title: Mark Selby

text: He began the defence of his title at the Masters by defeating Mark Davis in the first round and John Higgins in the quarter-finals, winning both matches 6–5 and extending his unbeaten record in deciding frames at the Masters to 11. He then beat Shaun Murphy 6–1 in the semi-finals to reach the final against O'Sullivan. After falling behind 1–7 in the first session, Selby lost the final 4–10, receiving the runner-up prize of £90,000. At the German Masters two weeks later, he was eliminated in the second round by Kurt Maflin 5–3. He defeated Alan McManus 5–1 in the quarter-finals of the World Open, and Marco Fu 6–4 in the semi-finals, but lost 6–10 in the final to Murphy.


title: Mark Selby

text: At the World Championship, Selby defeated Michael White 10–9, Ali Carter 13–9, and McManus 13–5 to reach his first semi-final at the Crucible since 2010, where he met Robertson in a repeat of the UK Championship final five months earlier. This time Selby achieved a 17–15 victory to reach his second World Championship final and first for seven years. His opponent in the final was defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan, who had held the world title for the past two years and had won all five of his previous world finals. Selby appeared "jaded" on the first day after a tough semi-final battle with Robertson the day before. O'Sullivan led 3–0, 8–3, and 10–5, but Selby then won six frames in a row to lead for the first time, eventually sealing an 18–14 victory for his first world title. He dedicated the win to his late father who had died when Selby was 16. With his World Championship victory, Selby became the ninth player to win snooker's Triple Crown of World, UK and Masters titles; he also returned to the world number one position.


title: Mark Selby

text: At the first ranking event of the season, the Wuxi Classic, Selby lost 3–5 to Liang Wenbo in the last 32. He won the minor-ranking Riga Open in August, defeating Mark Allen 4–3 in the final, but was defeated by Allen the following month in a final-frame in the semi-finals of the ranking Shanghai Masters tournament. He made an unexpected early exit from the ranking International Championship, when he was eliminated in the last 128 by 19-year-old tour rookie Oliver Lines, who had recovered from 0–4 behind to defeat him 6–4. Selby reached the quarter-finals of the invitational Champion of Champions tournament in November, but lost 1–6 against Judd Trump. He had a disappointing run at the UK Championship, losing 4–6 to David Morris in the last 64.


title: Mark Selby

text: In his first-round encounter with Shaun Murphy at the Masters in January, Selby fell 1–5 behind before recovering to draw level at 5–5, but then lost the match in the deciding frame. This was the first time he had ever lost a deciding frame at the Masters, having won the match 6–5 on all 11 previous occasions. The following month, Selby won his fifth ranking title at the German Masters. He defeated Trump 5–4 in the quarter-finals, despite Trump making his second career 147 in the fifth frame of the match; this was the fifth time that Selby had witnessed an opponent completing a maximum against him (including both of Trump's), the most witnessed by any player. In the final, he came from 2–5 down against Murphy to win 9–7 and claim the title.


title: Mark Selby

text: At the China Open in April, Selby became the first player to win a second ranking title in the 2014–15 season; after advancing to the final without meeting any player inside the world's top 16, he outplayed world number 56 Gary Wilson to win 10–2. He then began his title defence at the World Championship, with no first-time world champion having successfully defended the title the following year, and no winner of the China Open having won the World Championship in the same season. He led Kurt Maflin 8–4 in the first round, before Maflin won the next five frames to lead 9–8, but Selby took the 18th frame and the decider to win the match 10–9. His reign as World Champion ended in the second round, however, with a 9–13 defeat to Anthony McGill. Despite this setback, he finished the season as world number one for the fourth year running.


title: Mark Selby

text: At the 2015 International Championship, Selby reached the semi-finals but then lost 4–9 to John Higgins. He did not drop a frame in reaching the third round of the UK Championship where he defeated Jamie Jones 6–5, later acknowledging that his opponent had deserved to win the match. He then eliminated Dechawat Poomjaeng and Matthew Selt both 6–1, before being whitewashed 6–0 by Neil Robertson in the semi-finals. In early 2016, Selby lost to Ronnie O'Sullivan in the quarter-finals of both the Masters and Welsh Open, but won the Gdynia Open with a 4–1 victory over Martin Gould.


title: Mark Selby

text: In March, he withdrew from the PTC Finals and China Open for personal reasons. Returning to the tour at the World Championship in April, he beat Robert Milkins 10–6, Sam Baird 13–11, and Kyren Wilson 13–8, to face Marco Fu in the semi-finals. Selby drew level at 12–12 after winning a 76-minute frame, the longest in Crucible history, and won the match 17–15 with a successful on the in the final frame. He took an early 6–0 lead over Ding Junhui in the final, eventually winning the match 18–14 to claim his second world title. With his World Championship victory, Selby finished at number one in the world rankings for the fifth consecutive year.


title: Mark Selby

text: Selby won his first ranking title of the season at the Paul Hunter Classic, beating Tom Ford 4–2 in the final. His semi-final against Stuart Bingham at the Shanghai Masters in September, was a meeting between the top-two ranked players in the world, Selby winning 6–5, having trailed 3–5. After taking an early 3–1 advantage over Ding Junhui in the final, he eventually lost the match 6–10. The following month, he was defeated 2–6 by Judd Trump in the semi-finals of the European Masters.<ref name="2016/17"></ref> He then won 9–3 in another semi-final encounter with Bingham, to reach the final of the International Championship in Daqing, China, winning the event for the first time by overcoming Ding 10–1; Selby dominated their encounter, winning all of the last seven frames, in the most one-sided ranking event final since the 2012 World Open when Mark Allen had defeated Stephen Lee by the same scoreline. Selby made seven 50+ breaks, while Ding's highest was just 47.


title: Mark Selby

text: At the UK Championship, he defeated John Higgins 6–5 in a high-quality quarter-final match that lasted five hours; Selby won on the colours in the deciding frame. After despatching Shaun Murphy 6–2 in the semi-finals, he developed a 7–2 advantage over Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final of the event, which decreased to 7–4, followed by four breaks of 130 or more over the next five frames—two by each player—bringing the score to 9–7 in Selby's favour. He finished the match with a 107 break to claim his second UK title, completing the second Triple Crown of his career. After failing to progress to the semi-final stage of any of the next seven tournaments, he made it through to the final of the China Open in April, where he took the final three frames against Mark Williams to win 10–8 and claim his fourth ranking title of the season.


title: Mark Selby

text: In the quarter-finals of the World Championship, he defeated Marco Fu 13–3 with a . He faced Ding in the semi-finals, taking a 16–13 lead before Ding closed the gap to 15–16 behind; Selby then won the 32nd frame to reach his third world final in four years. In a repeat of the 2007 final against John Higgins, which Selby had lost 13–18, he fell behind 4–10 before recovering to win 12 of the next 14 frames, eventually closing out the match 18–15 to win his third World Championship, becoming the fourth player—after Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O'Sullivan—to retain the world title at the Crucible. This was Selby's fifth ranking title of the season, tying him with Hendry and Ding as the only players to have won five ranking events in a single season. Selby earned £932,000 during the 2016–17 season, a record amount of prize money for any one season.


title: Mark Selby

text: In the 2017–18 snooker season, Selby was eliminated in the first round of the Hong Kong Masters after a 3–5 defeat to eventual champion Neil Robertson. His first ranking tournament of the season was the China Championship where he was defeated 4–5 by Zhou Yuelong in the second round. He failed to progress past the fourth round of the Paul Hunter Classic in defence of his title, losing 1–4 to eventual champion Michael White. He was defeated 2–5 by Lee Walker in the first round of the World Open, followed by a 2–4 defeat to Stuart Bingham in the quarter-finals of the European Masters, and a third round exit at the English Open where he lost 1–4 to Xiao Guodong.


title: Mark Selby

text: Selby successfully defended his International Championship title in November, to claim his first ranking title of the season. After surviving a fightback from Mark Allen, who trailed 3–8 and 7–9 in the final, Selby prevailed 10–7. As reigning World Snooker Champion, he qualified automatically for the 2017 Champion of Champions, but was defeated 4–6 in the quarter-finals by Luca Brecel. Defending his title at the UK Championship, he was eliminated 3–6 by Scott Donaldson in the last 64.


title: Mark Selby

text: In January, he played Mark Williams in the first round of the Masters, in a repeat of the previous year's event, where Selby had won their first-round encounter 6–5. However, this time the finishing score line was reversed as Selby lost the deciding frame 5–6. He retained his China Open championship in April, defeating Barry Hawkins 11–3 in the final. This was Selby's third China Open title in four years. Later that month, his two-year reign as World Champion ended in the first round of the World Championship, where he fell to Joe Perry 4–10, unable to recover from a 2–7 deficit in the first session. In winning the match, Perry became the first player to beat Selby at the World Championship since Anthony McGill had defeated him in the second round in 2015. Despite this disappointment, Selby still finished the season as world number one.


title: Mark Selby

text: At the World Open in August, Selby lost 4–5 to world number 53 Noppon Saengkham in the last 16, losing the deciding frame by just three points. He won his 15th ranking title at the China Championship in September, defeating John Higgins 10–9 in a very close-fought final. He reached the semi-finals of the Northern Ireland Open in November, losing 5–6 to Ronnie O'Sullivan on the final black. He faced disappointments in other tournaments, including an unexpected 3–6 loss to amateur James Cahill in the first round of the UK Championship. At the 2019 Masters, he lost 2–6 to Judd Trump in a "nervy" quarter-final, despite making a 110 break in the seventh frame of the match.


title: Mark Selby

text: Selby lost the top ranking position to O'Sullivan on 24 March 2019, having been world number one since February 2015. O'Sullivan reclaimed the top spot by winning his 36th ranking title at the Tour Championship; Selby had himself been eliminated in the first round by Neil Robertson in a final-frame decider, after squandering a four-frame lead. He had an opportunity to regain the top spot at the China Open less than two weeks later, but lost 3–6 to Craig Steadman in the qualifying round which had been held over from the original qualification stage in February. At the World Championship, Selby beat Zhao Xintong 10–7 in the first round before being defeated 10–13 by Gary Wilson in the second round. As a result of this mediocre performance, he ended the season as world number six, having also been outranked by John Higgins, Neil Robertson, Mark Williams and Judd Trump.


title: Mark Selby

text: In the 2019–20 season, Selby reached the semi-finals of the International Championship, losing 4–9 to Judd Trump, and in defending his title at the China Championship, he lost 3–6 to Shaun Murphy, again in the semi-finals. He defeated David Gilbert 9–1 in the final of the English Open to win the Steve Davis Trophy. The following week, he lost 2–5 to Stuart Bingham in the last 16 of the World Open. In the Champion of Champions, he fell short 2–6 to Mark Allen in the group final. Despite recovering from 1–4 behind to tie at 4–4, he was defeated in the quarter-finals of the Northern Ireland Open by John Higgins. He took more than six minutes to play one of his shots in the seventh frame of this match, leading to criticism from the Eurosport commentator Neal Foulds. He won the Scottish Open in December, beating Jack Lisowski 9–6 in the final to pick up the Stephen Hendry Trophy. Having also won the English Open earlier in the season, he became the first player to win more than one tournament in the Home Nations Series in a single season.


title: Mark Selby

text: At the beginning of 2020, he lost in the first round of the Masters against Ali Carter in January, and failed to qualify at the German Masters later the same month. At the European Masters, he lost in the second round to Barry Hawkins; after losing the first four frames, he staged a comeback to level at 4–4 but then lost the deciding frame. He qualified for the World Grand Prix, where he lost 3–4 to Xiao Guodong in the first round despite making two centuries. In February, Selby reached the quarter-final stage of the last Home Nations event, the Welsh Open, where he was defeated 1–5 by Ronnie O'Sullivan. He also qualified for the Players Championship, based on the one-year ranking list; in the first round, he whitewashed Mark Williams 6–0, but was then knocked out in the quarter-finals by Stephen Maguire in a deciding frame 5–6. In March, he also participated at the Gibraltar Open, but was eliminated in the third round by Lyu Haotian 1–4.


title: Mark Selby

text: After the prolonged break caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Selby participated in the 2020 Championship League, going out of the tournament after the first group stage. He qualified for the 2020 Tour Championship ranked third on the one-year ranking list. He beat Yan Bingtao 9–6 in the quarter-finals before being defeated 2–9 by Mark Allen in the semi-finals. At the World Championship, Selby defeated debutant Jordan Brown 10–6 in the first round, Noppon Saengkham 13–12 in the last 16, and Neil Robertson 13–7 in the quarter-finals. In the semi-final, he met Ronnie O'Sullivan, who took a 5–3 lead after the first session, but Selby won the second session to take a 9–7 lead. During the third session, he established a 13–9 advantage before O'Sullivan won the last two frames of the session. Selby then took a 16–14 lead, leaving himself one frame away from his fifth World Championship final, but he lost the final three frames of the match. After the game, Selby accused his opponent of being "disrespectful" after O'Sullivan had played several hit-and-hope shots while being snookered. Selby finished the season as world number four.


title: Mark Selby

text: After the delayed start to the new season, Selby won his 18th ranking title at the 2020 European Masters in September, defeating Martin Gould 9–8 in the final. The score was level at 4–4 by the end of the afternoon session, despite Selby taking an early 4–0 lead. The two players were evenly matched throughout the evening session, but Selby eventually won the match in the final-frame decider with a break of 72. The win moved Selby to joint sixth (alongside Neil Robertson) on the list of players with the most world ranking titles.


title: Mark Selby

text: In October, he began the defence of his title at the 2020 English Open. After defeating Fan Zhengyi, Chang Bingyu, Liang Wenbo, Hossein Vafaei, and Zhou Yuelong, he lost 5–6 to Robertson in the semi-finals. Despite losing the title, Selby retained the number one spot in the one-year ranking list. He also progressed through the first two group stages of the ranking Championship League tournament. In the third group stage, although he beat Judd Trump 3–0, he lost 1–3 to Zhou Yuelong and 0–3 to Zhao Xintong, finishing at the bottom of the group.


title: Mark Selby

text: At the Champion of Champions tournament in November, Selby recovered from 0–4 and 3–5 behind, winning the last three frames of his quarter-final match against Kyren Wilson to progress 6–5, only to be defeated by Robertson in another final-frame decider at the semi-final stage of the competition. In December, he successfully defended his Scottish Open title, beating Yuan Sijun, Nigel Bond, Mark Joyce, Lyu Haotian, Ricky Walden, and Jamie Jones to reach the final, then defeating Ronnie O'Sullivan 9–3 to claim his 19th ranking title. The following week, Selby reached the semi-finals of the World Grand Prix, where he was defeated 4–6 by Jack Lisowski, despite compiling the highest break of the tournament, a 143, in the seventh frame of the match.


title: Mark Selby

text: He reached the final of the Snooker Shoot Out in February but his early 24-point lead was eclipsed by Ryan Day's 67-point winning break in the last four minutes of the match. Aiming to secure a record 12th successive ranking final win, Selby expressed doubts about whether the Shoot Out should be classed as a ranking event.


title: Mark Selby

text: Selby won his fourth world title in May 2021, defeating Shaun Murphy 18–15 in the final of the World Championship in front of a capacity crowd at the Crucible Theatre. He became one of only five players to have won the championship four or more times at the Crucible, and said in his post-match interview: "to win it four times is something I could only have dreamed of."


title: Mark Selby

text: Selby's first tournament of the season was the British Open. He was defeated in the second round, but returned to the top of the rankings for the first time since March 2019.


title: Mark Selby

text: Selby made his 700th century break in his opening match of the 2021 Champion of Champions against David Gilbert, becoming the sixth player to reach that milestone.


title: Mark Selby

text: He reached the semi-finals of the World Grand Prix in December but, after levelling the match at 2–2, he was defeated 3–6 by Neil Robertson.


title: Mark Selby

text: Born in Leicester on 19 June 1983, Selby began playing pool at the age of eight and snooker aged nine. Malcolm Thorne, brother of Leicester-born snooker player Willie Thorne, spotted Selby's snooker ability and offered him free practice at his brother's snooker club, which Selby took full advantage of, practising in the evenings after school. Abandoned by his mother at the age of eight, Selby lost his father to cancer when he was 16, after which he lived with family friend and snooker coach Alan Perkins. He contemplated suicide after his father's death, but Perkins encouraged him to devote himself to snooker, telling him his father would have wanted him to keep playing and trying his best. Two months later, Selby joined the main professional tour, having left school with no qualifications. His nickname, "The Jester from Leicester", was given to him by snooker compere Richard Beare because Selby liked to have "a laugh and a joke" with him.


title: Mark Selby

text: Selby's wife Vikki Layton, who often attends his major matches, is a former Irish international pool player born in Ipswich. They began dating in 2006 after meeting on the professional circuit. They became engaged in August 2010 after Selby proposed on a gondola in Venice, and were married in Cancún, Mexico in May 2011. They have one daughter, Sofia, who was born in 2014.


title: Mark Selby

text: Selby has been a fan of Leicester City F.C. since childhood. His 2014 World Championship victory happened on the day that Leicester City celebrated their promotion to the Premier League with an open-top bus parade. Two years later, he won his second world title just 13 minutes after the team sealed their first Premier League title. Selby is also a fan of darts and has played in exhibition matches at Ibstock in Leicestershire, beating Eric Bristow in 2007 and taking on Raymond van Barneveld in 2009.


title: Mark Selby

text: Selby was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2022 Birthday Honours for services to snooker and charity.


title: Mark Selby

text: As well as being a professional snooker player, Selby is also adept at playing pool, specifically blackball (also known as English eight-ball) and Chinese eight-ball. In June 2006, he won the WEPF World Eight-ball championship at the Norbreck Castle Hotel in Blackpool, beating Chris Melling 10–5 in the semi-finals and Darren Appleton 11–7 in the final.


title: Mark Selby

text: In February 2015, Selby was runner-up at the inaugural Chinese Eight-ball World Championship in Yushan, China. Having defeated Liu Haitao 15–13 in the semi-finals, he lost 19–21 to Appleton in the final. Selby had edged into the lead, 19–18, before Appleton won three consecutive to cross the finishing line.


title: System of a Down (album)

text: System of a Down is the debut studio album by Armenian-American heavy metal band System of a Down, released on June 30, 1998, by American Recordings and Columbia Records.


title: System of a Down (album)

text: The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in February 2000. After the success of the band's following album, "Toxicity" (2001), "System of a Down" was certified platinum.


title: System of a Down (album)

text: The album is generally considered nu metal and alternative metal, both of which would become staples for the band. Lyrical themes throughout the album vary, with many songs following a theme of being anti-war, but also has topics of genocide, religion, and brainwashing. "Suite-Pee" is a criticism of pedophilia within the Church and religious extremism. "Soil" is, according to guitarist Daron Malakian at a Lowlands show, "about death, and friends that die, and life that dies". "Mind" talks about government mind control, specifically mentioning CIA brainwashing in the album's liner notes. "P.L.U.C.K." is a song dedicated to the victims of the Armenian genocide, and is meant to be a criticism and denouncing of the Turkish Government.


title: System of a Down (album)

text: The cover artwork is from a 1928 anti-fascist poster designed by visual artist John Heartfield for the Communist Party of Germany. The text on the original poster is: "A hand has 5 fingers! With these 5 grab the enemy!" This slogan inspired part of the text contained on the back of the album: "The hand has five fingers, capable and powerful, with the ability to destroy as well as create". Later, it is written in bold letters: "Open your eyes, open your mouths, close your hands and make a fist" (used later by Serj Tankian in the song "Uneducated Democracy").


title: System of a Down (album)

text: "System of a Down" received acclaim from music critics. "Q" called it "an excellent starting point for this most curious band".


title: System of a Down (album)

text: The album is featured in the book "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die". "Loudwire" included the album in its list of "The Best Metal Debut Albums", at number 22.


title: System of a Down (album)

text: All lyrics written by Serj Tankian, except where noted. All music written by Daron Malakian, except where noted.


title: System of a Down (album)

text: An early version of "X" from "Toxicity" was originally recorded for this album. The songs "Honey" and "Temper" from Demo Tape 2 were also recorded for this album but ultimately did not make the cut. The re-recorded versions of these songs have yet to surface anywhere.


title: Bob the Drag Queen

text: Christopher D. Caldwell, better known as Bob the Drag Queen, is an American drag queen, comedian, actor, activist, musician, and reality television personality. He is best known for winning the eighth season of "RuPaul's Drag Race". As of 2020, he has more than one million followers on Instagram and was the first Black "Drag Race" queen to reach the milestone. After "Drag Race", he pursued acting, appearing in television shows such as "High Maintenance" (2016), "Tales of the City" (2019), and "A Black Lady Sketch Show" (2019). In 2020, he began co-hosting "We're Here" on HBO alongside fellow "Drag Race" contestants Eureka O'Hara and Shangela. The series has received acclaim from critics.


title: Bob the Drag Queen

text: Bob the Drag Queen was born to Martha Caldwell in 1986 with the last name "Caldwell", which he later incorporated into the professional name "Caldwell Tidicue". He was born in 1986 in Columbus, Georgia, and he was raised in Clayton County, Georgia. Caldwell explained, "You can call it the hood. You can say it. That's where I'm from." His mother owned a drag bar in Columbus, Georgia. On the nights that she could not afford a babysitter, she brought Caldwell to the drag bar, where he would work and collect money from the patrons.


title: Bob the Drag Queen

text: Caldwell has described his mother as a supportive early influence on his life. He explained, "I also grew up with a mom who told me I could do anything, so I was like, 'Y'all don't even know how I am.' My mom was one of the moms who was like, 'You are so handsome why aren't you modeling? I am handsome, but model... let's not get crazy." Bob has also been influenced by several other drag queens, such as Peppermint, Bianca Del Rio, BeBe Zahara Benet, and her "Sibling Rivalry" co-host Monét X Change.


title: Bob the Drag Queen

text: As a teenager, Caldwell attended Morrow High School. He then went on to study theater at Columbus State University. He first appeared in drag when he attended a lesbian party during Pride Month 2008.


title: Bob the Drag Queen

text: When Caldwell was 22 years old, he moved to New York City with $500 and two suitcases. He originally intended to become an actor and standup comedian. Before becoming a drag queen, Caldwell worked in children's theater for years and "always found children to be a source of joy for [him]."


title: Bob the Drag Queen

text: In the summer of 2009, Caldwell started doing drag, after watching the first season of "RuPaul's Drag Race" on TiVo. He explained that he "became obsessed" with the show, and it immediately inspired him to order a TK-7 makeup kit off of the Ben Nye website. Since his first presentations, his character was focused on stand-up comedy routines, and he started lip-syncing after a couple of months into his drag. His initial stage name was Kittin Withawhip, which was a reference to Kitten with a Whip (1964), a film that starred Ann-Margret. He was featured in Leland Bobbé's Half Drag Series with his name. In his early drag career, Caldwell would perform with a nine-foot bullwhip.


title: Bob the Drag Queen

text: In the beginning of his career, Caldwell faced challenges as a drag queen. As he described, "It did not make me money or get me gigs. It cost me a lot. I did this competition every Thursday. Then another one on Wednesday. And another on Tuesday. I never won any of them. Ever. After a few years, I finally won one. It was really addictive and fun doing competitions."


title: Bob the Drag Queen

text: In 2013, Caldwell officially changed his stage name to Bob the Drag Queen. As he explained, at a karaoke hosting gig, "The guy goes, 'Give it up for your host... Kate. But she made light of the moment, reintroducing herself as 'Kate the Drag Queen,' then 'Kim the Drag Queen' throughout the evening. Then at the end of the night, I was like, 'Give it up for... "Bob" the Drag Queen.' And I was like, 'That sounds really funny.'"


title: Bob the Drag Queen

text: On February 1, 2016, Bob the Drag Queen was revealed as a cast member on the eighth season of "RuPaul's Drag Race". On the show, he was noted for his focus on comedy. During the show, he won three challenges, including the recurring "Snatch Game" (where he portrayed Crazy Eyes, as played by Uzo Aduba, and Carol Channing). On the season's eighth episode, Bob "lipsynced for her life" against Derrick Barry and won. On May 16, 2016, Bob was crowned the winner of the season and received a cash prize of $100,000.


title: Bob the Drag Queen

text: In June 2019, a panel of judges from "New York" magazine placed Bob eighth on their list of "the most powerful drag queens in America", a ranking of 100 former "Drag Race" contestants.


title: Bob the Drag Queen

text: In 2020, he began co-hosting "We're Here" on HBO alongside fellow "Drag Race" contestants Eureka O'Hara and Shangela. In the series, the trio of drag queens travel across the United States to recruit small-town residents to participate in one-night-only drag shows. After premiering on April 23, 2020, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on October 11, 2021. In December 2021, the series was renewed for a third season. The series has received acclaim from critics.


title: Bob the Drag Queen

text: In 2016, shortly after winning "Drag Race", Bob released the single "Purse First" featuring DJ Mitch Ferrino. Also in 2016, he appeared in the music video for MC Frontalot's "Mornings Come and Go". He also collaborated with Alaska Thunderfuck on the single "Yet Another Dig" in 2017, and contributed to the compilation album "Christmas Queens 3" (2017). He collaborated with Shangela for a Christmas theme song, "Deck A Ho" in December 2017.


title: Bob the Drag Queen

text: On March 15, 2018, Bob debuted the podcast "Sibling Rivalry" with his drag sister Monét X Change as co-host and produced by DJ Mitch Ferrino. On April 2, 2018, a video version of the podcast was uploaded to YouTube.


title: Bob the Drag Queen

text: Bob appeared as a guest co-host alongside Trixie Mattel on "The Trixie & Katya Show," filling in for regular co-host Katya during her hiatus. Her TV comedy special, "Bob the Drag Queen: Suspiciously Large Woman", aired on Logo in July 2017.


title: Bob the Drag Queen

text: Bob played the role of Belize in Berkeley Rep’s production of "Angels in America" from April to July 2018.


title: Bob the Drag Queen

text: In November 2019, Bob was interviewed by KMVT about a one-time drag event hosted in Twin Falls, a show highlighting local drag queens and introducing international drag talent to Magic Valley. This event was filmed as part of Tidicue's HBO show "We're Here" (2020).


title: Bob the Drag Queen

text: Bob's second comedy special, "Bob The Drag Queen: Crazy Black Lady", aired on OutTV in Canada in 2020.


title: Bob the Drag Queen

text: Bob also writes jokes for other drag queens including Trinity the Tuck, Ginger Minj, and Monét X Change.


title: Bob the Drag Queen

text: In March 2020, Bob performed alongside fellow drag race alumni BeBe Zahara Benet, The Vixen, Monique Heart, Peppermint, and Shea Couleé in the "Nubia" tour, a live drag show featuring and produced by Black drag queens.


title: Bob the Drag Queen

text: Bob is a co-founder of "Black Queer Town Hall" along with Peppermint. The inaugural event featured speakers such as Laverne Cox and Angela Davis and raised over $150,000.


title: Bob the Drag Queen

text: Bob is an LGBT activist and spoke on "RuPaul's Drag Race" of a moment when he was protesting for LGBT rights and was arrested in drag.


title: Bob the Drag Queen

text: Bob is the drag mother of Miz Cracker and drag sister to Monét X Change, who placed fifth and sixth, respectively, on season 10 of "RuPaul's Drag Race", with X Change going on to win "RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars" season 4 and Cracker placing as runner-up on "RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars" season 5.


title: Trayce Thompson

text: Trayce Nikolas Thompson (born March 15, 1991) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has also played for the Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, and the San Diego Padres.


title: Trayce Thompson

text: Trayce is the son of former National Basketball Association (NBA) player Mychal Thompson and the younger brother of current NBA player Klay Thompson.


title: Trayce Thompson

text: Thompson attended Santa Margarita Catholic High School in Rancho Santa Margarita, California. He committed to attend the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to play college baseball for the UCLA Bruins.


title: Trayce Thompson

text: The Chicago White Sox selected Thompson in the second round of the 2009 MLB Draft, and he signed rather than enroll at UCLA. Thompson started his baseball career in 2009 at the Rookie level with the Bristol White Sox and Great Falls Voyagers. In 2009 combined, Thompson hit .198 in 106 at-bats. In 2010, Thompson played the whole season for the Kannapolis Intimidators of the Class A South Atlantic League. In 2010, Thompson hit .229 in 210 at-bats. In 2011, Thompson again played the whole season with Kannapolis hitting .241 in 519 at-bats, and was named to the mid-season SAL All-star team. In 2012, Thompson moved up through the White Sox farm system starting with the Winston-Salem Dash of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League, then moved up to the Birmingham Barons of the Class AA Southern League and the Charlotte Knights of the Class AAA International League. In 2012, Thompson hit a combined .253 in 517 at-bats. Before the 2013 season, Thompson was ranked the White Sox #2 prospect. Thompson spent the entire 2013 season at Double-A Birmingham where he hit .229 in 507 at bats.


title: Trayce Thompson

text: Thompson was added to the White Sox' 40-man roster on November 20, 2013. The White Sox promoted Thompson to the major leagues on August 3, 2015, and he made his debut the next day. He hit his first major league home run on August 11 against Hector Santiago.


title: Trayce Thompson

text: On December 16, 2015, Thompson, along with Micah Johnson and Frankie Montas, were traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of a three team trade that sent Todd Frazier to the White Sox and José Peraza, Brandon Dixon and Scott Schebler to the Cincinnati Reds. He made the Dodgers' 2016 opening day roster. He played in 80 games for the Dodgers, hitting .225 with 13 homers and 32 RBI. He was placed on the disabled list on July 16 with a sore back. When his injury did not respond to treatment, he underwent an X-Ray which revealed that he had multiple fractures in his back, which kept him out of action for the rest of the season.


title: Trayce Thompson

text: After recovering from his injuries, Thompson was optioned to the Oklahoma City Dodgers to begin the 2017 season, but was called up to the parent club partway through the season. Ultimately, he played in 95 games for the Oklahoma City club and 27 for the Dodgers. In his big-league appearances in 2017, he batted .122 with a .483 OPS and two RBIs.


title: Trayce Thompson

text: On April 3, 2018, Thompson was claimed off waivers by the New York Yankees and then two days later was claimed again, this time by the Oakland Athletics. The Athletics designated him for assignment on April 17, 2018. He had one hit in seven at-bats in three games for the Athletics.


title: Trayce Thompson

text: Thompson was traded back to the White Sox on April 19, in return for cash considerations. The White Sox designated Thompson for assignment on June 22, 2018. In 48 games in the majors, he hit .116 with three home runs and nine RBI. He elected free agency on November 2, 2018.


title: Trayce Thompson

text: On December 1, 2018, Thompson signed a minor league deal with the Cleveland Indians, who released him on August 2, 2019. On February 2, 2020, he signed a minor league deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. However he did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He re-signed with the Diamondbacks on a minor league deal on November 2, 2020 but played in only four games for the Triple-A Reno Aces in 2021, going 5-18.


title: Trayce Thompson

text: Thompson played in 88 games for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs, hitting .233 with 21 home runs and 63 RBI's. On September 14, 2021, the Cubs selected Thompson's contract. On November 3, 2021, Thompson was outrighted off of the 40-man roster and elected free agency two days later. He had seven hits in 28 at bats over 15 games.


title: Trayce Thompson

text: On March 13, 2022, Thompson signed a minor league contract with the San Diego Padres. His contract was selected from Triple A El Paso on April 28. On May 10, he was designated for assignment but he declined the assignment and elected free agency. In six games in the majors, he had one hit in 14 at-bats.


title: Trayce Thompson

text: On May 19, 2022, Thompson signed a minor league deal with the Detroit Tigers, however they traded him back to the Dodgers on June 20 for cash considerations. He was added to the active roster. Thompson remained on the Dodgers active roster the rest of the season, hitting .268 with 13 home runs and 39 RBI in 74 games.


title: Trayce Thompson

text: Born in Los Angeles, Thompson is the youngest son of former NBA player Mychal Thompson and former University of Portland and University of San Francisco women's volleyball player Julie Thompson. Mychal played for the Los Angeles Lakers and currently works in sports radio. Both of his older brothers are basketball players: Mychel played in the NBA for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2012, and Klay has played for the Golden State Warriors since 2011. He is a childhood friend of Nolan Arenado.


title: Free love

text: Free love is a social movement that accepts all forms of love. The movement's initial goal was to separate the state from sexual and romantic matters such as marriage, birth control, and adultery. It stated that such issues were the concern of the people involved and no one else. The movement began around the 19th century, and was advanced by hippies during the Sixties.


title: Free love

text: Much of the free love tradition reflects a liberal philosophy that seeks freedom from state regulation and church interference in personal relationships. According to this concept, the free unions of adults (or persons at or above the age of consent) are legitimate relations which should be respected by all third parties whether they are emotional or sexual relations. In addition, some free love writing has argued that both men and women have the right to sexual pleasure without social or legal restraints. In the Victorian era, this was a radical notion. Later, a new theme developed, linking free love with radical social change, and depicting it as a harbinger of a new anti-authoritarian, anti-repressive sensibility.


title: Free love

text: According to the modern stereotype, earlier middle-class Americans wanted the home to be a place of stability in an uncertain world. To this mentality are attributed strongly-defined gender roles, which led to a minority reaction in the form of the free-love movement.


title: Free love

text: While the phrase "free love" is often associated with promiscuity in the popular imagination, especially in reference to the counterculture of the 1960s and 1970s, historically the free-love movement has not advocated multiple sexual partners or short-term sexual relationships. Rather, it has argued that sexual relations that are freely entered into should not be regulated by law, and may be initiated or terminated by the parties involved at will.


title: Free love

text: The term "sex radical" is often used interchangeably with the term "free lover". By whatever name, advocates had two strong beliefs: opposition to the idea of forced sexual activity in a relationship and advocacy for a woman to use her body in any way that she pleases.


title: Free love

text: Laws of particular concern to free love movements have included those that prevent an unmarried couple from living together, and those that regulate :adultery and :divorce, as well as :age of consent, :birth control, :homosexuality, :abortion, and sometimes :prostitution; although not all free-love advocates agree on these issues. The abrogation of individual rights in marriage is also a concern—for example, some jurisdictions do not recognize spousal rape, or they treat it less seriously than non-spousal rape. Free-love movements since the 19th century have also defended the right to publicly discuss sexuality and have battled obscenity laws.


title: Free love

text: The history of free love is entwined with the history of feminism. From the late 18th century, leading feminists, such as Mary Wollstonecraft, have challenged the institution of marriage, and many have advocated its abolition.


title: Free love

text: According to feminist critique, a married woman was solely a wife and mother, denying her the opportunity to pursue other occupations; sometimes this was legislated, as with bans on married women and mothers being employed as teachers. In 1855, free love advocate Mary Gove Nichols (1810–1884) described marriage as the "annihilation of woman", explaining that women were considered to be men's property in law and public sentiment, making it possible for tyrannical men to deprive their wives of all freedom. For example, the law often allowed a husband to beat his wife. Free-love advocates argued that many children were born into unloving marriages out of compulsion, but should instead be the result of choice and affection—yet children born out of wedlock did not have the same rights as children with married parents.


title: Free love

text: In 1857, in the "Social Revolutionist", Minerva Putnam complained that "in the discussion of free love, no woman has attempted to give her views on the subject" and challenged every woman reader to "rise in the dignity of her nature and declare herself free."


title: Free love

text: In the 19th century at least six books endorsed the concept of free love, all of which were written by men. However of the four major free-love periodicals following the U. S. civil war, half had female editors. Mary Gove Nichols was the leading female advocate and the woman most looked up to in the free-love movement. Her autobiography ("Mary Lyndon: Or, Revelations of a Life: An Autobiography", 1860) became the first argument against marriage written from a woman's point of view.


title: Free love

text: To proponents of free love, the act of sex was not just about reproduction. Access to birth control was considered a means to women's independence, and leading birth-control activists also embraced free love. Sexual radicals remained focused on their attempts to uphold a woman's right to control her body and to freely discuss issues such as contraception, marital-sex abuse (emotional and physical), and sexual education. These people believed that by talking about female sexuality, they would help empower women. To help achieve this goal, such radical thinkers relied on the written word, books, pamphlets, and periodicals, and by these means the movement was sustained for over fifty years, spreading the message of free love all over the United States.


title: Free love

text: A number of utopian social movements throughout history have shared a vision of free love. The all-male Essenes, who lived in the Middle East from the 1st century BC to the 1st century AD, apparently shunned sex, marriage, and slavery. They also renounced wealth, lived communally, and were pacifist vegetarians. An Early Christian sect known as the Adamites existed in North Africa in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th centuries and rejected marriage. They practiced nudism and believed themselves to be without original sin.


title: Free love

text: In the 6th century, adherents of Mazdakism in pre-Muslim Persia apparently supported a kind of free love in the place of marriage. One folk story from the period that contains a mention of a free-love (and nudist) community under the sea is "The Tale of Abdullah the Fisherman and Abdullah the Merman" from "The Book of One Thousand and One Nights" (c. 10th–12th century).


title: Free love

text: Karl Kautsky, writing in 1895, noted that a number of "communistic" movements throughout the Middle Ages also rejected marriage. Typical of such movements, the Cathars of 10th to 14th century Western Europe freed followers from all moral prohibition and religious obligation, but respected those who lived simply, avoided the taking of human or animal life, and were celibate. Women had an uncommon equality and autonomy, even as religious leaders. The Cathars and similar groups (the Waldenses, Apostle brothers, Beghards and Beguines, Lollards, and Hussites) were branded as heretics by the Roman Catholic Church and suppressed. Other movements shared their critique of marriage but advocated free sexual relations rather than celibacy, such as the Brethren of the Free Spirit, Taborites, and Picards.


title: Free love

text: The ideals of free love found their champion in one of the earliest English feminists, Mary Wollstonecraft. In her writings, Wollstonecraft challenged the institution of marriage, and advocated its abolition. Her novels criticized the social construction of marriage and its effects on women. In her first novel, "Mary: A Fiction" written in 1788, the heroine is forced into a loveless marriage for economic reasons. She finds love in relationships with another man and a woman. The novel, "Maria: or, The Wrongs of Woman", never finished but published in 1798, revolves around the story of a woman imprisoned in an asylum by her husband. Maria finds fulfilment outside of marriage, in an affair with a fellow inmate. Wollstonecraft makes it clear that "women had strong sexual desires and that it was degrading and immoral to pretend otherwise."


title: Free love

text: Wollstonecraft felt that women should not give up freedom and control of their sexuality, and thus did not marry her partner, Gilbert Imlay, despite the two conceiving and having a child together in the midst of the Terror of the French Revolution. Though the relationship ended badly, due in part to the discovery of Imlay's infidelity, and not least because Imlay abandoned her for good, Wollstonecraft's belief in free love survived. She later developed a relationship with the anarchist William Godwin, who shared her free love ideals, and published on the subject throughout his life. However, the two did decide to marry, just months before her death from complications in parturition.


title: Free love

text: A member of Wollstonecraft's circle of notable radical intellectuals in England was the Romantic poet William Blake, who explicitly compared the sexual oppression of marriage to slavery in works such as "Visions of the Daughters of Albion" (1793), published five years after Wollstonecraftr's "Mary". Blake was critical of the marriage laws of his day, and generally railed against traditional Christian notions of chastity as a virtue. At a time of tremendous strain in his marriage, in part due to Catherine's apparent inability to bear children, he directly advocated bringing a second wife into the house. His poetry suggests that external demands for marital fidelity reduce love to mere duty rather than authentic affection, and decries jealousy and egotism as a motive for marriage laws. Poems such as "Why should I be bound to thee, O my lovely Myrtle-tree?" and "Earth's Answer" seem to advocate multiple sexual partners. In his poem "London" he speaks of "the Marriage-Hearse" plagued by "the youthful Harlot's curse", the result alternately of false Prudence and/or Harlotry. "Visions of the Daughters of Albion" is widely (though not universally) read as a tribute to free love since the relationship between Bromion and Oothoon is held together only by laws and not by love. For Blake, law and love are opposed, and he castigates the "frozen marriage-bed". In "Visions", Blake writes:


title: Free love

text: Blake believed that humans were "fallen", and that a major impediment to a free love society was corrupt human nature, not merely the intolerance of society and the jealousy of men, but the inauthentic hypocritical nature of human communication. He also seems to have thought that marriage should afford the joy of love, but that in reality it often does not, as a couple's knowledge of being chained often diminishes their joy.


title: Free love

text: In an act understood to support free love, the child of Wollstonecraft and Godwin, Mary, took up with the then still-married English romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1814 at the young age of sixteen. Shelley wrote in defence of free love in the prose notes of "Queen Mab" (1813), in his essay "On Love" (c. 1815), and in the poem "Epipsychidion" (1821).


title: Free love

text: Sharing the free-love ideals of the earlier social movements—as well as their feminism, pacifism, and simple communal life—were the utopian socialist communities of early-nineteenth-century France and Britain, associated with writers and thinkers such as Henri de Saint-Simon and Charles Fourier in France, and Robert Owen in England. Fourier, who coined the term "feminism," argued for true freedom, without suppressing passions: the suppression of passions is not only destructive to the individual, but to society as a whole. He argued that all sexual expressions should be enjoyed as long as people are not abused, and that "affirming one's difference" can actually enhance social integration.


title: Free love

text: The eminent sociologist Herbert Spencer argued in his "Principles of Sociology" for the implementation of free divorce. Claiming that marriage consists of two components, "union by law" and "union by affection", he argued that with the loss of the latter union, legal union should lose all meaning and dissolve automatically, without the legal requirement for a divorce. Free love particularly stressed women's rights since most sexual laws discriminated against women: for example, marriage laws and anti-birth control measures.


title: Free love

text: Free love began to coalesce into a movement in the mid to late 19th century. The term was coined by the Christian socialist writer John Humphrey Noyes, although he preferred to use the term 'complex marriage'. Noyes founded the Oneida Community in 1848, a utopian community that "[rejected] conventional marriage both as a form of legalism from which Christians should be free and as a selfish institution in which men exerted rights of ownership over women". He found scriptural justification: "In the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels in heaven" (Matt. 22:30). Noyes also supported eugenics; and only certain people (including Noyes himself) were allowed to become parents. Another movement was established in Berlin Heights, Ohio.


title: Free love

text: In 1852, a writer named Marx Edgeworth Lazarus published a tract entitled "Love vs. Marriage pt. 1", in which he portrayed marriage as "incompatible with social harmony and the root cause of mental and physical impairments." Lazarus intertwined his writings with his religious teachings, a factor that made the Christian community more tolerable to the free love idea. Elements of the free-love movement also had links to abolitionist movements, drawing parallels between slavery and "sexual slavery" (marriage), and forming alliances with black activists.


title: Free love

text: American feminist Victoria Woodhull (1838–1927), the first woman to run for presidency in the U.S. in 1872, was also called "the high priestess of free love". In 1871, Woodhull wrote: "Yes, I am a Free Lover. I have an inalienable, constitutional and natural right to love whom I may, to love as long or as short a period as I can; to change that love every day if I please, and with that right neither you nor any law you can frame have any right to interfere".


title: Free love

text: The women's movement, free love and Spiritualism were three strongly linked movements at the time, and Woodhull was also a spiritualist leader. Like Noyes, she also supported eugenics. Fellow social reformer and educator Mary Gove Nichols was happily married (to her second husband), and together they published a newspaper and wrote medical books and articles. Both Woodhull and Nichols eventually repudiated free love.


title: Free love

text: Publications of the movement in the second half of the 19th century included Nichols' Monthly, "The Social Revolutionist", "Woodhull & Claflin's Weekly" (ed. Victoria Woodhull and her sister Tennessee Claflin), "The Word" (ed. Ezra Heywood), "Lucifer, the Light-Bearer" (ed. Moses Harman) and the German-language Detroit newspaper "Der Arme Teufel" (ed. Robert Reitzel). Organisations included the New England Free Love League, founded with the assistance of American libertarian socialist Benjamin Tucker as a spin-off from the New England Labor Reform League (NELRL). A minority of freethinkers also supported free love.


title: Free love

text: The most radical free love journal was "The Social Revolutionist", published in the 1856–1857, by John Patterson. The first volume consisted of twenty writers, of which only one was a woman.


title: Free love

text: Sex radicals were not alone in their fight against marriage ideals. Some other nineteenth-century Americans saw this social institution as flawed, but hesitated to abolish it. Groups such as the Shakers, the Oneida Community, and the Latter-day Saints were wary of the social notion of marriage. These organizations and sex radicals believed that true equality would never exist between the sexes as long as the church and the state continued to work together, worsening the problem of subordination of wives to their husbands.


title: Free love

text: Free-love movements continued into the early 20th century in bohemian circles in New York's Greenwich Village. A group of Villagers lived free-love ideals and promoted them in the political journal "The Masses" and its sister publication "The Little Review," a literary journal. Incorporating influences from the writings of the English thinkers and activists Edward Carpenter and Havelock Ellis, women such as Emma Goldman campaigned for a range of sexual freedoms, including homosexuality and access to contraception. Other notable figures among the Greenwich-Village scene who have been associated with free love include Edna St. Vincent Millay, Max Eastman, Crystal Eastman, Floyd Dell, Mabel Dodge Luhan, Ida Rauh, Hutchins Hapgood, and Neith Boyce. Dorothy Day also wrote passionately in defense of free love, women's rights, and contraception—but later, after converting to Catholicism, she criticized the sexual revolution of the sixties.


title: Free love

text: The development of the idea of free love in the United States was also significantly impacted by the publisher of "Playboy" magazine, Hugh Hefner, whose activities and persona over more than a half century popularized the idea of free love to some of the general public.


title: Free love

text: Free love was a central tenet of the philosophy of the Fellowship of the New Life, founded in 1883, by the Scottish intellectual Thomas Davidson. Fellowship members included many illustrious intellectuals of the day, who went on to radically challenge accepted Victorian notions of morality and sexuality, including poets Edward Carpenter and John Davidson, animal rights activist Henry Stephens Salt, sexologist Havelock Ellis, feminists Edith Lees, Emmeline Pankhurst and Annie Besant and writers H. G. Wells, Bernard Shaw, Bertrand Russell and Olive Schreiner. Its objective was "The cultivation of a perfect character in each and all," and believed in the transformation of society through setting an example of clean simplified living for others to follow. Many of the Fellowship's members advocated pacifism, vegetarianism and simple living.


title: Free love

text: Edward Carpenter was the first activist for the rights of homosexuals. He became interested in progressive education, especially providing information to young people on the topic of sexual education. For Carpenter, sexual education meant forwarding a clear analysis of the ways in which sex and gender were used to oppress women, contained in Carpenter's radical work "Love's Coming-of-Age". In it he argued that a just and equal society must promote the sexual and economic freedom of women. The main crux of his analysis centred on the negative effects of the institution of marriage. He regarded marriage in England as both enforced celibacy and a form of prostitution.


title: Free love

text: The best-known British advocate of free love was the philosopher Bertrand Russell, later Third Earl Russell, who said that he did not believe he really knew a woman until he had made love with her. Russell consistently addressed aspects of free love throughout his voluminous writings, and was not personally content with conventional monogamy until extreme old age. His most famous work on the subject was "Marriage and Morals", published in 1929. The book heavily criticizes the Victorian notions of morality regarding sex and marriage. Russell argued that the laws and ideas about sex of his time were a potpourri from various sources, which were no longer valid with the advent of contraception, as the sexual acts are now separated from the conception. He argued that family is most important for the welfare of children, and as such, a man and a woman should be considered bound only after her first pregnancy.


title: Free love

text: "Marriage and Morals" prompted vigorous protests and denunciations against Russell shortly after the book's publication. A decade later, the book cost him his professorial appointment at the City College of New York due to a court judgment that his opinions made him "morally unfit" to teach. Contrary to what many people believed, Russell did not advocate an extreme libertine position. Instead, he felt that sex, although a natural impulse like hunger or thirst, involves more than that, because no one is "satisfied by the bare sexual act". He argued that abstinence enhances the pleasure of sex, which is better when it "has a large psychical element than when it is purely physical".


title: Free love

text: Russell noted that for a marriage to work requires that there "be a feeling of complete equality on both sides; there must be no interference with mutual freedom; there must be the most complete physical and mental intimacy; and there must be a certain similarity in regard to standards of value". He argued that it was, in general, impossible to sustain this mutual feeling for an indefinite length of time, and that the only option in such a case was to provide for either the easy availability of divorce, or the social sanction of extra-marital sex.


title: Free love

text: Russell's view on marriage changed as he went through personal struggles of subsequent marriages, in his autobiography he writes: "I do not know what I think now about the subject of marriage. There seem to be insuperable objections to every general theory about it. Perhaps easy divorce causes less unhappiness than any other system, but I am no longer capable of being dogmatic on the subject of marriage ".


title: Free love

text: An important propagandist of free love was individualist anarchist Émile Armand. He advocated naturism and polyamory in what he termed "la camaraderie amoureuse". He wrote many propagandist articles on this subject such as "De la liberté sexuelle" (1907) where he advocated not only a vague free love but also multiple partners, which he called "plural love". In the individualist anarchist journal "L'en dehors" he and others continued in this way. Armand seized this opportunity to outline his theses supporting revolutionary sexualism and camaraderie amoureuse that differed from the traditional views of the partisans of free love in several respects.


title: Free love

text: Later Armand submitted that from an individualist perspective nothing was reprehensible about making "love", even if one did not have very strong feelings for one's partner. "The camaraderie amoureuse thesis", he explained, "entails a free contract of association (that may be annulled without notice, following prior agreement) reached between anarchist individualists of different genders, adhering to the necessary standards of sexual hygiene, with a view toward protecting the other parties to the contract from certain risks of the amorous experience, such as rejection, rupture, exclusivism, possessiveness, unicity, coquetry, whims, indifference, flirtatiousness, disregard for others, and prostitution." He also published "Le Combat contre la jalousie et le sexualisme révolutionnaire" (1926), followed over the years by "Ce que nous entendons par liberté de l'amour" (1928), "La Camaraderie amoureuse ou "chiennerie sexuelle"" (1930), and, finally, "La Révolution sexuelle et la camaraderie amoureuse" (1934), a book of nearly 350 pages comprising most of his writings on sexuality. In a text from 1937, he mentioned among the individualist objectives the practice of forming voluntary associations for purely sexual purposes of heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual nature or of a combination thereof.


title: Free love

text: He also supported the right of individuals to change sex and stated his willingness to rehabilitate forbidden pleasures, non-conformist caresses (he was personally inclined toward voyeurism), as well as sodomy. This led him to allocate more and more space to what he called "the sexual non-conformists", while excluding physical violence. His militancy also included translating texts from people such as Alexandra Kollontai and Wilhelm Reich and establishments of free love associations which tried to put into practice "la camaraderie amoureuse" through actual sexual experiences.


title: Free love

text: Free love advocacy groups active during this time included the "Association d'Études sexologiques" and the "Ligue mondiale pour la Réforme sexuelle sur une base scientifique".


title: Free love

text: After the October Revolution in Russia, Alexandra Kollontai became the most prominent woman in the Soviet administration. Kollontai was also a champion of free love. However, Clara Zetkin recorded that Lenin opposed free love as "completely un-Marxist, and moreover, anti-social". Zetkin also recounted Lenin's denunciation of plans to organise Hamburg's women prostitutes into a "special revolutionary militant section": he saw this as "corrupt and degenerate".


title: Free love

text: Despite the traditional marital lives of Lenin and most Bolsheviks, they believed that sexual relations were outside the jurisdiction of the state. The Soviet government abolished centuries-old Czarist regulations on personal life, which had prohibited homosexuality and made it difficult for women to obtain divorce permits or to live singly. However, by the end of the 1920s, Stalin had taken over the Communist Party and begun to implement socially conservative policies. Homosexuality was classified as a mental disorder, and free love was further demonized.


title: Free love

text: With the Summer of Love in 1967, the eccentricities of the beat generation became a nationally recognized movement. Despite the developing sexual revolution and the influence of the Beatniks had in this new counterculture social rebellion, it has been acknowledged that the New Left movement was arguably the most prominent advocate of free love during the late 1960s. Many among the counterculture youth sided with New Left arguments that marriage was a symbol of the traditional capitalist culture which supported war. "Make Love Not War" became a popular slogan in the counterculture movement which denounced both war and capitalism. Images from the pro-socialist May 1968 uprising in France, which occurred as the anti-war protests were escalating throughout the United States, would provide a significant source of morale to the New Left cause as well.


title: Free love

text: Canadian Justice Minister, and future Prime Minister, Pierre Elliot Trudeau's 20 December 1967 statement "there's no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation" was a very public declaration justifying his government's decriminalization of sexual activity between same sex partners in Canada, following 1967's Summer of Love.


title: Oaxaca City

text: Oaxaca de Juárez (), also Oaxaca City or simply Oaxaca (Valley Zapotec: "Ndua"), is the capital and largest city of the eponymous Mexican state Oaxaca. It is the municipal seat for the surrounding Municipality of Oaxaca. It is in the Centro District in the Central Valleys region of the state, in the foothills of the Sierra Madre at the base of the Cerro del Fortín, extending to the banks of the Atoyac River. Heritage tourism makes up an important part of the city's economy, and it has numerous colonial-era structures as well as significant archeological sites and elements of the continuing native Zapotec and Mixtec cultures. The city, together with the nearby archeological site of Monte Albán, was designated in 1987 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is the site of the month-long cultural festival called the ""Guelaguetza"", which features Oaxacan dance from the seven regions, music, and a beauty pageant for indigenous women.


title: Oaxaca City

text: The city is also known as ""la Verde Antequera"" (the green Antequera) due to its prior Spanish name ("Nueva Antequera") and the variety of structures built from a native green stone. The name "Oaxaca" is derived from the Nahuatl name for the place, "Huaxyacac", which was Hispanicized to Guajaca, later spelled Oaxaca. In 1872, ""de Juárez"" was added in honor of Benito Juárez, a native of this state who became president, serving from 1852 to 1872, and leading the country through challenges, including an invasion by France. The Zapotec name of the city, "Ndua", is still used in the Zapotec language (Tlacolula Zapotec). The coat of arms for the municipality bears the image of Donají, a Zapotec woman hostage killed and beheaded by the Mixtec in conflict immediately after the Conquest.


title: Oaxaca City

text: The Zapotec and Mixtec peoples had settlements in the valley of Oaxaca for thousands of years, especially in connection with the important ancient centers of Monte Albán and Mitla. Modern Oaxaca city developed relatively near them. The Aztec entered the valley in 1440 and named it "Huaxyacac", a Nahuatl phrase meaning "among the huaje" (Leucaena leucocephala) trees. They created a strategic military position at what is now called the Cerro (large hill) del Fortín to oversee the Zapotec capital of Zaachila and secure the trade route between the Valley of Mexico, Tehuantepec, and what is now Central America.


title: Oaxaca City

text: When the Spanish arrived in 1521, the Zapotec and the Mixtec were involved in one of their many wars. The Spanish conquest ended this fighting, imposing a kind of imperial peace on the area. At the same time, Spanish Catholic missionaries began evangelizing the indigenous peoples, urging them to conversion.


title: Oaxaca City

text: The first Spanish expedition to Oaxaca arrived late in 1521, headed by Captain Francisco de Orozco, and accompanied by 400 Aztec warriors. Hernán Cortés sent Francisco de Orozco to Oaxaca because Moctezuma II had said that the Aztecs' gold came from there. The Spanish expedition under Orozco set about building a Spanish city where the Aztec military post was at the base of the Cerro de Fortín.


title: Oaxaca City

text: The first mass in Oaxaca was given by Chaplain Juan Díaz on the bank of the Atoyac River under a large huaje tree, where the Church of San Juan de Dios would be constructed later. This same chaplain added saints’ names to the surrounding villages, in addition to keeping their Nahuatl names: Santa María Oaxaca, San Martín Mexicapan, San Juan Chapultepec, Santo Tomas Xochimilco, San Matías Jalatlaco, Santiago Tepeaca, etc. This group of Spaniards chose their first mayor, Gutierres de Badajoc, and their first town council, and began construction of the cathedral of Oaxaca in 1522. Their name for the settlement was Guajaca, a Hispanization of the Nahuatl name used by the Aztec (it was later spelled as Oaxaca).


title: Oaxaca City

text: The relatively independent village did not suit Hernán Cortes, who wanted to control power over the entire region. Cortés sent Pedro de Alvarado, who proceeded to drive out most of the village's population. The original Spanish settlers appealed to the Spanish crown to recognize the village they founded, which it did in 1526, dividing the land among the Spaniards of Orozco's expedition. But three months later, Cortés forced out the population of the village once again and replaced the town council with his own appointees. The original founders appealed again to Spanish royal authority, this time to the viceroy in Mexico City, Nuño de Guzmán. He also sided with the original founders; they reestablished the town in 1529, naming it Antequera, in honor of Nuño de Guzmán's hometown. Francisco de Herrera convened the new, Crown-approved town council. Juan Peláez de Berrio platted the new settlement.


title: Oaxaca City

text: In the meantime, Cortés gained from the crown the title of the Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca, which contains the disputed village. This enabled him to demand high taxes in the area, and to control the territory that surrounded the village. The village had to survive while surrounded by other villages that answered to Cortés. These villages not only did not take orders from Antequera, they were hostile to it, mostly likely encouraged by Cortés.


title: Oaxaca City

text: To counter this, the village petitioned the Crown to be elevated to the status of a city, which would give it certain rights, privileges and exceptions. It would also ensure that the settlement would remain under the direct control of the king, rather than of Cortés. This petition was granted in 1532 by Charles V of Spain.


title: Oaxaca City

text: After the Independence of Mexico in 1821, the city became the seat of a municipality. The name of both the city and the municipality became Oaxaca, changed from Antequera. In 1872, "de Juárez" was added to the city and municipality names to honor the late Benito Juárez, a native son who had begun his legal and political career here; he had served as president of Mexico from 1858 to his death in 1872.


title: Oaxaca City

text: The 2006 Oaxaca protests developed from state actions in 2005. Oaxaca's new state governor Ulises Ruiz Ortíz banned political demonstrations in the capital's main square and historic center, or Zócalo. He acted to make the Zócalo a modernized tourist attraction, turning the state legislature building into a museum. In summer 2005, Oaxaca's urban middle classes joined in protests against these decisions.


title: Oaxaca City

text: In May 2006, the national teachers union staged their annual occupation of the Zócalo, a union negotiation tactic and local tradition performed every summer since 1989. After a year of protests and growing resistance to the new governor, in 2006 the summer occupation of the square attracted more teachers than usual.


title: Oaxaca City

text: The government announced increases in wages and employment benefits for teachers a short time later. An internal conflict in the local teachers' union led to accusations that the bargaining had not really been in the teachers' best interest. On the night of June 14, the state police attacked and tear-gassed the teachers still sleeping in the Zócalo, generating more public outrage against Governor Ruiz and the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party.


title: Oaxaca City

text: Many radical groups merged with the teachers' union to form the Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca (APPO). This assembly defended the rights of several neighborhoods and organizations against government repression, in particular the "caravanas de la muerte" – death squads of government agents patrolling the city in police trucks. The assembly also closed government buildings, barricaded access roads to the city, and replaced the city's police force with the Honorable Cuerpo de Topiles, a civilian law force based on indigenous traditions of communal policing.


title: Oaxaca City

text: In October 2006 president Vicente Fox sent in more than 10,000 paramilitaries to take back control of the city. Armed confrontations resulted in many deaths, including that of Indymedia journalists Bradley Roland Will, Roberto López Hernández, and Jorge Alberto Beltrán. In late December, teacher's union leaders announced an end to their strike. Several leaders of the APPO were arrested. These grassroots groups continued to clash with local and state government, but finally all the barricades were removed and they turned over control of the city.


title: Oaxaca City

text: Oaxaca has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen climate classification "Aw"), closely bordering on a humid subtropical climate ("Cwa"), due to its high altitude. During the dry season, temperatures during the day remain warm with an average high of in the coolest month, December, and an average high of in April, just before the beginning of the wet season. Although daytime temperatures are warm, nighttime temperatures are cool with an average low of in January. Due to its altitude of , the climate of Oaxaca is cooler than lowland areas at the same latitude. Precipitation is concentrated in the summer months with June being the wettest with an average precipitation of .


title: Oaxaca City

text: The city is the primary attraction of the state, which also relies economically on tourism. From 1984 to 2009, tourism grew to become the dominant factor in Oaxaca's economy. The attractions are the verdant landscapes of the Oaxaca Valley, and the architectural and cultural charms of the city itself. A massive 77% of the municipality of Oaxaca has employment that is related in some way to tourism. The 2006 Oaxaca protests had a severe negative impact on tourism revenue. The next largest economic sectors are mining and manufacturing, which employ 20% of the work force.


title: Oaxaca City

text: The city centre was included in a World Heritage Site designated by UNESCO, in recognition of its treasure of historic buildings and monuments. Tourist activity peaks in three seasons: Holy Week, summer (especially during Guelaguetza) and New Year. Many of the tourists who come during Holy Week and for New Year come from other parts of Mexico and include native Oaxacans returning to visit from their places of work. Most international visitors come during the summer.


title: Oaxaca City

text: The Plaza de la Constitución, or Zócalo, was planned out in 1529 by Juan Peláez de Berrio. During the entire colonial period this plaza was never paved, nor had sidewalks, only a marble fountain that was placed here in 1739. This was removed in 1857 to put in the bandstand and trees were planted. In 1881, the vegetation here was rearranged and in 1885, a statue of Benito Juárez was added. It was remodeled again in 1901 and a new Art Nouveau bandstand installed. Fountains of green stone with capricious figures were installed in 1967. The bandstand in the center hosts the State Musical Band, La Marimba and other groups.


title: Oaxaca City

text: The plaza is surrounded by various arcades. On the south side of the plaza are the Portales de Ex-Palacio de Gobierno, which was vacated by the government in 2005 and then reopened as a museum called "Museo del Palacio 'Espacio de Diversidad'" Other arcades include the "Portal de Mercadores" on the eastern side, "Portal de Claverias" on the north side and the "Portal del Señor" on the west side.


title: Oaxaca City

text: The State Government Palace is located on the main square of Oaxaca City. This site used to be the Portal de la Alhóndiga (warehouse) and in front of the palace is the Benito Juárez Market. The original palace was inaugurated in 1728, on the wedding day of the prince and princess of Spain and Portugal. The architectural style was Gothic. The building currently on this site was begun in 1832, inaugurated in 1870 but was not completed until 1887. The inside contains murals reflecting Oaxaca's history from the pre-Hispanic era, the colonial era and post-Independence. Most of these were painted by Arturo García Bustos in the 1980s.


title: Oaxaca City

text: The Federal Palace is located across from the cathedral and used to be the site of the old Archbishiop's Palace until 1902. Its architecture is "neo-Mixtec" reflecting the nationalism of the early 20th century and the reverence in which the Mixtec-Zapotec culture has been held in more recent times. The architectural elements copy a number of those from Mitla and Monte Albán.


title: Oaxaca City

text: Northwest of the Zócalo is the Alameda de León, a garden area that is essentially an annex of the main square. In 1576, viceroy Martín Enríquez de Almanza set aside two city blocks on which to build the city government offices, but they were never built here. One of the blocks was sold and the other became a market. Antonio de León, governor of the state of Oaxaca, lived in front of this market and decided to turn it into a park in the 1840s, making it a small replica of the Alameda Central in Mexico City. In 1885, a statue of León was added.


title: Oaxaca City

text: The Macedonio Alcalá Tourist Corridor is a street paved with green cantera. It was closed to traffic in 1985 and is now only open to pedestrian traffic. Along the street are notable places such as the original building to house the Universidad Autónoma Benito Juárez. The Museo de Arte Contemporáneo (Museum of Contemporary Art) or MACO is located here as is the Plazuela (small plaza) Labastida and the Parroquia de la Preciosa Sangre de Cristo (Parish of the Precious Blood of Christ).


title: Oaxaca City

text: The Oaxaca Cathedral, also referred to as Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption, is the third to be built as the first two were destroyed by large earthquakes in the 16th and 18th centuries. Construction of this third church began in 1702 and it was consecrated in 1733. Its facade is made of the green cantera stone commonly found in Oaxaca's buildings, and the interior is in Neoclassical style. The altar features a bronze statue of Our Lady of the Assumption (Nuestra Señora de al Asunción) sculpted by Tadoini and cast in Italy during the Porfirio era.


title: Oaxaca City

text: The church and former monastery of Santo Domingo de Guzmán is located 4 blocks north of the Cathedral of Oaxaca. It was constructed between 1555 and 1666. It is divided into two parts: the church and the former living/working areas of the monks. The front of the church is Renaissance-style, in the central relief, Saint Dominic and Hippolytus of Rome are holding up the church. After La Reforma around 1860, the church was converted into a stable, which caused serious deterioration of the building. It was returned to devotional use at the end of the 19th century. The living and working areas were converted into barracks and officers' quarters. In 1994, work began to convert this area as the Centro Cultural Santo Domingo.


title: Oaxaca City

text: The Basílica de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad is located four blocks west of the Cathedral on Avenida Independencia. It was built between 1682 and 1697 by Father Fernando Méndez on a site where supposedly an image of the Virgin Mary appeared inside a box. It is of Baroque style finished in 1690. Its front is made of a reddish stone sculpted to look like a folding screen. In the back of the church is the Museo de la Basilica de Nuestra Señora de La Soledad that exhibits the Virgin's dresses, offering and small painting done in her honor. The statue of the Virgin of Solitude, crowned with a 2 kg solid gold crown studded with diamonds – was recently the subject of a theft. Over the years, the cloister has been converted into a correctional facility, a teacher's college and district attorney's office. Now it serves as the Municipal Palace. The building conserves a number of valuable items such as paintings, sculptures and religious vestments and a pipe organ dated 1686.


title: Oaxaca City

text: The Church and ex-monastery of Del Carmen Alto belonged to the Carmelites, who established themselves here in 1696. The complex began as a hermitage built over the teocalli of Huaxyacac. The project was financed by Manuel Fernandez Fiallo. In the late 17th century, much of this space was occupied by a jail and barracks.


title: Oaxaca City

text: Church and former monastery of St John of God (Templo y Exconvento de San Juan de Dios), Oaxaca's oldest church still standing, completed in 1703. This is where the first mass in Oaxaca was held in 1521.


title: Oaxaca City

text: Church of San Felipe Neri The Church of San Felipe Neri is considered a classic example of Baroque with estipite (inverted truncated pyramid) columns from the end of the 18th century, and has a large gilded main altarpiece. While the church overall is Baroque, the portal contains other decorative elements as well. Benito Juárez married Margarita Maza here in 1841.


title: Oaxaca City

text: Ex monastery of San Catalina was built in the second half of the 16th century by Dominican friar Hernando de Carvarcos, who also was responsible for the Santo Domingo de Guzmán monastery. In 1862, the monastery became a jail and at the end of the 19th century, the southern part became the Municipal Palace. Since 1976, it has been a hotel, called Hotel Camino Real.


title: Oaxaca City

text: Church of the Company of Jesus (Iglesia de la Compañia de Jesús), located to the southwest of the Zócalo, was built by the Jesuits in 1579 and consecrated to Francis Xavier and the Immaculate Conception. The towers were destroyed by a series of earthquakes and never rebuilt. Inside the chapel is a statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe with a prayer written in Spanish, English, Náhuatl as well as 12 other languages native to the state of Oaxaca, including 4 dialects of Zapotec.


title: Oaxaca City

text: The Centro Cultural de Santo Domingo occupies the former monastery buildings attached to Santo Domingo church, and were restored in 1996 and considered to be one of the best restoration works in Latin America. Some important artifacts from Monte Albán are displayed here. In the center of the Centro Cultural, there is a courtyard with a fountain and a very large staircase. The passages along the courtyard have vaulted ceilings, cupolas and intricate corridors. Much of the Centro Cultural is occupied by the Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca (Museum of Oaxacan Cultures), whose entrance is the one pilgrims used to use to enter the church area of the complex. This museum was placed in the Centro Cultural in 1964, after originally being in the Instituto de Ciencias y Artes, among other places. The museum specializes in Zapotec and Mixtec cultures, covering ten halls and one auditorium. In Sala III is displayed the "Tesoro Mixteco"(Mixtec Treasure) which is a collection of offerings that were discovered by archeologist Alfonso Caso in Tomb 7 of Monte Álban. These offerings include hundreds of pieces of jewelry made of gold and silver. They make up the richest collection of gold and silver smithing of ancient Mexico. Another important exhibit is the objects from Tomb 5 of Lambitieco, which dates back to 700 C. E and from Monte Albán. The museum has rooms dedicated to everyday items from the colonial period as well. The center also contains the Biblioteca Fray Francisco de Burgoa (Fray Francisco de Burgoa Library) which holds over 25,000 degrees that were conferred from the 15th to the 20th century from the Universidad Autónoma Benito Juárez in Oaxaca.


title: Oaxaca City

text: The Museum of Contemporary Art (Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Oaxaca, MACO) is housed in the so-called Casa de Cortés. It is one of the oldest buildings in the city and one of the most representative of non-religious buildings. It dates from after the death of Hernán Cortés and could never have served as his house. Although it has been modified somewhat over the years, it still conserves its basic layout with rooms surrounding three courtyards. The architectural style is basically Andalucian modified by Oaxaca traditions. The facade has two levels, and the doors and windows have lintels, and are protected by wrought iron railings. To the far left of the facade, there are two arched entrances that permitted entrance of carriages to the third courtyard. The main portal is Spanish Baroque and has three levels. In the first, there are two "tritóstila" columns that support the balcony which has wrought iron railings. On the second level two Solomonic columns flanking a window. The jambs of the window are decorated with circles and the lintel with inverted curves. At the top of the window is seal of the Jesuits. The third level contains a central niche with a sculpture of an archangel as well as the coats of arms of the Laso de la Vega and the Pinelo families. This group is flanked by Solomonic columns. The house was acquired by the state of Oaxaca and initially housed the Museo Historico Urbano de Oaxaca in 1986. The museum was created with help from the state government, the José F. Gómez Foundation, painter Francisco Toledo and the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes. Its permanent collection contains works by Rufino Tamayo, Toledo, Nieto, Aquinos and others.


title: Oaxaca City

text: The Museo de los Pintores Oaxaqueños(Museum of Oaxacan Painters) is located north of the Alameda de León on Avenida Independencia in a former 18th century mansion. It is dedicated to local artists such as Rodolfo Morales whose work is on permanent display. The museum has also featured exhibitions by Felipe Morales, Rodolfo Nieto, Alejandro Santiago and Francisco Toledo.


title: Oaxaca City

text: The Casa de Culturas Oaxaqueñas used to the Church and ex monastery Los Siete Príncipes dating from the 18th century. The only part still used for religious purposes is the small chapel. The complex was restored in the 1960s and in 1970, the Casa opened. It houses the Instituto Oaxaqueño de la Culturas, which is a state government entity to promote culture and the arts.


title: Oaxaca City

text: The Rufino Tamayo Museum (Museo Arte Prehispánico de Rufino Tamayo) or Museo Rufino Tamayo, has an important collection of pre-Hispanic art that the painter himself collected. He donated the collection, as well as the house that is now the museum to his home state (Oaxaca) in 1974. This house, which was known as the Casa de Villanaza, was built in the 18th century. It first housed the State Museum Archives, before becoming what it is today. The museum exhibits over 1150 pieces from different Mesoamerican periods, including Mayan steles, ceramic dogs from Colima and stone faces from the Gulf of Mexico coast. The purpose of the museum is to show the aesthetic as well as the cultural value of these works.


title: Oaxaca City

text: The Religious Museum of the Ex monastery of La Soledad is located next to the Basilica of la Soledad. It contains objects such as paintings, sculptures and vestments. It is located in the southwest portion of the old monastery.


title: Oaxaca City

text: The Instituto de Artes Gráficos de Oaxaca (Graphic Arts Institute of Oaxaca) contains a large collection of graphic designs both present and past.


title: Oaxaca City

text: The Casa de Juárez, is a museum devoted to the life of Benito Juárez. It belonged to someone named Antonio Salanueva, but Juárez lived here from 1818 to 1828 after arriving to Oaxaca city from his hometown of Guelatao. It contains documents related to his presidency as well as furnishings designed to recreate the environment of that period. Its architecture is typical of homes built in this city in the 18th century and located on Garcia Vigil 609. It also contains ordinary artifacts from that time period, some of which belonged to Juárez.


title: Oaxaca City

text: Hemeroteca Publica de Oaxaca "Nestor Sánchez" (Nestor Sanchez Public Newspaper Library of Oaxaca) is located behind the ex-convent of Santo Domingo along with the Jardin Ethobotánico (Ethnobotanic Gardin) at the corner of Reforma and Constitución. These two occupy more than 2 hectares which used to be the gardens of the convent of Santa Domingo.


title: Oaxaca City

text: Teatro Macedonio Alcalá Is a working theatre and also houses a collection of romantic art. Built between 1903 and 1909, it was originally named the Luis Mier y Terán Theater. The design is typical of the Porfirio Díaz period ending the 19th century and beginning the 20th. It was later renamed the Jesús Carranza Theater. The current name dates back to 1932, honoring the composer of the state anthem "Dios Nunca Muere" (God Never Dies). The theatre has three parts: the vestibule, the main hall and the stage. The main entrance is on the corner. On the Armenta and Lopez Street sides, the lower level is occupied by shops and by the Miguel Cabrera Salon, which hosts art exhibits. The vestibule is Louis XV style with a white marble staircase and the main hall is in "Imperial" style, in which the anthropomorphic columns stand out.


title: Oaxaca City

text: Other cultural places of interest include the Alvarez Bravo Photography Center, the Oaxaca Stamp Museum, the Railway Museum of Southern Mexico (in the old train station) and the Planetarium located on the Cerro del Fortín.


title: Oaxaca City

text: Monte Albán is a pre-Hispanic city that was an ancient capital of the Zapotecs. It reached its peak between 500 BCE and 800 CE with about 35,000 inhabitants. Monte Albán is known for its architecture, its carved stones and its ceramic urns. In 1987, it was declared a World Heritage Site, along with the city of Oaxaca itself.


title: Oaxaca City

text: The Mercado (Market) Benito Juárez is located one block south of the Zócalo on Flores Magón and Las Casas but it takes up the entire block to 20 de Noviembre and Aldama streets. It offers flowers, fruit, ices, fruit drinks, handcrafts, leather goods, hats and knives, among other things. The block to the south houses the Mercado (Market) 20 de Noviembre which is the official name, but this market is commonly known as the "Mercado de la Comida (food)" because of the food stands that dominate the place. It is recommended by México Desconocido magazine for Oaxacan regional dishes such as moles, tasajo, tlayudas, pan de yema (a type of egg bread), chapulines (fried grasshoppers in chili), Oaxaca cheese (known locally as "quesillo"), queso fresco (lit. "fresh cheese"), as well as very large cups of hot chocolate made locally that is often spiced with cinnamon and almonds.


title: Oaxaca City

text: The city contains a number of parks, gardens and plazas, many of which were former monastery lands, for example, the Jardín Etnobotánico de Oaxaca, surrounding the former monastery of Santo Domingo. Even better known is the Plaza de la Danza y Jardín Sócrates complex on Morelos Street at the foot of the Cerro del Fortín. It is part of the area bounded by the Basilica de la Soledad and the Church of San José. The Plaza de la Danza was constructed in 1959 by Eduardo Vasconcelos to hold the annual Bani-Stui-Gulal (representation of antiquity) dance, held one day before the festival of the Guelaguetza. The Plaza also hosts other cultural events including art shows, concerts and political rallies The Socrates Garden is the old atrium of the Basilica de la Soledad, converted into a public park in 1881. It features a bronze chalice cast in that year. In 1981, the Garden was remodeled, adding a new layer of stone to the floor. The Cerro de Fortín next to it bears in stone letters Benito Juárez's slogan, "El respeto al derecho ajeno es la paz" (Respect for others' rights is peace). The Antonia Labastida Garden is named after a woman who fought with Porfirio Díaz during the French Intervention. This park has become a place for artists and artisans to display their wares.


title: Oaxaca City

text: The Guelaguetza, also known as the Fiestas de los Lunes del Cerro (Festivals of Mondays at the Hill) is the major cultural event in the city with origins in pre-Hispanic times. The "Hill" is the Cerro del Fortín, which was the scene of the annual rites to the goddess Centeótl, or goddess of the corn. The hill had a teocalli, or sacred plaza, built by the Aztecs. The ritual would end with the sacrifice of a young maiden chosen to represent the goddess.


title: Oaxaca City

text: This rite was prohibited by the Spanish after the Conquest, who also destroyed the teocalli. In its place, they constructed the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmen, now known as Carmen Alto. The recently baptized Mixtecs and Zapotecs then replaced ceremonies to Centeótl with those to this manifestation of the Virgin Mary, at the same place, the Cerro del Fortín.


title: Oaxaca City

text: This revised festival grew over time to be the largest and most anticipated for the town. In 1932, the city of Oaxaca realized its 400th anniversary and decided to combine these festivities with those of the Cerro del Fortín, adding traditional dances, music, regional cuisine and Margarita Santaella as the first Miss Oaxaca, in addition to the religious rites. The word "guelaguetza" is from Zapotec and means offering, sympathy, caring and cooperation. This first Guelaguetza was such a hit that organizers decided to repeat it every year at the Cerro del Fortin, on all the Mondays of July starting in 1953, becoming an amalgam of Oaxacan festivals from many parts of the state.


title: Oaxaca City

text: Originally, the festival took place at the foot of the Cerro del Fortín, where the curve of the land makes for a natural theatre. Since 1974, many of the events, which have grown in number, have been moved to a number of different venues, included the then-inaugurated Guelaguetza Auditorium. This is a Greek-style venue with seats 11,400 people.


title: Oaxaca City

text: One venue is the Church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán, where regional band come to play, dressed in colorful costumes as part of the opening ceremonies. They march from here to the Oaxaca Cathedral, where they are joined by folk dance groups such as the China Oaxaqueñas, the Chilenas de Pinotepa Nacional and the Jarabes Serranos. Another major event, which takes place at the Jardin Socrates, is a beauty pageant for indigenous women from different regions of Oaxaca state. The winner represents the goddess Centeótl and presides over the festivities along with public officials. The Bamo-Stui-Gulal takes place at the Plaza de la Danza and represents the history of Oaxaca and the Guelaguetza itself. The Plaza is divided into four quadrants, each representing a different period in Oaxaca's history. One other event, hosted in the Auditorium is a reenactment of the Legend of Donají, which takes place at the time of the Conquest. On the streets of Oaxaca city, there are parades with children and giant papier-mâché puppets.


title: Oaxaca City

text: The "Noche de Rábano" or Night of the Radishes is a Oaxaca city tradition. Artisans show off designs created from large radishes, often decorated with other plant materials. The event only lasts a few hours but draws most of the city's population to the main square to look at the creations. It occurs each year on 23 December.


title: Oaxaca City

text: The event developed from a Dominican Christmas tradition, when they would have a large dinner on the night of 23 December. To decorate the tables, indigenous servants of the monks would carve radishes and adorn them with flowers and other plants. This led 23 December to the known as the Night of the Radishes. This led to a special market on this day selling the radishes along with two other popular Christmas plant materials, the Flor Inmortal (immortal flower) and corn husks. This market has grown into a major cultural event and now is sponsored by the city, which packs the main square on that day. The day also includes a competition where radish creations are judged by originality, technical skill and beauty.


title: Oaxaca City

text: Donají was a high-ranking Zapotec woman in pre-Hispanic Mitla. When she was born, a seer predicted that she would die for her country. When she grew up, the Zapotec were involved in one of their many wars with the Mixtec, who generally dominated the area. One day, Zapotec warriors brought a prisoner, a Mixtec prince named Nucano, to Mitla. Taking pity on him, Donají took care of his wounds. When he healed, he asked her to free him, which she did. The war continued, and the Zapotec king and Donaji forced to abandon their capital of "Zaachila". Peace negotiations were attempted but the Mixtec did not trust the Zapotec king, taking Donají captive as insurance.


title: Oaxaca City

text: This occurred during the Conquest, when the Spanish Christian evangelization of the country had begun. Donají asked for baptism and was renamed Doña Juana de Cortés.


title: Oaxaca City

text: As the Mixtec feared, the Zapotec broke the peace treaty, attacking Monte Albán while the Mixtec slept. The survivors killed their hostage. Later the body of Donají, decapitated, was found in the Atoyac River. Time passed. One day a shepherd came to the place where Donaji was buried by the river. A fragrant lily flower grew there. Fifteen days later, he returned to find the same flower, still fresh and fragrant in the same place, as if a mysterious force was preserving it. She is honored by having her severed head as part of the coat of arms of the city of Oaxaca. In addition, her story is reenacted every year at the Guelaguetza festival.


title: Oaxaca City

text: The city of Oaxaca has long been considered "Mexico's culinary capital." The most notable aspect of Oaxacan cuisine is its variety of moles, which are a type of complex sauce. Their origins go back to the melding of Spanish and Arabic food in Spain. After the Conquest, New World ingredients such as chile mulato, 'miltomate' (a small whitish wild tomato), tomatoes, peanuts, avocado leaves, and chocolate were incorporated. While moles can be found in many parts of Mexico, Oaxaca has the greatest variety including negro (black), Colorado (red), coloradito (faint red), chichilo, verde (green), amarillo (yellow), and manchamanteles (lit. 'stainer of tablecloths'). They are sold in markets all over the city as a paste which is combined with water and simmered with a variety of meats.