title: Coltan

text: Approximately 71% of the global tantalum supply in 2008 was newly mined, 20% was from recycling, and the remainder was from tin slag and inventory. Tantalum minerals are mined in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Colombia, Rwanda, Australia, Brazil, China, Ethiopia, and Mozambique. Tantalum is also produced in Thailand and Malaysia as a by-product of tin mining and smelting. Potential future mines, in descending order of magnitude, are being explored in Egypt, Greenland, China, Australia, Finland, Canada, Nigeria and Brazil.


title: Coltan

text: Globally, 60% of all mining companies have registered with the highly regulated stock exchanges in Toronto and Vancouver. However, due to environmental regulations, no mining of coltan is currently taking place in Canada itself, with the exception of a single proposed mine in Blue River, British Columbia. In Canada, Tanco Mine near Bernic Lake in Manitoba has tantalum reserves, is the world's largest producer of caesium, and is operated by Global Advanced Metals Pty Ltd. A discussion of Canadian mining by Natural Resources Canada, updated in 2017, does not mention either coltan or tantalum. A Rwandan official discussing prospective mines in his country said that Canada had 4% of global production in 2009; but in rock so hard that the ore is too expensive to extract. In 2009, Rwanda had 9% of the world's tantalum production.


title: Coltan

text: In 2016 Rwanda accounted for 50% of global tantalum production. In 2016, Rwanda announced that AB Minerals Corporation would open a coltan separation plant in Rwanda by mid-2017, the first to operate on the African continent. Uganda and Rwanda both exported coltan in the early 2000s after they invaded the DRC, but the bulk of this coltan was not mined within those countries but smuggled from Congolese mines, according to the final report of the UN Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth in the Democratic Republic of Congo.


title: Coltan

text: In 2013 Highland African Mining Company (HAMC), now Noventa, closed its Marropino mine in the Gilé District of Zambézia Province, Mozambique, citing poor-quality infrastructure and ore that was both very radioactive and mostly depleted. HAMC was losing US$3.00 on every ton extracted and had reported accumulated losses of around US$150 million by June 2013.


title: Coltan

text: Reserves have been identified in Afghanistan, but the ongoing war there precludes either general exploration or exploring specifically for coltan for the foreseeable future. The United States does not produce tantalum due to the poor quality of its reserves.


title: Coltan

text: Australian mining company Sons of Gwalia once produced half the world's tantalum but went into administration in 2004. Talison Minerals paid $205 million to buy the Wodgina and Greenbushes tantalum business of Sons of Gwalia but temporarily closed Wodgina because of falling tantalum prices. The mine re-opened in 2011 but closed again after less than a year. Atlas Iron began mining iron ore there in 2010 and ceased operations there in April 2017. Global Advanced Mining announced in 2018 that it planned to restart tantalum production at the Greenbushes mine within a year. Talison Lithium, 51% owned by Chinese company Tianqi Lithium Industries, Inc. (SZSE:002466) and 49% by the US-based Albemarle Corporation, will continue to mine lithium at Greenbushes in parallel with the GAM tantalum operation.


title: Coltan

text: Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez announced in 2009 that a significant reserve of coltan was discovered in western Venezuela, although at least one coltan mining operation had previously been authorized in the area. Nonetheless, he outlawed private mines in the region and, saying that the FARC was financing itself with illegal mining, sent 15,000 troops in to deal with them. Technical advisers for the mining project were allegedly provided by a subsidiary of Khatam-al Anbiya Construction Headquarters, a fully owned enterprise of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard which had been under US sanctions since October 25, 2007.


title: Coltan

text: Also in 2009, the Colombian government announced coltan reserves had been found in Colombia's eastern provinces. Director of the Colombian Police Oscar Naranjo Trujillo stated in October 2011 that the FARC and the Sinaloa Cartel are working together in the unlicensed coltan mining in Colombia. Colombia announced a joint operation with the United States to arrest three suspects who, according to "Semana", inherited the illegal business run from their brother, Francisco Cifuentes Villa, alias ‘Pancho Cifuentes,’ who once worked for Pablo Escobar. In 2012 Colombian police seized 17 tons of coltan in Guainía Department. The police said it had been mined on an indigenous reserve and bought for $10 a kilo and sold for $80 to 100 dollars a kilo, after smuggling it across the border into Brazil, where there are smelters, and sold on through the black market to buyers in Germany, Belgium, Kazakhstan and the United States. Colombia has 5% of global coltan reserves. One of the regions suffering from illegal gold and coltan mining in Colombia is the wetland known as Estrella Fluvial del Inírida (Inírida Fluvial Star), a Ramsar protected wetland.


title: Coltan

text: The United States responded to conflict minerals with section 1501 of the Dodd-Frank Act, which required that companies who might have conflict minerals in their supply chain to register with the US Securities and Exchange Commission disclose their suppliers. Reaction to this legislation was mixed. Based on extensive qualitative fieldwork conducted from 2014 to 2016 with coltan buyers operating in Bukama Territory, Kalemie and Lubumbashi, Katanga Province, one researcher suggested that conflict mineral reforms resulted in better oversight and organization of supply chains, but that inaction by the Congolese government had led to locally negotiated solutions and territorialization which obscure access criteria.


title: Coltan

text: Coltan is used primarily for the production of tantalum capacitors, used in many electronic devices. Coltan is important in the production of mobile phones; tantalum capacitors are used in almost every kind of electronic device. Niobium and tantalum have a wide range of uses, including refractive lenses for glasses, cameras, phones and printers. They are also used in semiconductor circuits, and capacitors for small electronic devices such as hearing aids, pacemakers, and MP3 players, as well as in computer hard drives, automobile electronics, and surface acoustic wave (SAW) filters for mobile phones.


title: Coltan

text: Coltan is also used to make high-temperature alloys for jet engines, air-based turbines, and land-based turbines. More recently, in the late 2000s, the nickel-tantalum super-alloys used in jet engines account for 15% of tantalum consumption, but pending orders for the Airbus and the 787 Dreamliner may increase this proportion, as well as China's pending order for 62 787-8 airplanes.


title: Coltan

text: Some of the corporations using Coltan that sell electronic products in the United States and worldwide are; Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Acer, Apple, Dell, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia, Panasonic, and the Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM). RIM is the manufacturer of Blackberry communication devices.These corporations have taken proactive steps to trace and audit their supply chains. They have also pushed for legislation, and exercised leadership in an industry-wide effort to help the Congo to develop clean trade practices.


title: Coltan

text: Certain countries rich in natural resources have been said to suffer from the apparently paradoxical "resource curse" - showing "worse" economic development than countries with "fewer" resources. Wealth of resources may also correspond to "... the likelihood of weak democratic development, corruption, and civil war". High levels of corruption lead to great political instability, because whoever controls the assets (usually the political leaders and the government, in the case of the Democratic Republic of the Congo) can use them for their own benefit. The resources generate wealth, which the leaders use to stay in power "... either through legal means, or coercive ones (e.g. funding militias)". The increased importance of coltan in electronics "occurred as warlords and armies in the eastern Congo converted artisanal mining operations ... into slave labour regimes to earn hard currency to finance their militias," as one anthropological study put it. When much of eastern Congo came under the control of Rwandan forces in the 1990s, Rwanda suddenly became a major exporter of coltan, benefiting from the weakness of the Congolese government. The soaring price "brought in as much as $20 million a month to rebel groups" and other factions trading coltan mined in northeastern Congo, according to a U.N. report.


title: Coltan

text: For Congolese, mining is the readiest source of income, because the work is consistently available, even if only for a dollar a day. The work can be laborious; miners can walk for days into the forest to reach the ore, scratch it from the earth with hand tools and pan it. About 90% of young men in Congo do this. Research found that many Congolese leave farming because they need money quickly and cannot wait for crops to grow. Farming also presents its own obstacles. For example, the lack of roads in the Congolese interior makes it extremely difficult to transport produce to market and a harvest can be seized by militias or the military. With their food gone, people resort to mining to survive. But organized mines may be run by corrupt groups such as militias. The Congolese mine coltan with few tools, no safety procedures, and often no mining experience. No government aid or intervention is available in many unethical and abusive circumstances. Miners consider coltan mining a way to provide for themselves in the face of widespread war and conflict and a government that has no concern for their welfare.


title: Coltan

text: A 2007 study of the radioactivity of the coltan mined in Masisi and other parts of the North Kivu Province found "that grinding and sieving coltan can give rise to high occupational doses, up to 18 mSv per annum on average."


title: Coltan

text: Conflicts, including the Rwandan occupation of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), have made it difficult for the DRC to benefit from the exploitation of its coltan reserves. Mining of coltan is mainly artisanal and small-scale and vulnerable to extortion and human trafficking. A 2003 UN Security Council report stated that much of the ore is mined illegally and smuggled across Congo's eastern border by militias from neighbouring Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda. All three countries named by the United Nations as coltan smugglers denied doing this. Austrian journalist however has documented links between multi-national companies like Bayer and the smuggling and illegal coltan mines. A United Nations committee investigating the plunder of gems and minerals from the Congo, listed in its final report in 2003 approximately 125 companies and individuals whose business activities breach international norms. Companies accused of irresponsible corporate behavior included Cabot Corporation, Eagle Wings Resources International the Forrest Group and OM Group. Some of the fighters were eventually tried before the International Criminal Court tribunal in The Hague on charges of crimes against humanity.


title: Coltan

text: Income from coltan smuggling likely financed the military occupation of Congo, and prolonged the civil conflict afterwards. A UN panel studied the eastern Congo for months before releasing a remarkably sharp condemnation of the ongoing military occupation of eastern Congo by Ugandan, Rwandan, and other foreign military forces, as well as the many bands of Congolese rebels fighting with one another. The UN report accused the fighters of massively looting Congolese natural resources, and said that the war persisted because the fighters were enriching themselves by mining and smuggling out coltan, timber, gold, and diamonds. They also said that smuggled minerals financed the fighting and provided money for weapons. A 2005 report on the Rwandan economy by the South African Institute for Security Studies found that Rwanda official coltan production soared nearly tenfold between 1999 and 2001, from 147 tons to 1,300 tons, and for the first time provided more revenue than from the country traditional primary exports, tea and coffee. Similarly, Uganda exported 2.5 tons of coltan exports a year before the conflict broke out in 1997. In 1999 its export volume exploded to nearly 70 tons.


title: Coltan

text: Many of the corporations participating in the 1999-2000 business stampede caused by $400 coltan were in fact participants in the conflict. The Rwandan army, as Rwanda Metals, exported at least 100 tons per month. A UN panel estimated that the


title: Coltan

text: Coltan extraction causes problems that adjoin or overlap those caused by blood diamonds and uses similar methods such as smuggling across the porous Rwandan border, environmentalists and human rights workers began to speak of "conflict minerals" or "conflict resources" more generally. It is difficult to verify the sourcing of fungible materials like ores, so some processors, Cabot Corporation (USA) for example, have announced that they would avoid unsourced Central African coltan altogether. The Rwandan army could have made $20 million a month, and must have made at least $250 million over 18 months. "This is substantial enough to finance the war," the panel noted in its report.


title: Coltan

text: In 2009, DRC coltan was going to China to be manufactured into wires and electronic-grade tantalum powder. Coltan imports from the DRC into Europe usually went to Russia or Central/Eastern Europe, via the route through Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and Piraeus in Greece to the Balkans. An offshore consortium registered in British Virgin Islands named Nova Dies controlled most of the trans-Balkan trade route. This export pipeline mostly carries unprocessed coltan mined in unsafe artisanal mines, so this market hinders development of safer extraction infrastructure in the DRC. The Balkan trade route therefore poses a long-term threat to the DRC's economy; it finances and validates the vast harm done to DR Congo by the violent and corrupt past and current system.


title: Coltan

text: Estimates of Congo's coltan deposits range upwards from 64% of global reserves. but estimates at the high end of the range are difficult to trace to reliable data. Professional bodies like the British Geological Survey estimate that Central Africa as a whole has 9% of global assets. Tantalum, the primary element extracted from coltan, can also be obtained from other sources, but Congolese coltan represented around 10% of world production in 2008.


title: Coltan

text: Uncontrolled mining in the DRC causes soil erosion and pollutes lakes and rivers, affecting the hydrology and ecology of the region.


title: Coltan

text: The eastern mountain gorilla's population has diminished as well. Miners, far from food sources and often hungry, hunt gorillas. The gorilla population in the DRC fell from 17,000 to 5,000 in the decade prior to 2009, and Mountain Gorillas in the Great Lakes region numbered only 700, UNEP said in 2009. Hunted for bushmeat, a prized delicacy in western Africa, and threatened by logging, slash-and-burn agriculture and armed conflict, the gorilla population was critically endangered, they said. The population of Grauer's gorillas were particularly threatened by changes in their environment, with a population in January 2018 of only about 3,800.


title: Coltan

text: An estimated 3–5 million tons of bushmeat is obtained by killing animals, including gorillas, every year. Demand for bushmeat comes from urban dwellers who consider it a delicacy, as well as from remote populations of artisanal miners. Environmentalists who interviewed miners in and around Kahuzi-Biéga National Park and the Itombwe Nature Reserve found that the miners did confirm that they had been eating bushmeat and that they did think that the practice had caused a decline in primate numbers. Since the miners said they would cease the practice if they had another food supply, the authors suggested that efforts to stop the gorilla population decline should consider addressing this issue to reduce the depredations of subsistence hunting. The mines in these nature reserves were producing cassiterite, gold, coltan and wolframite, and "most mines were controlled by armed groups."


title: Coltan

text: The production and sale of coltan and niobium from African mines dropped significantly after the dramatic price spike in 2000 from the dot-com frenzy, from $400 to the current price level of around $100. Figures from the United States Geological Survey partially confirm this. The Tantalum-Niobium International Study Centre in Belgium, the country that colonized Congo, has encouraged international buyers to avoid Congolese coltan on ethical grounds: "take care in obtaining ... raw materials from lawful sources. Harm, or the threat of harm, to local people, wildlife or the environment is unacceptable."


title: Coltan

text: In addition to environmental harm caused by erosion, pollution and deforestation, agriculture and as a result food security suffered in the DRC as a result of mining. A follow-up UN report in 2003 noted a sharp increase in 1999 and 2000 in the global price of tantalum, which naturally increased coltan productions. Some of the increased production came from eastern DC where there are "rebel groups and unscrupulous business people" forcing farmers and their families to leave land where the rebels wanted to mine, "forcing them to work in artisanal mines...widespread destruction of agriculture and devastating social effects occurred, which in a number of instances were akin to slavery."


title: Coltan

text: A shift also took place from traditional sources such as Australia to new suppliers such as Egypt, perhaps because of the bankruptcy of the world's biggest supplier, Australia's Sons of Gwalia may have caused or contributed to this change. The operations previously owned by Gwalia in Wodgina and Greenbushes continue to operate in some capacity.


title: All the Right Moves (film)

text: All the Right Moves is a 1983 American sports drama film directed by Michael Chapman and starring Tom Cruise, Craig T. Nelson, Lea Thompson, Chris Penn, and Gary Graham. It was filmed on location in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and Pittsburgh.


title: All the Right Moves (film)

text: Stefen "Stef" Djordjevic is a Serbian American high school defensive back who is gifted in sports and is a B student academically. He is seeking a college football scholarship to escape the economically depressed small Western Pennsylvania town of Ampipe and a dead-end job and life working at the mill, just like his grandfather, father, and his brother Greg. He dreams of becoming an electrical engineer right after he graduates from college. Ampipe is a company town whose economy is dominated by the town's main employer, American Pipe & Steel, a steel mill struggling through the downturn of the early 1980s recession. Stef gets through his days with the love of his girlfriend, Lisa Lietzke, and his strong bond with his teammates.


title: All the Right Moves (film)

text: In the big football game against the undefeated Walnut Heights High School, Ampipe appears headed to win the game, when a fumbled handoff in the closing seconds—as well as Stefen's pass interference penalty earlier in the game—lead to Walnut Heights' victory. Following the game, Coach Vern Nickerson lambastes the fumbler in the locker room, telling him he "quit" the game. When Stefen retorts that the coach himself quit, the coach kicks him off the team.


title: All the Right Moves (film)

text: In the aftermath, disgruntled Ampipe fans vandalize Coach Nickerson's house and yard. Stefen is present and is a reluctant participant, but is nonetheless spotted by Nickerson as the vandals flee. From there, Stefen deals with personal battles, including dealing with the coach blackballing him among colleges because of his attitude and participation in the vandalism. Stefen gets in an argument with Lisa, and his best friend Brian declines a scholarship offer to USC and plans to marry his pregnant girlfriend.


title: All the Right Moves (film)

text: Frustrated by what Nickerson did, Stefen angrily confronts his former coach which ends in a shouting match out in the street. Lisa decides to talk to Nickerson's wife to try to help. Nickerson realizes he was wrong for blackballing Stefen. He has accepted a coaching position on the West Coast at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and offers Stefen a full scholarship to play football there, which he accepts.


title: All the Right Moves (film)

text: The film was produced by Stephen Deutsch, with Phillip Goldfarb as co-producer. Gary Morton of Lucille Ball Productions was executive producer. The production was filmed over seven weeks in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in the early spring The recently closed sixty-year-old high school (), the former campus of Greater Johnstown High School, was used as the location of the film, along with Actress Thompson was inserted as a new student at Ferndale Area High School for three days prior to Cruise was similarly inserted into Greater Johnstown High School, but was recognized immediately. (His only notable film part at the time was in "Taps" in 1981; "The Outsiders" and "Risky Business" were yet to be released.)


title: All the Right Moves (film)

text: In 2018, Thompson stated she initially did not want the part, as the script required her to participate in two nude scenes, but Cruise persuaded the producers to drop one of the scenes and was naked with her in the remaining scene.


title: All the Right Moves (film)

text: The film was released to mixed reviews. It has a score of 63% on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes based on 24 reviews. The website's consensus reads, ""All the Right Moves" is an uncommonly grim coming-of-age drama that overcomes numerous clichés with its realistic approach to its characters and setting." On Metacritic, it has a score of 62 out of 100 based on 7 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".


title: All the Right Moves (film)

text: Jay Carr from "The Boston Globe" stated "Cruise is believable as an athlete," and Janet Maslin of "The New York Times" called it "a well-made but sugar-coated working-class fable about a football star."


title: All the Right Moves (film)

text: Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" gave it 3 out of 4 and wrote: "Two people finally tell each other the truth. This is, of course, an astonishing breakthrough in movies about teenagers, and All the Right Moves deserves it."


title: All the Right Moves (film)

text: Locally, Ed Blank of the "Pittsburgh Press" saw it as flawed, but captured the look of and Marylynn Urucchio of the "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette" rated it as elementary


title: All the Right Moves (film)

text: Among the unfavorable reviews, "TV Guide" called the movie "cliche-riddled" and criticized director Michael Chapman for not taking any risks. Richard Corliss of "Time" called it a "naive little movie (that) hopes to prove itself the "Flashdance" of football."


title: Waterfalls (TLC song)

text: "Waterfalls" is a song by American hip-hop group TLC. It was written by Marqueze Etheridge and Organized Noize with a verse by TLC's Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, for their second album, "CrazySexyCool" (1994), with production by Organized Noize. The song was the third single released from the album on May 22, 1995, in the United States, followed by a United Kingdom release on August 5, 1995.


title: Waterfalls (TLC song)

text: Often considered the group's signature song, "Waterfalls" was an international hit, topping the charts in many countries. The song spent seven weeks at 1 on the "Billboard" Hot 100, giving the group their second US No. 1. The song was the No. 2 song of the year on the "Billboard" 1995 year-end chart. "Waterfalls" also peaked at No. 1 in New Zealand and Switzerland while reaching the top ten in many other countries. "Waterfalls" received critical acclaim, earning two Grammy nominations at the 38th Annual Grammy Awards in 1996 for Record of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.


title: Waterfalls (TLC song)

text: The song addresses the illegal drug trade, promiscuity, and HIV/AIDS. Jarett E. Nolan of BMG noted that "Waterfalls" was the first number-one song to refer to AIDS in one of its verses. The music video for the song reflected its socially conscious lyrics. With a million-dollar budget, the video was an MTV staple that boosted the song's success. It stayed atop the MTV Video Monitor chart for over a month, making TLC the first act to do so. The video won four MTV Video Music Awards in 1995, including Video of the Year. TLC was the first African-American act to receive the trophy.


title: Waterfalls (TLC song)

text: "Waterfalls" is an R&B song, written by TLC band member Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes with Marqueze Etheridge and Organized Noize, who also produced the song. Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas and Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins perform the song with Lopes, who also provides a rap verse. The background vocals are performed by the members of TLC, as well as Debra Killings and Cee-Lo Green, while the improvised bass line is provided by LaMarquis "ReMarqable" Jefferson. Of Green's involvement, Watkins noted, "He was in Goodie Mob, we grew up together, we go way back. He (sang on the track) and it was amazing! I love his voice."


title: Waterfalls (TLC song)

text: The song's lyrics refer to 1990s issues such as the HIV/AIDS epidemic and violence associated with the illegal drug trade. Watkins said that it was important for the group to "get the message across without seeming like preaching."


title: Waterfalls (TLC song)

text: The TLC song shares elements with Paul McCartney's song of the same name, which opens with the line "Don't go jumping waterfalls, please keep to the lake." McCartney himself noted the resemblance, stating "In fact, somebody had a hit, a few years ago, using the first line...then they go off into another song. It's like, 'Excuse me?'"


title: Waterfalls (TLC song)

text: "Waterfalls" received critical acclaim from music critics. Bill Lamb from About.com stated that "slinky, gently insistent backing horns and guitar combine with smooth, languid vocals to create an instant R&B classic." Lamb noted that the song is "a disturbing commentary on street violence and its impact on the lives of young black men." Daryl McIntosh from Albumism said it is "a rare example of perfect production, poignant songwriting, and flawless vocal delivery." McIntosh added, "The lyrics offer cautionary tales of the allure of street life and uncontrolled sexual exploration. Interwoven by the melodic chorus". Christine Werthman from "Complex" wrote that "Waterfalls" "is drenched in water-droplet synth notes, live drums, rising horns, and a bass line that walks wherever it pleases." She noted that "it's a heavy song, but the warnings in the verses are buoyed by a rich, singable chorus, which certainly helped it get radio play." "Entertainment Weekly" described it as a "Prince-inspired ballad" that "hint[s] at the artistic greatness TLC might achieve if freed from commercial concerns." A reviewer from "Music Week" gave it four out of five, calling it "yet another radio-friendly hit", adding that "TLC swap wackiness for a more mature affair". James Hamilton from the magazine's "RM" Dance Update deemed it a "slinkily croaking and coing girls' US smash rolling slow sombrely worded message song". Nigel Butler of Sputnikmusic compared it to esteemed artists such as Sly and the Family Stone, Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder. Butler wrote, "The arrangement and instrumentation is absolutely fantastic - if a bunch of great melodies had an orgy, the result would something a little like this - and the lyrics are the best on an album that maintains a shockingly high standard of songwriting. Left-Eye drops the album's best rap on this track too."


title: Waterfalls (TLC song)

text: The song was nominated for two Grammys at the 1996 Grammy Awards: "Record of the Year" and "Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal". "Billboard" named it No. 11 on their list of "100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time". It was also ranked 13th in VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the Past 25 Years" and 8th on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the 1990s". In 2010, "Billboard" awarded the song the top position of summer songs in 1995.


title: Waterfalls (TLC song)

text: The music video visualizes the two verses of the song, particularly during extended instrumental breaks after each verse:


title: Waterfalls (TLC song)

text: The video also intercuts scenes of liquefied versions of TLC performing to the song while standing on top of an ocean and performing in front of a real waterfall.


title: Waterfalls (TLC song)

text: The video was directed by F. Gary Gray and features Ella Joyce, Bokeem Woodbine, Shyheim, Paul J. Alessi and Gabrielle Bramford. TLC had to force L.A. Reid to get the budget for the music video, which was filmed at Universal Studios Hollywood from June 8–9, 1995. The video went on to win four awards at the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards: Video of the Year, Best Group Video, Best R&B Video, and the Viewer's Choice Award. Watkins stated in retrospect that the "video spoke for a whole epidemic."


title: Waterfalls (TLC song)

text: The song was performed at many awards shows, including the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards and the 1996 Grammy Awards. The group performed "Waterfalls" at the 1995 MTV Movie Awards wearing black tops and silver pants. The performance "was theatrical and kept true to the lyrical story." They also performed the song at MTV's 20th Anniversary on August 1, 2001, making it Left Eye's final performance with the group before her death. In September 1995, TLC performed "Waterfalls" in a medley with "Creep" and "Diggin' on You" on the British TV chart show "Top of the Pops", aired on BBC One in the United Kingdom.


title: Waterfalls (TLC song)

text: Remaining members T-Boz and Chilli performed the song along with Alicia Keys and fellow girl groups En Vogue and SWV at the 2008 BET Awards. Thomas and Watkins appeared on Good Morning America on October 15, 2013 to perform the song during promotion for the greatest hits "20" and the VH1 biopic "".


title: Waterfalls (TLC song)

text: On November 24, 2013, TLC performed at the 2013 American Music Awards with special guest Lil Mama, who performed Left Eye's rap in tribute to her.


title: Waterfalls (TLC song)

text: Jeff Benjamin of Fuse wrote that the track was "far more than just another pop hit: The track told a cautionary tale of HIV and AIDS, and its video depicted a man who didn't wear a condom with his girlfriend and later watched his body degenerate in the mirror." AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that "Waterfalls, "with its gently insistent horns and guitar lines and instantly memorable chorus, ... ranks as one of the classic R&B songs of the '90s." Sputnikmusic's Butler asserted that "any list of the best singles of the 90s that does not include this in the top 15 — at least — is among the worst lists ever written." Australian music channel Max placed the song at No. 196 on their list of "1000 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2012. In 2017, "Paste" ranked the song number two on their list of the 10 greatest TLC songs, and in 2022, "The Guardian" ranked the song number one on their list of the 20 greatest TLC songs.


title: Waterfalls (TLC song)

text: The song was referred to in the film "The Other Guys" as one of many references to songs by TLC made by one of the characters. Thomas and Watkins rerecorded "Waterfalls" with Japanese pop and R&B singer Namie Amuro in 2013 for the song's twentieth anniversary. The song peaked at No. 12 on Japan's Hot 100 chart. That same year, the song was referred to in the film "We're the Millers" as Will Poulter performs Lopes's rap. The song also appears in the film's end credits. In 2015, the horror-comedy show "Scream Queens" featured the song in the pilot and is referred to numerous times in other episodes. It appears in the 2019 Marvel Studios film "Captain Marvel", which is set in 1995. It was also heard once in the scene where the girls discuss sex in the Little Fires Everywhere miniseries adaptation episode, "The Spider Web".


title: Waterfalls (TLC song)

text: "Waterfalls" was recorded by British girl group Stooshe originally recorded for their self-titled debut album, released through Warner Music UK on November 11, 2012. Stooshe chose to release a cover of "Waterfalls" after meeting TLC member T-Boz, who had previously congratulated them on their acoustic cover of the song. The band have turned the track's rap, performed by Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, into a three-part harmony. It was announced in April 2013 that the group's cover of "Waterfalls" would not be appearing on their debut album, with member Karis Anderson claiming they "are pretending [it] didn't happen".


title: Waterfalls (TLC song)

text: 4Music's Trent Maynard stated that Stooshe's take on "Waterfalls" has "smooth, layered harmonies and a easy-breezy barbershop feel." Digital Spy's Lewis Corner gave the song three out of five stars and commented "It must be said that soft flourishes of brass and light guitar strums blend with the girls' on-point vocals smoother than a Starbucks cappuccino. However, after proving themselves as one of 2012's most promising original pop acts, covering a much-loved '90s anthem still feels like a strange move." Jon Hornbuckle from "So So Gay" gave the song four stars and stated "Covering a song as famous as TLC's global hit 'Waterfalls' could backfire on a girl group, but Stooshe shouldn't be worried. Their take on the classic 1995 hit is yet another opportunity for them to showcase their fantastic voices and is a sure-fire hit, with its radio friendly vibes and sing-along chorus." He thought the song sounded "fresh" and Stooshe had managed to put their own stamp on the track. Hornbuckle added "If only all cover tracks were like this – a re-interpretation, rather than a copy-and-paste cover."


title: Waterfalls (TLC song)

text: Stooshe released an official lyric video for the track on October 3, before unveiling the official music video on T4 on October 7. The video, directed by Matt Stawski, features cameo appearances from fellow TLC members T-Boz and Chilli. Hornbuckle commented "The video is perhaps the most colourful promo from a girl group for years, and we love the choreography the girls pull out on the chorus. Stooshe make being cool, classy and fun all at once look effortless."


title: Waterfalls (TLC song)

text: "Waterfalls" was recorded by singer and actress Bette Midler for her 2014 album It's The Girls!. The track was made into a ballad and has a much slower tempo and its production is stripped down with a piano and a soft drum beat echoing in the background. Midler's cover does not include the rap part of the song. The single reached No. 5 on the "Billboard" and the album sold 40,000 copies in its first week of release in the United States allowing it to reach N0. 3 on the Billboard 200. In the United Kingdom, the album was awarded Gold selling over 100,000 copies and reaching No. 6 on the official UK album charts.


title: Liverpool F.C. Reserves and Academy

text: Liverpool F.C. Reserves is the reserve team of Liverpool F.C. It is the most senior level of the Liverpool academy beneath the first team. In the summer of 2012, the whole English reserve football system was overhauled and replaced with an Under 21 league system, the Professional Development League. Liverpool's Reserve team became the Liverpool under 21 team and competes in the Professional Development League 1 which is also known by its sponsorship name of Barclays under 21 Premier League. The team generally consists of Under-21 players at the club but at times senior players also play for the reserves when they are recuperating from injury. Following the introduction of new regulations from the 2012–13 season, only three outfield players and one goalkeeper over the age of 21 can play for the reserves regularly.


title: Liverpool F.C. Reserves and Academy

text: In 2012–13 Professional U21 Development League, the reserve team of Liverpool reached the semifinal before losing to the eventual winners Manchester United. The following season in 2013–14 the reserves team again lost to Manchester United reserves in the semis.


title: Liverpool F.C. Reserves and Academy

text: Liverpool F.C. Academy is the youth set up Liverpool Football Club. It trains players from the U6 age group up to the U21 squad. The academy has separate head coaches in charge of development in the U6-U9, U10-U11, U12-U14 and U15-U16 age groups. At U21 and U18 level there are dedicated coaching teams managed by Michael Beale with the U21 position vacant as of 2 March 2020. Alex Inglethorpe was promoted from U21 manager to Academy Director in the summer of 2014 and hold overall responsibility for operation of the academy. The academy has won the FA Youth Cup, a competition for players of age 15 to 18, four times in 1996, 2006, 2007 and 2019.


title: Liverpool F.C. Reserves and Academy

text: Liverpool F.C. Academy is considered to be one of the best and one of the most prolific football academies both in England and in the world. Various current and past Liverpool players have graduated through the academy with the likes of Billy Liddell, Ronnie Moran, Ian Callaghan, Phil Thompson, Robbie Fowler, Steve McManaman, Michael Owen, Jamie Carragher, Steven Gerrard and Trent Alexander-Arnold, among many others.


title: Liverpool F.C. Reserves and Academy

text: Liverpool Reserves played in Premier Reserve League. The Reserves won the regional division title in 2000 and again 2008 winning also the national league that year. It competed in the Lancashire Combination from 1896 to 1911, with the exception of the 1898–99 season, in which it joined The Combination. From 1911 on, it took part in the Central League until becoming inaugural members of the Premier Reserve League North in 1999. The team also participated in the Liverpool Senior Cup and the Lancashire Senior Cup; the last time it took part in them was the 2009–10 season when it also won both competitions.


title: Liverpool F.C. Reserves and Academy

text: The last reserve team manager was Rodolfo Borrell, who was appointed in July 2011 and led the reserve team during its final season before taking over the newly formed under-21 side in July 2012. The reserves last played their home games at Prenton Park (the home of Tranmere Rovers); in previous seasons the team has also played at the club's academy, the Halliwell Jones Stadium (home of Warrington Wolves), Haig Avenue (the home of Southport), Totally Wicked Stadium (the home of St Helens R.F.C.) and the Racecourse Ground (home of Wrexham).


title: Liverpool F.C. Reserves and Academy

text: The most successful Liverpool Reserves manager was Roy Evans. Evans spent most of his playing career as a reserve team player, making only 11 appearances for the first team. After an injury ended his career in 1974, he was appointed manager of the reserves by Bob Paisley. Evans subsequently led the reserves to victory in a series of Central League championships, including three in his first three seasons, a four in a row sequence from 1978, and two more in the early 1980s. Throughout the history of Liverpool FC, many of the club's best known players have progressed through the reserve team. These include people who at one point were first team squad members including Trent Alexander-Arnold, Steven Gerrard, Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen, Steve McManaman, Jamie Carragher and Raheem Sterling.


title: Liverpool F.C. Reserves and Academy

text: In 1998, a new state-of-the-art Youth Academy was opened in Kirkby, Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley. It replaced the older, more informal youth system, and enables the club to focus their youth development and scouting, employing new techniques and FA standards.


title: Liverpool F.C. Reserves and Academy

text: Scouts attend many local youth matches looking for talented boys. A boy will then be invited to attend training sessions at the Academy. They are currently taken in as young as the age of six. Former England International player Jamie Carragher started at Liverpool when he was aged just nine, with Michael Owen joining at eleven, and Steven Gerrard joining at the age of eight.


title: Liverpool F.C. Reserves and Academy

text: On the walls of the indoor centre hang the words 'Technique', 'Attitude', 'Balance', and 'Speed'. 'TABS' is the key word preached at The Academy. Academy director Alex Inglethorpe has said the remit of the academy is to produce physically, technically, tactically and mentally elite players with enough quality to represent the senior side in the Champions League. Liverpool won the 2005 Champions league with two locally born academy graduates starting in the final.


title: Liverpool F.C. Reserves and Academy

text: The Academy has a long-lasting affiliation with MTK Budapest's Sándor Károly Football Academy and maintains a number of football schools worldwide through partnerships with football clubs and commercial and sports organisations. LFC International Football Academy currently has branches in Scandinavia (Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Gran Canaria during winter), America (Texas and Plymouth, the latter through an affiliate with CS United Soccer Club), Egypt (Cairo), South Africa (Durban and Johannesburg), China (Guilin), India (Pune, in cooperation with DSK Shivajians), and Japan (Tokyo). Previously schools were also run in Abuja, Belfast, Boston, Charlotte, Cyprus, Dublin, Hong Kong, Iceland, Jakarta, Katwijk, Lisbon, Madrid, Malta, Mumbai, Manila, Nairobi, Saint Vincent, and Singapore.


title: Liverpool F.C. Reserves and Academy

text: Liverpool's youth system has been successful over the years; many players who have come through it have gone on to feature in the first-team. The following players have gone on to play over ten competitive matches for the first team.


title: Liverpool F.C. Reserves and Academy

text: Many of the former Liverpool youth and reserve team players have found success with other clubs. None of these players became established members of the Liverpool first team.


title: Hair (film)

text: Hair is a 1979 American musical anti-war comedy-drama film based on the 1968 Broadway musical "Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical". Set against the backdrop of the hippie counterculture of the Vietnam era, the film focuses on a Vietnam War draftee who meets and befriends a "tribe" of hippies while en route to the army induction center. The hippies and their leader introduce him to marijuana, LSD and their environment of unorthodox relationships and draft evasion.


title: Hair (film)

text: The film was directed by Miloš Forman (who was nominated for a César Award for his work on the film) and adapted for the screen by Michael Weller (who would collaborate with Forman on a second picture, "Ragtime", two years later). Cast members include John Savage, Treat Williams, Beverly D'Angelo, Annie Golden, Dorsey Wright, Don Dacus, Cheryl Barnes and Ronnie Dyson. Dance scenes were choreographed by Twyla Tharp and were performed by Tharp's dancers. The film was nominated for two Golden Globes: Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, and New Star of the Year in a Motion Picture (for Williams).


title: Hair (film)

text: Claude Hooper Bukowski of Oklahoma is sent off to New York City after being drafted into the Army ("Age Of Aquarius"). Before his draft board-appointment, Claude begins exploring New York, where he encounters a close-knit "tribe" of hippies led by George Berger. He observes the hippies panhandle from a trio of horseback riders including Short Hills, New Jersey debutante Sheila Franklin ("Sodomy") and later catches and mounts a runaway horse, which the hippies have rented, exhibiting his riding skills to Sheila ("Donna") before then returning the horse to Berger, who offers to show him around.


title: Hair (film)

text: That evening, Claude gets stoned on marijuana with Berger and the tribe. He is then introduced to various race and class issues of the 1960s ("Hashish", "Colored Spade", "Manchester", "I'm Black/Ain't Got No"). The next morning, Berger finds a newspaper clipping which gives Sheila's address in Short Hills, New Jersey. The tribe members—LaFayette "Hud" Johnson, Jeannie Ryan (who is pregnant), and "Woof Dacshund"—crash a private dinner party to introduce Claude to Sheila, who secretly enjoys her rigid environment being disrupted ("I Got Life"). After Berger and company are arrested, Claude uses his last $50 to bail him out of jail—where Woof resists having his hair cut ("Hair").


title: Hair (film)

text: When Sheila is unable to borrow any money from her father, Berger returns to his parents' home. His mother gives him enough cash to bail out his friends. They subsequently attend a peace rally in Central Park, where Claude drops acid for the first time ("Initials", "Electric Blues/Old Fashioned Melody", "Be In"). Just as Jeannie proposes marriage to Claude, in order to keep him out of the Army, Sheila shows up to apologize. Claude's "trip" reflects his inner conflict over which of three worlds he fits in with: his own native Oklahoman farm culture, Sheila's upper-class society, or the hippies' free-wheeling environment.


title: Hair (film)

text: After his acid trip, Claude falls out with Berger and the tribe members, ostensibly due to a practical joke they pull on Sheila (taking her clothes while she's skinny-dipping, which forces her to hail a taxi in just her panties), but also due to their philosophical differences over the war in Vietnam—and over personal versus communal responsibility. After wandering the city ("Where Do I Go?"), Claude finally reports to the draft board (“Black Boys/White Boys”), completes his enlistment, and is shipped off to Nevada for basic training.


title: Hair (film)

text: It's now Winter in New York when Claude writes to Sheila from Nevada ("Walking In Space"), who subsequently shares the news with the others. Berger devises a scheme to visit Claude in Nevada. Meanwhile, Hud's fiancée—with whom he has a son, LaFayette Jr.—wants to marry as they had apparently planned to earlier ("Easy To Be Hard"). The tribe members trick Sheila's brother Steve out of his car, then head west to visit Claude.


title: Hair (film)

text: Arriving at the Army training center where Claude is stationed ("Three-Five-Zero-Zero", "Good Morning Starshine"), the hippies are turned away, ostensibly because the base is on alert, but also because the MP on duty loathes their appearance, proceeding to condescendingly caricaturize Berger's perceived vernacular. Sometime later, Sheila chats up army sergeant Fenton at a local bar, using sex to lure him to an isolated desert road and acquire his uniform. The hippies steal his car, and Berger cuts his hair and dons the uniform (symbolically becoming a responsible adult), then drives it onto the Army base. He finds Claude and offers to replace him for the next headcount so that Claude can meet Sheila and the others for a going-away picnic in the desert.


title: Hair (film)

text: Unfortunately, just after a disguised Claude slips away to the picnic, the base becomes fully activated with immediate ship-outs for Vietnam. Berger's ruse is never discovered; clearly horrified of potentially joining the war, he is herded onto the plane to be shipped out. Claude returns to the empty barracks and frantically pursues Berger's plane but is unable to reach it before it takes off for Southeast Asia ("The Flesh Failures").


title: Hair (film)

text: Months later, Claude, Sheila, and the tribe gather around Berger's grave in Arlington National Cemetery, whose grave marker shows that he was killed in Vietnam ("Let the Sunshine In"). The movie ends with what appears to be a full-scale peace-protest in Washington, D.C.


title: Hair (film)

text: The film was shot in October 1977. Filming locations included a number of well-known spots in New York City, including Central Park's Bethesda Fountain, Sheep Meadow, and the Central Park bandshell; and Washington Square Park. Scenes were also shot at the Fort Irwin National Training Center, in the Mojave Desert in northern San Bernardino County, California, and in Barstow, California; as well as in Washington, D.C., at the Lincoln Memorial, in the National Mall.


title: Hair (film)

text: Ronny Dyson and Melba Moore, who were in the Broadway version of "Hair", both sing on the song "Three Five Zero Zero."


title: Hair (film)

text: "Hair" grossed $15.3 million in the United States and Canada. By the end of 1979 it had grossed $38,290,492 worldwide.


title: Hair (film)

text: The film received generally favorable reviews from film critics at the time of its release; it currently holds an 82% "fresh" rating on review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes from 60 reviews. The critical consensus reads, "Spiritedly performed by a groovy cast and imaginatively directed by Milos Forman, "Hair" transports audiences straight to the Age of Aquarius."


title: Hair (film)

text: Writing in "The New York Times", Vincent Canby called it "a rollicking musical memoir... [Michael] Weller's inventions make this "Hair" seem much funnier than I remember the show's having been. They also provide time and space for the development of characters who, on the stage, had to express themselves almost entirely in song... The entire cast is superb... Mostly... the film is a delight." Frank Rich said: "If ever a project looked doomed, it was this one" (referring to the "largely plotless" and dated musical upon which it was based, Forman's and Tharp's lack of movie musical experience, the "largely unproven cast" and the film's "grand budget"); but that in spite of these obstacles, ""Hair" succeeds at all levels—as lowdown fun, as affecting drama, as exhilarating spectacle and as provocative social observation. It achieves its goals by rigorously obeying the rules of classic American musical comedy: dialogue, plot, song and dance blend seamlessly to create a juggernaut of excitement. Though every cut and camera angle in "Hair" appears to have been carefully conceived, the total effect is spontaneous. Like the best movie musicals of the '50s ("Singin' in the Rain") and the '60s ("A Hard Day's Night"), "Hair" leaps from one number to the next. Soon the audience is leaping too."


title: Hair (film)

text: Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert both placed Hair on their list of Top Films of 1979. Siskel named it as the best film of the year, #1 on his list.


title: Hair (film)

text: At the 37th Golden Globe Awards, the film was nominated for a Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, and Williams was nominated for New Star of the Year in a Motion Picture – Male. The film was also nominated for Best Foreign Film at the 1980 César Awards, losing to Woody Allen's "Manhattan" (which was also released by United Artists).


title: Hair (film)

text: Years later, Forman cited his loss of his moral rights to the film to the studio as eventually leading to his 1997 John Huston Award for Artists Rights from the Film Foundation:


title: Hair (film)

text: "Hair" was released on VHS by 20th Century Fox Video in 1982 with later VHS releases from MGM/UA Home Video. The film was released on DVD by MGM Home Entertainment on April 27, 1999, as a Region 1 widescreen DVD, and on Blu-Ray on June 7, 2011.


title: Hair (film)

text: As the film's plot and soundtrack differ greatly from the original musical, Gerome Ragni and James Rado, who wrote the stage show with composer Galt MacDermot, were unhappy with the film adaptation. They felt it failed to capture the essence of "Hair" in that hippies were portrayed as "oddballs" and "some sort of aberration" without any connection to the peace movement. Ragni and Rado stated, "Any resemblance between the 1979 film and the original Biltmore version, other than some of the songs, the names of the characters, and a common title, eludes us." In their view, the screen version of "Hair" had not yet been produced.


title: Puebla

text: Puebla ( ), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla (), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is the city of Puebla.


title: Puebla

text: It is located in East-Central Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Veracruz to the north and east, Hidalgo, México, Tlaxcala and Morelos to the west, and Guerrero and Oaxaca to the south. The origins of the state lie in the city of Puebla, which was founded by the Spanish in this valley in 1531 to secure the trade route between Mexico City and the port of Veracruz. By the end of the 18th century, the area had become a colonial province with its own governor, which would become the State of Puebla, after the Mexican War of Independence in the early 19th century. Since that time the area, especially around the capital city, has continued to grow economically, mostly through industry, despite being the scene of a number of battles, the most notable of which being the Battle of Puebla. Today, the state is one of the most industrialized in the country, but since most of its development is concentrated in Puebla and other cities, many of its rural areas are undeveloped.


title: Puebla

text: Culturally, the state is home to the "china poblana", mole poblano, active literary and arts scenes, and festivals such as Cinco de Mayo, Ritual of Quetzalcoatl, Day of the Dead celebrations (especially in Huaquechula) and Carnival (especially in Huejotzingo). It is home to five major indigenous groups: Nahuas, the Totonacs, the Mixtecs, the Popolocas and the Otomi, which can mostly be found in the far north and the far south of the state.


title: Puebla

text: The state is in the central highlands of Mexico between the Sierra Nevada and the Sierra Madre Oriental. It has a triangular shape with its narrow part to the north. It borders the states of Veracruz, Oaxaca, Guerrero, Morelos, State of Mexico, Tlaxcala and Hidalgo. The state occupies 33,919 km, ranking 20th of 31 states in size, and has


title: Puebla

text: Most of its mountains belong to the Sierra Madre Oriental and the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. The first is locally called the Sierra Norte del Puebla, entering the state from the northwest and then breaks up into the smaller chains of Sierra de Zacapoaxtla, Sierra de Huauchinango, Sierra de Teziutlán, Sierra de Tetela de Ocampo, Sierra de Chignahuapan and Sierra de Zacatlán, although these names may vary among localities. Some of the highest elevations include Apulco, Chichat, Chignahuapan, Soltepec and Tlatlaquitepec. The highest elevations are the volcanoes Pico de Orizaba or Citlaltepetl (5,747masl), Popocatépetl (5,452masl), Iztaccíhuatl (5,286masl) and Malinche (4,461masl) which are found on the state's borders with Veracruz, Mexico State and Tlaxcala respectively. In the south of the state, the major elevations are the Sierra de Atenahuacán, Zapotitlán, Lomerio al Suroeste and the Sierra de Tehuacán. Dividing much of the state from Veracruz is a small chain of mountains called the Sierra Madre del Golfo.


title: Puebla

text: The natural geography of the state subdivides into the Huasteco Plateau, Llanuras y Lomeríos zone, Lagos y Volcanes del Anáhuac, Chiconquiaco, Llanuras y Sierras de Querétaro e Hidalgo, Cordillera Costera del Sur, Mixteca Alta, Sierras y Valles Guerrenses, Sierras Centrales de Oaxaca, Sierras Orientales and Sur de Puebla. The Huasteco Plateau and the Llanuras y Lomeríos zone are located in the north and northeast, with the Lagos y Volcanes del Anáhuc in the center and north. Together, they account for over 50% of the state. The east and northeast are occupies by the Chiconquiaco and Llanudras y Sierras de Querétaro e Hidalgo areas and account for about three percent of the state. The Cordillera del Sur and Mixteca Alta are located in the west and southwest covering less than 2.5% of the state. The Sur de Puebla is in the southwest and accounts for 26% of the state. Other southern subregions include the Sierras y Valles Guerrerenses, the Sierras Centrales de Oaxaca and the Sierras Orientales. Together, they account for about 15% of the state.


title: Puebla

text: The hydrology of Puebla is formed by three major river systems. One is based on the Balsas River, also known as the Atoyac, which originates with the melting runoff of the Halos, Telapón and Papagayo mountains along with those from the Iztaccihuatl volcano and waters from the Zahuapan River, which enters from Tlaxcala. This river receives further water from tributaries such as the Acateno, Atila, Amacuzac, Molinos and Cohetzala. The river has one major dam called Valsequllo or Manuel Avila Camacho. This river eventually flows west to the Pacific Ocean. The next system empties into the Gulf of Mexico and consists of the Pantepec, Cazones, Necaxa, Laxaxalpan, San Pedro/Zun, Zempoala, Apulco, Cedro Viejo, Salteros, Martínez de la Torre and other rivers on the east side of the state. This system has two major dams called the Necaxa and Mazatepec. The third is the closed Oriental Basin, with a large number of small lakes fresh water springs as well as some volcanically heated springs. The best known of these include Chignahuapan, Agua Azúl, Amalucan, Cisnaqullas, Garcicrespo, Almoloya and Rancho Colorado. Lakes include Chapulco, San Bernardino, Lagunas Epatlán, Ayutla, Almoloyan, Alchichica, Pahuatlán, Las Minas, Aljojuca and Tecuitlapa.


title: Puebla

text: Puebla has many different climates owing to its range of altitudes. It has an average temperature of but this varies greatly locally. There is a rainy season from May until October with an overall precipitation of . The state has eleven different climate zones, but five predominate. The centre and south of the state has a temperate and semi-moist climate, with an average temperature of and of rainfall. The southwest has a warm to hot and semi-moist climate with of precipitation and average temperature. The north is also warm and hot, and additionally very wet; it has a average temperature but with an average rainfall of . The southeast is semi-dry with warm and temperate temperatures, having an average temperature of and precipitation of . The high volcano peaks have a cold climate.


title: Puebla

text: The state has three main ecosystems, tropical rainforests, forests in temperate and cold areas, and arid and semi-arid zones.


title: Puebla

text: Tropical forests are divided into moist, semi-moist and dry forests. These can be found in the Huasteca Plateau, Chiconguiaco, Lagos y Volcánes de Anahuac, Sur de Puebla, Cordillera Costera del Sur, Sierras y Valles Guerrerenses, Sierras Orientales, Sierras Centrales de Oaxaca and Mixteca Alta. The most common species include "Ceiba parviflora, Bursera simaruba, Cedrela odorata, Swietenia macrophylla, Spondias mombin, Brosimum alicastrum, Coccoloba barbadensis, Pithecellobium arboreum, Lysiloma divaricatum, Phoebe tampicensis, Acacia coulteri" and "Ficus spp." These forests are also exploited for wood and other products, including traditional handcrafts. Low growing plants are used to feed livestock. Little is known about the ecosystems of these forests, but it is known that these areas are important to the regulation of water in area rivers. Human activity has severely damaged over 32,000 hectares.


title: Puebla

text: Tropical forests are divided by altitude. Upper forests are characterized by dense vegetation in fairly humid climates. The tree canopy reaches an average height of 15 meters. Not all species are evergreen, with a number losing leaves during the dry season. During the same season, a number of species also flower. For this reason, these forests never completely lose their color. Common species include "Cedrela sp., Brosimum alicastrum, Heliocarpus spp., Calophyllum brasiliense, Zuelania guidonia" and "Ficus spp." Most forests of this type are located near the borders with Veracruz and Hidalgo. Tropical forests at lower altitudes are found in areas with median temperatures of over 20 C, and annual rainfall of between 800 and . These areas often have a dry season of seven or eight months, and many of these forests will lose most or all of their leaves during this time. Common species include "Bursera simaruba, Lysiloma divaricatum, Phoebe tampicensis, Acacia coulteri, Beaucarnea recurvata, Lysiloma acapulcensis" and "Zuelania guidonia".


title: Puebla

text: Colder pine–oak forests can be found in the Huasteca Plateau, Sierra de Chiconquiaco, Lagos de Volcanos de Anáhuac, Sierras Orientales and Sierras Centrales de Oaxaca. These forests mostly consist of pines, oaks, oyamel fir and other conifers ("Abies religiosa, Pinus pseudostrobus, Pinus attenuata, Pinus ayacahuite, Pinus leiophylla, Pinus patula, Pinus teocote, Quercus spp, Quercus rugosa, Alnus spp, Arbutus spp, Cupressus spp" and "Juniperus spp."). Much of these areas have been extensively logged and some areas are used to farm trees. These trees are used for wood, paper and other wood-derived products. Due to human activity over 107,000 hectares are considered to be severely damaged.


title: Puebla

text: Temperate and cold area forests cover just under 22% of the surface of the state with various species of pine accounting for more than 80% of the trees. These are mostly found in the higher elevations of the mountains where the average temperature is around 15C and at heights of between 2,500 and 2,750masl. Above 3,000m "Pinus hartwegii" is dominant. Pine species which are the most economically valuable and include "Pinus montezumae, Pinus pseudostrobus, Pinus ayacahuite, Pinus greggii, Pinus hartwegii, Pinus lawsonii, Pinus leiophylla, Pinus michoacana, Pinus oocarpa, Pinus patula" and "Pinus teocote". The second most common kind of forest is dominated by oyamel fir, often intermingling with pines and oaks. These forests are found at altitudes of between 2,500 and 3,600masl and with an average temperature of between 7 and 15C and annual precipitation of . Forests with trees such as "Juniperus" spp., "Pseudotsuga spp., Pseudotsuga menziesii", and "Cupressus lindleyi" can also be found.


title: Puebla

text: The arid and semi arid area can be found in the Lagos y Volcanes de Anáhuac, Sur de Puebla, Cordillera Costera del Sur, Sierras y Valles Guerrerenses, Sierras Orientales and Sierras Centrales de Oaxaca. Types of vegetation often found includes mesquite, huizachal and agave, with species such as "Agave" spp, "Yuca" spp, "Opuntia" spp, "Aristida" spp., and "Stipa" spp. There is no forestry here but a number of plants are used for fibers, waxes, resins, handcrafts, medicine and a number are edible to both humans and livestock. Many of these arid areas subdivide into microclimates depending on minor variations in temperature and precipitation. Some areas, especially dry grasslands, have suffered overgrazing and soil erosion.


title: Puebla

text: In the south, near Puebla's borders with Oaxaca and Guerrero are dry mountainous areas, some of which are completely devoid of vegetation, similar to African deserts. Other are populated only by the occasional cactus, with those belonging to the "Fouquieria" genus standing out on the landscape. Where there are arroyos, the vegetation changes drastically to include a wide variety of plants packed along a narrow strip. Other areas in this part of the state are semi-arid, home to a variety of plant and bird species.


title: Puebla

text: Natural attractions in the state include the Bosque Mesófilos de la Sierra Madre Oriental in the north of the state, Piedras Encimadas Valley, Izta-Popo Zoquiapan National Park, La Malinche National Park, and the Pico de Orizaba National Park. The best known wilderness area is the Izta-Popo National park, which the state shares with neighboring State of Mexico. It is located only west of the state capital and the two often snow covered volcanoes are easily visible from this area, and important to the state culturally. The park is an area protected by the federal government because of its biological diversity and considered to be the “lungs” of the area due to its forests. Access to the park, especially to the volcanoes themselves is more restricted than in the past due to past ecological damage. Even further restrictions are put into place when the Popocatepetl volcano is active. However, the park has numerous hiking and horse paths in the forests that cover the lower elevations. On the slopes, there are many small caves, which in pre-Hispanic times were often used for ceremonies.


title: Puebla

text: The Sierra Madre Oriental, locally called the Sierra Norte, is a series of rugged mountains covered in abundant vegetation, which has had an isolating effect on the people here over the centuries. The Valle de Piedras Encimadas (Valley of the Stacked Stones) is located near the town of Zacatlán. It is really a series of small valleys covering 400 hectares filled with conifer forest. The attraction here are the stone formations which resemble stones stacked one over the other which take on numerous forms. Some have been said to resemble objects such as dogs, elephants, human heads and monsters. Most of the area is only accessible by foot or horseback.


title: Puebla

text: In the center of the state, just before the land rises to the north to form the Sierra Norte, there is an area called the Oriental Basin filled with lakes, both with water and dry. The dry lakebeds contain water only during the rainy season, which runs from summer through fall. The two largest are Salado and Totocingo Lakes. The first is seven km long and two km wide and the second is larger. The largest “wet” lakes are Laguna Preciosa, Laguna Quechulac, Laguna de Atexcac and Laguna de Aijojuca.


title: Puebla

text: The territory of the state was one of the first in modern Mexico to be inhabited by humans. Most of the earliest settlements have been found in the valley of Tehuacán, with the oldest near the Agujereado Mountain, which dates back to 10,000 BCE. At this site the oldest sample of corn ever found in the world has been found, which dates back to 1500 BCE. Along with Agujereado Mountain, there are more than 450 prehistoric sites in the Tehuacan Valley alone. Stone tools date to between 6500 and 4900 BCE, and evidence of agriculture to 3500 and 2000 BCE in areas such as Aljojuca, Totimiuacan, Cholula and Izucar. By 900 BCE, there is ample evidence of the cultivation of corn, beans, squash, chili peppers and cotton. The rise of city states was established by 700 BCE.


title: Puebla

text: By the Mesoamerican period, the area was inhabited by a number of ethnicities. The regions of Acatlán and part of Chiautla were dominated by the Mixtecs. Tepexi was dominated by the Popolocas. The central part of the state was dominated by the Olmec-Xicalancas and Nahuas, with strong cultural links to the Toltec-based culture at Cholula. The north was populated by the Totonacs, the Mazatecs and the Otomi, whose cultural center was in El Tajín. In the 14th century, Nonoalca ruler Xelhua, came to dominate almost all of the territory of Puebla. In the 15th century, Aztec domination took over the same area and more. Initially, the center and south areas were under the control of Tenochtitlan with Texcoco dominant in the north. Aztec domination continued until the Spanish Conquest.


title: Puebla

text: Hernán Cortés entered Puebla state in 1519, along with his indigenous allies from Veracruz, on his way to Tlaxcala. The Spanish takeover of the Puebla area was relatively easy. Many of the peoples here were under Aztec domination and saw the foreigners as a way to escape. One notable exception was the city of Cholula. While negotiating with the city's leaders, Cortés was told of a plot to attack him and his men. Cortés ordered his army to commit the Massacre of Cholula on 12 October 1519. This act terrified those who opposed the Spanish and they submitted. In 1520, after his initial defeat in Tenochtitlan (La Noche Triste) Hernán Cortés founded a Spanish settlement at Tepeaca, and took areas such as Huaquechula and Itzocan. Many natives leaders then provided men and supplies for the conquest of Tenochtitlan in 1521, and later to go with Pedro de Alvarado to Guatemala. Local indigenous governments survived in the very early colonial period, subject to the Spanish. These included Tuchpa, Tzicoac, Metztitlán, Tlapacoyan, Atotonilco, Tlatlaquitepec, Huaxtepec, Tepeaca, Tlacozautitlán, Quiauhteopan, Yoaltepec, Teotitlán del Camino, Cuautochco and Coixtlahuacan.


title: Puebla

text: The origins of the modern state lie in the founding of the city of Puebla in the Cuetlaxcoapan Valley in 1531 by Toribio de Benavente and Juan de Salmerón. The city was laid out by Hernando de Elgueta, marking out residential areas, commercial areas etc. The city received its royal seal in 1532 but flooding forced the settlement to move across the San Francisco River and start over that same year. The city's (and now state's) seal was granted in 1538. The city of Puebla was created to secure the route between Mexico City and the port of Veracruz, and was initially populated by soldiers and those who made a living by providing shelter and supplies to travelers between the two cities. However, it soon became the economic and cultural center of the valley areas between the Valley of Mexico and the Gulf Coast, as it provided a starting point for Spanish settlement. The area's economy expanded rapidly as many Europeans and indigenous decided to settle permanently, with the settlement of Puebla reaching city status in 1532 with the name of Ciudad de los Angeles.


title: Puebla

text: The Franciscans were in charge of the evangelization process in the state, starting from 1524, when they founded the monastery of Huejotzingo. Between 1540 and 1560, they founded others such as those in Tecamachalco, Quecholac, Tecali, Calpan, Cuautinchán, Zacatlán, Cholula, Huaquechula, Tepeaca, Tehuacán, Xalpa and Coatepec. The Augustinians arrived next, constructing monasteries in Chiautla, Chietla, Huatlatlauca, Tlapa, Xicotepec and Papaloticpac. The last of the evangelists were the Dominicans, who built monasteries at Izúcar de Matamoros, Tepapayeca, Huehuatlán and Tepexi. The bishopric was established in 1526. Initially, the seat was in the Yucatán, but it was eventually moved to Tlaxcala, then to Puebla by 1550. Eventually, its extension included the current states of Tlaxcala and Puebla during much of the colonial period.


title: Puebla

text: In 1783, the royal government in Spain divided New Spain into “intendencias” or provinces, one of which was centered on the city of Puebla. The first governor of Puebla was Manuel de Flon, Count of La Cadena. Initially, this intendencia included Tlaxcala, but it was separated out in 1793. Other parts were eventually separated out into other provinces/states such as Mexico, Guerrero and Veracruz.


title: Puebla

text: During the Mexican War of Independence, the city of Puebla remained loyal to the viceroy in Mexico City, sending troops to defend it at the Battle of Monte de las Cruces against Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla. Ecclesiastical authorities in the Cathedral excommunicated insurgent priests and battles took place in Izúcar and Chiautla. Most of the south of the state, especially Izucar and the Sierra Mixteca were firmly in insurgent hands. Control then bypassed the capital and reached the more northern settlements of Tehuacan and Atlixco. After Independence, the first governor of the state was Carlos García Arriaga in 1821. The first state congress was seated in 1824, with the first state constitution adopted the same year. The new state was divided initially into 21 parts. The Spanish were expelled from the state in 1827. In 1849, the state was reorganized into eight departments and 162 municipalities and again in 1895 with 21 districts and 180 municipalities.


title: Puebla

text: During the rest of the 19th century, the state developed economically through industry. The first mechanized textile mill was established in 1831, soon followed by 17 others in the city of Puebla. Progress was interrupted by Santa Anna's siege of the city in 1845 and two years later when the Americans under General Winfield Scott took the city on their way to Mexico City. The Americans left three years later at the end of the war.


title: Puebla

text: Much of the rest of the century was occupied with civil strife such as the insurrection of Francisco Ortega against the federal government, the Reform War and the French Intervention. The last provoked the Battle of Puebla on 5 May 1862, when 6,000 French troops attacked the forts named Loreto and Guadalupe outside of the city of Puebla, but they were repelled by forces under Ignacio Zaragoza. Zaragoza died some months after this battle, and he would be later honored by having his name added to that of the city. However, less than a year later, the city would be taken and shortly after, Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico would be installed. However, his rule would be brief and the French, along with their conservative Mexican allies, were expelled from the state in 1867.


title: Puebla

text: From this time to the Mexican Revolution, a number of important infrastructure projects were undertaken. One was the Puebla-Veracruz rail line in 1873 and the Escuela Normal para Profesores (Teachers’ College) in 1879. In 1907, a hydroelectric plant was built in Necaxa. However, the economic policies of this area caused widespread unrest, beginning with workers’ strikes. Directly against the regime of Porfirio Díaz was the Club Antireeleccionista (Anti-reelection Club) headed by Aquiles Serdán in 1909. In November 1910, after long government surveillance, troops attacked the Serdán house in Puebla killing Aquiles and his brother Máximo. For this reason, the state claims one of the first battles of the Mexican Revolution.


title: Puebla

text: In 1912, the Liberation Army of the South or Zapatistas took over a number of communities in the state. In 1914, they were challenged by forces loyal to Venustiano Carranza, which occupied the capital briefly. However, the Zapatistas would hold power for the rest of the war. Under the 1917 Constitution, the state was reestablished with 222 municipalities. One of the last skirmishes of the war occurred in Aljibes, Puebla in May 1920 when forces of Álvaro Obregón attacked those of Carranza as he was headed to Veracruz. Carranza was assassinated in Tlaxcalantongo in the Sierra Norte de Puebla soon thereafter.


title: Puebla

text: The 1920s immediately after the war was marked by instability. The governorship changed hands frequently with resistance to whoever was in power from other parts of the state. Despite this, the Universidad de Puebla was established by Maximino Ávila Camacho during this decade. True political stability would not come until the governorship of Gustavo Díaz Ordaz in 1942.


title: Puebla

text: Since the Mexican Revolution, the city of Puebla and its suburbs are one of the most industrialized areas in Mexico, with the metropolitan area ranked fourth in size. Its position near both Mexico City and the Gulf coast continues to be an advantage. However, modern development of the city area has been restricted to outside the city center, in order to preserve its traditional look. This historic center was named a World Heritage Site in 1987, with the Biblioteca Palafoxiana named as part of the Memory of the World Programme in 2005. Today, Puebla's economic development is centered on its capital. This capital is part of the megalopolis centered on Mexico City.


title: Puebla

text: In 1977, the center of the city of Puebla was named a “Zone of Historic Monuments.” The same area was later named a World Heritage Site in 1987. In 1979, Puebla was the scene of one of Pope John Paul II's early papal visits outside Italy to Mexico for that year's CELAM conference over three months after his election and papal inauguration.


title: Puebla

text: In 1998, the state was declared in a state of emergency due to 122 forest fires with affected 2,998 hectares of land over two weeks. Many of the fires were started by fires on agricultural lands and the extremely dry conditions made the fires out of control.


title: Puebla

text: The 1999 Tehuacán earthquake did major damage to much of state, especially many of its colonial era churches, and the colonial buildings of the historic center of the city of Puebla. The state of Puebla was declared a disaster area.


title: Puebla

text: In the 2000s, organizations such as Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF) have accused state governmental officials of restricting and suppressing the press. Some of the threats against reporters have included false arrests and death threats.


title: Puebla

text: More than two years after the 2017 Puebla earthquake when 621 buildings—mostly 16th to 19th-century churches—were damaged in the state, 46 have been restored, 88 are in process, and 380 have not been restored at all.


title: Puebla

text: In 2005, the state had a population of 5,383,133 according to the INEGI census, ranking fifth in the country. Over 93% of the state's population identifies as Roman Catholic with 4.4% identifying as Protestant or Evangelical.


title: Puebla

text: In 1921, Puebla had the second largest population, after Oaxaca, of purely indigenous people according to the national census. Since then, the official census has eliminated categories for race, counting only those who speak an indigenous language. In 2000, an attempt was made to count indigenous ethnicities, regardless of language spoken. This count ranked Puebla as fifth with a total population of 957,650. However, according to the 2005 census, there were 548,723 people who spoke an indigenous language. According to a 2000 census, Censo General de Población y Vivienda, Puebla has the highest number of Nahuatl speakers over 5 years of age. There are 416,968 speakers making up about 8.21% of the population of the state.


title: Puebla

text: The state has five major indigenous ethnic groups: the Nahuas, the Totonacs, the Mixtecs, the Popolocas and the Otomi. The state has two well-defined areas in which indigenous peoples still maintain many ancient traditions, rites, and customs. These two regions are called the Sierra Norte in the north and the Sierra Negra in the south. In these areas, these traditions, and the agriculture they are dependent on, have survived because industrialization has not penetrated the rugged landscape.


title: Puebla

text: The Sierra Norte, especially the municipalities of Cuetzalan, Pahuatlán, Huehuetlán el Grande and Teziutlán, are dominated by the Nahuas, Totonacas and Otomi. There is also a small region locally called the Sierra Negra in which there are communities of Popolocas, Nahuas and Mazatecos, especially in the municipality of Eloxochitlán, Tlacotepec and part of the city of Tehuacán.


title: Puebla

text: The Mixtec people who live in the south of Puebla are part of an ethnic group which are still the dominant indigenous group in an area that stretches over Puebla, Oaxaca and the mountains of Guerrero. They are the fourth largest indigenous group in Mexico. The Sierra Mixteca region in Puebla is part of the Mixteca Baja region, which crosses into parts of Oaxaca as well. In the Mesoamerican period, the Mixtecs of Puebla dominated further north than they do now and archeologists classify “Mixteca-Puebla” art as distinct from other Mixtec arts and crafts. There are an estimated 6,700 Mixtecs living in Puebla, however, many have emigrated out of traditional Mixtec areas into other parts of the state, Mexico City and even the United States to work.


title: Puebla

text: According to the 2020 Census, 1.73% of Puebla's population identified as Black, Afro-Mexican, or of African descent.


title: Puebla

text: The state is divided into seven socioeconomic regions for planning purposes: Region I-Huauchinango, Region II – Teziutlán, Region III Ciudad Serdán, Region IV San Pedro Cholula, Region V – Puebla, Region VI Izúcar de Matamoros and Region VII Tehuacán.


title: Puebla

text: The state was a diverse economic base supporting industries such as textiles, tourism, agribusiness, storage, medical services, furniture making and logistics services in clusters.(promotedor) In 2010, Standard & Poor's reconfirmed the state's ‘mxA+’ rating with a stable outlook due to the state's finances. The state's economy grew at a rate of 4.5% from 2003 to 2007, above the national average of 3.9%. Since then, economic growth has slowed but less than in other parts of Mexico. Its gross domestic product accounts for 3.4% of the country's total.


title: Puebla

text: However, almost all of the state's development has been centered on the capital city and the surrounding areas. This has caused a wide economic gap between rich and poor and between the city areas and the rural areas, with much of the state lacking investment by the government (infrastructure) or by private interests. This has led the United Nations to rank the state as the seventh most underdeveloped in the country, despite the industry in the Puebla city area in 2006–2007, with areas lacking basic services such as health, water and education along with high unemployment. The state is even ranked lower for these than Lebanon, Cuba and Bosnia. The UN blames poor government policies and corruption for much of the state's poverty.


title: Puebla

text: According to several NGO’s, such as the Consejo Nacional de Evaluación de la Política de Desarrollo Social (Coneval), and Marcos Gutiérrez Barrón, professor of economics at the Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla, Puebla has the third highest level of poverty in the country. This ranking takes into account factors such as income per capita, housing, educational opportunities, food supply and family cohesion. As much as two-thirds of the state's population or about 3.5 million live under the poverty line. The state's Secretaria de Desarrollo Social (Secretariat of Social Development) increased its budget in 2008 to 757 million pesos. Ten of the state's municipalities are ranked among the poorest in the country.


title: Puebla

text: Puebla is a state where migrant workers both head to and leave from. Most incoming workers are indigenous from the states of Oaxaca and Guerrero, according to a study done by the National Indigenous Institute and the United Nations. Most of these emigrants are Mixtecs from the south of the state, which head to areas such as Mexico City and the north of the country either seasonally or permanently. Many also head to the United States to work illegally. The migration situation has caused the population to drop in a number of areas in the state. The UN states that the main reason for emigration is the lack of local economic development especially in rural and indigenous areas.


title: Puebla

text: Thirty seven percent of the population is employed in agriculture, livestock and fishing. Agricultural units cover 2,233,897 hectares in rural areas of the state. Just over fifty percent is dedicated to the growing of crops, 46.5% to pasture, 2.6% is forest and .8% is wild vegetation. Agriculture is the most important economic activity of the rural areas, but it is mostly limited to the rainy season from June to October, as there are few facilities for irrigation. This limits the sector's growth potential significantly. Due to lack of investment only 11% of the state's arable land is irrigated. Seventy two percent of farmland is privately own with the rest belonging to ejidos or other types of communal ownership. The municipalities with the most cultivated land are Chignahuapan, Chalchicomula de Sesma, Tlachichuca and Zacapoaxtla.


title: Puebla

text: The most important activities include production of domestic fowl (eggs and meat), which accounts for 37%, cattle (dairy and meat) at 12%, grains (90% corn) and pork at 10% each, vegetables (tomatillos, onions, carrots, tomatoes, and squash) at 8% and fruit (oranges, limes, cactus pear, apples, avocados and peaches) at 4%. Other important crops include beans, animal feed, alfalfa and sugar cane. Most crops are grown in the municipalities of Hueytamalco, Francisco Z. Mena, Venustiano Carranza, Xicotepec and Jalpan. Most crops, especially corn, are grown on relatively small farms, communal fields and family plots, but perennial crops such as rubber trees, coffee and citrus from are mostly grown on large plantations. The most important livestock in the state are cattle, pigs and domestic fowl. Cattle are prevalent in the municipalities of Francisco Z. Mena, Venustiano Carranza, Jalpan, Hueytamalco and Chiautla de Tapia. Pigs are mostly found in Tehuacán, Ajalpan, Tepanco de López, Tecamachalco and Yehualtepec. The entire state ranks first in the production of domestic fowl with most being produced in the municipalities of Ajalpan, Tehuacán, Tecamachalco, Tepanco de López and Tochtepec. Other livestock raised include goats, sheep and horses.


title: Puebla

text: Other production of primary materials includes forest products and fish. Over 93% of the tree species exploited in the state are conifers mostly cut for wood production. In 2007, the annual production of wood products had risen to . Most forestry occurs in the municipalities of Chignahuapan, Tetela de Ocampo, Vicente Guerrero, Zacatlán and Huauchinango. Fish are both caught wild and farmed and mostly concentrate on species such as carp, trout and mojarra. Most are harvested in the state's dams and lakes, which cover a surface area of 6,500 hectares.


title: Puebla

text: The state has been an important industrial center since colonial times, mostly known for the production of textiles and pottery, both of which continue to be made. Today, industries of various types, along with mining and construction employ about twenty five percent of the state's population. More than 150,000 small and medium-sized factories operate in the state, providing 60% of the state's GDP. Most industry in the state in concentrated in and around the capital. The most important industries are in metals, chemicals, electronic items and textiles. Textiles produced in the state mostly involve thread, machinery, knitted items and woven fabrics. Moreover, the first and one of the biggest textile factory in Mexico and in Latinamerica, The "La Constancia Mexicana Factory", was built in capital of Puebla. Two important employers are Hylsa and the Volkswagen plant, both in the Puebla area.


title: Puebla

text: Two important industries are automotive and agribusiness. The automotive sector is important for the state as a leading manufacturer of both automobiles and automobile parts. Some of the businesses located in the state include Denso México, Arvin Meritor de México, Mabe, Leoni, Hyundai-Kia Motors, Coramex Company and Forteq. Industry related to agriculture consists of both producing products needed by farmers and processing agricultural produce. Some of these companies include Nestle de México, Pasan, Chocolatera Moctezuma, Sabormex, Big Cola, Bomba Energy, Ochoa Comercial, Grupo Pepsico, Compañía Topo Chico, Red Bull, Grupo Bimbo, Unifoods, Novamex, The Coca-Cola Company, Supermercados Gigante, Soriana, La Costeña and Jugos del Valle.


title: Puebla

text: There are nine state and four federal programs targeting small and medium-sized producers, which provide training, consulting, trademarks and other services. Some programs target specific industries such as software. One focus of the state is to promote technology based industries which produced high-value products. There are eleven industrial parks and other special industry zones for this purpose. Another area identified for improvement is higher education, to produce graduates to work in these kinds of industries. Commercial events include the Exintex International Exhibition, which is held in the state each year and attracts textile manufacturers from states such as Morelos, Tlaxcala, Tamaulipas, Guanajuato, Querétaro and Aguascalientes as well as the cities of Guadalajara and Mexico City.


title: Puebla

text: Mining produces calcite, marble, calcium oxide, onyx, and lime. The most important mining processing concerns are Calera Santa Ma. S.A, Marmiparquet S.A, Química Sumex S.A de C.V and Yacimientos de Travertino S.A., and the sector employs about 270,000 workers.


title: Puebla

text: Talavera pottery is the state's best known craft. This pottery is a type of maiolica, which was introduced into Spain by the Arabs, and into Mexico by the Spanish. Talavera is considered to be the finest of Mexico's pottery traditions, which is still made with the same techniques as in the colonial period. Talavera pottery began in the city of Puebla when the Spaniards brought over from Europe the techniques of making maiolica pottery, itself brought from China via the Arabs. The techniques and designs were based on the pottery made in Talavera, Spain. The high-quality clay and the formation of guilds to ensure quality soon made pottery made in Puebla a near-luxury item. The craft waned after Independence, but made a comeback in the latter 20th century. Today certified Talavera pottery in made only in a handful of workshops in the capital and other nearby communities. To be certified as genuine the same methods as used in the 16th century must be applied. True Talavera pottery is expensive and considered to be collectors’ items.


title: Puebla

text: Other types of pottery in the state exist. One is the black clay figures made in Acatlán de Osorio. Most of these figures are animals and are almost always painted with white designs. Black clay is also used to make cups, plates and other utilitarian items in other communities. Another important clay craft are the Trees of Life, mostly made in the community of Izúcar de Matamoros and Acatlán de Osorio. Traditionally, these are sculptures depicting Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, but the craft has evolved to include other themes as well.


title: Puebla

text: The making of textiles and embroidery dates back to pre-Hispanic times. Traditional clothing such as rebozos, sarapes, shirts and pants are still made in various parts of the state and reflect the different indigenous communities which are found here. Hueyapan is one of the better known artisanal textile producers, with clothing items and others richly and colorfully embroidered. Both the thread used to weave the cloth and embroider it are dyed with natural dyes such as those obtained from the cochineal insect. Another area known for its textiles is Zacapoaxtla in the north of the state.


title: Puebla

text: The town of Amozoc is known for its silverwork. This tradition began when a number of metalworkers of various types settled here after the Conquest in the 16th century. These smiths made a variety of objects from the everyday such as knives, swords, stirrups and more, eventually branching into finer metals such as silver and gold, mother-of-pearl, ivory and more. However, it is silver smithing which has best survived to the present day.


title: Puebla

text: There are two widely practice paper crafts in Puebla. The making of bark paper or amate was known in pre-Hispanic times when such was reserved for special ceremonies and the recording of important information. It had an almost magical quality to it and was used for spells, clothing of idols and other ceremonial purposes. Today, the paper is still made as an art form and often painted with elaborate designs. In Puebla, the paper is still made by hand and often it is hand-painted with pre-Hispanic designs. One area noted for this craft is San Salvador Huixcolotla. Another is San Pablito Pahuatlán in the Sierra Norte. One notable amate paper artist is curandero Alfonso García Téllez, who narrates stories and ceremonies in his works. Another paper craft is papel picado, or “chopped paper.” This craft began with the introduction of crepe paper from Asia. This paper is elaborately cut to form figures and scenes which are then hung for decorative purposes for holidays such as Day of the Dead. This most traditional of these are laborious cut by hand, but most are done today by machine. Those native to Puebla feature a large figure with a detailed background and are considered to be part of the state's cultural heritage (Patrimonio Cultural del Estado de Puebla).


title: Puebla

text: A relatively recent craft is the making of blown glass Christmas ornaments in Chignahuapan. This municipality has about 200 workshops which employ about 1,500 workers, which makes the spherical ornaments individually and many are shipped internationally to the United States and Latin America. This craft is still growing and represents one of the more stable small scale manufacturing endeavors in Puebla.


title: Puebla

text: For many rural communities, the making of handcrafted furniture, both fine and rustic, is an important economic activity. One such community is Ciudad Serdán, which makes wooden utensils, decorative figures and banister work in addition to furniture. It has a strong reputation along with Chignahuapan. Areas outside of Ciudad Serdán are known for specializing in reproductions of Louis XV and Louis XVI furniture. The community of Trinidad Alonso Báez is known as the only place in Latin American where pianos are made purely by hand. They are also known for the repairing of musical instrument with many of the state's antique church organs fixed by craftsmen from here.


title: Puebla

text: Onyx is a plentiful stone in the state and it is worked into figures and other items in various parts of the state. The most important deposit of the stone is in Tecali and many workshops fill the streets of this town. Most of the pieces made are decorative in nature but small utilitarian items such as plates and ashtrays are also made.


title: Puebla

text: Amozoc has been known for silver smithing since colonial times, when European techniques were brought over by the Spanish. As back then, they still make items such as jewelry, silverware, and items for church rituals. These smiths’ work is considered to be quality, with the finest pieces encrusted with precious and semi-precious gems, gold, and ivory.


title: Puebla

text: The first glass workshop in New Spain was established in Puebla by Spaniard Rodrigo Espinoza in 1542. It remained the only one in Spain's colonies for decades, exporting glass items to places such as Peru and Guatemala. In the 18th century, Pedro Antonio revitalized the craft with a new factory. This factory was the main producer until the establishment of the Compañia Empresarial para la Fabricacion del Vidrio Plano y Cristal in 1838. This company introduced French designs and techniques to Mexico. The next major glassmaker was Victor Martinez Filoteo, who established the Fabrica La Luz in 1935. This company is still the major producer of glass items in the state. Small workshops are prevalent in Huaquechula, where they specialize items made with black and smoke-colored glass.


title: Puebla

text: Thirty five percent are employed in commerce, tourism and transportation. The state has of highways and of rail line, as well as twenty three major malls. Outlet Puebla was opened in 2001 on the highway between Mexico City and the city of Puebla where it intersects with the Periferico Ecologico. It contains more than 80 outlet stores with major national and international brands such as Reebok, Guess and Pepe Jeans, located on a site of over 30,000m2. The enterprise is run by Asesores en Exposiciones y Calpro, S. A. de C. V. The mall targets traveling customers from the states of Puebla, Veracruz, Oaxaca and Tlaxcala as well as Mexico City.


title: Puebla

text: The international airport in Huejotzingo is linked to the Mexico City airport by land transport. Efforts have been made to expand the airport in Huejotzingo to be an auxiliary to the overcrowded Mexico City airport. The airport has been chosen due to its relatively quiet airspace and proximity to the nation's capital. , the airport handles sixty operations per day, 40 of which are commercial flights serving 2.5 million passengers per year.


title: Puebla

text: The state has 2,600 historic buildings, antiques, bars and pottery workshops. The downtown of the capital is filled with churches, government buildings and large homes, built by indigenous hands for their Spanish overlords. This downtown was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987.


title: Puebla

text: The state promotes twelve tourist routes, seven in the city of Puebla and five in the rest of the state. These routes cover the most representative buildings of the history of the state up to modern attractions such as the Africam Safari zoo. The first tourist route in the city of Puebla passes by the Cathedral, the Palafoxiana Library, the Capilla del Rosario, Calle de Santa Clara, Palacio Municipal, Casa de los Muñecos and the Museo Amparo. The second route passes by the Casa del Alfeñique, the Mercado de Artesanias, the Barrio del Artista, the Teatro Principal and the San Francisco Church. The third route contains the Railroad Museum, the Museo y Pinacoteca Ex-Convento de Santa Monica, the Ex-Convento de Santa Rosa, the Museo de la No-Intervencion Fuerte de Guadalupe and the Mercado de Antiguedades. The fourth route contains the San Francisco Acatepec Church, the Santa Maria Tonatzintla Church, the Capilla Real, the Cholula archeological site, the Los Remedios Church and Huejotzingo. The fifth route includes Cuauhtinchan, Tecali and the Africam Safari Zoo.