifically to compete in the 1991 Jaguar Sport Intercontinental Challenge; a three-race competition held throughout the year as a support event for the 1991 Formula One Grand Prix at Monaco, Silverstone, and Spa-Francorchamps.

Sixteen cars built in racing specifications were entered in each of the events. The winner of the third and final race, Armin Hahne, was awarded a cash prize of US$1 million.

Having parted with nearly US$1m for their cars, most XJR-15 owners wanting to participate in the Intercontinental Challenge got professional drivers to drive the cars. Preparation and maintenance by Jaguar Sport was included in the purchase price of the race cars. At stake for the winners of the first two rounds were a pair of Jaguar XJR-S road cars whilst at the Spa finale there was a US$1m winner-takes-all prize fund.

A maximum of 16 grid slots were available for each event and all three were fully subscribed. Derek Warwick emerged on top of the timesheets in qualifying followed by Armin Hahne, Jim Richards, David Brabham and Davy Jones. Rounding out the top ten were Bob Wollek, Tiff Needell, John Nielsen, Ian Flux and Juan Manuel Fangio II.

Each race kicked off with a rolling start administered by Tom Walkinshaw and the charge into Ste Devote saw Warwick and Hahne touch several times before Warwick emerged in front. On lap two, John Nielsen ran wide at Tabac and thumped the barriers on both sides of the track before Hahne lost it entering the swimming pool on lap three, luckily emerging unscathed. This allowed Warwick to open up a four-second gap from Brabham, Jones and Fangio before losing it all after locking up into the swimming pool. The Englishman eventually finished seven tenths of a second ahead of Brabham after 16 laps of hard racing.

With the first race having enthralled the crowd yet passed without any major incident, hopes were high for another great spectacle at Silverstone. Warwick again started from pole with Brabham, Cor Euser, Ian Flux, and Wollek in fifth. Fangio, David Leslie, Hahne, Kenny Acheson and Needell also qualified in the top ten. The rolling start saw five abreast into the first corner but the opening lap passed with all 16 cars intact. On the second lap Nielsen and Jones engaged in some panel bashing at Becketts whilst at Stowe, second placed Warwick turned in on leader Euser. Warwick took the position, Euser spun (dropping to third) but Warwick's lead was short lived as he picked up a puncture, lost control and hit Brabham when making a pass.

Both men went into the pits for repairs. This left Euser back in the lead but his bonnet was gradually working loose which forced him to miss the apex at Beckets resulting in a spectacular 120 mi/h spin. Now Flux was in the lead followed by Fangio and Hahne. By lap six Euser's charge back to contention suffered another setback when he hit David Leslie at Priory, both cars spinning as a result. Two corners later, Needell bumped Hahne out of the way to take third. Lap nine finally saw an end to Euser's afternoon when he hit Acheson and ended up beached in the gravel. Acheson was forced to pit. Competing for third, Needell and Hahne had another coming together forcing both cars out of contention. At the front, Fangio took the lead when Flux missed a gear at Club and dropped to second ahead of Wollek and Win Percy. Wollek's tyres were still in great condition having driven steadily throughout and the American was able to reel in Flux, passing on lap 18. Fittingly, the race was won by Fangio precisely 45 years after his famous uncle's last win at Silverstone. At the end of the race, 11 of the 16 entries had suffered some kind of damage.

The final Intercontinental Challenge race at Spa was a big deal. With US$1m on the line for the winner, there had been much speculation about race fixing agreements between the drivers. To counter, Jaguar Sport decided the race would run for an undisclosed number of laps. All the drivers knew was that the chequered flag would fall after at least six laps.

Qualifying saw Euser on pole followed by Brabham, Warwick, Hahne, Percy, Will Hoy, Wollek, Leslie, Thierry Tassin and Flux all in the top ten. However, only fourth place Hahne and newcomer Tassin had saved a spare set of fresh tyres for race day. The rolling start went off without a hitch until Brabham had a big moment at the top of Eau Rouge dropping from second to seventh in the process. This left Euser, Hahne and Warwick to open up a gap at the front, the three drivers pacing themselves for the opening stint. There was plenty of action going on behind though, John Watson losing it at the end of the main straight, flying off the track backwards at 140 mi/h and collecting Needell in the process.

On the next lap, Tassin and Percy had a coming together at the bus stop, Tassin ending up atop the barriers after a heavy impact. After six laps were up, the racing became more fraught at the front. Now up to second, Hahne seized the initiative when Euser went offline through Eau Rouge on the eighth lap. Hahne's momentum took him through down the main straight and third place Warwick had eyes on second but dicing with Euser allowed Hahne to get away. Warwick then lost it at the sequence of corners before the bus stop, pin balling off the barriers and into retirement. From thereon in it was Hahne all the way and when the chequered flag fell at the end of lap 11, the US$1m prize was secure.

When interviewed by Autosport in February 2012 for 'Race of Your Life', Armin Hahne chose his XJR-15 win at Spa as career-highlight: "I qualified second to Warwick in Monaco but half-spun on oil while chasing him, so fell to fifth. At Silverstone I had a misfire and again finished fifth.  At Spa, I managed to qualify second without using both sets of new Bridgestone slicks.  I found a time good enough for the front row with my 'scrubbed' first set.  At the start, I followed poleman Cor Euser for a few laps, but his tyres went off as he'd used them for the second qualifying session.  I passed him - it was quite easy really.  The race lasted 11 laps and I won by 3-4 seconds to collect the US$1m prize."

Results were:

Monaco 16 laps x 3,328 = 53.248 km

Silverstone 20 laps x 5,226 = 104.52 km

Spa Francorchamps 11 laps x 6,94 = 76,34 km

Further developments

After Jaguar withdrew from sportscar racing in 1994, Nissan approached TWR to develop the R390 race car. TWR used the middle-section of the XJR-15's tub - the cockpit and greenhouse - for the R390, however the R390 used revised rear and front ends, a wider overall chassis, and a different suspension for better handling, as well as a new exterior design, and - obviously - a Nissan rather than a Jaguar engine. All four R390s finished in the top 10 at the 1998 Le Mans, in 3rd, 5th, 6th and 10th.

On 6 June 1999, the Aston Martin Owners Club ran the first ever Historic 'Group C' invitation race at Donington Park in the UK. Bryan Wingfield entered a XJR-15 (number 7, originally driven by Cor Euser in the Jaguar Intercontinental Challenge), driven by Brazilian ace Tommy Erdos, finishing 4th overall and 1st in class. In the inaugural season of the AMOC’s Group C Challenge that followed in 2000, with Tommy Erdos committed elsewhere, Bryan Wingfield enlisted motoring journalist Paul Chudecki to drive the XJR-15, on 21 May at Spa-Francorchamps finishing 7th overall and 3rd in class, on 4 June at Donington Park 9th overall and 1st in class, on 24 June at Silverstone 8th overall and second in class and on 9 July at Brands Hatch 6th overall and 2nd in class.

XJR-15 LM
At the end of the production run of the XJR-15, TWR produced a limited run of more powerful variants in collaboration with a British automotive firm XK engineering designated XJR-15 LM for a Japanese customer. These cars had the 7.0-litre V12 shared with the XJR-9 with a power output upwards of 710 PS. Bodywork alterations include a larger rear wing, an additional front splitter with air vents in the middle, a modified engine cover with additional vents in order for additional engine cooling and an air intake situated on the roof to aid in cooling the larger engine.

Very little is known about the LM variant due to non-availability of records, though there are photos to suggest that at least five cars were produced (three in dark green, one in white and one in the same blue as the standard car which is believed to be the prototype). The blue car was bought by a car collector in the UK sometime after 2013 making it the first XJR-15 LM outside of Japan, thus making the existence of such a variant known.

title: Jaguar XJR-15


text:
Antelope Valley College

Antelope Valley College (AVC) is a public community college in Lancaster, California. It is part of the California Community College system. It is operated by the Antelope Valley Community College District, with a primary service area of 1945 sqmi covering portions of Los Angeles and Kern counties. Instruction is offered at several sites, including Palmdale and Lancaster, and through online and instructional television courses.

The college offers Associate in Arts and Associate in Science degrees in 71 fields as well as certificate programs in 59 vocational areas.

The main campus in Lancaster hosts the satellite location of California State University, Bakersfield-Antelope Valley (CSUB-AV), where students can obtain bachelor's and master's degrees in select subjects.

History
Average daily attendance (ADA) at the college reached 100 by 1939, but with World War II, attendance plummeted. Attendance reached a low of 13 during the war, the same ADA as the year the school was founded.

There were pressures to close the junior college, but trustees and staff held out until veterans returned from the war. Enrollment grew steadily during the postwar years, partly because of the GI Bill of Rights and partly because Antelope Valley began developing an aircraft industry.

In 1959, groundbreaking was held for a new college campus on 110 acre at Avenue K and 30th Street West, designed by the architect Henry L. Gogerty (1894-1990).

The college campus has expanded to approximately 135 acre through land purchases.

Academics
Antelope Valley College has grown to a student population of approximately 16,000. It is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges.

Among the many programs offered through the college are an associate degree program in registered nursing approved by the Board of Registered Nursing, an airframe and powerplant technician program certified by the Federal Aviation Administration, and a lower division engineering program that co-ordinates with an engineering degree program offered locally through California State University, Long Beach. Other programs include aircraft fabrication and assembly (including composite materials), computer graphics, respiratory therapy, Firefighter I Academy and wildland fire technology.

In conjunction with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, the Lancaster campus hosts the Sheriff's Training Academy, which meets the requirements of the Peace Officer Standards and Training for training members of the sheriff's department and other law enforcement agencies. The community college district is governed by a locally elected Board of Trustees consisting of five members serving four-year terms, plus a student trustee elected annually by members of the student body.

Palmdale campus
The college maintains a temporary leased site in the City of Palmdale, which serves nearly 2,000 students. Plans call for creation of a full campus on 60 acre of land in southern Palmdale on 25th Street East, south of Avenue S. College officials are working toward a sustainable enrollment of 1,000 full-time equivalent students to qualify Palmdale for center status—a key step in developing a permanent campus. Officials in April 2009 expressed their intent to submit an initial project proposal for a campus to the state in June 2010.

Athletics
The college's athletic teams are known as the Marauders. The college currently fields eight men's and eight women's varsity teams. It competes as a member of the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) in the Western State Conference (WSC) for all sports except football, which competes in Southern California Football Association (SCFA).

Notable alumni

 * Kevin Appier, former MLB pitcher
 * Jim Bruske, former MLB pitcher
 * Brodus Clay, former WWE wrestler
 * DeAndra Cobb, former running back
 * Dave Cox, California State Senator, 1st District
 * Kevin Curtis, founder and chief technology officer, InPhase Technologies
 * Dewayne Dedmon, professional basketball player
 * Greg Floyd Jr., professional basketball player
 * Steve Knight, U.S. Congressman, California 25th District
 * Tony Reed, former running back
 * James Richards, former Canadian Football League offensive guard
 * Isaiah Rider, former professional basketball player
 * Kay Ryan, Poet Laureate, Library of Congress, July 2008 – 2010
 * Jim Slaton, former Milwaukee Brewers pitcher
 * Hunter Sharp, former professional football player

title: Antelope Valley College


text:
Unit in the last place

In computer science and numerical analysis, unit in the last place or unit of least precision (ulp) is the spacing between two consecutive floating-point numbers, i.e., the value the least significant digit (rightmost digit) represents if it is 1. It is used as a measure of accuracy in numeric calculations.

Definition
The most common definition is: In radix $$b$$ with precision $$p$$, if $$b^e \le |x| < b^{e+1}$$, then $\operatorname{ulp}(x) = b^{\max \{ e, \, e_\min \} - p + 1}$, where $$e_\min$$ is the minimal exponent of the normal numbers. In particular, $$\operatorname{ulp}(x) = b^{e - p + 1}$$ for normal numbers, and $$\operatorname{ulp}(x) = b^{e_\min - p + 1}$$ for subnormals.

Another definition, suggested by John Harrison, is slightly different: $$\operatorname{ulp}(x)$$ is the distance between the two closest straddling floating-point numbers $$a$$ and $$b$$ (i.e., satisfying $$a \le x \le b$$ and $$a \neq b$$), assuming that the exponent range is not upper-bounded. These definitions differ only at signed powers of the radix.

The IEEE 754 specification—followed by all modern floating-point hardware—requires that the result of an elementary arithmetic operation (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and square root since 1985, and FMA since 2008) be correctly rounded, which implies that in rounding to nearest, the rounded result is within 0.5 ulp of the mathematically exact result, using John Harrison's definition; conversely, this property implies that the distance between the rounded result and the mathematically exact result is minimized (but for the halfway cases, it is satisfied by two consecutive floating-point numbers). Reputable numeric libraries compute the basic transcendental functions to between 0.5 and about 1 ulp. Only a few libraries compute them within 0.5 ulp, this problem being complex due to the Table-maker's dilemma.

Since the 2010s, advances in floating-point mathematics have allowed correctly rounded functions to be almost as fast in average as these earlier, less accurate functions. A correctly rounded function would also be fully reproducible. which theoretically would only produce one incorrect rounding out of 1000 random floating-point inputs.

Example 1
Let $$x$$ be a positive floating-point number and assume that the active rounding mode is round to nearest, ties to even, denoted $$\operatorname{RN}$$. If $$\operatorname{ulp}(x) \le 1$$, then $$\operatorname{RN} (x + 1) > x$$. Otherwise, $$\operatorname{RN} (x + 1) = x$$ or $$\operatorname{RN} (x + 1) = x + \operatorname{ulp}(x)$$, depending on the value of the least significant digit and the exponent of $$x$$. This is demonstrated in the following Haskell code typed at an interactive prompt:

Here we start with 0 in single precision (binary32) and repeatedly add 1 until the operation does not change the value. Since the significand for a single-precision number contains 24 bits, the first integer that is not exactly representable is 224+1, and this value rounds to 224 in round to nearest, ties to even. Thus the result is equal to 224.

Example 2
The following example in Java approximates $\pi$ as a floating point value by finding the two double values bracketing $$\pi$$: $$p_0 < \pi < p_1$$.

Then $$\operatorname{ulp}(\pi)$$ is determined as $$\operatorname{ulp}(\pi) = p_1 - p_0$$.

Example 3
Another example, in Python, also typed at an interactive prompt, is:

In this case, we start with  and repeatedly double it until. Similarly to Example 1, the result is 253 because the double-precision floating-point format uses a 53-bit significand.

Language support
The Boost C++ libraries provides the functions,  , and  to obtain nearby (and distant) floating-point values, and   to calculate the floating-point distance between two doubles.

The C language library provides functions to calculate the next floating-point number in some given direction:  and   for ,   and   for  ,   and   for  , declared in. It also provides the macros,  ,  , which represent the positive difference between 1.0 and the next greater representable number in the corresponding type (i.e. the ulp of one).

The Java standard library provides the functions and. They were introduced with Java 1.5.

The Swift standard library provides access to the next floating-point number in some given direction via the instance properties  and. It also provides the instance property  and the type property   (which corresponds to C macros like  ) for Swift's floating-point types.

title: Unit in the last place


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/YangWei

 This page is an archive of the discussion about the proposed deletion of the article below. This page is no longer live. Further comments should be made on the article's talk page rather than here so that this page is preserved as an historic record. The result of the debate was delete. Joyous 17:46, Feb 20, 2005 (UTC)

YangWei
Vanity. Fredrik | talk 21:49, 12 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete, vanity. --Bart133 (t) 23:01, 12 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * "Second Place team of Competition Regional Division"??? Wow, I'm so impressed. Delete. Radiant! 23:56, 12 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete, not notable, obvious vanity. Megan1967 02:31, 13 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete as a favour to him. Wyss 11:50, 13 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete - complete rubbish - this poor chap needs banging on the head and dropping in the river tied into a bag! Brookie 19:40, 13 Feb 2005 (UTC)

This page is now preserved as an archive of the debate and, like some other VfD subpages, is no longer 'live'. Subsequent comments on the issue, the deletion, or the decision-making process should be placed on the relevant 'live' pages. Please do not edit this page.

title: Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/YangWei


text:
Slovakia Summit 2005

The Slovakia Summit 2005 was a summit meeting between United States President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin (hence also known as the Bush-Putin summit). It took place on February 24, 2005, in Bratislava, Slovakia. This marked the first occasion when a sitting President of the United States visited Slovakia since its independence in 1993. The previous "Bush-Putin summit" had taken place in Slovenia on 16 June 2001.

Also attending was Condoleezza Rice (U.S. Secretary of State) and Sergey Lavrov (Russian Foreign Minister) as well as the first ladies of both countries, Laura Bush and Lyudmila Putina.

Bush's European trip before the summit
Prior to the summit, Bush had traveled to Brussels and met with several European leaders and councils of the European Union and NATO, including Tony Blair, Silvio Berlusconi, Jacques Chirac, and Javier Solana. He also met with Viktor Yushchenko, the new President of Ukraine, and gave a public speech directed at citizens of Europe outlining his policies. He then travelled to Germany and met with Gerhard Schröder. In preparation for the summit, Condoleezza Rice spent a week visiting officials in European capitals.

The summit
Bush met with Slovak leaders including President Ivan Gašparovič and Prime Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda. On 24 February Bush also gave a public speech in Hviezdoslav Square (Hviezdoslavovo námestie) in Bratislava.

Topics of discussion at the summit are partly private, but included Russian democracy (this was the main topic at the subsequent press conference), the situation in Iran, the North Korean nuclear talks and other international topics. One of the objects of the summit activities was to improve relations between the U.S. and Europe. Notably, Slovakia is an ally of the U.S. in the Iraq War and contributed troops to the Coalition of the willing.

In conjunction with the summit, a conference, "A New Quest for Democracy", was held in Bratislava by the Marshall Fund in conjunction with Slovak partners, to which mainly past or contemporaneous "fighters" for democracy from Eastern Europe (incl. Belarus, Serbia etc.) were invited.

Both first ladies visited the famous Primate's Palace. The US first lady opened a department of the University Library in Bratislava (which was being restored and modernized at that time) that was devoted to US literature and studies. The Russian first lady opened a similar department for Russian literature in the same library one day later.

Among other things, Bush promised that US administration will prepare a "road map" for Slovakia (and probably also the neighbouring Central European countries) aiming at abolishing the need of US entrance visa for the citizens of Slovakia and those countries.

Approximate program

 * 23 February
 * 7.40 pm – Bush's landing at M. R. Štefánik Airport
 * 24 February
 * c. 9.00 am – Bush, President's palace
 * 9.50 am – Bush, The Slovak Republic Government Office
 * 11.45 am – Bush's speech, Hviezdoslav Square, in front of the Slovak National Theatre
 * afternoon – Vladimir Putin's landing at M. R. Štefánik Airport
 * c. 3.30 pm – Putin and Bush, Bratislava Castle, press conference at c. 6.00 pm
 * c. 7.30 pm – Bush's take off from M. R. Štefánik Airport
 * 25 February
 * c. 9.30 am – Putin, Slavín Memorial, meeting with Slovak and Russian World War II veterans
 * c. 10.00 am – Putin, National Council of the Slovak Republic
 * c. 11.15 am – Putin, The Slovak Republic Government Office
 * c. 12.40 pm – Putin, President's palace
 * c. 4.00 pm – Putin's take off from M. R. Štefánik Airport

Security
Safety was the pinnacle of concerns for all participants. The Slovak Army and Slovak government had pledged their full resources for the security of each individual. Among the resources being deployed were:
 * 5,300 policemen
 * 400 soldiers
 * SA-10 Grumble – an anti-aircraft missile system on alert
 * chemical laboratory – standing by in case of a chemical attack
 * permanent air surveillance by Mig-29s over Bratislava
 * the Slovak government prepared a law under which the minister of defense can approve shootings down of a civilian aircraft

Common safety steps

 * more security controls at General M. R. Štefánik Airport, Bratislava
 * traffic restrictions; no thoroughfare for lorry above 3.5 tons at frontier crossing since Wednesday until Friday
 * Bratislava, ironically called "Fort Bratislava" at that time, consisted of three security zones (Bratislava Castle, Hviezdoslav Square, President's palace), each zone was divided into three circles (yellow – controlled space, green – more controlled space and red – restricted space)

title: Slovakia Summit 2005


text:
Picotechnology

The term picotechnology is a portmanteau of picometre and technology, intended to parallel the term nanotechnology. It is a hypothetical future level of technological manipulation of matter, on the scale of trillionths of a metre or picoscale (10−12). This is three orders of magnitude smaller than a nanometre (and thus most nanotechnology) and two orders of magnitude smaller than most chemistry transformations and measurements. Picotechnology would involve the manipulation of matter at the atomic level. A further hypothetical development, femtotechnology, would involve working with matter at the subatomic level.

Applications
Picoscience is a term used by some futurists to refer to structuring of matter on a true picometre scale. Picotechnology was described as involving the alteration of the structure and chemical properties of individual atoms, typically through the manipulation of energy states of electrons within an atom to produce metastable (or otherwise stabilized) states with unusual properties, producing some form of exotic atom. Analogous transformations known to exist in the real world are redox chemistry, which can manipulate the oxidation states of atoms; excitation of electrons to metastable excited states as with lasers and some forms of saturable absorption; and the manipulation of the states of excited electrons in Rydberg atoms to encode information. However, none of these processes produces the types of exotic atoms described by futurists.

Alternatively, picotechnology is used by some researchers in nanotechnology to refer to the fabrication of structures where atoms and devices are positioned with sub-nanometre accuracy. This is important where interaction with a single atom or molecule is desired, because of the strength of the interaction between two atoms which are very close. For example, the force between an atom in an atomic force microscope probe tip and an atom in a sample being studied vary exponentially with separation distance, and is sensitive to changes in position on the order of 50 to 100 picometres (due to Pauli exclusion at short ranges and van der Waals forces at long ranges).

In popular culture
The Chinese science fiction novel The Three-Body Problem features a plot-point in which an advanced alien civilization imbues individual protons with supercomputing powers and subsequently manipulates said protons via quantum entanglement (the fictional name for these proton-sized supercomputers is "sophons").

title: Picotechnology


text:
Fritz Köberle

Fritz Köberle (October 1, 1910 in Eichgraben, Austria – February 20, 1983) was an Austrian-Brazilian physician, pathologist and scientist, discoverer of the neurogenic mechanism of the chronic phase of Chagas disease, a human parasitic disease caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, a protozoan.

Life
Fritz Köberle was born in Eichgraben, Austria, and studied medicine at the University of Vienna, Austria, graduating magna cum laude in 1934. He began to work in the Institute of Pathology while he was a student and, soon after his 1935 graduation, he was admitted as an assistant professor. With the annexation of Austria to Germany (Anschluss), Köberle was drafted into the Army as a medical lieutenant and worked as a pathologist in the Central Army Hospital of Vienna. With the outbreak of the Second World War hostilities, Köberle was attached as field pathologist to the XII Army Group of the Wehrmacht in 1940 and served in the fronts of France, Belgium, Poland and Russia. He was able to acquire during this period an enormous experience on the pathology of infectious diseases (bacterial dysentery, typhus, typhoid fever, tularemia and malaria) as well as war-inflicted wounds, and performing more than four thousand autopsies. After the war, Köberle returned to the University of Münster as Privatdozent, continuing his activities as professor and researcher of medical pathology until 1945. He returned shortly to the University of Vienna, and, in 1946, accepted a post as director of the Serological and Pathological Institute of the General Hospital of St. Pölten, Lower Austria.

In 1952, he received an invitation which would radically change his personal and scientific life. A new medical school was being established by the University of São Paulo in Ribeirão Preto, in the hinterland of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The main objective of the state government was to increase the number of physicians in the rapidly developing hinterland, and its first dean, Dr. Zeferino Vaz, a parasitologist, medical research and professor of the University, wished to create a favorable environment for high quality medical research and teaching in the new school. With this in mind, Vaz invited a number of foreign researchers to become chairmen of the basic and clinical departments, and Fritz Köberle had a good recommendation by Prof. Henrique da Rocha Lima, a Brazilian medical researcher who had studied in Germany. Dr. Köberle accepted an invitation and moved with his family to the Medical School of Ribeirão Preto in 1953. He soon organized the Department of Pathology, became its chairman, and began to assemble a small group of Brazilian researchers.

Works
While in Ribeirão Preto, Köberle noted that a promising field of research in pathology for the new department and himself could be Chagas disease, or American trypanosomiasis, which had been discovered by another Brazilian physician named Carlos Chagas, in 1910. Even though 40 years had passed since its discovery, little was known about the peculiar manifestations of the chronic phase of the disease, such as megaesophagus, megacolon, cardiomegaly, heart ventricular aneurysm, achalasia, etc., and the mechanism of the causation of these several pathologies. By making good use of the extensive caseload of fatalities due to Chagas disease in the region of Ribeirão Preto and Southern Minas Gerais, where it was endemic and widely prevalent at the time, Köberle studied initially the dilation pathologies of the digestive tract and proved, by extensively quantifying the number of neurons of the autonomic nervous system in the Auerbach's plexus, that: 1) they were strongly reduced all over the digestive tract; 2) that megacolon and megaesophagus appeared only when there was a reduction of over 80% and 55% of the number of neurons, respectively; 3) these pathologies appeared as a result of the disruption of the neurally integrated control of peristalsis (muscular annular contraction) in those parts where a strong force is necessary to impel the luminal bolus of food or feces; and 4) European idiopathic megaesophagus and Chagas megaesophagus appeared to have the same etiology, namely the degeneration of the Auerbach's myoenteric plexus.

Studying the typical features of the Chagasic myocardium pathology, characterized by damage to its electrical conduction pathways, heart arrythmia, aneurysm of the ventricular apex, cardiomegalia and sudden death by ventricular fibrillation, Köberle and his group of collaborators were able to prove that they were caused also by an extensive denervation of the parasympathetic (55%) and sympathetic (35%) intrinsic cardiac nervous networks, leading to a control imbalance of contraction, cardiac failure, cardiomegalia and hypoxia. He named this constellation of effects as cardiopathia parasympathicopriva. Other less typical phenomena observed in Chagas disease, such as bronchiectasis and myelopathy were also studied by Köberle under the new prism of his neurogenic theory.

Thus, with his classical and detailed scientific studies, Köberle proposed for the first time a unified and radically different (and polemical) view of the etiopathogeny of Chagas disease, characterizing it as a disease of the autonomic nervous system, which establishes itself during the acute phase and provokes long term and slowly installing denervation. Since the trypanosoma does not seem to damage neurons directly, Köberle and other researchers have hypothesized the action of a neurotoxin, cytotoxic factors or autoimmune mechanisms. Köberle retired from the University of São Paulo in 1976, but soon moved as visiting professor to the Medical School, of the State University of Campinas, in Campinas, São Paulo, where one of his sons, Gottfried Köberle, is a professor of Orthopedics. He worked there until his death, in 1983, in Americana. Another son, Roland Köberle, is a professor in Physics at the University of São Paulo at São Carlos.

Miscellaneous
The square in front of the main entrance to the USP campus at Ribeirão Preto is named in his honor.

title: Fritz Köberle


text:
Talk:Periwinkle (color)

Color conversion and accuracy
"Hex triplet = #CCCCFF  RGB   (r, g, b)    =  (195, 205, 230)"

If you change the RGB into Hex triplet, you get #C3CDE6.  If you change the Hex triplet into RGB, you get (204, 204, 255). Daniel 21:57, 12 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Not only that, but all of those systems depend on a color profile -- a given RGB number will give different colors for different monitors. We'd need to know something better, ideally a Lab color number. --Keybounce 22:03, 8 April 2007 (UTC)

incorrect date
the OED lists a use of periwinkle as a color from 1852 (Harper's) and another from 1902 (Western Gazette), one referring to the color of cloth and the other to the color of the sea. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.90.250.112 (talk) 20:59, 25 March 2008 (UTC)

Should the cultural references have been removed?
On 28-Mar-2013, a number of cultural references to periwinkle were removed. Is there a reason for the retention of the Blue's Clues reference, which explains why it was kept while other references were removed? If no reason is there, then the editing was arbitrary, which serves nobody, and I vote for undoing this edit. Thoughts?

Jpbjoel (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 22:07, 28 March 2013 (UTC)

Removed comment
Removed following from the page:
 * Comment: The specs in this box are different than the periwinkle specs on the page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variations_of_blue#Light_blue. One or both need correction.

Made by 68.6.45.73 at 17:14, 10 August 2012

Balko Kabo (talk) 19:15, 8 September 2012 (UTC)

Named after the flower
Periwinkle is both an animal and a flower. According to Color Sorting on Wikia, the color Periwinkle is named after the animal, but according to Wikipedia, it is named after the flower. Is the color Periwinkle actually named after the flower, after the snail, or after both. Ssjhowarthisawesome (talk) 23:19, 5 November 2015 (UTC)

"Etymology: Vinca comes from the ancient Roman name for the plant, “Vincapervinca”, from which comes “periwinkle” (18). It means “bonds through bonds” and refers to the tangling nature of the plant (13). ‘Minor‘ means “less,” distinguishing it from a larger species of the genus Vinca, V. major (1, 8) " No idea why the shellfish is called suchMeika (talk) 09:39, 27 February 2022 (UTC)

Potter seems unnecessary
In the cultural references, I'd argue the reference to a Harry Potter character's dress isn't noteworthy, beyond the fact that blue sets off red air nicely. The other reference at least shows that a fascination with fussy shades of blue bespeaks a certain kind of character, and seems noteworthy. I'm going to remove Herminone's dress. 24.63.57.12 (talk) 01:04, 30 July 2016 (UTC)

Possible removal from list
An entry in List of colors: G–M contained a link to this page.

The entry is :

 * Light periwinkle

I don't see any evidence that this color is discussed in this article and plan to delete it from the list per this discussion: Talk:List_of_colors

If someone decides that this color should have a section in this article and it is added, I would appreciate a ping.-- S Philbrick (Talk)  15:50, 24 August 2018 (UTC)

Vandalism?
The sentence "Periwinkle is a flower and not a color as some people assume it is." is contradicted by the dictionary citation of the use as a color term. Possible vandalism? 2.24.113.194 (talk) 23:41, 6 May 2022 (UTC)

 * Agreed, to edit an article and change the first line to a statement claiming that the subject of the article doesn't exist (!) ought to be considered vandalism; even if it were a change made in totally good faith, nevertheless if there were a genuine controversy over the validity of the colour name, then the place for threshing that out would be here in the talk page, and absolutely through the anonymous editing of the opening line of the article.
 * The flower in question already has an article, and the word "periwinkle" has widely been used as a colour name for a very long time. Accordingly, this claim is not only patently false, but equivalent to the first line of the article Orange (colour) reading something like "Orange is a fruit and not a color as some people assume it is."
 * I have reverted this change.
 * I haven't been editing Wikipedia seriously for very long but I must say I'm a bit surprised at just how strange the vandalism history of this particular page seems to be. Pseudo-Pseudo-Dionysius (talk) 20:47, 12 May 2022 (UTC)

title: Talk:Periwinkle (color)