title: Francis I of France

text: As Francis was receiving his education, ideas emerging from the Italian Renaissance were influential in France. Some of his tutors, such as François Desmoulins de Rochefort (his Latin instructor, who later during the reign of Francis was named "Grand Aumônier de France") and Christophe de Longueil (a Brabantian humanist), were attracted by these new ways of thinking and attempted to influence Francis. His academic education had been in arithmetic, geography, grammar, history, reading, spelling, and writing and he became proficient in Hebrew, Italian, Latin and Spanish. Francis came to learn chivalry, dancing, and music, and he loved archery, falconry, horseback riding, hunting, jousting, real tennis and wrestling. He ended up reading philosophy and theology and he was fascinated with art, literature, poetry and science. His mother, who had a high admiration for Italian Renaissance art, passed this interest on to her son. Although Francis did not receive a humanist education, he was more influenced by humanism than any previous French king.


title: Francis I of France

text: By the time he ascended the throne in 1515, the Renaissance had arrived in France, and Francis became an enthusiastic patron of the arts. At the time of his accession, the royal palaces of France were ornamented with only a scattering of great paintings, and not a single sculpture, either ancient or modern.


title: Francis I of France

text: Francis patronized many great artists of his time, including Andrea del Sarto and Leonardo da Vinci; the latter of whom was persuaded to make France his home during his last years. While da Vinci painted very little during his years in France, he brought with him many of his greatest works, including the "Mona Lisa" (known in France as "La Joconde"), and these remained in France after his death. Other major artists to receive Francis' patronage included the goldsmith Benvenuto Cellini and the painters Rosso Fiorentino, Giulio Romano, and Primaticcio, all of whom were employed in decorating Francis' various palaces. He also invited the noted architect Sebastiano Serlio (1475–1554), who enjoyed a fruitful late career in France. Francis also commissioned a number of agents in Italy to procure notable works of art and ship them to France.


title: Francis I of France

text: Francis was also renowned as a man of letters. When Francis comes up in a conversation among characters in Baldassare Castiglione's "Book of the Courtier", it is as the great hope to bring culture to the war-obsessed French nation. Not only did Francis support a number of major writers of the period, but he was also a poet himself, if not one of particular abilities. Francis worked diligently at improving the royal library. He appointed the great French humanist Guillaume Budé as chief librarian and began to expand the collection. Francis employed agents in Italy to look for rare books and manuscripts, just as he had agents looking for artworks. During his reign, the size of the library greatly increased. Not only did he expand the library, there is also evidence that he read the books he bought for it, a much rarer event in the royal annals. Francis set an important precedent by opening his library to scholars from around the world in order to facilitate the diffusion of knowledge.


title: Francis I of France

text: In 1537, Francis signed the Ordonnance de Montpellier, which decreed that his library be given a copy of every book to be sold in France. Francis' older sister, Marguerite, Queen of Navarre, was also an accomplished writer who produced the classic collection of short stories known as the "Heptameron". Francis corresponded with the abbess and philosopher Claude de Bectoz, of whose letters he was so fond that he would carry them around and show them to the ladies of his court.


title: Francis I of France

text: Francis poured vast amounts of money into new structures. He continued the work of his predecessors on the Château d'Amboise and also started renovations on the Château de Blois. Early in his reign, he began construction of the magnificent Château de Chambord, inspired by the architectural styles of the Italian renaissance, and perhaps even designed by Leonardo da Vinci. Francis rebuilt the Louvre Palace, transforming it from a medieval fortress into a building of Renaissance splendour. He financed the building of a new City Hall (the "Hôtel de Ville") for Paris in order to have control over the building's design. He constructed the Château de Madrid in the Bois de Boulogne and rebuilt the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye. The largest of Francis' building projects was the reconstruction and expansion of the Château de Fontainebleau, which quickly became his favourite place of residence, as well as the residence of his official mistress, Anne, Duchess of Étampes. Each of Francis' projects was luxuriously decorated both inside and out. Fontainebleau, for instance, had a gushing fountain in its courtyard where quantities of wine were mixed with the water.


title: Francis I of France

text: Although the Italian Wars (1494–1559) came to dominate the reign of Francis I, the wars were not the sole focus of his policies. Francis merely continued the incessant wars that his predecessors had started and that his successors on the throne of France would drag on after Francis' death. Indeed, the Italian Wars had begun when Milan sent a plea to King Charles VIII of France for protection against the aggressive actions of the King of Naples. Militarily and diplomatically, Francis' reign was a mixed bag of success and failure. Francis tried and failed to become Holy Roman Emperor at the Imperial election of 1519. However, there were also temporary victories, such as in the portion of the Italian Wars called the War of the League of Cambrai (1508–1516) and, more specifically, to the final stage of that war, which history refers to simply as "Francis' First Italian War" (1515–1516), when Francis routed the combined forces of the Papal States and the Old Swiss Confederacy at Marignano on 13–15 September 1515. This victory at Marignano allowed Francis to capture the Italian city-state of Milan. Later, in November 1521, during the Four Years' War (1521–1526) and facing the advancing Imperial forces of the Holy Roman Empire and open revolt within Milan, Francis was forced to abandon Milan, thus, cancelling the triumph at Marignano.


title: Francis I of France

text: Much of the military activity of Francis's reign was focused on his sworn enemy, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Francis and Charles maintained an intensely personal rivalry. Charles, in fact, brashly challenged Francis to single combat multiple times. In addition to the Holy Roman Empire, Charles personally ruled Spain, Austria, and a number of smaller possessions neighbouring France. He was thus a constant threat to Francis' kingdom.


title: Francis I of France

text: Francis attempted to arrange an alliance with Henry VIII of England at the famous meeting at the Field of Cloth of Gold on 7 June 1520, but despite a lavish fortnight of diplomacy they failed to reach an agreement. Francis and Henry were both obsessed with dreams of power and chivalric glory; their relationship featured intense personal and dynastic rivalry. Francis was driven by his intense eagerness for retaking Milan, despite the strong opposition of other Powers. Henry was likewise determined to recapture northern France, which Francis could never allow.


title: Francis I of France

text: Francis suffered his most devastating defeat at the Battle of Pavia on 24 February 1525, during part of the continuing Italian Wars known as the Four Years' War. Francis was actually taken prisoner: Cesare Hercolani injured his horse, and Francis was captured by Diego Dávila, Alonso Pita da Veiga, and Juan de Urbieta, from Guipúzcoa. For this reason, Hercolani was named "Victor of the battle of Pavia". "Zuppa alla Pavese" was supposedly invented on the spot to feed the captive king right after the battle.


title: Francis I of France

text: Francis I was held captive in Madrid. In a letter to his mother he wrote, "Of all things, nothing remains to me but honour and life, which is safe." This line has come down in history famously as "All is lost save honour." Francis made major concessions to Charles V in the Treaty of Madrid (1526), signed on 14 January, before he was freed on 17 March. An ultimatum from Ottoman Sultan Suleiman to Charles V also played an important role in his release. Francis I surrendered any claims to Naples and Milan in Italy. Francis recognised the independence of the Duchy of Burgundy, which had been part of France since the death of Charles the Bold in 1477. And finally, Francis was betrothed to Charles' sister Eleanor. Francis was allowed to return to France in exchange for his two sons, Francis and Henry, but once he was free he argued that his agreement with Charles was made under duress. He also claimed that the agreement was void because his sons were taken hostage with the implication that his word alone could not be trusted. Thus he firmly repudiated it. A renewed alliance with England enabled Francis to repudiate the treaty of Madrid.


title: Francis I of France

text: Francis persevered in his hatred of Charles V and his desire to control Italy. By the mid-1520s, Pope Clement VII wished to liberate Italy from foreign domination, especially that of Charles V, so he allied with Venice to form the League of Cognac. Francis joined the League in May 1526, in the War of the League of Cognac of 1526–30. Francis' allies proved weak, and the war was ended by the Treaty of Cambrai (1529; "the Peace of the Ladies", negotiated by Francis’ mother and Charles’ aunt). The two boys were released, and Francis married Eleanor.


title: Francis I of France

text: After the League of Cognac failed, Francis concluded a secret alliance with the Landgrave of Hesse on 27 January 1534. This was directed against Charles V on the pretext of assisting the Duke of Württemberg to regain his traditional seat, from which Charles had removed him in 1519. Francis also obtained the help of the Ottoman Empire and after the death of Francesco II Sforza, ruler of Milan, renewed the contest in Italy in the Italian War of 1536–1538. This round of fighting, which had little result, was ended by the Truce of Nice. The agreement collapsed, however, which led to Francis' final attempt on Italy in the Italian War of 1542–1546. This time Francis managed to hold off the forces of Charles V and Henry VIII. Charles V was forced to sign the Treaty of Crépy because of his financial difficulties and conflicts with the Schmalkaldic League.


title: Francis I of France

text: Francis had been much aggrieved at the papal bull "Aeterni regis": in June 1481 Portuguese rule over Africa and the Indies was confirmed by Pope Sixtus IV. Thirteen years later, on 7 June 1494, Portugal and the Crown of Castille signed the Treaty of Tordesillas under which the newly discovered lands would be divided between the two signatories. All this prompted King Francis to declare, "The sun shines for me as it does for others. I would very much like to see the clause of Adam’s will by which I should be denied my share of the world."


title: Francis I of France

text: In order to counterbalance the power of the Habsburg Empire under Charles V, especially its control of large parts of the New World through the Crown of Spain, Francis I endeavoured to develop contacts with the New World and Asia. Fleets were sent to the Americas and the Far East, and close contacts were developed with the Ottoman Empire permitting the development of French Mediterranean trade as well as the establishment of a strategic military alliance.


title: Francis I of France

text: The port city now known as Le Havre was founded in 1517 during the early years of Francis' reign. The construction of a new port was urgently needed in order to replace the ancient harbours of Honfleur and Harfleur, whose utility had decreased due to silting. Le Havre was originally named "Franciscopolis" after the King who founded it, but this name did not survive into later reigns.


title: Francis I of France

text: In 1524, Francis assisted the citizens of Lyon in financing the expedition of Giovanni da Verrazzano to North America. On this expedition, Verrazzano visited the present site of New York City, naming it New Angoulême, and claimed Newfoundland for the French crown. Verrazzano's letter to Francis of 8 July 1524 is known as the "Cèllere Codex".


title: Francis I of France

text: In 1534, Francis sent Jacques Cartier to explore the St. Lawrence River in Quebec to find "certain islands and lands where it is said there must be great quantities of gold and other riches". In 1541, Francis sent Jean-François de Roberval to settle Canada and to provide for the spread of "the Holy Catholic faith."


title: Francis I of France

text: French trade with East Asia was initiated during the reign of Francis I with the help of shipowner Jean Ango. In July 1527, a French Norman trading ship from the city of Rouen is recorded by the Portuguese João de Barros as having arrived in the Indian city of Diu. In 1529, Jean Parmentier, on board the "Sacre" and the "Pensée", reached Sumatra. Upon its return, the expedition triggered the development of the Dieppe maps, influencing the work of Dieppe cartographers such as Jean Rotz.


title: Francis I of France

text: Under the reign of Francis I, France became the first country in Europe to establish formal relations with the Ottoman Empire and to set up instruction in the Arabic language under the guidance of Guillaume Postel at the Collège de France.


title: Francis I of France

text: In a watershed moment in European diplomacy, Francis came to an understanding with the Ottoman Empire that developed into a Franco-Ottoman alliance. The objective for Francis was to find an ally against the House of Habsburg. The pretext used by Francis was the protection of the Christians in Ottoman lands. The alliance has been called "the first nonideological diplomatic alliance of its kind between a Christian and non-Christian empire". It did, however, cause quite a scandal in the Christian world and was designated "the impious alliance", or "the sacrilegious union of the [French] Lily and the [Ottoman] Crescent." Nevertheless, it endured for many years, since it served the objective interests of both parties. The two powers colluded against Charles V, and in 1543 they even combined for a joint naval assault in the Siege of Nice.


title: Francis I of France

text: In 1533, Francis I sent colonel Pierre de Piton as ambassador to Morocco, initiating official France-Morocco relations. In a letter to Francis I dated 13 August 1533, the Wattassid ruler of Fez, Ahmed ben Mohammed, welcomed French overtures and granted freedom of shipping and protection of French traders.


title: Francis I of France

text: Francis took several steps to eradicate the monopoly of Latin as the language of knowledge. In 1530, he declared French the national language of the kingdom, and that same year opened the Collège des trois langues, or Collège Royal, following the recommendation of humanist Guillaume Budé. Students at the Collège could study Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic, then Arabic under Guillaume Postel beginning in 1539.


title: Francis I of France

text: In 1539, in his castle in Villers-Cotterêts, Francis signed the important edict known as Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts, which, among other reforms, made French the administrative language of the kingdom as a replacement for Latin. This same edict required priests to register births, marriages, and deaths, and to establish a registry office in every parish. This initiated the first records of vital statistics with filiations available in Europe.


title: Francis I of France

text: Divisions in Christianity in Western Europe during Francis' reign created lasting international rifts. Martin Luther's preaching and writing sparked the Protestant Reformation, which spread through much of Europe, including France.


title: Francis I of France

text: Initially Francis was relatively tolerant of the new movement, despite burning several heretics at the Place Maubert in 1523. He was influenced by his beloved sister Marguerite de Navarre, who was genuinely attracted by Luther's theology. Francis even considered it politically useful, as it caused many German princes to turn against his enemy Charles V.


title: Francis I of France

text: Francis' attitude towards Protestantism changed for the worse following the "Affair of the Placards", on the night of 17 October 1534, in which notices appeared on the streets of Paris and other major cities denouncing the Catholic mass. The most fervent Catholics were outraged by the notice's allegations. Francis himself came to view the movement as a plot against him and began to persecute its followers. Protestants were jailed and executed. In some areas, whole villages were destroyed. In Paris, after 1540, Francis had heretics such as Etienne Dolet tortured and burned. Printing was censored and leading Protestant reformers such as John Calvin were forced into exile. The persecutions soon numbered thousands of dead and tens of thousands of homeless.


title: Francis I of France

text: Persecutions against Protestants were codified in the Edict of Fontainebleau (1540) issued by Francis. Major acts of violence continued, as when Francis ordered the execution of one of the historical pre-Lutheran groups, the Waldensians, at the Massacre of Mérindol in 1545.


title: Francis I of France

text: Francis died at the Château de Rambouillet on 31 March 1547, on his son and successor's 28th birthday. It is said that "he died complaining about the weight of a crown that he had first perceived as a gift from God". He was interred with his first wife, Claude, Duchess of Brittany, in Saint Denis Basilica. He was succeeded by his son, Henry II.


title: Francis I of France

text: Francis' tomb and that of his wife and mother, along with the tombs of other French kings and members of the royal family, were desecrated on 20 October 1793 during the Reign of Terror at the height of the French Revolution.


title: Francis I of France

text: Francis I has a poor reputation in France—his 500th anniversary was little noted in 1994. Popular and scholarly historical memory ignores his building of so many fine chateaux, his stunning art collection, and his lavish patronage of scholars and artists. He is seen as a playboy who disgraced France by allowing himself to be defeated and taken prisoner at Pavia. The historian Jules Michelet set the negative image.


title: Francis I of France

text: Francis' personal emblem was the salamander and his Latin motto was "Nutrisco et extinguo" ("I nourish [the good] and extinguish [the bad]"). His long nose earned him the nickname "François du Grand Nez" ("Francis of the Big Nose"), he was also colloquially known as the "Grand Colas" or "Bonhomme Colas". For his personal involvement in battles, he was known as "le Roi-Chevalier" ("the Knight-King") or "le Roi-Guerrier" ("the Warrior-King").


title: Francis I of France

text: On 18 May 1514, Francis married his second cousin Claude, the daughter of King Louis XII of France and Duchess Anne of Brittany. The couple had seven children:


title: Francis I of France

text: a sister of Emperor Charles V. The couple had no children. During his reign, Francis kept two official mistresses at court. The first was Françoise de Foix, Countess of Châteaubriant. In 1526, she was replaced by the blonde-haired, cultured Anne de Pisseleu d'Heilly, Duchess of Étampes, who with the death of Queen Claude two years earlier, wielded far more political power at court than her predecessor had done. Another of his earlier mistresses was allegedly Mary Boleyn, mistress of King Henry VIII and sister of Henry's future wife, Anne Boleyn.


title: Francis I of France

text: The amorous exploits of Francis inspired the 1832 play by Fanny Kemble, "Francis the First", and the 1832 play by Victor Hugo, "Le Roi s'amuse" ("The King's Amusement"), which featured the jester Triboulet, the inspiration for the 1851 opera "Rigoletto" by Giuseppe Verdi.


title: Francis I of France

text: Francis was first played in a George Méliès movie by an unknown actor in 1907, and has also been played by Claude Garry (1910), Aimé Simon-Girard (1937), Sacha Guitry (1937), Gérard Oury (1953), Jean Marais (1955), Pedro Armendáriz (1956), Claude Titre (1962), Bernard Pierre Donnadieu (1990). Timothy West (1998) and Emmanuel Leconte (2007– 2010).


title: Francis I of France

text: Francis was portrayed by Peter Gilmore in the comedy film "Carry On Henry" charting the fictitious two extra wives of Henry VIII (including Marie cousin of King Francis).


title: Francis I of France

text: Francis receives a mention in a minor story in Laurence Sterne's novel "Tristram Shandy". The narrator claims that the king, wishing to win the favour of Switzerland, offers to make the country the godmother of his son. When, however, their choice of name conflicts, he declares war.


title: Francis I of France

text: He is also mentioned in Jean de la Brète's novel "Reine – Mon oncle et mon curé", where the main character Reine de Lavalle idolises him after reading his biography, much to the dismay of the local priest.


title: Francis I of France

text: He often receives mentions in novels on the lives of either of the Boleyn sisters – Mary Boleyn (d. 1543) and her sister, Queen Anne Boleyn (executed 1536), both of whom were for a time educated at his court. Mary had, according to several accounts, been Francis' one-time mistress and Anne had been a favourite of his sister: the novels "The Lady in the Tower", "The Other Boleyn Girl," "The Last Boleyn", "Dear Heart, How Like You This?" and "Mademoiselle Boleyn" feature Francis in their stories. He appears in Hilary Mantel's "Wolf Hall" about Henry VIII's minister Thomas Cromwell and is often referred to in its sequel, "Bring Up the Bodies".


title: Francis I of France

text: Francis appears as the patron of Benvenuto Cellini in the 1843 French novel "L'Orfèvre du roi, ou Ascanio" by Alexandre Dumas, père.


title: Francis I of France

text: Samuel Shellabarger's novel "The King's Cavalier" describes Francis the man, and the cultural and political circumstances of his reign, in some detail.


title: Francis I of France

text: He was a recurring character in the highly inaccurate Showtime series "The Tudors", opposite Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Henry VIII and Natalie Dormer as Anne Boleyn. Francis is played by French actor, Emmanuel Leconte.


title: Francis I of France

text: Francis I (played by Timothy West) and Francis's son Henry II (played by Dougray Scott) are central figures in the 1998 movie "Ever After", a retelling of the Cinderella story. The plot includes Leonardo da Vinci (played by Patrick Godfrey) arriving at Francis's court with the "Mona Lisa".


title: Francis I of France

text: He is played by Alfonso Bassave in the TVE series "Carlos, rey emperador", opposite Álvaro Cervantes as Charles V.


title: Francis I of France

text: Colm Meaney portrays the king in the historical drama series, "The Serpent Queen," which premiered on STARZ in September 2022.


title: Kiwifruit

text: Kiwifruit (often shortened to kiwi in North American, British and continental European English) or Chinese gooseberry is the edible berry of several species of woody vines in the genus "Actinidia". The most common cultivar group of kiwifruit ("Actinidia deliciosa" 'Hayward') is oval, about the size of a large hen's egg: in length and in diameter. It has a thin, fuzzy, fibrous, tart but edible light brown skin and light green or golden flesh with rows of tiny, black, edible seeds. The fruit has a soft texture with a sweet and unique flavour.


title: Kiwifruit

text: Kiwifruit is native to central and eastern China. The first recorded description of the kiwifruit dates to the 12th century during the Song dynasty. In the early 20th century, cultivation of kiwifruit spread from China to New Zealand, where the first commercial plantings occurred. The fruit became popular with British and American servicemen stationed in New Zealand during World War II, and later became commonly exported, first to Great Britain and then to California in the 1960s.


title: Kiwifruit

text: Early varieties were described in a 1904 nursery catalogue as having "...edible fruits the size of walnuts, and the flavour of ripe gooseberries", leading to the name "Chinese gooseberry". In 1962, New Zealand growers began calling it "kiwifruit" () due to its fuzzy appearance similar to the "kiwi" bird for export marketing, and the name was first registered by Turners & Growers on 15 June 1959 and later commercially adopted in 1974. In New Zealand and Australia, the word "kiwi" alone either refers solely to the bird or is used as a nickname for New Zealanders; it is almost never used to refer to the fruit. Kiwifruit has since become a common name for all commercially grown green kiwifruit from the genus "Actinidia". In the United States and Canada, the shortened name "kiwi" is commonly used when referring to the fruit.


title: Kiwifruit

text: Kiwifruit is native to central and eastern China. The first recorded description of the kiwifruit dates to 12th century China during the Song dynasty. As it was usually collected from the wild and consumed for medicinal purposes, the plant was rarely cultivated or bred. Cultivation of kiwifruit spread from China in the early 20th century to New Zealand, where the first commercial plantings occurred. The fruit became popular with British and American servicemen stationed in New Zealand during World War II, and was later exported, first to Great Britain and then to California in the 1960s.


title: Kiwifruit

text: In New Zealand during the 1940s and 1950s, the fruit became an agricultural commodity through the development of commercially viable cultivars, agricultural practices, shipping, storage, and marketing.


title: Kiwifruit

text: The genus "Actinidia" comprises around 60 species. Their fruits are quite variable, although most are easily recognised as kiwifruit because of their appearance and shape. The skin of the fruit varies in size, hairiness and colour. The flesh varies in colour, juiciness, texture and taste. Some fruits are unpalatable, while others taste considerably better than the majority of commercial cultivars.


title: Kiwifruit

text: The most commonly sold kiwifruit is derived from "A. deliciosa" (fuzzy kiwifruit). Other species that are commonly eaten include "A. chinensis" (golden kiwifruit), "A. coriacea" (Chinese egg gooseberry), "A. arguta" (hardy kiwifruit), "A. kolomikta" (Arctic kiwifruit), "A. melanandra" (purple kiwifruit), "A. polygama" (silver vine) and "A. purpurea" (hearty red kiwifruit).


title: Kiwifruit

text: Most kiwifruit sold belongs to a few cultivars of "A. deliciosa" (fuzzy kiwifruit): 'Hayward', 'Blake' and 'Saanichton 12'. They have a fuzzy, dull brown skin and bright green flesh. The familiar cultivar 'Hayward' was developed by Hayward Wright in Avondale, New Zealand, around 1924. It was initially grown in domestic gardens, but commercial planting began in the 1940s.


title: Kiwifruit

text: 'Hayward' is the most commonly available cultivar in stores. It is a large, egg-shaped fruit with a sweet flavour. 'Saanichton 12', from British Columbia, is somewhat more rectangular than 'Hayward' and comparably sweet, but the inner core of the fruit can be tough. 'Blake' can self-pollinate, but it has a smaller, more oval fruit and the flavour is considered inferior.


title: Kiwifruit

text: Kiwi berries are edible fruits the size of a large grape, similar to fuzzy kiwifruit in taste and internal appearance but with a thin, smooth green skin. They are primarily produced by three species: "Actinidia arguta" (hardy kiwi), "A. kolomikta" (Arctic kiwifruit) and "A. polygama" (silver vine). They are fast-growing, climbing vines, durable over their growing season. They are referred to as "kiwi berry, baby kiwi, dessert kiwi, grape kiwi, or cocktail kiwi".


title: Kiwifruit

text: The cultivar 'Issai' is a hybrid of hardy kiwi and silver vine which can self-pollinate. Grown commercially because of its relatively large fruit, 'Issai' is less hardy than most hardy kiwi.


title: Kiwifruit

text: "Actinidia chinensis" (yellow kiwi or golden kiwifruit) has a smooth, bronze skin, with a beak shape at the stem attachment. Flesh colour varies from bright green to a clear, intense yellow. This species is 'sweeter and more aromatic' in flavour compared to "A. deliciosa", similar to some subtropical fruits. One of the most attractive varieties has a red 'iris' around the centre of the fruit and yellow flesh outside. The yellow fruit obtains a higher market price and, being less hairy than the fuzzy kiwifruit, is more palatable for consumption without peeling.


title: Kiwifruit

text: A commercially viable variety of this red-ringed kiwifruit, patented as EnzaRed, is a cultivar of the Chinese "hong yang" variety.


title: Kiwifruit

text: 'Hort16A' is a golden kiwifruit cultivar marketed worldwide as "Zespri Gold". This cultivar suffered significant losses in New Zealand in 2010–2013 due to the PSA bacterium. A new cultivar of golden kiwifruit, "Gold3", was found to be more disease-resistant and most growers have now changed to this cultivar. 'Gold3', marketed by Zespri as "SunGold" is not quite as sweet as 'Hort16A', and lacks its usually slightly pointed tip.


title: Kiwifruit

text: Clones of the new variety "SunGold" have been used to develop orchards in China, resulting in partially successful legal efforts in China by Zespri to protect their intellectual property. In 2021, Zespri estimated that around 5,000 hectares of "Sungold" orchards were being cultivated in China, mainly in the Sichuan province.


title: Kiwifruit

text: Kiwifruit can be grown in most temperate climates with adequate summer heat. Where fuzzy kiwifruit ("A. deliciosa") is not hardy, other species can be grown as substitutes.


title: Kiwifruit

text: Often in commercial farming, different breeds are used for rootstock, fruit bearing plants and pollinators. Therefore, the seeds produced are crossbreeds of their parents. Even if the same breeds are used for pollinators and fruit bearing plants, there is no guarantee that the fruit will have the same quality as the parent. Additionally, seedlings take seven years before they flower, so determining whether the kiwi is fruit bearing or a pollinator is time-consuming. Therefore, most kiwifruits, with the exception of rootstock and new cultivars, are propagated asexually. This is done by grafting the fruit producing plant onto rootstock grown from seedlings or, if the plant is desired to be a true cultivar, rootstock grown from cuttings of a mature plant.


title: Kiwifruit

text: Kiwifruit plants generally are dioecious, meaning a plant is either male or female. The male plants have flowers that produce pollen, the females receive the pollen to fertilise their ovules and grow fruit; most kiwifruit requires a male plant to pollinate the female plant. For a good yield of fruit, one male vine for every three to eight female vines is considered adequate. Some varieties can self pollinate, but even they produce a greater and more reliable yield when pollinated by male kiwifruit. Cross-species pollination is often (but not always) successful as long as bloom times are synchronised.


title: Kiwifruit

text: In nature, the species are pollinated by birds and native bumblebees, which visit the flowers for pollen, not nectar. The female flowers produce fake anthers with what appears to be pollen on the tips in order to attract the pollinators, although these fake anthers lack the DNA and food value of the male anthers.


title: Kiwifruit

text: Kiwifruit growers rely on honey bees, the principal ‘for-hire’ pollinator, but commercially grown kiwifruit is notoriously difficult to pollinate. The flowers are not very attractive to honey bees, in part because the flowers do not produce nectar and bees quickly learn to prefer flowers with nectar.


title: Kiwifruit

text: Honey bees are inefficient cross-pollinators for kiwifruit because they practice “floral fidelity”. Each honey bee visits only a single type of flower in any foray and maybe only a few branches of a single plant. The pollen needed from a different plant (such as a male for a female kiwifruit) might never reach it were it not for the cross-pollination that principally occurs in the crowded colony; it is in the colonies that bees laden with different pollen literally cross paths.


title: Kiwifruit

text: To deal with these pollination challenges, some producers blow collected pollen over the female flowers. Most common, though, is saturation pollination, in which the honey bee populations are made so large (by placing hives in the orchards at a concentration of about 8 hives per hectare) that bees are forced to use this flower because of intense competition for all flowers within flight distance.


title: Kiwifruit

text: Kiwifruit is picked by hand and commercially grown on sturdy support structures, as it can produce several tonnes per hectare, more than the rather weak vines can support. These are generally equipped with a watering system for irrigation and frost protection in the spring.


title: Kiwifruit

text: Kiwifruit vines require vigorous pruning, similar to that of grapevines. Fruit is borne on 'one-year-old and older' canes, but production declines as each cane ages. Canes should be pruned off and replaced after their third year. In the northern hemisphere the fruit ripens in November, while in the southern it ripens in May. Four year-old plants can produce up to per acre while eight year-old plants can produce per acre. The plants produce their maximum at eight to ten years old. The seasonal yields are variable; a heavy crop on a vine one season generally comes with a light crop the following season.


title: Kiwifruit

text: Fruits harvested when firm will ripen when stored properly for long periods. This allows fruit to be sent to market up to 8 weeks after harvest.


title: Kiwifruit

text: Firm kiwifruit ripen after a few days to a week when stored at room temperature, but should not be kept in direct sunlight. Faster ripening occurs when placed in a paper bag with an apple, pear, or banana. Once a kiwifruit is ripe, however, it is preserved optimally when stored far from other fruits, as it is very sensitive to the ethylene gas they may emit, thereby tending to over-ripen even in the refrigerator. If stored appropriately, ripe kiwifruit normally keep for about one to two weeks.


title: Kiwifruit

text: "Pseudomonas syringae actinidiae" (PSA) was first identified in Japan in the 1980s. This bacterial strain has been controlled and managed successfully in orchards in Asia. In 1992, it was found in northern Italy. In 2007/2008, economic losses were observed, as a more virulent strain became more dominant (PSA V). In 2010 it was found in New Zealand's Bay of Plenty kiwifruit orchards in the North Island. The yellow-fleshed cultivars were particularly susceptible. New, resistant varieties were selected in research funded by the government and fruit growers so that the industry could continue.


title: Kiwifruit

text: Scientists reported they had worked out the strain of PSA affecting kiwifruit from New Zealand, Italy and Chile originated in China.


title: Kiwifruit

text: In 2020, global production of kiwifruit was 4 million tonnes, led by China with slightly more than half of the world total. New Zealand, Italy, Greece, Iran and Chile were other significant producers. In China, kiwifruit is grown mainly in the mountainous area upstream of the Yangtze River, as well as Sichuan.


title: Kiwifruit

text: Kiwifruit exports rapidly increased from the late '1960s to early 1970s' in New Zealand. By 1976, exports exceeded the amount consumed domestically. Outside of Australasia, New Zealand kiwifruit are marketed under the brand-name label, Zespri. The general name, "Zespri", has been used for marketing of all cultivars of kiwifruit from New Zealand since 2012.


title: Kiwifruit

text: In the 1980s, many countries outside New Zealand began to grow and export kiwifruit. In Italy, the infrastructure and techniques required to support grape production were adapted to the kiwifruit. This, coupled with being close to the European kiwifruit market, led to Italians becoming the leading producer of kiwifruit 'in 1989'. The growing season of Italian kiwifruit does not overlap much with the New Zealand or the Chilean growing seasons, therefore direct competition between New Zealand or Chile was not a significant factor.


title: Kiwifruit

text: Much of the breeding to refine the green kiwifruit was undertaken by the Plant & Food Research Institute (formerly HortResearch) during the decades of '1970–1999'. In 1990, the New Zealand Kiwifruit Marketing Board opened an office for Europe in Antwerp, Belgium.


title: Kiwifruit

text: Kiwifruit may be eaten raw, made into juices, used in baked goods, prepared with meat or used as a garnish. The whole fruit, including the skin, is suitable for human consumption; however, the skin of the fuzzy varieties is often discarded due to its texture. Sliced kiwifruit has long been used as a garnish atop whipped cream on pavlova, a meringue-based dessert. Traditionally in China, kiwifruit was not eaten for pleasure, but was given as medicine to children to help them grow and to women who have given birth to help them recover.


title: Kiwifruit

text: Raw kiwifruit contains actinidain (also spelled "actinidin") which is commercially useful as a meat tenderizer and possibly as a digestive aid. Actinidain also makes raw kiwifruit unsuitable for use in desserts containing milk or any other dairy products because the enzyme digests milk proteins. This applies to gelatin-based desserts, due to the fact that the actinidain will dissolve the proteins in gelatin, causing the dessert to either liquefy or prevent it from solidifying.


title: Kiwifruit

text: In a amount, green kiwifruit provides of food energy, is 83% water and 15% carbohydrates, with negligible protein and fat (table). It is particularly rich in vitamin C (112% DV) and vitamin K (38% DV), has a moderate content of vitamin E (10% DV), with no other micronutrients in significant content. Gold kiwifruit has similar nutritional value, but higher vitamin C content, (194% DV, table).


title: Kiwifruit

text: Kiwifruit seed oil contains on average 62% alpha-linolenic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid. Kiwifruit pulp contains carotenoids, such as provitamin A beta-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin.


title: Kiwifruit

text: Allergy to kiwifruit was first described in 1981, and there have since been reports of the allergy presenting with numerous symptoms from localized oral allergy syndrome to life-threatening anaphylaxis.


title: Kiwifruit

text: The actinidain found in kiwifruit can be an allergen for some individuals, including children. The most common symptoms are unpleasant itching and soreness of the mouth, with wheezing as the most common severe symptom; anaphylaxis may occur.


title: Fennel

text: Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized in many parts of the world, especially on dry soils near the sea-coast and on riverbanks.


title: Fennel

text: It is a highly flavorful herb used in cooking and, along with the similar-tasting anise, is one of the primary ingredients of absinthe. Florence fennel or finocchio (, , ) is a selection with a swollen, bulb-like stem base that is used as a vegetable.


title: Fennel

text: "Foeniculum vulgare" is a perennial herb. It is erect, glaucous green, and grows to heights of up to , with hollow stems. The leaves grow up to long; they are finely dissected, with the ultimate segments filiform (threadlike), about wide. (Its leaves are similar to those of dill but thinner.) The flowers are produced in terminal compound umbels wide, each umbel section having 20–50 tiny yellow flowers on short pedicels. The fruit is a dry schizocarp from long, half as wide or less, and grooved. Since the seed in the fruit is attached to the pericarp, the whole fruit is often mistakenly called "seed."


title: Fennel

text: The aromatic character of fennel fruits derives from volatile oils imparting mixed aromas, including trans-anethole and estragole (resembling liquorice), fenchone (mint and camphor), limonene, 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom). Other phytochemicals found in fennel fruits include polyphenols, such as rosmarinic acid and luteolin, among others in minor content.


title: Fennel

text: Dill, coriander, ajwain, and caraway are similar-looking herbs but shorter-growing than fennel, reaching only . Dill has thread-like, feathery leaves and yellow flowers; coriander and caraway have white flowers and finely divided leaves (though not as fine as dill or fennel) and are also shorter-lived (being annual or biennial plants). The superficial similarity in appearance between these seeds may have led to a sharing of names and etymology, as in the case of meridian fennel, a term for caraway.


title: Fennel

text: Giant fennel ("Ferula communis") is a large, coarse plant with a pungent aroma, which grows wild in the Mediterranean region and is only occasionally grown in gardens elsewhere. Other species of the genus "Ferula" are also called giant fennel, but they are not culinary herbs.


title: Fennel

text: In North America, fennel may be found growing in the same habitat and alongside natives osha ("Ligusticum porteri") and "Lomatium" species, useful medicinal relatives in the parsley family.


title: Fennel

text: Most "Lomatium" species have yellow flowers like fennel, but some are white-flowered and resemble poison hemlock. "Lomatium" is an important historical food plant of Native Americans known as 'biscuit root'. Most "Lomatium" spp. have finely divided, hairlike leaves; their roots have a delicate rice-like odor, unlike the musty odor of hemlock. "Lomatium" species prefer dry, rocky soils devoid of organic material.


title: Fennel

text: Fennel came into Old English from Old French "fenoil" which in turn came from Latin , a diminutive of , meaning "hay".


title: Fennel

text: Fennel is widely cultivated, both in its native range and elsewhere, for its edible, strongly flavored leaves and fruits. Its aniseed or liquorice flavor comes from anethole, an aromatic compound also found in anise and star anise, and its taste and aroma are similar to theirs, though usually not as strong.


title: Fennel

text: Florence fennel ("Foeniculum vulgare" Azoricum Group; syn. "F. vulgare" var. "azoricum") is a cultivar group with inflated leaf bases which form a bulb-like structure. It is of cultivated origin, and has a mild anise-like flavor but is sweeter and more aromatic. Florence fennel plants are smaller than the wild type. Several cultivars of Florence fennel are also known by several other names, notably the Italian name "finocchio". In North American supermarkets, it is often mislabeled as "anise."


title: Fennel

text: "Foeniculum vulgare" 'Purpureum' or 'Nigra', "bronze-leaved" fennel, is widely available as a decorative garden plant.


title: Fennel

text: Fennel has become naturalized along roadsides, in pastures, and in other open sites in many regions, including northern Europe, the United States, southern Canada, and much of Asia and Australia. It propagates well by both root crown and seed and is considered an invasive species and a weed in Australia and the United States. It can drastically alter the composition and structure of many plant communities, including grasslands, coastal scrub, riparian, and wetland communities. It appears to do this by outcompeting native species for light, nutrients, and water and perhaps by exuding allelopathic substances that inhibit the growth of other plants. In western North America, fennel can be found from the coastal and inland wildland-urban interface east into hill and mountain areas, excluding desert habitats. On Santa Cruz Island, California for example, fennel has achieved 50 to 90% absolute cover.


title: Fennel

text: As grouped by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, production data for fennel are combined with similar spices – anise, star anise, and coriander. In 2014, India produced 60% of the world output of fennel, with China and Bulgaria as leading secondary producers (table).


title: Fennel

text: Fennel was prized by the ancient Greeks and Romans, who used it as medicine, food, and insect repellent. Fennel tea was believed to give courage to the warriors before battle. According to Greek mythology, Prometheus used a giant stalk of fennel to carry fire from Mount Olympus to Earth. Emperor Charlemagne required the cultivation of fennel on all imperial farms.


title: Fennel

text: Florence fennel is one of the three main herbs used in the preparation of absinthe, an alcoholic mixture which originated as a medicinal elixir in Europe and became, by the late 19th century, a popular alcoholic drink in France and other countries. Fennel fruit is a common and traditional spice in flavored Scandinavian brännvin (a loosely defined group of distilled spirits, which include akvavit). Fennel is also featured in the Chinese Materia Medica for its medicinal functions.


title: Fennel

text: A raw fennel bulb (235 g) consists of 212 g of water, 2.91 g of protein, 0.47 g of fat, and 17.2 g of carbohydrate (including 7.28 g of dietary fiber and 9.24 g of sugars), providing a total of 72.8 Calories (kcal) of energy. The 235g bulb provides 115 mg of calcium, 1.72 mg of iron, 40 mg of magnesium, 188 mg of phosphorus, 973 mg of potassium, 122 mg of sodium, trace amounts of zinc, copper, and selenium, 28.2 mg of vitamin C, as well as choline, several B vitamins, folate, beta-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, vitamin E, and vitamin K.


title: Fennel

text: Dried fennel fruits are typically used as a spice and usually are eaten only in minute quantities. A 100-gram reference amount of fennel fruits provides of food energy and is a rich source (20% or more of the Daily Value, DV) of protein, dietary fiber, B vitamins and several dietary minerals, especially calcium, iron, magnesium and manganese, all of which exceed 100% DV (table). Fennel fruits are 52% carbohydrates (including 40% dietary fiber), 15% fat, 16% protein, and 9% water (table).


title: Fennel

text: The bulb, foliage, and fruits of the fennel plant are used in many of the culinary traditions of the world. The small flowers of wild fennel (known as fennel "pollen") are the most potent form of fennel, but also the most expensive.


title: Fennel

text: Dried fennel fruit is an aromatic, anise-flavored spice, brown or green when fresh, slowly turning a dull grey as the fruit ages. For cooking, green fruits are optimal. The leaves are delicately flavored and similar in shape to dill. The bulb is a crisp vegetable that can be sautéed, stewed, braised, grilled, or eaten raw. Tender young leaves are used for garnishes, as a salad, to add flavor to salads, to flavor sauces to be served with puddings, and in soups and fish sauce. Both the inflated leaf bases and the tender young shoots can be eaten like celery.


title: Fennel

text: Fennel fruits are sometimes confused with those of anise, which are similar in taste and appearance, though smaller. Fennel is also a flavoring in some natural toothpastes. The fruits are used in cookery and sweet desserts.


title: Fennel

text: Many cultures in India, Afghanistan, Iran, and the Middle East use fennel fruits in cooking. In Iraq, fennel seeds are used as an ingredient in nigella-flavored breads. It is one of the most important spices in Kashmiri cuisine and Gujarati cooking. It is an essential ingredient of the Assamese/Bengali/Oriya spice mixture "panch phoron" and in Chinese five-spice powders. In many parts of India, roasted fennel fruits are consumed as "mukhwas", an after-meal digestive and breath freshener (saunf), or candied as comfit. Fennel seeds are also often used as an ingredient in paan, a breath freshener most popularly consumed in India.


title: Fennel

text: Fennel leaves are used in some parts of India as leafy green vegetables either by themselves or mixed with other vegetables, cooked to be served and consumed as part of a meal. In Syria and Lebanon, the young leaves are used to make a special kind of egg omelette (along with onions and flour) called ".


title: Fennel

text: Many egg, fish, and other dishes employ fresh or dried fennel leaves. Florence fennel is a key ingredient in some Italian salads, or it can be braised and served as a warm side dish. It may be blanched or marinated, or cooked in risotto.


title: Fennel

text: Fennel fruits are the primary flavor component in Italian sausage. In Spain, the stems of the fennel plant are used in the preparation of pickled eggplants, ". An herbal tea or tisane can be made from fennel.


title: Fennel

text: On account of its aromatic properties, fennel fruit forms one of the ingredients of the well-known compound liquorice powder. In the Indian subcontinent, fennel fruits are eaten raw, sometimes with a sweetener.


title: Fennel

text: In Israel, fennel salad is made of chopped fennel bulbs flavored with salt, black pepper, lemon juice, parsley, olive oil, and sometimes sumac.


title: Fennel

text: The Greek name for fennel is "marathon" () or "marathos" (), and the place of the famous battle of Marathon literally means a plain with fennel. The word is first attested in Mycenaean Linear B form as ". In Hesiod's Theogony, Prometheus steals the ember of fire from the gods in a hollow fennel stalk.


title: Fennel

text: As Old English ", fennel is one of the nine plants invoked in the pagan Anglo-Saxon "Nine Herbs Charm", recorded in the 10th century.


title: Fennel

text: In the 15th century, Portuguese settlers on Madeira noticed the abundance of wild fennel and used the Portuguese word "funcho" (fennel) and the suffix "" to form the name of a new town, Funchal.


title: Fennel

text: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 1842 poem "The Goblet of Life" repeatedly refers to the plant and mentions its purported ability to strengthen eyesight:


title: We Don't Talk About Bruno

text: "We Don't Talk About Bruno" is a song from Disney's 2021 computer-animated musical feature film "Encanto", with music and lyrics written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. It was released by Walt Disney Records as part of the film's soundtrack on November 19, 2021. The song is an ensemble number performed by some of the film's voice cast members: mainly Carolina Gaitán, Mauro Castillo, Adassa, Rhenzy Feliz, Diane Guerrero and Stephanie Beatriz, and a few others in minor roles. A viral sensation, "We Don't Talk About Bruno" has been described as one of the best Disney songs and the studio's biggest crossover success.


title: We Don't Talk About Bruno

text: Consisting of gossip and anecdotes about Mirabel Madrigal's ostracized uncle, Bruno, whose gift of seeing the future has been associated with misfortune and has left him estranged from the rest of the Madrigal family, "We Don't Talk About Bruno" sees some of the family members and the townsfolk explain to Mirabel why they do not talk about Bruno. The song suggests that Bruno is villainous, but sheds the narrative styles of conventional Disney villain songs by listing other characters' perspectives of the villain.


title: We Don't Talk About Bruno

text: Musically, "We Don't Talk About Bruno" is a midtempo tune blending Latin music styles such as salsa and guajira with pop, hip hop, dance and Broadway elements, propelled by cha-cha-chá beats, sung by an ensemble, and climaxing in a polyphonic outro.


title: We Don't Talk About Bruno

text: "We Don't Talk About Bruno" was met with acclaim from music critics, who praised Miranda's craftsmanship and the song's mystery element, catchy rhythm, versatile composition, ensemble of singers, and lyrical personality. A commercial success, "We Don't Talk About Bruno" spent several weeks at number one in Ireland, the United Kingdom and United States, and peaked inside the top five in Australia, Canada and New Zealand. "We Don't Talk About Bruno" is the longest-reigning chart-topper for Disney in the US "Billboard" Hot 100 history, as well as the studio's first-ever original song to top the UK Singles Chart. It broke the all-time record for the most credited artists (seven) on a Hot 100 chart-topper.


title: We Don't Talk About Bruno

text: "We Don't Talk About Bruno" is a song from 2021 American computer-animated musical fantasy comedy film, "Encanto", by Walt Disney Animation Studios; it is the studio's 60th film. The song is featured as the fourth track on the film's soundtrack, which has been released in 46 languages. It was written and composed by American singer-songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote the seven other songs of the soundtrack, and previously worked on Disney's 2016 animated film, "Moana" and Sony Pictures' "Vivo". The song is mainly performed by six of the film's cast members in full verses: Colombian actress and singer Carolina Gaitán (Pepa), Colombian musician Mauro Castillo (Félix), American singer-songwriter Adassa (Dolores), American actor Rhenzy Feliz (Camilo), American actresses Diane Guerrero (Isabela), and Stephanie Beatriz (Mirabel), in the order of their appearances in the song; Juan Castano (Osvaldo) and Olga Merediz (Alma "Abuela" Madrigal) contribute minor vocals.


title: We Don't Talk About Bruno

text: Miranda pitched the song as an ensemble because he wanted to create musical themes to represent every family member, especially "those who do not necessarily get their solo". He said he looked to "A Weekend in the Country" from "A Little Night Music" and "Christmas Bells" from "Rent". He described "We Don't Talk About Bruno" as a "gossip" number because there are things family members do not talk about in front of each other. The first verse is about who is telling the story—Mirabel's aunt Pepa and uncle Félix, who Miranda based on his father, Luis Miranda. Miranda said "everyone sings the same chord progression with a totally different rhythm and a totally different cadence". During the film's early development, the song's subject—Bruno—was originally named Oscar. Miranda chose the name Bruno so he could work the lyric "Bruno, no, no, no" into the song. Driven by cha-cha-chá beats, "We Don't Talk About Bruno" has been described as a Latin pop and salsa song. It is heavily rooted in guajira and draws from Cuban folk, hip hop, and dance music. Each section of the song features a different musical style unique to each of the characters. The hooks and the verses by Pepa and Félix are driven by a classic Cuban piano montuno; Dolores's verse consists of ASMR-influenced vocals over soft electronic beats; Camilo's lines exhibit a "spooky" delivery; and later followed by plucked pizzicato strings below Isabela's bright voice.


title: We Don't Talk About Bruno

text: The song describes the "Encanto" character Bruno Madrigal from the perspectives of his family members and the local townsfolk. Bruno is one of a set of triplets born to Alma and Pedro Madrigal, alongside his sisters Julieta and Pepa. Like the rest of his family, he has a magical ability; his is the ability to see the future. "Encanto"s first song, "The Family Madrigal", establishes that Bruno has not been seen for years, and that he is not to be discussed. Bruno's niece Mirabel, the only member of the family without a magical gift, believes one of Bruno's prophecies might reveal the cause of cracks that have been appearing in the structure of their house, and in "We Don't Talk About Bruno" she seeks information about her missing uncle.


title: We Don't Talk About Bruno

text: The song illustrates how Bruno often foresaw negative events and then was blamed by those affected by them. Bruno's sister Pepa and her husband Félix tell Mirabel how Bruno's warning of rain ruined their wedding day. Pepa and Félix's daughter Dolores explains that Bruno's prophecies frightened and confused the family, and her brother Camilo portrays Bruno as a fearsome figure who "feasts on your screams". Three of the townsfolk relate various misfortunes that Bruno foretold for them. While Mirabel's sister Isabela claims Bruno predicted that her life would be perfect, Dolores laments a prediction that the man she loved would be betrothed to another. As the family prepares for an engagement dinner party for Isabela and her boyfriend Mariano, Mirabel reassembles the shattered pieces of the last prophecy Bruno made before he disappeared, discovering as the song ends that it shows Mirabel herself at the center of the cracks in the house.


title: We Don't Talk About Bruno

text: "We Don't Talk About Bruno" received widespread acclaim from music and film critics. Its genre-blending composition and mysterious topic were often praised in its reviews.


title: We Don't Talk About Bruno

text: "Romper"s Jamie Kenney called "We Don't Talk About Bruno" the stand-out from "Encanto", "one that, above all others, has delightfully ear-wormed into our brains and lived there rent-free since we watched the movie with our kids over holiday break". "/Film"s Caroline Cao ranked the song as the best on the "Encanto" soundtrack, calling it humorous and nuanced, further stating: "We Don't Talk About Bruno' bursts with the Madrigals' vibrant personalities, from Adassa's speedy whispering as cousin Dolores to the way Rhenzy Feliz relishes telling a story as the over-imaginative cousin Camilo". Cao deemed it a "perfect ensemble piece that illuminates each character, sheds light on the story's overarching themes, and offers an unparalleled amount of insight into the world of "Encanto"". "Screen Rant"s Kristen Brown also called it the film's best song.


title: We Don't Talk About Bruno

text: Ashley Spencer of "The New York Times" wrote, unlike most of Disney's breakout hits, "We Don't Talk About Bruno" is not a "wistful hero's solo or a third-act power ballad", but rather "a Broadway-style ensemble track that revels in gossip about a middle-age man." "Slate" critic Chris White attributed the song's Latin music rhythm, Broadway influence, "catchy and tight" melodies, distinct verses, dramatic climax, and mysterious lyrics to its viral success. Tyler Posen of "Far Out" called it an "incessantly catchy" Latin-pop song with a "stylistically diverse" composition and "exposition-heavy" lyrics that has not prevented it from "achieving the kind of crossover success that 'Let It Go' or 'Beauty and the Beast' couldn't." Chris Molanphy of "Slate" argued that "We Don't Talk About Bruno" is a great song not only because it is catchy, but because it boasts versatility in sound and lyrics throughout its length, accentuated by the "sense of mystery" behind its titular character that is "enveloping, even if you haven't seen the movie", and its refreshing melodies and composition departing from the formulaic production of Disney songs.


title: We Don't Talk About Bruno

text: Mic's Ian Kumamoto called Bruno's situation a "poignant" reminder of how mental illness is treated in families of color, analyzing his rejection from his own family as "not just unfair, but sinister", as the character has a borderline mental illness or neurodivergence. Kumamoto said that is where the importance of "We Don't Talk About Bruno" comes in: "When you listen to the song closely, the members of the family aren't actually complaining about anything that Bruno has done wrong — they simply don't know what to do with him". Bonnie Jean Feldkamp of "Sharon Herald" also said it could be argued that Bruno suffers from mental illness, as he exhibits "tics of 'knock-knock-knock on wood' among others".


title: We Don't Talk About Bruno

text: The song sees various members of Bruno's family sharing their memories his prophecies and his strange traits. "Romper"s Jamie Kenney summarized Bruno's fate as a prophet: "it's great when they tell you something you want to hear, but when it's bad news? Well, it's easier to demonize the bearer of that news than accept it". Caroline Cao of "/Film" shared that sentiment: "The real villain is the family's insecurities, their shame, and their inability to talk out their troubles. In denying these truths, the Madrigals shut out a loved one who was only trying to help".


title: We Don't Talk About Bruno

text: When the song is performed in the film, a figure resembling Bruno is visible scurrying around in the background. George Chrysostomou of "Screen Rant" interpreted this as a reflection of where Bruno has been: "While it may seem like a cinematic to add to the musical number, it's actually foreshadowing that Bruno never really left, but instead went into hiding inside his home". Bill Bradley of the same website later commented that since Bruno's eyes were glowing, which only happens when he is making a prophecy, this was likely Camilo (who can shapeshift). The character Dolores, who has the gift of super hearing, reveals at the end of the film that she could hear Bruno in the house the entire time, which she mentions in "We Don't Talk About Bruno" with lines such as "I can hear him now".


title: We Don't Talk About Bruno

text: "We Don't Talk About Bruno" was an international success. Within a week after "Encanto" became available to stream on Disney+, the song reached number one on US Spotify, while the music and lyric videos garnered over 30 million views and 10 million views in its first week, respectively. Up-to January 7, 2022, it remained the top trending music video on YouTube since its release on December 28, and became a viral sound on the video-sharing app TikTok. It reached number one on the "Billboard" Global 200 chart dated February 12, 2022.


title: We Don't Talk About Bruno

text: "We Don't Talk About Bruno" topped the "Billboard" Hot 100, becoming the second number-one song from a Disney animated film, after "A Whole New World" (from "Aladdin") by Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle in March 1993. "We Don't Talk About Bruno" was at the number-one spot for five weeks, marking the first-ever song from a Disney film (irrespective of animation or live-action) to top the chart for so many weeks, surpassing "All for Love" (1993) by Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart and Sting, from "The Three Musketeers". The single stayed at the top of the chart for five consecutive weeks until it was surpassed by "Heat Waves" by Glass Animals on the issue dated March 12, 2022.


title: We Don't Talk About Bruno

text: On the Hot 100 chart dated January 8, 2022, the song was the top new entry at number 50 with 12.4 million streams, along with another "Encanto" song, "Surface Pressure", at number 54. The following week, "We Don't Talk About Bruno" surged to number five, with 25.2 million streams, earning all of its six credited artists their first top 10 entries on the chart. Miranda also garnered his first top 10 writing credit; he previously reached number 20 in October 2017 as both an artist and writer with "Almost Like Praying", a charity single. The next week, it rose to number four, surpassing "Frozen" "Let It Go" (2013) to become the highest-charting song from a Disney film since "Colors of the Wind" from the 1995 film "Pocahontas".


title: We Don't Talk About Bruno

text: When the song topped the Hot 100 chart dated February 5, 2022, it dethroned Adele's "Easy On Me" (2021) from the top spot with over 34 million streams and 12,000 digital downloads sold. The song set the record for the most credited recording artists ever (six) on a number-one on the chart. The song also became the first Hot 100 No. 1 entry for Walt Disney Records and the second for Disney Music Group. The moment further marked the first time a soundtrack of a Disney animated movie and one of its songs simultaneously topped the "Billboard" 200 and Hot 100, respectively. They also marked the first soundtrack and corresponding song to have led the two charts simultaneously for multiple weeks, since (2002) and its track "Lose Yourself" by Eminem in 2003. Additionally, "We Don't Talk About Bruno" is the first soundtrack song to top the Hot 100 for multiple weeks since Wiz Khalifa's "See You Again" featuring Charlie Puth, from "", in 2015.


title: We Don't Talk About Bruno

text: The song charted in various European countries. In the United Kingdom, "We Don't Talk About Bruno" topped the UK Singles Chart for seven weeks. It skyrocketed from number 66 to number four in its second week on the chart, and reached number one in its fourth charting week. The song became the first-ever original Disney song to top the chart; otherwise, it is the first Disney song to top the chart since Gareth Gates's cover version of "Suspicious Minds" from "Lilo & Stitch: An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack" in 2002. "We Don't Talk About Bruno" also became the longest-reigning number-one single of 2022 in the UK (). The French version of the song, "Ne parlons pas de Bruno", charted in France at number 166.


title: We Don't Talk About Bruno

text: "We Don't Talk About Bruno" was a viral sensation on the internet, regarded by journalists as a pop culture phenomenon. Critics and audiences have described it as one of the best original songs by Disney. Various reporters and musicologists published articles "trying to explain how a Broadway-style ensemble song from an animated feature, sung by mostly Colombian vocalists with no hitmaking experience, managed to scale the charts". "We Don't Talk About Bruno" is Disney's biggest crossover success in their history. "The Times" journalist Harriet Walker called "We Don't Talk About Bruno" a "medical-grade" catchy "cultural moment". "The Atlantic" critic Spencer Kornhaber wrote the song has all of the features that appeals to TikTok: "theatricality, specificity, humor, surprise, and an invitation to roleplay."


title: We Don't Talk About Bruno

text: "Vox" Aja Romano said the song relies heavily on its musical's context, which differentiates it from "typical Disney chart-toppers" such as "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" (1994) and "Colors of the Wind" (1995) that "were intentionally generic in order to serve as marketable hits for their films." Clayton Davis of "Variety" questioned why the song was not submitted for an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song, attributing it to Disney not expecting the positive reaction to the song; the Academy's deadline for song submissions was November 1. Instead, "Dos Oruguitas" was submitted for "Encanto", which Davis said may have been "the safer bet" for award strategists, due to it resonating emotionally with audiences.


title: We Don't Talk About Bruno

text: "We Don't Talk About Bruno" topped the "Billboard" Hot 100 in its fifth week of charting and did so with negligible airplay and did not have a pop radio version like many other Disney songs have had in the past, propelled by its Internet popularity.


title: We Don't Talk About Bruno

text: On March 16, 2022, "Variety" reported that "We Don't Talk About Bruno" would be performed live for the first time at the 94th Academy Awards, despite not being nominated. The film's cast performed the song with Becky G, Luis Fonsi, Sheila E., and Megan Thee Stallion. It has been regarded as the "biggest production number of the ceremony"; the show's producer Will Packer stated: "If there is a song that unites people this year (it is this one), and that is kind of the epitome to me of what movies can do, because people of all stripes, ethnicities, ages, color, background, around the world (are singing it) ad nauseum, and we are going to help them out so they sing it a little bit more. Our apologies to the parents."


title: We Don't Talk About Bruno

text: The music video was uploaded on DisneyMusicVEVO YouTube channel through Vevo on December 29, 2021. , it had accumulated more than 500 million views.


title: Date palm

text: Phoenix dactylifera, commonly known as date or date palm, is a flowering plant species in the palm family, Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet fruit called dates. The species is widely cultivated across northern Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia, and is naturalized in many tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. "P. dactylifera" is the type species of genus "Phoenix", which contains 12–19 species of wild date palms.


title: Date palm

text: Date trees reach up to in height, growing singly or forming a clump with several stems from a single root system. Slow-growing, they can reach over 100 years of age when maintained properly. Date fruits (dates) are oval-cylindrical, long, and about in diameter, with colour ranging from dark brown to bright red or yellow, depending on variety. Containing 61–68 percent sugar by mass when dried, dates are very sweet and are enjoyed as desserts on their own or within confections.


title: Date palm

text: Dates have been cultivated in the Middle East and the Indus Valley for thousands of years. There is archaeological evidence of date cultivation in Arabia from the 6th millennium BCE. The total annual world production of dates amounts to 8.5 million metric tons, countries of the Middle East and North Africa being the largest producers and consumers. Dates are “emblematic of oasis agriculture and highly symbolic in Muslim, Christian, and Jewish religions.”


title: Date palm

text: Date trees reach up to in height, growing singly or forming a clump with several stems from a single root system. Slow-growing, they can reach over 100 years of age when maintained properly. The roots have pneumatodes. The leaves are long, with spines on the petiole, and pinnate, with about 150 leaflets. The leaflets are long and wide. The full span of the crown ranges from .


title: Date palm

text: The date palm is dioecious, having separate male and female plants. They can be easily grown from seed, but only 50% of seedlings will be female and hence fruit-bearing, and dates from seedling plants are often smaller and of poorer quality. Most commercial plantations thus use cuttings of heavily cropping cultivars. Plants grown from cuttings will fruit 2–3 years earlier than seedling plants.


title: Date palm

text: Dates are naturally wind-pollinated, but in traditional oasis horticulture and modern commercial orchards they are entirely hand-pollinated. Natural pollination occurs with about an equal number of male and female plants. With assistance, one male can pollinate up to 100 females. Since the males are of value only as pollinators, they are usually pruned in favor of fruit-producing female plants. Some growers do not even maintain any male plants, as male flowers become available at local markets at pollination time. Manual pollination is done by skilled labourers on ladders, or by use of a wind machine. In some areas such as Iraq the pollinator climbs the tree using a special climbing tool that wraps around the tree trunk and the climber's back (called in Arabic) to keep him attached to the trunk while climbing.


title: Date palm

text: Date fruits are oval-cylindrical, long, and diameter, and when ripe, range from bright red to bright yellow in colour, depending on variety. Dates contain a single stone about long and thick. Three main cultivar groups exist: soft (e.g. 'Barhee', 'Halawy', 'Khadrawy', 'Medjool'); semi-dry (e.g. 'Dayri', 'Deglet Nour', 'Zahdi'), and dry (e.g. 'Thoory').


title: Date palm

text: In 2009, a team of researchers at the Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar published a draft version of the date palm genome (Khalas variety). The draft genome sequence was improved in 2019 with the release of a more complete genome sequence using small molecule real-time sequencing technology by a team from the New York University Abu Dhabi Center for Genomics and Systems Biology and the UAE University Khalifa Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in the United Arab Emirates. With the release of this improved genome assembly, the UAE researchers were able to map genes for fruit color and sugar content. The NYU Abu Dhabi researchers had also re-sequenced the genomes of several date varieties to develop the first single nucleotide polymorphism map of the date palm genome in 2015.


title: Date palm

text: The species name "dactylifera" 'date-bearing' is Latin, and is formed with the loanword in Latin from Greek (), which means 'date' (also 'finger'),<ref name="LSJ|da/ktulos|δάκτυλος|ref"></ref> and with the native Latin , which means 'to bear'. The fruit is known as a date. The fruit's English name (through Old French, through Latin) comes from the Greek word for 'finger', , because of the fruit's elongated shape.


title: Date palm

text: The place of origin of the date palm is uncertain because of long cultivation. According to some sources it probably originated from the Fertile Crescent region straddling Egypt and Mesopotamia while others state that they are native to the Persian Gulf area or even western India. Fossil records show that the date palm has existed for at least 50 million years.


title: Date palm

text: A major palm pest, the red palm beetle ("Rhynchophorus ferrugineus"), currently poses a significant threat to date production in parts of the Middle East as well as to iconic landscape specimens throughout the Mediterranean world. Pinhas et al. 2008 uses piezoelectric sensors and speech recognition technology to detect "R. ferrugineus". They achieved a 98% detection ratio on young "P. dactylifera" in very controlled laboratory conditions. Another significant insect pest is "Ommatissus lybicus", sometimes called the "dubas bug", whose sap sucking results in sooty mould formation.


title: Date palm

text: In the 1920s, eleven healthy Medjool palms were transferred from Morocco to the United States where they were tended by members of the Chemehuevi tribe in a remote region of Nevada. Nine of these survived and in 1935, cultivars were transferred to the "U.S. Date Garden" in Indio, California. Eventually this stock was reintroduced to Africa and led to the U.S. production of dates in Yuma, Arizona, and Bard, California.


title: Date palm

text: Not all cities and countries have benefited with the date palms resilience and ease of growth. It has made the invasive species list in some parts of the United States, Canada and Australia but these references are to the related but inedible Canary Island date palm ("Phoenix canariensis").


title: Date palm

text: Dates are a traditional crop throughout the Middle East and north Africa. Dates (especially Medjool and Deglet Nour) are also cultivated in the southwestern United States, and in Sonora and Baja California in Mexico.


title: Date palm

text: Date palms can take 4 to 8 years after planting before they will bear fruit, and start producing viable yields for commercial harvest between 7 and 10 years. Mature date palms can produce of dates per harvest season. They do not all ripen at the same time so several harvests are required. To obtain fruit of marketable quality, the bunches of dates must be thinned and bagged or covered before ripening so that the remaining fruits grow larger and are protected from weather and animals, such as birds, that also like to eat them.


title: Date palm

text: Date palms require well-drained deep sandy loam soils with a pH of 8–11 (alkaline). The soil should have the ability to hold moisture and also be free of calcium carbonate.


title: Date palm

text: Dates have been cultivated in the Middle East and the Indus Valley for thousands of years, and there is archaeological evidence of date cultivation in Mehrgarh, a Neolithic civilization in western Pakistan, around 7000 BCE and in eastern Arabia between 5530 and 5320 calBC. Dates have been cultivated since ancient times from Mesopotamia to prehistoric Egypt. The ancient Egyptians used the fruits to make date wine and ate dates at harvest. Evidence of cultivation is continually found throughout later civilizations in the Indus Valley, including the Harappan period from 2600 to 1900 BCE.


title: Date palm

text: One cultivar, the Judean date palm, is renowned for its long-lived orthodox seed, which successfully sprouted after accidental storage for 2,000 years. The upper survival time limit of properly stored seeds remains unknown. A genomic study from New York University Abu Dhabi Center for Genomics and Systems Biology showed that domesticated date palm varieties from North Africa, including well-known varieties such as Medjool and Deglet Nour, are a hybrid between Middle East date palms and the Cretan wild palm, "P. theophrasti". Date palms appear in the archaeological record in North Africa about 2,800 years ago, suggesting that the hybrid was spread by the Minoans or Phoenicians.


title: Date palm

text: An article on date palm tree cultivation is contained in Ibn al-'Awwam's 12th-century agricultural work, "Book on Agriculture".


title: Date palm

text: In 2020, world production of dates was 9 million tonnes, led by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Algeria with 60% of the world total combined (table).


title: Date palm

text: A large number of date cultivars and varieties emerged through history of its cultivation, but the exact number is difficult to assess. Hussain and El-Zeid (1975) have reported 400 varieties, while Nixon (1954) named around 250. Most of those are limited to a particular region, and only a few dozen have attained broader commercial importance. The most renowned cultivars worldwide include Deglet Noor, originally of Algeria; Yahidi and Hallawi of Iraq; Medjool of Morocco; Mazafati of Iran.


title: Date palm

text: Dry or soft dates are eaten out-of-hand, or may be pitted and stuffed with fillings such as almonds, walnuts, pecans, candied orange and lemon peel, tahini, marzipan or cream cheese. Pitted dates are also referred to as "stoned dates". Partially dried pitted dates may be glazed with glucose syrup for use as a snack food. Dates can also be chopped and used in a range of sweet and savory dishes, from tajines (tagines) in Morocco to puddings, "ka'ak" (types of Arab cookies) and other dessert items. Date nut bread, a type of cake, is very popular in the United States, especially around holidays. Dates are also processed into cubes, paste called "'ajwa", spread, date syrup or "honey" called "dibs" or "rub" in Libya, powder (date sugar), vinegar or alcohol. Vinegar made from dates was a traditional product of the Middle East. Recent innovations include chocolate-covered dates and products such as sparkling date juice, used in some Islamic countries as a non-alcoholic version of champagne, for special occasions and religious times such as Ramadan. When Muslims break fast in the evening meal of Ramadan, it is traditional to eat a date first.


title: Date palm

text: Reflecting the maritime trading heritage of Britain, imported chopped dates are added to, or form the main basis of a variety of traditional dessert recipes including sticky toffee pudding, Christmas pudding and date and walnut loaf. They are particularly available to eat whole at Christmas time. Dates are one of the ingredients of HP Sauce, a popular British condiment.


title: Date palm

text: In Southeast Spain (where a large date plantation exists including UNESCO-protected Palmeral of Elche) dates (usually pitted with fried almond) are served wrapped in bacon and shallow fried. In Israel date syrup, termed "silan", is used while cooking chicken and also for sweets and desserts, and as a honey substitute. Dates are one of the ingredients of "jallab", a Middle-Eastern fruit syrup. In Pakistan, a viscous, thick syrup made from the ripe fruits is used as a coating for leather bags and pipes to prevent leaking.


title: Date palm

text: On average, dates contain 21% water, 75% carbohydrates (63% sugars and 8% dietary fiber), 2% protein, and less than 1% fat (table). In a reference amount, dates supply of food energy and are a moderate source (10-19% of the Daily Value) of pantothenic acid, vitamin B6, and the dietary minerals magnesium, manganese, and potassium, with other micronutrients in low amounts (table).


title: Date palm

text: Glucose makes up about 55% of sugar content in dates, while fructose is about 45%, and sucrose is negligible. A 2011 study found that the glycemic index (GI) for five different varieties of date had a range of 46–55, while a 2002 report showed GI values of 31–50, results indicating dates are a relatively low GI food source.


title: Date palm

text: In the past, sticky dates were served using specialized small forks having two metal tines, called "" in Scandinavia. Some designs were patented. These have generally been replaced by an inexpensive pale-colored knobbled plastic fork that resembles a date branch (example), which is traditionally included with numerous brands of prepackaged trays of dates (example), though this practice has declined in response to increased use of resealable packaging and calls for fewer single-use plastics.


title: Date palm

text: Date seeds are soaked and ground up for animal feed. Their oil is suitable for use in cosmetics and dermatological applications. The oil contains lauric acid (36%) and oleic acid (41%). Date palm seeds contain 0.56–5.4% lauric acid. They can also be processed chemically as a source of oxalic acid. Date seeds are also ground and used in the manner of coffee beans, or as an additive to coffee. Experimental studies have shown that feeding mice with the aqueous extract of date pits exhibit anti-genotoxic effects and reduce DNA damage induced by N-nitroso-N-methylurea.


title: Date palm

text: Stripped fruit clusters are used as brooms. Recently, the floral stalks have been found to be of ornamental value in households.


title: Date palm

text: Apart from "P. dactylifera", wild date palms such as "Phoenix sylvestris" and "Phoenix reclinata", depending on the region, can be also tapped for sap.


title: Date palm

text: In North Africa, date palm leaves are commonly used for making huts. Mature leaves are also made into mats, screens, baskets, and fans. Processed leaves can be used for insulating board. Dried leaf petioles are a source of cellulose pulp, used for walking sticks, brooms, fishing floats, and fuel. Leaf sheaths are prized for their scent, and fibre from them is also used for rope, coarse cloth, and large hats.


title: Date palm

text: Young date leaves are cooked and eaten as a vegetable, as is the terminal bud or heart, though its removal kills the palm. The finely ground seeds are mixed with flour to make bread in times of scarcity. The flowers of the date palm are also edible. Traditionally the female flowers are the most available for sale and weigh . The flower buds are used in salad or ground with dried fish to make a condiment for bread.


title: Date palm

text: In Ancient Rome the palm fronds used in triumphal processions to symbolize victory were most likely those of "P. dactylifera". The date palm was a popular garden plant in Roman peristyle gardens, though it would not bear fruit in the more temperate climate of Italy. It is recognizable in frescoes from Pompeii and elsewhere in Italy, including a garden scene from the House of the Wedding of Alexander. In later times, traders spread dates around southwest Asia, northern Africa, and Spain. Dates were introduced into California by the Spaniards by 1769, existing by then around Mission San Diego de Alcalá, and were introduced to Mexico as early as the 16th century.


title: Date palm

text: Dates are mentioned more than 50 times in the Bible and 20 times in the Quran. Date palms holds great significance in Abrahamic religions. The tree was heavily cultivated as a food source in ancient Israel where Judaism and subsequently Christianity developed. Date palm leaves are used for Palm Sunday in the Christian religion.


title: Date palm

text: Many Jewish scholars believe that the "honey" reference in Exodus chapter 3 to "a land flowing with milk and honey" is actually a reference to date "honey", and not honey from bees. In the Torah, palm trees are referenced as symbols of prosperity and triumph. Psalm 92:12 states that "The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree." Palm branches occurred as iconography in sculpture ornamenting the Second Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, on Jewish coins, and in the sculpture of synagogues. They are also used as ornamentation in the Feast of the Tabernacles. Date palms are one of the seven species of native Israeli plants revered in Judaism. The date palm has historically been considered a symbol of Judea and the Jewish people. The leaves are used as a lulav in the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. They are also commonly used as the s'chach in the construction of a sukkah.


title: Date palm

text: In the Quran, Allah instructs "Maryām" (the Virgin Mary) to eat dates during labour pains when she gives birth to Isa (Jesus). In Islamic culture, dates and yogurt or milk are traditionally the first foods consumed for Iftar after the sun has set during Ramadan.


title: Date palm

text: In Mandaeism, the date palm (Mandaic: , which can refer to both the tree and its fruit) symbolizes the cosmic tree and is often associated with the cosmic wellspring (Mandaic: ). The date palm, associated with masculinity, and wellspring, associated with femininity, are often mentioned together as heavenly symbols in Mandaean texts.


title: Berry Gordy

text: Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record label and its subsidiaries, which was the highest-earning African-American business for decades.


title: Berry Gordy

text: As a songwriter, he composed or co-composed a number of hits including "Lonely Teardrops" and "That's Why" (Jackie Wilson), "Shop Around" (the Miracles), and "Do You Love Me" (the Contours), all of which topped the US R&B charts, as well as the international hit "Reet Petite" (Jackie Wilson). As part of the Corporation, he wrote many hit songs for the Jackson 5, including "I Want You Back" and "ABC". As a record producer, he launched the Miracles and signed acts like the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, the Four Tops, Gladys Knight & the Pips, and Stevie Wonder. He was known for carefully directing the public image, dress, manners, and choreography of his acts.


title: Berry Gordy

text: Gordy was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama in 2016, and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2021. In 2022, he was inducted into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame.


title: Berry Gordy

text: Berry Gordy III (also known as Berry Gordy Jr.) was the seventh of eight children (Fuller, Esther, Anna, Loucye, George, Gwen, "Berry" and Robert), born on November 28, 1929, in Detroit, to middle-class parents, Berry Gordy II (also known as Berry Gordy Sr.) and Bertha Fuller Gordy, who had relocated to Detroit from Oconee, Washington County, Georgia in 1922.


title: Berry Gordy

text: His grandfather, named Berry Gordy I, was the son of James Gordy, a white plantation owner in Georgia, and a woman he enslaved. His half-brother, James (son of the elder James and his legal wife), was the grandfather of President Jimmy Carter. Berry Gordy II was led to Detroit both by the job opportunities offered by the booming automotive businesses, and also by worries over the atmosphere in the American South where black men were lynched "with chilling regularity by the Ku Klux Klan"; in the first twenty years of the twentieth century, 1,502 lynchings were reported, most in Southern states. Gordy's father opened a grocery store, owned a plastering and carpentry business, and a printing shop. While his brothers Fuller and George were happy to work at jobs their father assigned to them in construction and printing, Berry and Robert, the younger boys, were less inclined to follow that path. Both Robert and Berry liked dancing and music, but Berry's greatest interest was in boxing.


title: Berry Gordy

text: Gordy dropped out of Northeastern High School in the eleventh grade to become a professional boxer in hopes of becoming rich quickly; he boxed professionally until 1950, when he was drafted by the United States Army in 1951 for service in the Korean War. Arriving in Korea in May 1952, Gordy was first assigned to the 58th Field Artillery Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, near Panmunjom. He later became a chaplain's assistant, driving a jeep and playing the organ at religious services at the front. His tour in the Korean War was completed in April 1953. He obtained a GED, which is equivalent to a high school diploma.


title: Berry Gordy

text: After his return from Korea in 1953, he married 19-year-old Thelma Louise Coleman in Toledo, Ohio. Gordy developed his interest in music by writing songs and opening the 3-D Record Mart, a record store featuring jazz music and 3-D glasses. The store was unsuccessful, and Gordy sought work at the Lincoln-Mercury plant, but his family connections put him in touch with Al Green (no relation to the singer Reverend Al Green), owner of the Flame Show Bar Talent Club, where he met the singer Jackie Wilson.


title: Berry Gordy

text: In 1957, Wilson recorded "Reet Petite", a song Gordy had co-written with his sister Gwen and writer-producer Billy Davis. It became a modest hit, but had more success internationally, especially in the UK, where it reached the Top 10 and even later topped the chart on re-issue in 1986. Wilson recorded six more songs co-written by Gordy over the next two years, including "Lonely Teardrops", which topped the R&B charts and got to number 7 in the pop chart. The Gordy siblings and Davis also wrote "All I Could Do Was Cry" for Etta James at Chess Records.


title: Berry Gordy

text: Gordy reinvested the profits from his songwriting success into producing. In 1957, he discovered the Miracles (originally known as the Matadors) and began building a portfolio of successful artists. In 1959, with the encouragement of Miracles leader Smokey Robinson, Gordy borrowed $800 from his family to create an R&B record company. Originally, Gordy wanted to name the new label Tammy Records, after the song recorded by Debbie Reynolds. However, that name was taken, and he chose the name Tamla Records. The company began operating on January 12, 1959. "Come to Me" by Marv Johnson was issued as Tamla 101. United Artists Records picked up "Come to Me" for national distribution, as well as Johnson's more successful follow-up records such as "You Got What It Takes", co-produced by Gordy, who also received a co-writer credit, though the song was originally written and recorded by guitarist Bobby Parker for Vee-Jay Records a year and a half earlier. Gordy's next release was the only 45 ever issued on his Rayber label, featuring Wade Jones with an unnamed female backup group. The record did not sell well and is now one of the rarest issues from the Motown stable. Berry's third release was "Bad Girl" by the Miracles, the first release on the Motown record label. "Bad Girl" was a solid hit in 1959 after Chess Records picked it up. Barrett Strong's "Money (That's What I Want)" initially appeared on Tamla and then charted on Gordy's sister's label, Anna Records, in February 1960. It was The Miracles who gave the label its first million-selling hit single, with the 1960 "Grammy Hall of Fame" smash, "Shop Around" and this song, and its follow up hits,"You've Really Got a Hold on Me" (another Grammy Hall of Fame-inducted hit), "Mickey's Monkey","What's So Good About Goodbye", and "I'll Try Something New", made The Miracles the label's first stars.


title: Berry Gordy

text: The Tamla and Motown labels were then merged into a new company, Motown Record Corporation, incorporated on April 14, 1960. In 1960, Gordy signed an unknown singer, Mary Wells, who became the fledgling label's second star, with Smokey Robinson penning her hits "You Beat Me to the Punch", "Two Lovers", and "My Guy". The Miracles' hit "Shop Around" peaked at No. 1 on the national R&B charts in late 1960 and at No. 2 on the "Billboard" magazine pop charts on January 16, 1961 (No. 1 pop, "Cash Box"), which established Motown as an independent company worthy of notice. Later in 1961, the Marvelettes' "Please Mr. Postman" made it to the top of both charts.


title: Berry Gordy

text: Gordy's gift for identifying and bringing together musical talent, along with the careful management of his artists' public image, made Motown a major national and then international success. Over the next decade, he signed such artists as the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, Jimmy Ruffin, the Contours, the Four Tops, Gladys Knight & the Pips, the Commodores, the Velvelettes, Martha and the Vandellas, Stevie Wonder and the Jackson 5. Though he also signed some white acts to the label (Rare Earth, Rustix, via the Rare Earth label), he mainly promoted African American artists but carefully controlled their public image, dress, manners and choreography for across-the-board appeal.


title: Berry Gordy

text: In 1972, Gordy relocated to Los Angeles, where he produced the commercially successful biographical drama film on Billie Holiday, "Lady Sings the Blues", starring Diana Ross (who was nominated for an Academy Award), Richard Pryor, and Billy Dee Williams (cast in a role originally for Levi Stubbs of the Four Tops). Initially the studio, over Gordy's objections, rejected Williams after several screen tests. However, Gordy, known for his tenacity, eventually prevailed, and the film established Williams as a major movie star. Berry Gordy soon after produced and directed "Mahogany" (Tony Richardson was the original director, but Gordy fired Richardson and took over direction himself after a dispute over minor casting), also starring Ross and Williams. In 1985, he produced the cult martial arts film "The Last Dragon", which starred martial artist Taimak and one of Prince's proteges, Vanity.


title: Berry Gordy

text: Although Motown continued to produce major hits throughout the 1970s and 1980s by artists including the Jacksons, Rick James, Commodores, Lionel Richie, and long-term signings Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson, the record company was no longer the major force it had been. Gordy sold his interests in Motown Records to MCA and Boston Ventures on June 28, 1988, for $61 million. He later sold most of his interests in Jobete publishing to EMI Publishing. Gordy wrote or co-wrote 240 of the approximately 15,000 songs in Motown's Jobete music catalogue. However, the true test of the label's worth would come a few years later, when Polygram paid over $330 million (Diana Ross was given shares in this version of the label) for the Motown catalog.


title: Berry Gordy

text: Gordy was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. He was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 1998 and the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame in 2009.


title: Berry Gordy

text: When Gordy received the Songwriters Hall of Fame's Pioneer Award on June 13, 2013, he was the first living individual to receive the honor.


title: Berry Gordy

text: In 2016, Gordy received the National Medal of Arts from President Obama for "helping to create a trailblazing new sound in American music. As a record producer and songwriter, he helped build Motown, launching the music careers of countless legendary artists. His unique sound helped shape our Nation's story."


title: Berry Gordy

text: Berry Gordy Square in Los Angeles was designated by the City Council at intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Argyle where the office of Motown was located.


title: Berry Gordy

text: In 2021, he was awarded the Kennedy Center Honors alongside Bette Midler, Joni Mitchell, Justino Díaz, and Lorne Michaels.


title: Berry Gordy

text: Following the funeral of Marvin Gaye on April 5, 1984, Gordy declared Gaye "the greatest of his time." Berry said the singer "had no musical equals," while also discussing how he carried on the legacy of other soul singers who tackled a range of themes, from love to civil rights, such as Billie Holiday.


title: Berry Gordy

text: On March 20, 2009, Gordy was in Hollywood to pay tribute to his first group and first million-selling act, the Miracles, when the members received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Speaking in tribute to the group, Gordy said: "Without the Miracles, Motown would not be the Motown it is today."


title: Berry Gordy

text: At the age of 79, Gordy spoke at the memorial service for Michael Jackson in Los Angeles on July 7, 2009. He suggested that "The King of Pop" was perhaps not the best description for Jackson in light of his achievements, referring to him instead as "the greatest entertainer that ever lived."


title: Berry Gordy

text: On May 15, 2011, it was announced that Gordy was developing a Broadway musical about Motown. The show is said to be an account of events of the 1960s and how they shaped the creation of the label. Gordy hoped that the musical would improve the reputation of Motown Records and clear up any misconceptions regarding the label's demise.


title: Berry Gordy

text: "" began previews at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on March 11, 2013, and began regular performances there on April 14.


title: Berry Gordy

text: The UK version of "Motown: The Musical" opened in London's West End in January 2016. Berry Gordy was present at the opening night.


title: Berry Gordy

text: Gordy, who was married and divorced three times, has eight children with six different women. His publishing company, Jobete, was named after his three eldest children: Joy, Berry and Terry.


title: Berry Gordy

text: He had three children with his first wife, Thelma Coleman, whom he married in 1953 (they were divorced in 1959):


title: Berry Gordy

text: In the spring of 1960 he married Raynoma Mayberry Liles (they were divorced in 1964). They had one son:


title: Berry Gordy

text: With his then-mistress Margaret Norton, Gordy had a son who would later become more popularly known as Motown musician Rockwell:


title: Berry Gordy

text: Gordy had a daughter with Motown artist Diana Ross, with whom he had an intimate relationship from 1965 through 1970:


title: Berry Gordy

text: Gordy's eighth and youngest child is a son born to Nancy Leiviska. He is known by his stage name, Redfoo, as one member of the duo LMFAO (the other member is Skyler Gordy, born August 23, 1986, and known professionally as SkyBlu; he is the grandson of Gordy and Thelma Coleman through their son Berry IV and his wife, Valerie Robeson):


title: Berry Gordy

text: He is also related to former US President Jimmy Carter. His relationship with Carter stems from his white great-grandfather James Thomas Gordy who owned a black, female slave.