Encanto OC Event Week 2

Part 2: Tomás Herrera & Others

(Part 1 Here)

The second half of my OC relationship info post - this'll include some info about Tomás's bonds with my other OCs, as well as those background OCs' relationships with each other and canon characters.

@encanto-extended-edition

Tomás in regards to his natal family:

Tomás is the youngest in a family of four, born to Lucía and Horacio Herrera.

Lucía was a schoolteacher and volunteer in the town library, who passed away when Tomás was still a child. Tomás loved and admired his mother, considering her to have been a saint in life. The memories he has of her are fond ones, recalling her as being a kind woman without a bad word to say about anyone. He thinks highly of her optimism and humility, and her ability to make anyone feel understood and listened to.

Lucía as well as Tomás's older brother, Mateo, are both canonically deceased as per the events of the story the Herrera family is introduced in. This leaves Tomás and his father as the last living of their family within the Encanto.

Horacio used to be a mason, having to retire early due to weakness in his legs. Between this and the loss of his parents, his wife, and eventually his oldest son, Horacio sometimes thinks he's cursed - but his one silver lining is his remaining son, Tomás. Horacio has zero qualms about being openly affectionate with Tomás both physically and verbally, and though he's a little oblivious at times, he only wants the best for his boy. Tomás in turn is a loyal and protective son to Horacio, willing to put up with a little embarrassment if it makes his father happy. It doesn't matter how old Tomás gets, he'll always be his papá's conejito.

Art by cringecanto (right)

It's a bit self-indulgent of me, but I'm of the mind that when Tomás marries into the family, Casita springs up a small in-law suite for Horacio so he won't have to spend his days in an empty house. I also am of the mind that in their youth Horacio and Bruno were quite friendly with each other, due to both more or less being underdogs with not a lot of friends between them.

Horacio likely approached Bruno before his wife's passing, just on the off chance he saw her make a miraculous recovery. That isn't what he saw, of course. But though devastated, Horacio accepted the result with as much grace as he could and didn't blame Bruno or his visions for the bad news.

They ended up losing touch when Bruno became more withdrawn and eventually "left", but upon Bruno's return to society their friendship ends up picking right back up where it left off. When Tomás marries into the family and Horacio tags along, he and Bruno spend a good amount of their time having tea and playing cards as old men tend to do.

The rest under the cut to spare the poor dashboards out there!

The Patch:

The Patch, or El Parche, is the group name I use to refer to Camilo's small group of older friends, including Tomás (as introduced in the previous post). They're childhood friends; as a unit and individually they're all well-liked young men within their peers and the community as a whole, decently popular in different ways. They initially were meant to be unnamed background characters whose designs were pulled from random Encantownies, but I accidentally got attached to them and now they all have proper designs and development. Such is my life.--

Cristián Vargas, Rafael Molina, Santiago Torres, Tomás Herrera

Santiago (22) is the oldest not only of the friend group but of his own siblings, of which he's got 6 younger sisters and brothers. He's the designated 'mom friend' by nature, easily slotting into leadership positions and able to keep a handle on multiple goings-on at once. That said he very much is a mother hen type, a bit fussy and prone to scolding his siblings and friends (usually Rafael) whenever they start steering towards bad decisions.

Tomás and Santi are usually on the same page when it comes to caution and forethought, contrasting with Rafa and Cris's more go-with-the-flow attitudes. Santi's compassionate nature makes it easy for him to pick up on what Tomás is feeling without him voicing it, taking it upon himself to either make decisions based on what Tomás would most prefer or urging the others to do so instead. Tomás appreciates Santi looking out for him, feeling it alleviates pressure off of his own shoulders when he's unsure of what to do.

Rafael (21) is the most boisterous of all of them, the beacon of activity and extroversion to balance out his more subdued companions. He's a risk-taker and extremely liberal-minded about topics that usually wouldn't be openly bragged out, often leading to Santi urging him to keep it down (which will inevitably be ignored or expanded upon specifically to make Santi flustered).

His loud and brash personality clashes with Tomás's reserved ways, but the two have a unique bond despite the expected incompatibility; Rafael is not at all discouraged by Tomás's quietness and Tomás isn't put off by Rafael's brazenness. They both think the other is easy to communicate with - Tomás never has to guess what Rafa's feelings are and Rafa likes Tomás's predilection for being a listening ear.

Cristián (20) is far old enough now to have an identity and social circle separate to those of his twin brother César, but when he was a young child he used to be very shy and hesitant to leave his brother's side. When Santi and Rafa became his friends it was the first time he felt comfortable with something (or someone) that was more or less his own - so when his new friends started chatting with Tomás he felt a little threatened. Fears of abandonment were unfounded though, as not only did his friends not dump him in favor of the New Kid, but he very quickly realized why they liked Tomás and ended up getting attached to him too.

As adults they have similar mellow temperaments and get along quite nicely, though Cris's vastly improved self-assurance has made him a lot more laidback and unflappable than the more organized and prim Tomás. Tomás admires Cris's ability to be both steadfast and considerate, unwavering in what he believes in but knowing when to handle situations with delicateness and care.

When Camilo entered the picture and turned the Patch into a five-man-band, all four of the older members collectively decided that he was more or less their joint little brother. Santiago attempts to provide Camilo with proper advice and look out for him in ways an older brother should, which often means trying to make sure Rafael keeps his crude language in check around him. Rafael usually does not, taking a completely different approach to being and older brother and totally enabling Camilo's mischievous nature. Cristián is somewhere in the middle, oftentimes siding with Santi or Rafa purely based on what he think would have the most entertaining result.

Beyond this though Cris is a unique source of understanding for Camilo, as Cris is the only other person he knows who doesn't experience romantic attraction for anyone and has no interest in dating. He could have asked Bruno, of course, but solidarity feels a little better coming from someone close to his own age rather than his quirky hermit uncle.--

Cris, Santi and Rafa are the older brothers to Cecilia, Alejandra and Juancho (the town kids) respectively.

Other relationships to Encantownies include:

Santi and Alejandra have five other siblings, and José (the tall fellow Camilo shifts into near the start of the movie) is their tío. Osvaldo is a tío to Rafael and Juancho, as well as their teenaged sister. Cris's parents are seen bringing Cecilia into Casita before Antonio's ceremony, and his twin brother César is the young man who asks Luisa to help upright his leaning house.

Other OCs:

Claudia Reyes (19) is the young lady with the drum seen during The Family Madrigal, whose family owns the music shop they're playing in front of. Beside her are her brother-in-law on the left and her father on the right.

She's Rafael's long-time girlfriend, on his same wavelength of open-mindedness and free spirit. They've been in a strange will-they-won't-they situation since they were teenagers, with Rafael playing it off like they're not all that serious and just messing around. Everyone knows Rafa's totally full of it and is head over heels for her though, including Claudia who's more or less just waiting for him to finally get around to proposing. They're going to have at least 4 kids together.

She knows the rest of the Patch more or less as her boyfriend's friends, but there's still rapport between them and Claudia's more than welcome to hang with the boys whenever she wants. On top of that, she's also Luisa's good friend who oftentimes will suggest Luisa try out outrageous things in an effort to push her out of her comfort zone.

The town librarian, usually referred to as the Maestro, is an enigmatic yet helpful figure in town whose mission in life is the sharing of knowledge. They can be considered everyone's friend, though like Horacio they have a kinship with Bruno that goes back quite a few years. All perfectly platonic, mind you! Additionally, given Lucía's history of volunteering in the library, the Maestro also is on good terms with the Herrera family and still keeps in touch with Horacio pretty regularly.

And I think those are the most notable relationships to get into for now! Up next will be the AU posts, and... boy, do I have a lot of those. 🫠

Presentan al país nueva alianza de carácter político-electoral con miras a presidenciales 2024

Caracas 01/02/24. (PS).- Representantes del Partido Comunista de Venezuela (PCV) Patria Para Todos (PPT/APR) y del Movimiento Popular Alternativo (MPA) anunciaron este jueves al país la conformación de una nueva alianza de carácter político-electoral a fin de participar en la elección presidencial 2024 y los procesos electorales previstos para 2025.

Oscar Figuera, secretario general del Comité central del Partido Comunista de Venezuela aseguró que debido a la coyuntura actual de las luchas de los trabajadores y frente a una “política neoliberal encabezada por el presidente Nicolás Maduro Moros, la cúpula del gobierno y del PSUV que afecta a las grandes mayorías, hemos decidido dar un paso en la dirección de construir una propuesta también en el terreno electoral”.

Explicó que se trata de la voluntad de las tres organizaciones de promover espacios de encuentro, de trabajo y de articulación con otros movimientos que coincidamos en la necesidad de construir una fuerza capaz de enfrentar a los dos grandes polos del desastre nacional o como decimos en el Partido Comunista de Venezuela, los dos polos burgueses del desastre nacional, un primer sector, que está en el gobierno quienes dicen ser una burguesía revolucionaria y está influida por la presencia de sectores mafiosos profundamente corrompidos”.

“El otro polo que consideramos debemos enfrentar también, es la fracción burguesa, también profundamente reaccionaria, aliada a los sectores del gran capital trasnacional norteamericano y europeo, que se expresa en la llamada Plataforma Unitaria Democrática cuyo programa también es neoliberal”, subrayó.

Entre tanto, Rafael Uzcátegui, coordinador nacional de Patria Para Todos (PPT/APR) señaló que tanto los partidos como las organizaciones políticas en el país “han sido aniquiladas, asaltadas usando la Sala Constitucional del Tribunal Supremo de Justicia o el Consejo Nacional Electoral, siendo el sector más agredido la izquierda venezolana”.

A su juicio, no hay una organización de izquierda que tenga registro electoral “porque lo que se pretende hacer no es otra cosa que partidos mercenarios u organizaciones bachaqueras hechas a la medida de un asalto patrocinado por el Presidente de la República con el aval del Tribunal Supremo de Justicia, de su Sala Constitucional y con el silencio del Consejo Nacional Electoral y otras instituciones del Estado como la Fiscalía”.

Aseguro que el paso inicial que dan “es un esfuerzo de puertas abiertas, no hay nada cocinado o acordado en secreto, todo lo venimos haciendo de cara a los problemas que vive Venezuela así como también al empeño de salirle al paso a quienes quieren impedir que la izquierda venezolana y el movimiento popular venezolano tengan una expresión organizativa para participar y protagonizar como lo señala la Constitución”.

Por su parte, Manuel Isidro Molina, presidente del Movimiento Popular Alternativo (MPA) consideró que esta nueva alianza es una buena noticia para el pueblo venezolano, quienes están inconformes con la oferta política electoral actual y las condiciones de vida que atraviesa el país. “Para nosotros en el MPA esta alianza es clave para determinar el futuro inmediato del país, no nos resignamos a la muerte de los mecanismos estatuidos en la Constitución vigente”.

“Vemos con amplitud que el reclamo a un proceso electoral transparente y confiable es unánime en Venezuela, solamente hoy, los grupos estrechos y en decadencia del PSUV y del gobierno de Nicolás Maduro, tratan de amañar el proceso electoral”, puntualizó.

Molina destacó que la acción a la que dan inicio, “emerge para torcer el rumbo que el gobierno nos quiere imponer, un rumbo autoritario, antidemocrático que obstruye la real participación, que le niega el derecho a los jóvenes venezolanos a inscribirse en el Registro Electoral, pretendiendo teledirigir un resultado que ya el pueblo venezolano derrotó”.

Juan José Ojeda Díaz / Prensa de Solidaridad

Twitter: @juanjoseojeda

Instagram: @juanjoseojedadiaz

World cup 2022 goals (part 5/?)

In order — 1. Denzel Dumfries, 2. Lionel Messi (3), 3. Julian Álvarez (2), 4. Enzo Jeremías Fernández [OG], 5. Olivier Giroud (3), 6. Kylian Mbappé (4), 7. Kylian Mbappé (5), 8. Robert Lewandowski [P] (2), 9. Jordan Henderson, 10. Harry Kane, 11. Bukayo Saka (3), 12. Daizen Maeda, 13. Ivan Perišić, 14. Vinicius Jr, 15. Neymar [P], 16. Richarlison (3), 17. Lucas Paquetá, 18. Paik Seung-ho, 19. Gonçalo Ramos, 20. Pepe, 21. Gonçalo Ramos (2), 22. Raphaël Guerreiro, 23. Manuel Akanji, 24. Gonçalo Ramos (3), 25. Rafael Leão (2), 26. Neymar (2), 27. Bruno Petković, 28. Nahuel Molina, 29. Lionel Messi [P] (4), 30. Woug Weghorst

How do you politely ask someone to slam you against a wall and make out with you

En el Maule INE continúa avanzando en la ejecución de comisiones cesales comunales

Se deben concretar 30 comisiones censales, correspondientes a todas las comunas de la región del Maule, así como en el resto del país.  Continue reading Untitled

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Se repite la historia, porque la ignorancia y el fanatismo lo permite...

Era la década de los 90. A la derecha, la persona que destruyó nuestro Sistema de Salud Universal. Un sistema ejemplar a nivel mundial, motivo de inspiración para paises que lo emularon y hoy día son ellos el ejemplo a emular. Pero por ignorancia y fanatismo político, al pueblo se lo arrebataron. Donde los puertorriqueños eran atendidos sin necesidad de un plan médico ni dinero, pasaron a tener que abandonar su país en busca de servicios medicos, porque si no tienes un plan o dinero, te mueres. Su Pilar, fue utilizar la ilusión del pobre, y les prometió atención médica al nivel de lo ricos. En un pueblo ignorante, donde se desconecta de los elementos fundamentales del "Desarrollo Humano", era la carta magna para el engaño.

También, Puerto Rico tenía un Sistema de Educación envidiable. Habían miles de escuelas, cientos de miles de niños educándose. Puerto Rico era el Pilar de la Ingeniería y lo mal utilizaron, exportando el capital humano educado. Este señor Pedro primero, a la mano de José Arcenio Torres se inventó "Las escuelas de la Comunidad". En el camino pierde a su primer Secretario de Educación y comenzó a desmantelar el Sistema de Educación con el segundo, de nombre Victor Fajardo, quien terminó tras la rejas por corrupción, al utilizar el dinero de los niños para pagar las arcas del Partido Nuevo Progresista. Al caer en manos del FBI, cesó en su intento y luego se fue dejándote como el mismo dijo "ahí te dejo, ese desastre". Más de 40 funcionarios fueron convictos por corrupción y nunca se radicó un cargo estatal por su Secretario de Justicia, Pedro R. Pierluisi.

Hoy, 23 años de la salida del primer Pedro, su aprendiz , pasó a ser el gobernador y aplicó la receta para acabar con nuestra educación. Utilizó el mismo Pilar. Ahora en lugar de un plan médico al pobre, le prometió un vale para que se eduque. Crean la crisis, y luego prometen la salvación.

Ambas acciones, a nivel mundial, han fracaso en alcanzar los niveles óptimos del Desarrollo Humano. Se alejan de la fórmula que tiene éxito en lugares como los Países Nórdicos, que ellos mismos nos imitaron. Lo hacen, porque arrebataron el presupuesto de Salud para sus inversionistas y aseguradoras. Ahora, hace lo propio con sus inversionistas, utilizando nuestra educación. Esto es algo muy serio, que sólo le pasa a los pueblos que tienen miedo. Pueblos cobardes con generaciones que recibieron todo y no apreciaron nada. Con una soberbia tan grande, que a su alrededor todo colapsó, sus familias viven en otro país, se mueren esperando atención médica, las escuelas son ruinas, quebraron el gobierno, le vendieron las playas, se les va la luz a diario y se conforman por miedo. Si lo hace su partido son ciegos y si lo hace el otro se callan.

Ahora, le toca enfrentar esta situación. La nueva generación no tiene nada, y les espera un vale para hacer más ricos a la familia Mendez, Camera Mundi, Angel Luis Ocasio y hasta el mismo Oscar Santamaría y Gallery. Es la mediocridad propulsada por pendejos con problema de identidad. Que desde el privilegio cargado por el éxito de la generación de sus padres, se les olvidó luchar por el futuro de sus nietos, porque no había necesidad. Otros, acostumbrados al mantengo de estos políticos, le juegan la carta porque no saben una vez más, el significado de "Desarrollo Humano". Jugaron a la ideología política y fracasaron por la ignorancia.

¿Respeto? No siento el más mínimo por estos dos pendejos.

Hoy lloro a mi escuela. Lloro al ver a mis hijos privados de los que un día tuvimos. Lloro por mis maestros, que lo dejaron todo, y se vieron obligados a pasar su vejez sin retiro y sin dinero, porque hasta los materiales le quitaron. Nos enseñaron a leer y a escribir, mientras estos canallas enseñan al pueblo a robar. Lloro al ver como no hay un sistema de transporte para nuestros estudiantes. Lloro al ver el comportamiento de gran parte de nuestro pueblo.

Pero no me voy a conformar, estas escorias van a tener pelea, y esto colmó la copa. El teatro de que pendejos disfrazados de politicos vayan a Washington a vendernos un futuro de progreso, se lo vamos a quitar jíbaros con necesidad de patria, de la que nunca hemos perdido, solo que se les negó el derecho a creer en un sentido de pertenencia. Mis maestros me enseñaron a hablar bonito, aritmética, historia y ciencia, pero el instinto me enseñó el sentido de supervivencia, y que para defendernos, hay que acabar con estos corruptos y hay que hablarles como se merecen, igual. Llegó el momento de ser Xenofobico contra el Pene pe, porque estos cabrones de aquí no son, son muy cobardes para que se les considere llamar puertorriqueños.

A todos mis maestros, esta va por ustedes ✍️🔥

Por: Eliezer Molina

Exposición "Tiempo de matrices", Colectiva

Exposición “Tiempo de matrices”, Colectiva

Exposición “Tiempo de matrices” Colectiva 27.09.2019 Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Wifredo Lam Como suelo hacer, antes de una exposición repase varios artículos sobre el grabado en Cuba para tener más elementos sobre lo que se expone, en uno de ellos leí: “La historia del grabado cubano carece de muletas para descansar.” En palabras de su curador Nelson Herrera Ysla: “El grabado cubano…

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Dragón rapide (1986)

Art Credit to Tyler Kirkham

GoCollect

ComicListThis Week

ComicList: DC Comics New Releases for Wednesday

August 23, 2023

Absolute Sandman Overture HC (2023 Edition), $150.00

Batman Beyond Neo-Gothic #2 (Cover A Max Dunbar), $4.99

Batman Beyond Neo-Gothic #2 (Cover B Christian Ward Card Stock Variant), $5.99

Batman Beyond Neo-Gothic #2 (Cover C Hayden Sherman Card Stock Variant), AR

Batman Detective Comics Volume 5 The Joker War TP (2018), $24.99

Batman The Adventures Continue Season Three #7 (Of 8)(Cover A Juan Ferreyra), $3.99

Batman The Adventures Continue Season Three #7 (Of 8)(Cover B Cliff Chiang Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Batman The Adventures Continue Season Three #7 (Of 8)(Cover C Rafael Albuquerque Villain Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Batman The Adventures Continue Season Three #7 (Of 8)(Cover D Hayden Sherman Card Stock Variant), AR

Batman The Brave And The Bold #4 (Cover A Simone Di Meo)(Knight Terrors), $7.99

Batman The Brave And The Bold #4 (Cover B Kael Ngu)(Knight Terrors), $7.99

Batman The Brave And The Bold #4 (Cover C Otto Schmidt)(Knight Terrors), $7.99

Batman The Brave And The Bold #4 (Cover D Mike Deodato Jr. Blue Beetle Movie Variant)(Knight Terrors), $7.99

Batman The Brave And The Bold #4 (Cover E Jay Anacleto)(Knight Terrors), AR

Dark Knights Of Steel #12 (Of 12)(Cover A Dan Mora), $3.99

Dark Knights Of Steel #12 (Of 12)(Cover B Ejikure Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Dark Knights Of Steel #12 (Of 12)(Cover C Jorge Molina Card Stock Variant), AR

DC Connect #40, AR

DC RWBY #7 (Of 7)(Cover A Meghan Hetrick), $3.99

DC RWBY #7 (Of 7)(Cover B Mirka Andolfo Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Green Lantern Corps By Peter J. Tomasi And Patrick Gleason Omnibus Volume 1 HC, $150.00

Knight Terrors #4 (Of 4)(Cover A Ivan Reis & Danny Miki), $3.99

Knight Terrors #4 (Of 4)(Cover B Caspar Wijngaard Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Knight Terrors #4 (Of 4)(Cover C Giuseppe Camuncoli Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Knight Terrors #4 (Of 4)(Cover D Ivan Reis Darkest Hour Neon Ink Card Stock Variant), $5.99

Knight Terrors #4 (Of 4)(Cover E Darick Robertson Homage Card Stock Variant), AR

Knight Terrors #4 (Of 4)(Cover F Mico Suayan Card Stock Variant), AR

Knight Terrors #4 (Of 4)(Cover G Ivan Reis Black & White Card Stock Variant), AR

Knight Terrors Action Comics #2 (Of 2)(Cover A Rafa Sandoval), $4.99

Knight Terrors Action Comics #2 (Of 2)(Cover B Mirko Colak Card Stock Variant), $5.99

Knight Terrors Action Comics #2 (Of 2)(Cover C Tyler Kirkham Card Stock Variant), $5.99

Knight Terrors Action Comics #2 (Of 2)(Cover D Vasco Georgiev Card Stock Variant), AR

Knight Terrors Action Comics #2 (Of 2)(Cover E Crystal Kung Card Stock Variant), AR

Knight Terrors Angel Breaker #2 (Of 2)(Cover A Matteo Lolli), $3.99

Knight Terrors Angel Breaker #2 (Of 2)(Cover B Ivan Tao Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Knight Terrors Angel Breaker #2 (Of 2)(Cover C Stephen Segovia Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Knight Terrors Angel Breaker #2 (Of 2)(Cover D Chuma Hill Card Stock Variant), AR

Knight Terrors Angel Breaker #2 (Of 2)(Cover E Matteo Lolli Black & White Card Stock Variant), AR

Knight Terrors Detective Comics #2 (Of 2)(Cover A Riccardo Federici), $4.99

Knight Terrors Detective Comics #2 (Of 2)(Cover B Bernard Chang Card Stock Variant), $5.99

Knight Terrors Detective Comics #2 (Of 2)(Cover C Kyle Hotz Card Stock Variant), $5.99

Knight Terrors Detective Comics #2 (Of 2)(Cover D Marco Santucci Card Stock Variant), AR

Knight Terrors Detective Comics #2 (Of 2)(Cover E Kyle Hotz Black & White Card Stock Variant), AR

Knight Terrors Harley Quinn #2 (Of 2)(Cover A Hayden Sherman), $4.99

Knight Terrors Harley Quinn #2 (Of 2)(Cover B Jenny Frison Card Stock Variant), $5.99

Knight Terrors Harley Quinn #2 (Of 2)(Cover C Tula Lotay Card Stock Variant), $5.99

Knight Terrors Harley Quinn #2 (Of 2)(Cover D Derrick Chew Card Stock Variant), AR

Knight Terrors Harley Quinn #2 (Of 2)(Cover E Sweeney Boo Card Stock Variant), AR

Knight Terrors Titans #2 (Of 2)(Cover A Yanick Paquette), $4.99

Knight Terrors Titans #2 (Of 2)(Cover B Alvaro Martinez Bueno Card Stock Variant), $5.99

Knight Terrors Titans #2 (Of 2)(Cover C Christian Ward Card Stock Variant), $5.99

Knight Terrors Titans #2 (Of 2)(Cover D Javi Fernandez Card Stock Variant), AR

Knight Terrors Titans #2 (Of 2)(Cover E Jorge Corona Card Stock Variant), AR

Penguin #1 (Cover A Scorpio Steele & Stefano Gaudiano), $3.99

Penguin #1 (Cover B Brian Bolland Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Penguin #1 (Cover C Nathan Szerdy Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Penguin #1 (Cover D David Marquez Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Penguin #1 (Cover E Kael Ngu Card Stock Variant), AR

Penguin #1 (Cover F Nathan Szerdy Card Stock Variant), AR

Riddler Year One #6 (Of 6)(Cover A Bill Sienkiewicz), $4.99

Riddler Year One #6 (Of 6)(Cover B Stevan Subic), $4.99

Riddler Year One #6 (Of 6)(Cover C Jock), $4.99

Riddler Year One #6 (Of 6)(Cover D Martin Simmonds), AR

Robin And Batman TP, $16.99

Unstoppable Doom Patrol #5 (Of 7)(Cover A Chris Burnham), $3.99

Unstoppable Doom Patrol #5 (Of 7)(Cover B Mikel Janin Card Stock Variant), $4.99

Unstoppable Doom Patrol #5 (Of 7)(Cover C Alan Quah Card Stock Variant), AR

WildC.A.T.s Volume 1 Better Living Through Violence HC (2022), $24.99

Wonder Woman Black And Gold TP, $24.99

DYNAMIC FORCES

Batman #134 (Cover F Tom King April Fools’ Card Stock Variant)(Tom King Signed Edition), AR

Joker The Man Who Stopped Laughing #7 (Cover E Tom King April Fools’ Variant)(Tom King Signed Edition), AR

Rafael Navarro-Gonzalez (1959-2021): The Mexican Astrobiologist Who Shaped Our Understanding of The Planet Mars

Rafael Navarro-Gonzalez was a talented and internationally recognized chemist and astrobiologist who worked at NASA. Navarro-Gonzalez is known for his work with other researchers to study the planet Mars. He made fundamental contributions to several fields related to Astrobiology, the origin of life, and life in extreme environments. Among his many accomplishments, he helped lead the team that identified ancient organic compounds on Mars. He was a Co-I on the SAM instrument onboard NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory and on the HABIT instrument onboard ESA’s ExoMars mission. He was also on the Curiosity Mars rover team. His research blended laboratory simulations, fieldwork, and theoretical modeling in transdisciplines in chemistry, physics, and biology. This sort of dominance is unusual and requires a dynamic and intellectual curiosity beyond normal boundaries. He identified the role of volcanic lightning in the origin of life on Earth. He has established one of the very best laboratories in Latin-America.

He has published 137 papers, 4 edited books and over 225 abstracts. Among the most significant contributions are those that deal the detection of organics in Mars-like environments from cold (Antarctica), temperate (Atacama) and hot (Mojave and Libya) deserts on Earth.

Navarro-Gonzalez was born in Mexico City on April 25, 1959. He earned a bachelor’s in biology from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) where he became full professor in 2002, and a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Maryland at College Park. Dr. Navarro-González established the Laboratory of Plasma Chemistry and Planetary Studies of the Institute of Nuclear Science at UNAM. 

Rafael Navarro-Gonzalez was the first recipient of the Molina fellowship award. This prize recognizes outstanding scientific achievement. He was also the recipient of the 2009 Alexander von Humboldt Medal and the World Academy of Sciences Award in Earth Sciences.

He died on Jan. 28, 2021 due to Covid-19-related complications.

In honor of his service, NASA named a mountain on Mars after him. The mountain stretches 450 feet (120 meters) tall, “Rafael Navarro Mountain” is located on Mount Sharp in northwest Gale Crater.

Rafael Navarro Mountain

“Rafael was a good friend and dedicated scientist, and it has been a privilege and honor for our Mars exploration team to work with him over the years" said the principal investigator of Curiosity’s SAM experiment.

“We are truly honored to have a prominent hill named after our dad; it’s his and our dream come true to see this happen,” wrote Navarro-González’s children, Rafael and Karina Navarro Aceves, in a statement to NASA.

“Our dad was an accomplished scientist, but above all, a great human being who managed to balance work and family."

Sources: (x) (x) (x) (x) (x) (x)

Happy pride month! Had this done for a while but decided to post it right at the very end--. Featuring a few of my Encanto OCs who fall somewhere under the umbrella 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈

Bonus:

Stuntmen ride horses and drive carriages at Oasys MiniHollywood, one of several Western film sets in Spain’s Almería region. The area’s deserts and canyons have attracted movie and TV crews since the 1950s. Today, their faux Old West towns are also open for cowboy shows and tours. Photograph By Matilde Gattoni

The Wild West Lives on in Southern Spain

This desert region plays a major role in Western movies—and offers travelers cinematic scenery and cowboy culture.

— B y Matteo Fagotto | Photographs By Matilde Gattoni | January 19, 2022

The worn wooden floorboards squeak under Rafael Molina’s heavy steps as he paces the saloon. Outside, the sound of galloping horses breaks the silence of the surrounding desert. All around him, the Old West town’s empty shops and abandoned houses look as if they have just been ransacked by cowboy bandits.

“When I was a kid, I could only dream about all this,” says the 68-year-old former actor and stuntman. “My aspiration was to see a film set firsthand. Today I own one of the most famous ones in the history of Western movies.”

The Oasys MiniHollywood movie set is located amid the Sierra foothills in Spain’s Tabernas Desert

Professional stuntmen Ricardo Cruz Fernández (left) and Rafael Aparicio García (right) work as film extras and cowboy show performers at Fort Bravo in Tabernas, Spain.

Molina bought the set, called Fort Bravo, at the end of the 1970s. But this busy movie site is located in Spain—not Montana or Texas. It’s one of three faux Old Western towns in the small village of Tabernas and the surrounding desert of the Almería province. Since the late 1950s, these rugged mountains, arid plains, and dry canyons have provided the backdrops for more than 170 movie Westerns, including The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) and Once Upon a Time in The West (1968).

Other movies and TV series were filmed at Tabernas, including Indiana Jones and Game of Thrones. But this windswept region—a 30-minute drive north of the coastal city of Almería—remains synonymous with Western shootouts.

These days, it’s a lure not only for neo-Western film directors, but also for travelers wanting to sink their spurs into its lore and landscapes. Here’s the unlikely story of how so many movies set in a near-mythological region of the United States ended up being filmed in southern Spain. We also share how travelers can experience the cinematic landscapes and the fascinating people bringing the Old West to life.

A Community of Cowboys

Molina belongs to a small community of local cowboy actors and stuntmen in Tabernas who have played a role in movies and TV shows since the first productions in the 1950s. They can perform anything from fistfights to horse drags. Knowledge and skills often pass from father to son, keeping tricks of the trade in the family. Steeped in the golden era of Westerns, these actors embody the values of their movie heroes: pride, bravado, freedom, and a trusting relationship with horses.

“I’ve always liked horses and the [U.S.] West,” says 29-year-old Ricardo Cruz Fernández, a stuntman and cowboy who appeared in recent productions including Game of Thrones and The Sisters Brothers, a 2018 Franco-American Western starring Joaquin Phoenix. Fernández started his career as a cowboy after completing a stuntman course a decade ago.

Between productions, he performs daily shows at Fort Bravo for thousands of tourists who visit the set each year. In one show, Fernández portrays a bank robber who absconds with some gold. Visitors encounter him in the saloon, fist and (fake) gun fighting with actors playing his double-crossing accomplices. The town also offers cancan dance shows and set tours by horse-drawn wagon.

Left: Cancan dancers perform in the saloon at Oasys MiniHollywood in Tabernas, Spain. Right: A horsewoman trains a young Andalusian horse in the streets of Oasys MiniHollywood, a Western movie set in southern Spain.

Stuntman Ricardo Cruz Fernández stands on the balcony of a building in Fort Bravo, one of three Western movie sets in Tabernas, Spain.

“I prefer to play the bad guy, because it gives me a wider range of possibilities,” says Fernández. “The good guy only has to keep things in order.”

His romance with the Wild West started when, as a kid, he saw Italian director Sergio Leone’s so-called “Dollars Trilogy.” The trio of films—A Fistful of Dollars; For a Few Dollars More; The Good, the Bad and the Ugly—were shot during the 1960s in the Almería region. They starred a young, still-unknown Clint Eastwood as a poncho-wearing cowboy with no name.

“Leone’s movies didn’t need much dialogue or intricate plots,” says Fernández. “The actors’ gestures, the music, and the little details are enough to give you goosebumps.” Leone’s innovative shooting style and captivating soundtracks in the Trilogy paved the way for the so-called “spaghetti Western,” a popular film genre in the 1960s and 1970s. Most of its directors were Italians, while producers and actors were a mix of Italians, Spaniards, and Americans, all speaking their own languages onscreen.

Snubbed by U.S. critics at first, spaghetti Westerns became hugely successful due to the disenchanted vision they brought to a film style that had almost disappeared. The Wild West figures they depicted were a far cry from the heroic white conquerors of earlier epics. Their main characters were not champions of the defenseless, but amoral bounty hunters moved by personal profit, greed, and vengeance. Actions and violence ruled; the good rarely triumphed.

Old West-style “wanted” posters hang in the jail at the Oasys MiniHollywood film set.

Although Almería had already been used as a shooting venue for a few renowned movies (Lawrence of Arabia, Cleopatra), it was Leone, and the ensuing flurry of European Westerns, that finally brought the province’s stunning landscapes into the international spotlight.

Since then, Almería has hosted more than 500 productions, including blockbuster films (Patton, Terminator: Dark Fate) and TV shows (Doctor Who). “Our landscapes are very convenient. We have sea, desert, and snowy mountains all within a short distance,” says local producer Plácido Martínez. “We can serve as Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, and endless other natural settings.”

Horsemen Turned Stuntmen

When foreign Western productions discovered Almería in the 1960s, the province was one of the poorest in Spain, plagued by high unemployment and emigration. Despite its remoteness, production costs were extremely low and its inhabitants were skilled horsemen. They were ideal stuntmen and extras for spaghetti Westerns set on the border between the U.S. and Mexico.

“I was earning more money in one day than my father did in one week of hard labor in the gold mines,” says Manuel Hernández Montoya, a 61-year-old local who worked as an extra in several Westerns as a child. He now owns the cinema-themed hotel and restaurant Hostal Alba in the nearby village of Los Albaricoques, where the final duel of For a Few Dollars More was shot.

Left: Stuntman Rafael Aparicio García has been featured in several Western movies filmed at the Fort Bravo set. Right: Two stuntmen perform a shootout scene at Oasys MiniHollywood.

For a Fistful of Dollars was a huge success, spurring the construction of two open-air Western sets around Tabernas. (Called Oasys Mini-Hollywood and Western Leone, both are still used. When film crews aren’t around, they welcome tourists to their dusty streets and 19th century-style buildings with cowboy shows, tours, and horseback rides.)

The region had few paved roads at that time, and the cinema industry was instrumental in building Almería’s airport and first hotels. In just a few years, the town turned from a backwater into a sort of European Hollywood, with celebrities including Claudia Cardinale, the Beatles, and Charles Bronson sipping drinks by the Gran Hotel pool between scenes.

The movie industry also boosted the international image of Francisco Franco, the dictator who ruled Spain from 1939 to 1975. “The regime was very happy to welcome celebrities such as Ava Gardner, Frank Sinatra, or John Wayne,” says Evaristo Martínez, an Almería-based journalist and cinema expert. “Franco would facilitate international productions in any way, even those whose movies were censored locally.”

The spaghetti Western genre declined at the end of the 1970s due to a glut of productions, a sustained dip in quality, and the shifting interests of the public. A blow for the local cinema industry, this resulted in the loss of thousands of jobs and Western sets falling into disrepair. Abandoned by their owners, the sets were kept up by a few stuntmen offering tourist shows to make ends meet. When Molina bought Fort Bravo for $6,000, its bank, shops, and saloon were in ruins and had to be rebuilt.

An Industry Rides Again

After a few big productions in the 1980s—including Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Conan the Barbarian—Almería’s cinema industry picked up again. Westerns haven’t regained the prominence of the golden years, but locals still feel deeply bound to them. “Western movies have definitely changed the fate of our province, from the 1950s up until now,” says Martínez, the producer.

Tour guides can take travelers to see ruined Western movie sets in the wilds of Spain’s Tabernas Desert.

Besides visiting the three sets, tourists can two-step into Almería’s movie industry during the Almería Western Film Festival, held in Tabernas every October. Thousands of fans attend movie screenings, dress up like gunslingers, and sample Western-style cuisine.

The town also has several tour agencies offering trips to abandoned sets in the desert, through the remote canyons and mountains where movies were shot. “I once had a tourist who came all the way from Japan just to take selfies in every location of the ‘Trilogy,’ wearing a replica of Clint Eastwood’s poncho,” says Cristina Serena Seguí, manager of the Malcaminos tour agency.

Some might suggest it’s the inscrutability of steely eyed cowboys and desolate landscapes that keep the tourists and film crews coming to the region. But Martínez spins a more aspirational narrative. “Western movies tell the creation of a country and a society from scratch,” he says. “They represent the history of mankind.”

— Matteo Fagotto is an Italian journalist (and cofounder of Tandem Reportages) who focuses on social, environmental, and human rights issues. Matilde Gattoni is a French-Italian photographer who lives in Barcelona.

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