title: Paulina Rubio

text: Rubio returned to her acting career, and landed her first starring role in the film "Bésame en la Boca", released in June 1995. Rubio played Claudia Romero, a rich young girl who dies in an accident while riding her motorcycle, and is later returned to Earth, but in other body, to make amends for her mistakes. Although her acting received critics mixed, the film was a box office success and staying on the Mexican main billboard for six weeks. As well, she starred as one of the main characters on "Pobre Niña Rica", her third telenovela, and recorded two versions of the opening song. In August 1995, Rubio guest-starred on the "El Corazón de Emeteveo" MTV Latino's show.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: In 1996, Rubio changed her conventional music style to avant-garde sounds. She co-produced her fourth studio album "Planeta Paulina" with Marco Flores. The music critics praised it "a sensational album, full of feelings and enthusiasm" inspired in dance-pop, euro-pop, disco, house, electronic and techno styles. Rubio assumed more creative control by writing and co-producing most of the material. The album didn't matched the commercial success of its predecessors, despite it produced four singles: "Siempre Tuya Desde La Raíz", "Solo Por Ti", "Miedo" and "Enamorada". She also recorded English versions of several songs which did not appear on the album, but were included in the remixes or maxi-singles versions of the songs, such as "Open Up Your Hear", "Only For You" and "I'm So In Love". EMI Music declined to release Rubio's first English crossover album, which was supposed to be the English version of the "Planeta Paulina" album due to weak sales of the Spanish version. Subsequently, she got into a legal battle against the record label for not fulfilling what they had already planned.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: Despite the modest success of "Planeta Paulina", songs like "Una Historia Más"—a song about HIV/AIDS—and "Enamorada" was introduced Rubio to the gay community. Especially due of the music video for "Enamorada", which showed a homosexual couple and the rainbow flag openly on television. A theme that was still considered a taboo at that time. The album's promotion spread throughout Latin America until 1997.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: In 1998, Rubio published a calendar, the funds of which went to the Teleton Foundation. The photographs was shot by Mexican photographer José Quintero at locations in Rome, New York, Florence and Mexico. She was in charge of the production, direction and concept of the calendar. During the presentation of the calendar, Rubio said in an interview: "I have to define many things in my professional life, and I am aware of it." Despite the legal battle with EMI Music, she continued to work on new music. For the initial recording session for fifth studio album Rubio worked first with Mexican composer and singer Armando Manzanero, and Mecano's member Nacho Cano.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: Rubio met with the original members of Timbiriche in summer 1998, during a performance at the Acapulco Festival. The presentation was received with success and became a historic moment at the festival. After the success obtained, the record label Melody reissues the disc "Los Clásicos de Timbiriche", now with the name of "Timbiriche Symphonic", accompanied by Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra. It generated great stir among the followers. The original members realized the magnitude and impact of Timbiriche, so they decided to go on a concert tour. In November 1998 the band initiated a tour developed in Mexico and part of Latin America. Timbiriche reunion established in the Auditorio Nacional a sold-out record of hearing with more than 20 consecutive concerts. On 23 February 1999, a two-disc live album was released through Fonovisa Records titled "Timbiriche, El Concierto". The album was a success, and certified gold and platinum for sold 350,000 copies in Mexico.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: While continuing with the recording sessions for her fifth studio album, Rubio also hosting the Spanish summer variety show, "Vive El Verano", which premiered in July 1999. The production was broadcast by Antena 3. She recorded Richard Daniel Roman's the theme song to the TV show. During the presentation of the television show Rubio said: "Here [in Spain] I am known for other circumstances (her relationship with Ricardo Boffil), but 20 years of professional life guarantee me. With this first job I want to show how far I can go in this world." At the time, she signed a contract with Universal Music Group and Polydor Records to released her new music.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: Rubio and her boyfriend, Ricardo Bofill explained on the television show Tómbola in an April 1999 "would probably get married." They finally didn't get married, but on New Year's Eve 1999, they held an African Rite wedding in Mali, Africa.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: In February 2000, Rubio performed her first single released by Universal Music, "Lo Haré Por Ti", at the Viña del Mar International Song Festival in Chile. The performance was highly criticed by press media, but when the song was released throughout the Americas and Europe, it received positive reviews. Leila Cobo from "Billboard" praised Rubio's "comeback" and said "[the song is] an edgy, catchy, totally fresh romp." It reached the top 10 in Spain and top 40 in Italy. The music video for "Lo Haré Por Ti" featured a new-Paulina in revealing bikinis and mini skirts, and a hat cowgirl-style which came to be regarded as a mark of style her own.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: Rubio released her self-titled fifth studio album, "Paulina", on 23 May 2000. She assumed the total creative control, unlike their first three albums with EMI Music, and collaborated with Colombian singer-songwriter and record producer Estéfano to create a "synthesis of the end of the millennium" in a sound that blend through such genres as pop, ranchera, dance, rock, hip-hop, bolero, house and jazz. Rubio "had a very clear idea of what I wanted to achieve and express and Estéfano was a great guide in helping me develop and define that sound." The album garnered critical acclaim, with Steve Huey from Allmusic calling it "one of her best [albums] to date." Paulina was honored with four Latin Grammy Awards nominated—including Album of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Album—and was honored for Premios Ondas for "her way of applying spectacularity in Latin rhythms."


title: Paulina Rubio

text: "Paulina" was a commercial success, becoming Rubio's first number-one album on the "Billboard" Top Latin Albums and Latin Pop Albums. As well, becoming her first album on the US "Billboard" 200 and "Music & Media" European Top 100 Albums charts. "Paulina" became the first Latin pop record by a female Mexican artist to receive a gold standard certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for shipments of 500,000 units in United States, and it was the best selling Latin album in 2001 there, selling over 1 million copies in the US alone to 2002 and sold more than 3 million copies worldwide. In Mexico, "Paulina" becomes in one of the best-selling albums all time. Follow-up single from the album, "El Último Adiós", attracted the attention of music critics, who praised ranchera and hip-hop music style fusion. The "ranchera moderna" pop becomes a trademark of Rubio. The third single, "Y Yo Sigo Aquí", reached number one in over 30 countries, becoming Rubio's most successful single to date. The fourth single, the feminist anthem "Yo No Soy Esa Mujer", is considered one of the best songs of the 2000, according to "Spin", while "Billboard" named it one of the 100 greatest songs of 2001. The remaining singles—"Vive El Verano", "Sexi Dance" and "Tal Vez, Quizá"—all peaked in the top ten in Latin America and some Europe's country.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: Rubio's look and style of dressing that showed in her music videos, and her performances influenced young girls and women. Her style became one of the female fashion trends of the 2000s in Latin America. In September 2001, she co-headlining with the Spanish group Café Quijano for the QDQ Tour that toured eight cities in Spain. She then embarked on a tour across North America.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: In early-2002, Rubio comeback at the Viña del Mar International Song Festival in Chile, and made a polemic performance. She said Antonio Vodanovic (festival entertainer) refused to award him the Antorcha de Plata despite the public's request. Rubio accused him of being macho and explained "I don't need anything material, but the 'Antorcha' means the burning flame." Also, performed at the Festivalbar and Festival di Sanremo in Italy; Top of the Pops in United Kingdom ang Germany; Hit Machine in Paris and Wango Tango in U.S. EMI Music released two successful greatest-hits albums compilations, "Top Hits" and "". The albums entered on the "Billboard" Top Latin Albums charts and Spanish Albums charts.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: Rubio released her sixth studio album, "Border Girl", in her birthday number 31. The album her first foray into English-language pop. Like its predecessor, received acclaim from critics. Jose F. Promis from AllMusic called it "one of the most interesting and international pop albums of 2002." In the U.S., "Border Girl" debuted at number eleven on the "Billboard" 200 albums chart, making her highest-charting album in the region, and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of 500,000 copies in the country. The first single "Don't Say Goodbye" peaked at number forty-one position on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and number nine on Canadian Singles Chart, while the Spanish version reached number five on the Hot Latin Tracks. The accompanying music video (directed by The Brothers Strause) featured the singer riding a futuristic motorcycle while look infamous leather costume red. It cost of $1 million, which makes it the first Mexican to invest that amount in a music video. "The One You Love" was released as the second single reaching number ninety-seven on the Hot 100 while the Spanish version, "Todo Mi Amor", reached number five on the Hot Latin Tracks chart, becoming her second top five hit from the album. Also, the Spanish version of the single "Casanova" reached number thirty-seven on the Hot Latin Tracks. Rubio she co-headlined the North America dates of Don't Turn Off the Lights Tour fellow Latin pop star Enrique Iglesias. She was honored as the "Mexican Artist with Greatest International Projection" at the Premios Oye! in Mexico, and the Houston, Texas radio station 104.1 KRBE declared 21 June "Paulina Day" in Houston.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: As modeling role, Rubio debuted at the fashion show for Argentinian designer Jorge Ibáñez in Mexico. In late-2002, she signed Elite Model Management of New York, a modeling agency which is fairly prestigious. Annabel Aucoin, then promoter of agency, said "Paulina is the only Mexican singer who is with us and, in truth, she is an international celebrity [...] But she also has the beauty and the personality to be in our celebrity division." For spring 2003 Bacelona's Fashion Week (Pasarela Gaudí), Rubio walk at the runways for Totón Comella collection for TCN. She also return her host role at the beauty pageant Miss Spain 2003. Rubio provided guest vocals on Ronan Keating' re-recorded single "When You Say Nothing at All". The song was re-title "When You Say Nothing at All (Nada Más Que Hablar)" due Rubio's Spanish sing, and released in March 2003.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: After Rubio's breakup with Ricardo Bofill in early 2004, she began dating Mexican actor José María Torre. During that time, she released her seventh studio album, "Pau-Latina". The "futuristic folklore" record included contributions from Emilio Estefan, Chris Rodríguez, Sergio George, Gaitanes, Marco Antonio Solís, Coti, Jorge Villamizar, Los Tetas and Reyli. Rubio explained that she "wanted to do it step by step and very calmly; hence the album title" which means "Latin Peace" in Catalan. Besides that it is a play on words: "Pau", as all her friends call, and "Latina", in honor of his roots. Sarah Bardeen from Rapsody felt that Pau-Latina is "brilliant" specially for "Rubio incorporates elements of rap, reggaeton, flamenco and ranchera while maintaining her own consistently feathery pop sensibility" while Matt Cibula from PopMatters included it in her list of the "best however-many-it-ends-up-being albums of 2004." It became her second album to debut at the top of the Top Latin Albums chart, and peaked at number 105 on the Billboard 200. "Pau-Latina" won several awards—including Billboard Latin Music Awards and Lo Nuestro Awards—and was nominated for a Latin Grammy for Best Pop Female Vocal Album, and nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Vocal Album.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: "Te Quise Tanto" was released as the lead single from "Pau-Latina", and reached number one on the "Billboard" Hot Latin Songs; became her biggest single to date, and her first single to reach the top position on the chart. "Algo Tienes" followed as the second single, peaked at number one on the Latin Pop Airplay. "Dame Otro Tequila" was released as the album's third single, and became her second number-one single on the Hot Latin Songs. In 2005, "Mía" and "Alma En Libertad" followed as the album's fourth and fifth singles, and reached number eight and number thirty-nine on the Hot Latin Songs, respectively. Rubio's third headlining tour, the Pau-Latina Tour, began in September 2004 and concluded in June 2005. She also performed at the Viña del Mar International Song Festival in Chile, where finally won the Antorcha de Plata at the request of the public, and after three performances in the past years. Her performance received polarized critics from several media. Some journalists argue that due to the Rubio's feminist speech when she interpreted "Yo No Soy Esa Mujer", she got the Antorcha de Plata.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: Rubio gave a provocative performance as host at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards Latinoamérica. In a sarcastic speech during the ceremony, she said "There are many people who believe that I only want to provoke conservatives [...] Because I am conservative, very conservative" and immediately opened the back of her little mini dress exposing her butt, and showing just a red thong t-back. The incident was highly publicized. Several media assumed it was a response by Rubio to those of conservative ideology in Mexico due few months before, government leaders in Queretaro, censored a Rubio's spectacular where she posing completely naked on a white horse and wearing only red sandals from the Andrea, brand whom she had an endorsement. The Chilean press cited the moment as "[Rubio] claiming women's underwear".


title: Paulina Rubio

text: Some of Rubio's important TV performances during Pau-Latina era attracted media attention due her fashion style, especially her provocative skirts tutu-style. Rubio and her personal designer released merchandising inspired by her skirts through her website, and title it "Tutu Pau". She received the Voz del Momento award at the 2004 Premios Juventud, and also was named "People en Español"'s 2005 Star of the Year. At that time, Rubio appeared on two singles from Coti's album, "Esta Mañana Y Otros Cuentos"; she was featured on a duet with Coti, "Otra Vez", and on a collaboration with Coti and Julieta Venegas entitled "Nada Fue Un Error", it last was a success in Spain and Latin America. After her relationship with José María Torre ended in early 2005, just a few months after, Rubio began dating her future husband Spanish entrepreneur Nicolás "Colate" Vallejo-Nájera. The couple became engaged in November 2006.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: In July 2006, Rubio released "Ni Una Sola Palabra", the lead single from her eighth studio album, "Ananda". It became her third number one single on the U.S. "Billboard" Hot Latin Songs (entered on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart) and reached the atop on iTunes' digital song sales chart in Spain, earning eventually it was certified triple platinum by the Productores de Música de España (PROMUSICAE). The second and third single released from the album, "Nada Puede Cambiarme" and "Ayúdame", both reached top ten on ¡Tunes digital charts, and "Nada Puede Cambiarme" received certified gold in Spain for digital downloads. Other singles released from the album include "Que Me Voy A Quedar" and the digital single"Me Siento Mucho Más Fuerte Sin Tu Amor".


title: Paulina Rubio

text: "Ananda" was released on 19 September 2006. Album's title is a Sanskrit word which in English means "Happiness", name of Rubio's Miami home, where "Ananda" was recorded. The album reflected a change in her spiritual perception and image. On "Ananda", Rubio worked with new producers as Cachorro López, Toy Hernández, Áureo Baqueiro, Ric Wake, Tricky Stewart and Gustavo Santaolalla at the Rubio's home studio in Miami, Florida. The album retakes rock-pop style for Rubio, and incorporates genres such as Latin pop, dance-pop and folk. "Ananda" garnered critical acclaim, with Jason Birchmeier from Allmuic calling it "an exceptionally solid collection of 13 would-be hits, each interesting and pleasing in its own fashion." The album reached at number one on the "Billboard" Top Latin Albums and Latin Pop Albums. Also reached at number forty-four on the "Billboard" 200. The album earned several accolades, including two awards at the 2007 Latin Billboard Music Awards. It was a success in Nordic countries. Rubio performed at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway to honor the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Muhammad Yunus.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: In early 2007, Rubio recorded the song "Nena" as a duet with singer Miguel Bosé, from his album "Papito". It was also nominated for Record of the Year at the 8th Annual Latin Grammys. Rubio embarked on her Amor, Luz Y Sonido tour February to September 2007. It was her longest tour in Spain. While promoting her tour, she married her then fiancé Nicolás "Colate" Vallejo-Najera in Xcaret, Mexico. The wedding received several media coverage. It was considered "the wedding of the year" and they covered the May 2007 issue of "¡Hola!" magazine.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: In October 2007, the Spanish edition of "Cosmopolitan" magazine featured her apparently naked underneath a red, white, and green sheet. A government probe was open about whether or not she had desecrated Mexico's flag. The Secretariat of the Interior said she may have violated an article in the National Flag, Shield and Anthem Law, which states that "private individuals will give the appropriate respect to the national symbol and handle it with care". The offense can be punished by fines ranging from $45,000 to $50,000 MXN (Mexican pesos) and jail time of up to 36 hours. However, in a published report, Rubio's mother, said that the artist did not authorize such photos. Finally, in February 2008, the Mexican Government imposed a fine on Rubio "l considering that he has disrespected the patriotic symbols." In the meantime, Rubio participated in a mega benefit concert event by ALAS Foundation, developed simultaneously in Mexico and Argentina. She performed in Buenos Aires in front of 180,000 people, along with other Latin artists.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: Rubio performed the song "Causa y Efecto" at the 2009 Latin Billboard Music Awards on 23 April. It was released as the lead single from her ninth studio album, "Gran City Pop". The Rubio's comeback single atop on the "Billboard" Hot Latin Songs for 5 consecutive weeks; becoming her fourth number-one single on the list of her career. As well, "Causa Y Efecto" was number one on the Mexican Monitor Latino Chart and Spanish Airplay Chart, where certified platinum. Rubio released "Gran City Pop", on 23 June 2009. The album is a concept album of a utopian city, "very earthy and very organic where everything is an amalgam; a mixture that allows to unite instead of divide", and was inspired by Miami, Mexico and Madrid. Mussically, "Gran City Pop" embrace from pop rock and dance pop, containing influences of Latin styles, electropop, eurodisco and arena rock. The songs were autobiographical in nature and saw Rubio collaborating as songwriter with Coti, Fernando Montesinos, Rafael Vergara, and went back to work with Estefano, after almost ten years of working with him on Paulina. Rubio developed as the album's executive producer, along with producers such as Cachorro López, Lester Mendez and Chris Rodriguez.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: "Gran City Pop" debuted at number two on the "Billboard" Latin Albums and number one on the Latin Pop Albums; and debuted at number forty four on the "Billboard" 200. Dan Kimpel from Broadcast Music, Inc. complimented the sound of the album, while Jesús Rodríguez de "El País" panned as a "party and romance tailor's drawer; pop rhythms, Latin airs, rock guitars, rancheras and tequila, melodic song and disco sound." Gran City Pop received certified gold and platinum in different regions for shipments of over 300,000 copies worldwide after one month of released. It received a nomination at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards for Best Latin Pop Album, and at the Lo Nuestro Awards for Pop Album of the Year.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: "Ni Rosas Ni Juguetes", described as being ranchera/pop with a hip hop beat (like "El Último Adiós"), was released as the second single from "Gran City Pop" on 17 August 2009. It reached top ten the "Billboard" Hot Latin Songs; as well in Mexico and Spain. Rubio performing the song in a medley with Cobra Starship's song "Good Girls Go Bad", singing along with American dance-pop band at the Los Premios MTV Latinoamérica 2009. The performing won for Best Live Performance at "Los Premios 2009", voted by the public; the same night Rubio won the award for Best Solo Artist. An official remix of "Ni Rosas Ni Juguetes" was realized by Pitbull, and was released to mainstream radio. The song made a crossover for other music markets, with a collaboration for the banda genre with Jenni Rivera; and another for format EDM with Juan Magán. The final single from the album, "Algo De Ti", was released on 22 March 2010 in Spain and on 19 May 2010 in the U.S. However, Universal Music Latino later declined to continue promotion of the song to radio outlets, as a result it was unable to chart; instead released a remixes series by Junior Caldera and Juan Magán to impact the EDM market.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: Rubio embarked on her Gran City Pop Tour ran from September 2009 to August 2010. While offering a series of concerts in Spain in May 2010, she and her husband, Nicolás "Colate" Vallejo-Nájera, announced an exclusive for ¡Hola! that they expected they first child. "I'm going to be a mom... Life has a new meaning. They have just confirmed the best news of our lives and by the end of the year we are going to be parents," Rubio told the publication. Rubio stated that if the child was a boy, he would be named after his father, Nicolás. If it was a girl, she would be named after Rubio's great-grandmother, Micaela. On 15 September 2010 Paulina announced on her Twitter page that she was expecting a boy. On 14 November 2010, Rubio and her husband welcomed their first child, a boy named Andrea Nicolás Vallejo-Nájera Rubio in Miami, Florida. Prior to the birth, Rubio had planned on having a water birth at home, but was rushed to the hospital and spent the weekend with doctors working to stabilize the health of the baby. Hospital staff tried to send Rubio home so that she could realize her dream of a natural home birth, but the complications led her medical team to schedule a c-section.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: On 11 January 2011, Rubio's father, Enrique Rubio González, died at the age of 67 in a Mexico City hospital. A consensus of various news sources attributed his death to kidney failure. In February 2011, was confirmed that she would participate on MTV Unplugged: Los Tigres del Norte and Friends, a live album by Los Tigres del Norte. Rubio and the norteño band performed "Golpes en el Corazón", which was released as the first single off the album on 19 April 2011. It became in a successful in Mexico, peaking atop the Monitor Latino general charts and the Mexican Airplay Chart from "Billboard" International. At the time, she was also featured in Gloria Trevi's album, "Gloria", on the track "No Al Alguacil" that expected as the third single off Trevi's album, but failed to get a released.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: Rubio resumed recording sessions on her tenth studio album. She announced that she wanted to do a Spanglish album is that she wanted to mix the language of her home Mexico and the United States. "I grew up in Mexico, but I've always been between the United States and my country. This is all done with a wink and a nod to 'Spanglish' culture, which continues to grow and has a foot in both worlds." She stated that this album would be different from all her other albums because being a mother and the death of her father had inspired her tremendously. She also said that 70% of the album's songs would be in Spanish, while only 30% in English.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: On 15 November 2011, Rubio released her tenth studio album, "Brava!", and saw collaboration with various producers, including RedOne and Julio Reyes The album entered within the top five on Mexico and United States charts, and sold 100,000 copies in these regions. The album's lead single, "Me Gustas Tanto", peaked at number one at the "Billboard" Hot Latin Songs, becoming Rubio's fifth number-one single on the chart and making her the five Latin female artist in history to have more number one singles, after Gloria Estefan, Shakira, Selena and Ana Gabriel. The second single "Me voy" was re-worked version featuring the Mexican singer-songwriter Espinoza Paz, and released on 14 February 2012, while the promotional single "Heat Of The Night" reached number sixteen on the "Billboard" Dance Club Songs chart.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: The following months, Rubio released a new deluxe edition of "Brava!", reissue entitled "Bravísima!", which includes new songs, and the previously released single "Boys Will Be Boys". The first English-language Rubio's song since "Don't Say Goodbye" was acclamaid as the "hymn of the summer", and commercially was a success in Spain, where was certified gold. The music video for the song was directed by Yasha Malekzad and received positive reviews. Latin Magazine mentioned it as one of the "30 sexiest music videos of all time". The albums was mostly promoted by Brava! Tour, which lasted from February to October 2012. Rubio performed at the Telehit Awards where she was recognized for her twenty-year career as a solo artist with an award.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: In March 2012, Rubio's husband, Nicolás "Colate" Vallejo-Nájera, confirmed their breakup, disclosing had been living apart since four months. "Colate" filed for divorce from Rubio, citing irreconcilable differences. Rubio and "Colate" reached a legal agreement to share custody of their son, Andrea Nicolás. During that time, she had started a relationship with the contestant of "La Voz... México", Gerardo Bazúa, whom she met while serving as a coach in the second season of the competition television series. During the second season of "La Voz... México"', she participated as a coach along with Miguel Bosé, Jenni Rivera, and Beto Cuevas.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: In early 2013, Rubio was included on a remix of Juan Magan's song "Mal De Amores". In the same time, Rubio was one of the three coaches for "La Voz Kids", the singing competition for kids from seven to fourteen years old on Telemundo. Although she was initially slated to return for the series' second season, Telemundo announced that Rubio not return. She then sued Telemundo for alleged breach of contract. While serving as a coach at La Voz Kids, Rubio appeared in court hearings Miami-Dade Clerk of Courts to meet at court celebrations with her former partner, Nicolás "Colate" Vallejo-Nájera. At first, Rubio claimed that he did not want to share 50/50 joint custody with "Colate" because of his mismanagement as a parent, but the judge did not relent.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: In May 2013, Rubio was hired to replace Britney Spears as a judge for the third season of the U.S. version of "The X Factor", joining Simon Cowell, Demi Lovato, and fellow new judge Kelly Rowland, who replaced L.A. Reid. She became the first Mexican artist judge on an American singing competition series. Rubio mentored the Boys category; her final act, Carlito Olivero, was finished 3rd in the competition of the season. Universal Music released to fall 2013 the first compilation album by Rubio, Pau Factor, spanning greatest hits from her 2000 "homonym album" to album project "Bravísima!" The album was poorly promoted, but managed to reach number thirty-seven on the "Billboard" Top Latin Albums, and number thirteen on the Latin Pop Albums.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: Rubio first teased a new single on Valentine's Day in 2014, playing a "La Bamba"-esque song "Cuanto Te Quiero" with producers in the studio. Even though she performed it live several times, the song's release as the album lead single was cancelled. In an exclusive interview with Mario Lopez in June, Rubio spoke for the first time publicly about his legal divorce battle with "Colate" Vallejo-Nájera, and revealed, "I'm not divorced yet. It's been hard to struggle for so long to sign the papers. It's been hard for the baby, but hopefully things will be more quiet and more in balance." Finally, the divorce was "made official" in November 2014, according to a Miami-Dade County Family Court judge, who replied to Rubio, "their marriage has been dissolved." In the statement at a hearing, she asserted that "Colate" refused to sign the divorce because she demanded an increase in the pension, and it was stipulated that Rubio would pass "Colate" a three-year pension of $6,750 per month. In December, Rubio guest starred as a fictionalized version of herself on The CW series, "Jane the Virgin".


title: Paulina Rubio

text: In January 2015, Rubio released a new single, "Mi Nuevo Vicio" featuring Colombian group Morat. It reached number one in Spain, and attained a double platinum certification for sales of 80,000 copies, making her the Mexican female artist with more streams on Spotify. Although "Mi Nuevo Vicio" was her comeback single, and was a success in Latin America, it took Universal Music to give the green light to the singer's eleventh studio album. Rubio's legal battle with "Collate" continued in June 2015, when he sued her for non-payment of three months of maintenance, which would break the divorce regulatory agreement they reached in the Miami courts. That same summer, Rubio co-wrote and collaborated on Juan Magan's song "Vuelve", featuring DCS. The song was an unprecedented success in Spain, placing it as number one on Los 40 Principales, while in Mexico it was certified triple platinum. In December 2015, Rubio announced in an exclusive for ¡Hola! she was expecting her second child, and the first one in common with her partner Gerado Bazúa. The publication was accompanied by photographs of the couple with Rubio's son, Andrea Nicolás.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: Following the release of her single "Si Te Vas" in early 2016, Rubio featured in an exclusive for ¡Hola! to her second child, Eros Rubio Bazúa, who was born on 5 March 2016. She revealed, "I am writing a new chapter of my life in which family is the most important thing." She stayed away from the stage and media attention for two months, until she reappeared at the Latin Billboard Music Awards. She also performed at the 3rd Platino Awards, were announced the name of her new single, "Me Quema". The song was released on 11 November, tentatively as the first single from Rubio's eleventh studio album, but again Universal Music postponed the release of the album. Rubio performed "Me Quema" at the Telehit Awards 2016 for the first time; her setlist consisted in perform other three hits, and when finished her performance she confused Telehit with MTV. The moment went viral on social media, and was widely criticized by the media. Also, during the same fall of that year, was confirmed that Rubio had ended her relationship with Gerardo Bazúa.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: In anticipation of releasing a new album, Rubio presented a tour of some cities in Mexico in 2017. Universal Music once again cancelled the release date of the singer's eleventh album.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: "Desire (Me Tienes Loquita)" featuring Nacho, the lead single from her eleventh studio album, was released on 25 May 2018. Its second single "Suave Y Sutil" followed four months later. The album, titled "Deseo", was released on 14 September 2018. The album received mixed reviews, and debuted at number thirteen on the "Billboard" Latin Pop Albums. Rubio further promoted the album with a reissue. These "special edition" were followed by the single "Ya No Me Engañas" in April 2019. Additionally she promoted Deseo in several TV shows and specials concerts. The album was certified gold in Chile.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: Rubio returned to the talents shows as a judge and coach in January 2019 in the sixth season of Spanish version of "La Voz"; her final act, Ángel Cortés, was finished 4rd in the competition of the season. Rubio distinguished herself by being the only woman on the coaching team. She was considered a right guess in "La Voz", because the ranking of Antena 3's production rose considerably compared to recent seasons. The newspaper of "La Razón" mentioned "[Rubio] is the face that most contrasts with the rest of the members of the jury of the program. The moost international character gives great force to the evaluations and makes 'La Voz' de España have much more travel outside of our country." In the following months, she continued as a coach in "La Voz Senior", a version for people over 60 who are facing a new opportunity in their lives in which music has always been present.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: Rubio also embarked on Deseo Tour, which began in June and ended in December 2019. After releasing her promotional single "Si Supieran", several media announced that Rubio and his 20-year-old record label, Universal Music, had signed a mutual employment termination agreement. Indeed, "Si Supieran" was released outside of Universal Music. The rumors intensified after a "Rolling Stone" article was published citing Rubio's words as the headline: "I Am My Own Boss Now", thus confirming the rumors. But that was not the only controversy that accompanied "Si Supieran", the song was a response to what her former partners, Nicolás "Colate" Vallejo-Nájera and Gerado Bazúa, talked about her in the media; evidencing that both conspired to tarnish Rubio's public image. A similar message was displayed on her second single released without the Universal Music label, "De Qué Sirve". The independent song is a trap-ranchera proposal with pop overtones.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: In March 2020, Rubio joined with Mexican musician Raymix in the song "Tú Y Yo". It reached number one in Mexico, giving Rubio her first number one on the Monitor Latino chart since "Golpes En El Corazón" nine years before. "Tú Y Yo" was certified platinum for sold 60,000 copies and won Cumbia Song of the Year - Regional Mexican at the 33rd Lo Nuestro Awards.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: On 16 April 2020, Rubio performed a solo some of her hits as part of the "One World: Together At Home" virtual concert, a benefit event by Global Citizen to raise funds for the World Health Organization's COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. Her performance received widespread negative critics due to her strange behavior that developed during the performance, forgetting the lyrics of her own songs and wearing a very disheveled image. Several media and viewers attributed her poor coordination of the virtual concert and her strange behavior to the abuse of alcoholic beverages or drugs. The video was viral on social media, and two days later Rubio posted a video on her Instagram account mocking the moment. But the controversial video prompted her children's parents to take steps to request custody of their children. However, the Miami court judge refused to proceed because it could not be proven that Rubio had been under the influence of drugs.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: On 7 October 2020, Rubio shared a video on Instagram talking about the controversial viral video, she explained that "what started as a live concert to participate in a social initiative, turned out to be one of the worst days of my life. It was hideous, but I learned from it." She also addressed rumors as to whether she was under the influence of any drugs while singing, confirming that "much of what has been said about me is a lie." Despite media scrutiny and public opinion about the viral video, some respected journalists empathized with Rubio. The Spanish writer Lucía Etxebarría said that Rubio "has not known a normal childhood or a normal adolescence and that she has been overextended all her life." She also examined the breakdown of using it as an example as a case of severe media exposure. "If we have understood that Britney had a collapse because she could not bear all the pressure, we probably understand that Paulina Rubio has been subjected to pressure all her life that no one should impose on a child," Etxebarría explained.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: On 18 September 2021, Rubio comeback to the stage at the Miami Beach Pride where headlining that festival. She performed some of her hits and was crowned as "Gay Queen". The same day, Rubio announced her new single "Yo Soy" on her social media. It was released 14 October 2021 through Sony Music, her new record label. Throughout the media, she has become known as "La Reina Dorada" ("The Golden Queen"), with which she wishes to assert herself in the music industry as a mature artist. In December 2021, after several negotiations, Rubio and Alejandra Guzmán announced that they would reunite for their first joint tour. The Perrísimas Tour had 22 dates in the United States, with several sold out shows. It began on April 15, 2022 in Orlando, Florida, and ended on May 22 in Los Angeles, California.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: Rubio explained that she first became interested in entertainment during her childhood, mainly influenced by the fame of her mother, iconic actress Susana Dosamantes: "I did not become famous for being in a group Timbiriche, I have been famous since I was born." She has also commented that when her mother offered interviews, she always was the first to look beauty for receive the reporters. Rubio claimed that she "sang in front of the mirror" songs by Daniela Romo, Camilo Sesto, Juan Gabriel, José José, Mecano and Miguel Bosé. In a special television show for Univision, she claimed that "my first connection to music was with The Beatles" and her first connection with the rock and roll was with Queen when they first performed in Mexico in 1981, during a concert with her dad in Puebla. She said that "To see Freddie Mercury go out (on stage) with his sequin capes ... I dreamed of going out like him and doing that performance." Various music critics have denoted the strong rock influence on Rubio's music.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: The American media has cited Madonna as being major Rubio's influence in her career, specially for her imagen and tours concepts. Even though she claims to have invented the "far west" aesthetic before Madonna in 2000s, "Music & Media" assured, "Rubio is in fact a latin replica of Madonna, complete with a picaresque face, blond hair, cowboy hat, and mini -skirt that is in fact a wide belt-indeed." In an interview to "ABC" newspaper she said: "I am from Mexico and the hat is an element that is part of my culture. It has always accompanied me, since I was a child". In a "HuffPost Live" interview in 2014, Alyona Minkovski asked him what he thought about the media and fans calling her "Latin Madonna", Rubio replied "I love Madonna [...] she is strong, she is a warrior and she is an inspiration." However, Rubio has formed her own identity and musical style throughout her career. Luca Villa from "Rolling Stone" rectified that "like America's Madonna, she has reinvented herself with every new release."


title: Paulina Rubio

text: Rubio has been inspired by and compared to Madonna and Marilyn Monroe throughout her career. She received negative comments when she posted a post on Instagram where she sported the same look from the movie "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" that starred Monroe in 1953 and later Madonna recreated in the video for her single "Material Girl" in 1985. Writing the review of Rubio's 2004 show at the Auditorio Nacional (Mexico) of his "Pau-Latina World Tour", Spanish journalist Jesús Quintero suggested that like Madonna Rubio overflows with sensuality on stage "always in "ménage à trois"."


title: Paulina Rubio

text: The "Inflooenz" website has cited several female artists who have influenced Rubio's music as Ana Gabriel, Gloria Estefan, Selena, Lucía Méndez, Verónica Castro, María del Sol and Janet Jackson.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: While Rubio incorporates an "eclectic" musical proposal, in different points of her discography has been described as Latin-style pop, dance-pop, pop-rock and electronic. She is known for giving Latin music a new avant-garde sound, as in her song "El Último Adiós", where she set a new standard in her musical career by combining mariachi and ranchera style with pop and hip hop. She has commented that "in music, there are no rules. Like painting, you can mix colors and textures. I feel very free to perform dance, rock and whatever else I want." Rubio has also experimented with genres such as folklore, regional Mexican and urban.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: Rubio has described her music as "fun" and "lovely". Through her songs, she involves themes of everyday life and feminist hymns, but always inspired by love. She told ¡Hola!: "In my music you can find spite, nostalgia, joy, euphoria, but always inspired by love, the only feeling that makes me live, breathe." She has also stated that although the lyrics of her songs "are simple," she tries to offer a bit of poetry. Mexican writer Zeth Arellano considers that both Rubio's music and lyricism "encompasses all the extremes of emotions".


title: Paulina Rubio

text: On social media, Rubio was most followed Mexican person on Twitter between 2011 and 2019. She was included in "Forbes" list "Celebrity 100: Twitter's most-followed superstars" list in 2015. Since 2021, she is the third most followed Mexican person on Twitter.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: Rubio's shows are also known to be expensive. In 2005, her performance at the Viña del Mar International Song Festival was considered one of the most "expensive". Her performance at the Santa Cruz de Tenerife gala in Spain in February 2020 became the most expensive performance ever paid by an artist at the event. The carnival councilor disclosed that "the Mexican singer was offered 103,000 euros for an 8-minute performance."


title: Paulina Rubio

text: Throughout her career, Rubio has chosen team who attempt to create a new "look" for her, and the resulting have appeared in a variety of magazines, from the cutting edge in the music entertainment "Rolling Stone" to the more traditionally sophisticated "Vogue" and "Vanity Fair", making the Rubio face and name known to a broad range of people in different sectors. In 2002 was chosen the year's "most beautiful" cover girl of "People En Español". She was having a crossover moment with her English-language album "Border Girl" and in 2005 Rubio decked up with others female celebrities of white and diamonds from Tiffany's for the "50 most beautiful" cover.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: By 2000, Rubio was considered to have achieved a degree of musical credibility for having reinvented both musically and aesthetically as pop icon. She then became a more sophisticated performer with a flirtatious and playful persona attracted new fans all around the world. Alberto Pinteño, of the Spanish edition of "Vanity Fair", described the singer as "that halo of a star that becomes an icon, for better or worse." Midi dresses became an essential part of her wardrobe and she was already encouraged to be more sensual in front of her viewers. Her "Paulina" era led to some media outlets referring to her as "Latin Madonna" for the great influence of the American artist in her videos, and like her, sensuality became a stronger element in her music videos and shows. The staff of the Mexican edition of Vogue wrote that "[her] towering heels, miniskirts, sun-kissed skin and curls that billowed in the wind were part of her personal trademark." The Spanish magazine "Hola!" wrote that "with her usual cowboy hat and miniskirts, [Rubio created] a style among the youngest girls." At that time, she began to associate with the feminist movement and express it through her music and concerts. The Spanish journalist Igor Cubillo by "El País" wrote that her music is a "fresh formula" in cohesion to "well exploited physical attractiveness, to her exaltation of feminine pride and the aforementioned Latin fashion" that made her a pop star that all the girls "want to look like her." Writing for the "Houston Chronicle", Chuy Varela described "Every generation has its symbols and icons, prophets and elders. Rubio is to her generation what Maria Felix was to hers. But during Felix's day, Mexican women were expected to be more subservient and conservative. Rubio represents a more empowered, self-determined Mexican woman who is proud to be glamorous."


title: Paulina Rubio

text: In 2006, she was ranked 12 on "E! Entertainment's 25 Sexiest Pop Divas in the world" list. She was also named one of the "Latina's The 60 Sexiest Mexicans in Hollywood" in 2018. Rubio was defined as a sex symbol after posing half naked or scantily clad in men's magazines like "GQ", "Maxim" and "MAN". In 2007, she was ranked sixty seven on FHM Magazine Spain's 100 Sexiest Women list. The media at the time attributed Rubio's sex appeal as a double-edged sword to sell an album and attract attention. In September 2021, Hard Rock & Casino Hotel Punta Cana in Dominican Republic unveiled its exhibition of celebrity items, in which it includes a characteristic Rubio costume.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: For their part, many journalists and critics have assured that Rubio's great success has also been influenced by the events of her personal life. Since she began her career, the public had a great interest in exploring her personal life. "El País" journalist Elena Reina says that her success has been thanks to a "brilliant marketing strategy based on her private life."


title: Paulina Rubio

text: Rubio is regarded as a gay icon. The staff of the Spanish women's magazine MujerdeElite wrote "[Rubio] was one of the first singers in the 1990s to incorporate gay images in her music videos" referring to the music video for "Enamorada", where she shows a homosexual couple. The publication quoted, "Since then, she has been the diva of choice for her upbeat, infectious music, full of eroticism and sexuality." She has been crowned "Gay Queen" in different cities in the United States and Latin America.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: Rubio has been recognised with many honorific nicknames. When she released her debut solo album "La Chica Dorada" in the early 1990s, several media gave her the title of the album. Since then, she has been known as "La Chica Dorada" ("The Golden Girl"), especially in Mexico and Latin America. By 2000, Rubio achieved internationalization in Europe with her album "Paulina", then the Spanish press named her "El Huracán Mexicano" ("The Mexican Cyclone"). During that time, the media also called her "Madonna Latina" especially in United States and Mexico, due to the great similarity of her music videos and provocative shows with the American artist. Rubio was consecrated as an international music star in 2000, and was referred as the "Queen of Latin Pop". In 2014, while serving as a coach on the third season of "The X Factor", the Fox television network cemented her title as "Queen of Latino Pop" referring to her as "the Mexican superstar who has sold millions of records, she's spicy."


title: Paulina Rubio

text: According to the critic José Noé Mercado, Rubio is an icon of pop culture in Latin America, and thanks to the success of her career "she helps us understand the now of our musical status in the pop and even rock world." "Los Angeles Times"'s Alicia Civita included her in her article on "Latina Women on the War Foot in a Male-Dominated Music Industry" and said that Rubio along with her three other countrywomen of her generation "have managed to beat time with their proposals in order to maintain a certain validity with collaborations with exponents of the new generations."


title: Paulina Rubio

text: Rubio identifies as a feminist, and is considered a "feminist icon". On feminism in Mexico she has mentioned to "Los Angeles Times" in 2002, "the stereotype of the Mexican woman as fragile, full of children and powerless has completely disappeared. I believe I am a woman with a strong character who knows the value of discipline and decisiveness." Spanish journalist Lorena Maldonado from online newspaper "El Español" wrote "The Mexican, by dint of a summer song and playful music, has more than once put the points on the i's with powerful lyrics", cite Rubio's most feminist songs like "Yo No Soy Esa Mujer", "Causa Y Efecto" y "Ni Rosas Ni Juguetes".


title: Paulina Rubio

text: In 2002 Premios Oye! recognized Rubio as "Mexican Artist with Greatest International Projection". Univision included her in their list of "Most powerful Latinos" and "25 most influential Mexican musicians" en 2008 and 2011, respectively., She is the fifth female Latin artist on the "Billboard" Hot Latin Songs chart with the most number-one singles. Rubio's work has influenced artists as Eiza Gonzalez and Taboo.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: In 2002, Rubio signed a promotional deal with Dr Pepper's "Be You" advertising campaign. She filming a 30-second spot with Celia Cruz. In 2003, she signed a deal with Mexican shoe company Andrea to be their face for at least three years. The promotional deal extended until 2007. In 2007, she launched her own lipstick in partnership with MAC Cosmetics titled "Rubia". Paulina stated, "I love wearing make-up and use MAC products on stage and off, it's suitable for all occasions. I was thrilled when M.A.C approached me to create a new shade of lipstick and I instantly thought it should be a bold, vibrant matte lipstick that will look sexy on all women."


title: Paulina Rubio

text: Rubio launched her own fragrance titled "ORO". The fragrance was released and created in conjunction with Oracle Beauty Brands. Rubio was the first Latin artist to partnered with the company in a fragrance.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: ORO is a "fragrance is for women like me who believe in themselves; are strong, fun and unpredictable, yet tender and loving. I put so much creativity and love into this fragrance, I feel as if a drop of me is in each and every bottle to be shared with my fans and all women." ORO was put on sale in online stores in June 2009, as well as in large commercial chains such as Walmart and CVS Pharmacy in most of America countries and Spain.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: In October 2013, Rubio designed and launched an exclusive line of "sensual, modern and casual" maxi bags, heels, high boots and booties in collaboration with JustFab. The collection inspired by the artist's own style sold more than 10,000 pairs in just three weeks. The collaboration lasted until 2014.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: Rubio has also ventured out into modeling. She has walked on runways of events and the New York Fashion Week from designers such as Alvin Valley, Gaudí, Roberto Cavalli, Kiff-Kiff, Hernán Zajar among others. The singer is also signed under Elite Model Management, a modeling agency. Rubio was the "face" of the opening campaign for the French fashion house Louis Vuitton in Latin America in 2006. She also has a restaurant in Miami Beach called L'Entrecote de Paris.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: In August 2010, when Rubio was five months pregnant with her first child, she was part of a campaign to promote the consumption of Got Milk? in Latin America. She appeared alongside her mother, Susana Dosamantes, in the photos of the advertising campaign.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: In February 2006, Rubio starred in an advertisement for Ron Pomalca, for which there was an expensive contract of around $150,000. A commercial was filmed in Miami, and for the musicalization the hit "Algo Tienes" was covered. Since 2021, she has once again been a brand ambassador for an alcoholic beverage brand, Get Hot Tequila, produced in the lands of Jalisco, Mexico.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: In 2007, Paulina joined the Latino Commission on AIDS, an organization in the fight against the spread HIV/AIDS in the Latino community. Paulina became the first "Mexican Madrina" to partner with the organization. Paulina stated, "It is important to make our voice heard and try to bring back some of the care that the community shares each day". On 17 May 2008, Paulina performed at the ALAS concert (América Latina en Acción Solidaria). The organization's mission is to strengthen and expand public and private sector support for Early Childhood Development in Latin America. In 2009, the singer received recognition from the American Heart Association for her work with the organization. Rubio also performed at the event to raise funds.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: On 3 December 2009, Paulina held a press conference announcing the creation of an organization in partnership with the Lili Claire Foundation to provide assistance to children living with neurological disorders and their families. Fundación Paulina Rubio is a project inspired by children in anguish as a result of homelessness, birth defects, and lack of education among other pernicious plights that many face today. By directing funds through other pre-existing organizations, such as The Lili Claire Foundation, children will receive a unique and comprehensive blend of support services including medical and behavioral genetics clinics, psychosocial counseling, advocacy services, information libraries, and community outreach that will ultimately help improve the lives of families and children living with neurogenetic disorders.


title: Paulina Rubio

text: In 2010, Rubio hosted the Paulina & Friends exclusive benefit concert for The Lili Claire Foundation which showcased musicians such as Luis Fonsi, Aleks Syntek, Noel Schajris, Reik and Fanny Lú. The purpose of the event was to raise funds to build a family resource center. "My friends mean everything to me and I am happy to have the opportunity to share the stage with them to support this great cause. All of them are excellent musicians and I know that as always, they'll do their best to make this an unforgettable night", said the singer. Jeff Simmons, community relations manager for The Lili Claire Foundation said, "I'm really surprised to see the number of artists who continue to join in on this great event, it's truly a blessing. Their contribution to the Paulina & Friends concert is spectacular and the Lili Claire Foundation will be forever grateful".


title: Paulina Rubio

text: In 2018, Rubio appeared in a PETA video reminding people not to leave animals or children in parked cars.


title: Park Eun-seok

text: Park Eun-seok (; born 10 February 1984) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his work in theatre and is also known for his breakout performance in the 2020 television drama "".


title: Park Eun-seok

text: Born in South Korea, Park immigrated to the US with his family at the age of 7, settling in Long Island, Huntington, New York. He returned to Korea in 2005 at the age of 21 to pursue an acting career. Being a permanent resident of the United States at the time, Park voluntarily served in the South Korean military in order to improve his Korean. He later gave up his permanent resident status after being discharged from the military.


title: Henry J. Kaiser

text: Henry John Kaiser (May 9, 1882 – August 24, 1967) was an American industrialist who became known as the father of modern American shipbuilding. Prior to World War II, Kaiser was involved in the construction industry; his company was one of those that built the Hoover Dam. He established the Kaiser Shipyards, which built Liberty ships during World War II, after which he formed Kaiser Aluminum and Kaiser Steel. Kaiser organized Kaiser Permanente health care for his workers and their families. He led Kaiser-Frazer followed by Kaiser Motors, automobile companies known for the safety of their designs. Kaiser was involved in large construction projects such as civic centers and dams, and invested in real estate, later moving into television broadcasting. With his wealth, he established the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit, non-partisan, charitable organization.


title: Henry J. Kaiser

text: Kaiser was born on May 9, 1882, in Sprout Brook, New York, the son of Franz and Anna Marie (née Yops) Kaiser, ethnic German immigrants. His father was a shoemaker. Kaiser's first job was as a cash boy in a Utica, New York, department store at the age of 16. He worked as an apprentice photographer early in life, and was running the studio in Lake Placid by the age of 20. He used his savings to move to Washington state in 1906, where he started a construction company fulfilling government contracts.


title: Henry J. Kaiser

text: Kaiser met his future wife, Bess Fosburgh, the daughter of a Virginia lumberman, when she came into his photographic shop in Lake Placid, New York, to buy film. Fosburgh's father demanded that Kaiser show that he was financially stable before he would consent to their marriage. Kaiser moved to Spokane and became a top salesman at a hardware company, returning ten months later with enough money to placate his future father-in-law. They married on April 8, 1907, and had two children, Edgar Kaiser, Sr and Henry Kaiser, Jr.


title: Henry J. Kaiser

text: In 1914 Kaiser founded a paving company, Henry J. Kaiser Co., Ltd., one of the first to use heavy construction machinery. His firm expanded significantly in 1927 when it received an $18-million contract to build roads in Camagüey Province, Cuba. In 1931 his firm was one of the prime contractors in building the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, and subsequently the Bonneville and Grand Coulee Dams on the Columbia River.


title: Henry J. Kaiser

text: While doing business among the "Six Companies, Inc.", and remotely related to his interest in motor boat racing, he set up shipyards in Seattle and Tacoma, where he began using mass-production techniques, such as using welding instead of rivets.


title: Henry J. Kaiser

text: Henry Kaiser was an early advocate of bringing American aid to those suffering from German aggression in Europe. In 1940, a full year before the US had entered World War II, Kaiser served as National Chairman of United Clothing Collection for International War Relief to provide much-needed clothing for the refugees from Hitler's conquests in Europe.


title: Henry J. Kaiser

text: Kaiser fought Hitler far more directly with what he is most famous for: the Kaiser Shipyard in Richmond, California; during World War II adapting production techniques to enable building cargo ships with an average construction time of 45 days. These ships became known as Liberty ships and were later supplemented in the mid-war period by improved, larger and faster Victory ships. He became world-renowned when his teams built a ship in four days. The keel for the 10,500-ton was laid on Sunday, November 8, 1942, and the ship was launched in California from the Richmond Shipyard #2 on Thursday, November 12, four days and hours later. The previous record had been ten days for the Liberty ship "Joseph M. Teal".


title: Henry J. Kaiser

text: A visit to a Ford assembly plant by one of his associates led to a decision to use welding instead of riveting for shipbuilding. Welding was advantageous because it took less strength to do and it was easier to teach to thousands of employees, who were mostly unskilled laborers and many women. Kaiser adopted the use of sub-assemblies in ship construction. Formerly, hundreds of laborers crowded together to complete a ship. Though that practice had been tried on the East Coast and in Britain, Kaiser was able to take full advantage of the process by constructing new shipyards using this concept.


title: Henry J. Kaiser

text: Other Kaiser shipyards were located in Ryan Point (Vancouver) on the Columbia River in Washington state and on Swan Island in Portland, Oregon. A smaller vessel was turned out in 71 hours and 40 minutes from the Vancouver yard on November 16, 1942. The Kaiser hulls also became America's smaller, more numerous "escort carriers", over 100 small aircraft carriers employed in both the Pacific and the Atlantic theaters. The concepts that he developed for the mass production of commercial and naval ships are still in use.


title: Henry J. Kaiser

text: One problem with welded hulls that was unknown is the issue of brittle fracture. That caused the loss of some Liberty ships in cold seas as the welds failed and the hulls would crack, sometimes completely into two. Constance Tipper was one of the first people to discover why the Liberty ships were breaking into two. Minor changes in design and more rigid welding control implemented in 1947 eliminated Liberty ship losses until 1955. By his membership in a group called the Six Companies, Kaiser also had a major role in the Joshua Hendy Iron Works of Sunnyvale, California, which built the EC-2 triple expansion steam engines for the Liberty ships. Kaiser and his associates organized the California Shipbuilding Corporation.


title: Henry J. Kaiser

text: At Kaiser Shipyards in Richmond, California, Kaiser implemented the pioneering idea of Dr. Sidney Garfield of Kaiser Permanente. Opened on August 10, 1942, Kaiser Richmond Field Hospital for Kaiser Shipyards was financed by the U.S. Maritime Commission, sponsored by Henry J. Kaiser's Permanente Foundation, and run by Dr. Garfield. In part because of wartime materials rationing, the Field Hospital was a single-story wood-frame structure designed in a simple modernist mode. Originally intended for use primarily as an emergency facility, the Field Hospital opened with only 10 beds. Later additions had increased its capacity to 160 beds by 1944.


title: Henry J. Kaiser

text: Kaiser's Richmond Field Hospital served as the mid-level component of a three-tier medical care system that included six well-equipped First Aid Stations at the shipyards and the main Permanente Hospital in Oakland, where the most critical cases were treated. By August 1944, 92.2% of all Richmond shipyard employees had joined Kaiser Permanente, the first voluntary group plan in the country to feature group medical practice, prepayment, and substantial medical facilities on such a large scale. After the war, the Health Plan was expanded to include workers' families. To serve employees at his diverse businesses, Kaiser opened Permanente facilities in Walnut Creek, California, in Hawaii, in Southern California, and eventually in many other locations. Since then, locations have opened in Dublin, California; Livermore, California; Pleasanton, California; Martinez, California; Santa Clara, California; and Antioch, California. However, the Kaiser family itself has had no connection with Kaiser Permanente in decades.


title: Henry J. Kaiser

text: In 1945, Kaiser partnered with veteran automobile executive Joseph Frazer to establish a new automobile company from the remnants of Graham-Paige, of which Frazer had been president. The new company was named Kaiser-Frazer. It used a surplus Ford Motor Company defense plant at Willow Run, Michigan originally built for WWII aircraft production by Ford. Kaiser-Frazer (later Kaiser Motors) produced cars under the Kaiser and Frazer names until 1955, when it abandoned the U.S. market and moved production to Argentina. Although still producing Jeep vehicles, Kaiser-Willys ceased production of passenger cars in the U.S. after the 1955 model year. They continued producing Kaiser Carabela sedans, identical to the 1955 Kaiser U.S. sedans, in Argentina until 1961.


title: Henry J. Kaiser

text: The Henry J was built by the Kaiser-Frazer Corporation and named after its chairman, Henry J. Kaiser. Production of six-cylinder models began in July 1950, and four-cylinder production started shortly after Labor Day, 1950. Official public introduction was September 28, 1950. The car was marketed through 1954.


title: Henry J. Kaiser

text: Kaiser-Frazer held a contest to name their new car, with Henry J being the winning name. A lawsuit by a shareholder in the company alleged that "The name is so ridiculous that it can be justified on no other ground than to satisfy a deep ingrained megalomanic desire for personal publicity". It is unknown the outcome of the suit and in the end, the car was named after Kaiser.


title: Henry J. Kaiser

text: In 1953, Kaiser purchased Willys-Overland, manufacturer of the Jeep line of utility vehicles, changing its name to Willys Motors. In the late 1960s, Kaiser's South American operations were sold to a Ford-Renault combination. In 1963, the name was changed again to Kaiser-Jeep, which was ultimately sold to American Motors Corporation in 1970. As part of the transaction, Kaiser acquired a 22% interest in AMC, which was later divested.


title: Henry J. Kaiser

text: In the mid-1950s, Kaiser asked William Besler to convert his 1953 Kaiser Manhattan to steam. Besler completed this in either 1957 or 1958. Kaiser did not like the remodeled car and left it with Besler.


title: Henry J. Kaiser

text: Kaiser founded Kaiser Aluminum in 1946 by leasing and later purchasing aluminum facilities in Washington state from the U.S. government. The original facilities included reduction plants at Mead and Tacoma, and a rolling mill at Trentwood. Kaiser Aluminum expanded to become an integrated aluminum company, mining and refining bauxite and creation of alumina, the production of primary aluminum from alumina, and manufacturing fabricated and semi-fabricated aluminum products.


title: Henry J. Kaiser

text: In 1948, Kaiser established the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation (also known as Kaiser Family Foundation), a U.S.-based, nonprofit, private operating foundation focusing on health care issues. Originally based in Oakland, California, it later moved to Menlo Park, California. At Kaiser's death, half of his fortune was left to the foundation. It was reorganized and restructured in 1991, under CEO Drew Altman. The Foundation, not associated with Kaiser Permanente or Kaiser Industries, operates independently as a think tank, making facts and analysis available to policymakers, health care groups, the media and the general public.


title: Henry J. Kaiser

text: As a real-estate magnate, Kaiser founded the Honolulu suburban community of Hawaii Kai in Hawaii. Kaiser also financed the development of Panorama City, a planned community in the San Fernando Valley portion of Los Angeles. Schools were named in his honor in Hawaii, West Virginia, and California.


title: Henry J. Kaiser

text: Kaiser spent many of his later years in Honolulu and developed an obsession with perfecting its urban landscape. He built the Kaiser Hawaiian Village Hotel, today known as the Hilton Hawaiian Village, and used bright pink Jeeps as resort transportation. Kaiser constructed one of the first commercially practical geodesic domes in the United States at this resort and used it as a theater.


title: Henry J. Kaiser

text: In the mid-1950s, Kaiser was convinced that television could make Kaiser brand products known to the public. In 1957 Kaiser partnered with Warner Brothers and ABC to sponsor the television series "Maverick", promoting household products including Kaiser aluminum foil and Kaiser Jeep vehicles. In support of his Hawaii ventures, Kaiser induced Warner Brothers to copy the formula of its popular series "77 Sunset Strip" as new TV series "Hawaiian Eye". Though actually filmed at WB studios in Burbank, California, the show featured private detectives based at Kaiser's Hilton Hawaiian Village. (The Hilton Hawaiian Village was featured in "Hawaii 5-0" with many scenes filmed at the resort.) Kaiser eventually bought and built a chain of radio and television stations which became known as Kaiser Broadcasting. Some call signs included his initials "HK", beginning in 1957 in Honolulu with KHVH-TV 13 and KHVH AM 1040.


title: Henry J. Kaiser

text: Kaiser's first wife Bess Fosburgh died on March 14, 1951. Kaiser married the nurse who had cared for her, Alyce Chester (reportedly with his wife's blessing) on April 10, 1951. He adopted her son, who as Michael Kaiser, attended nearby Lafayette public Vallecito School. Kaiser's attention soon transferred to Hawaii, and in 1955 he moved his family there. After Kaiser moved to Hawaii, the west Lafayette Kaiser estate deteriorated and was eventually demolished. Today, the property is unrecognizable, subdivided into several homes.


title: Henry J. Kaiser

text: On August 24, 1967, Kaiser died at the age of 85 in Honolulu. He is interred in Mountain View Cemetery in the Main Mausoleum, in Oakland, California.


title: Henry J. Kaiser

text: He was survived by his second wife, Alyce Chester Kaiser, who inherited half his fortune, and by his elder son, Edgar F. Kaiser, who had been president of the Kaiser Industries Corporation since 1956.


title: Henry J. Kaiser

text: One of Kaiser's grandsons, Edgar Kaiser Jr., became president of Kaiser Steel from 1981 to 1984, and briefly owned the Denver Broncos NFL franchise.


title: Henry J. Kaiser

text: Kaiser was involved in building civic centers, roads, and schools. He was part of the consortium that constructed the Hoover Dam and Grand Coulee Dam. Kaiser is also noted for advancing medicine with the development and construction of hospitals, medical centers and medical schools. The mining town of Eagle Mountain, California, built as part of the West Coast's first integrated mining/processing operation, and linked by rail to his mill in Fontana, California, was an early user of Kaiser Permanente, the first health maintenance organization.


title: Henry J. Kaiser

text: A class of 18 United States Navy fleet replenishment oilers built in the 1980s and 1990s is named the . Its lead unit, , the first U.S. Navy ship named for Kaiser, entered service with the Military Sealift Command on December 19, 1986.


title: Henry J. Kaiser

text: In 1990, Kaiser was made a member of the Labor Hall of Fame of the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., supported by the Friends of the Department of Labor.


title: Henry J. Kaiser

text: On December 1, 2009, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver inducted Kaiser posthumously into the California Hall of Fame in the California Museum, Sacramento, California.


title: Yard Act

text: Yard Act are a British rock band from Leeds, comprising James Smith (vocals, lyrics), Ryan Needham (bass), Sam Shjipstone (guitar) and Jay Russell (drums). Their debut album "The Overload" was released on 21 January 2022 and debuted at number 2 on the UK Albums Chart.


title: Yard Act

text: Prior to forming the band, vocalist James Smith and bassist Ryan Needham had both been members of other Leeds-based bands. Smith was a member of Post War Glamour Girls and Needham played in Menace Beach, two bands that released a split EP together in 2016. After the release of the EP, the pair began discussing forming a band together, a plan that eventually came to fruition in September 2019, when the pair moved into a house together in Meanwood. They soon recruited guitarist Sammy Robinson and drummer George Townend who played together in Treeboy & Arc. During this period, Robinson departed from the group, leading to the recruitment of Sam Shjipstone. Prior to the announcement of their debut album, the band had only released a total of four singles independently. These singles were then compiled onto an EP, titled "Dark Days", released in 2021.


title: Yard Act

text: Their debut album "The Overload" was released on 21 January 2022. The group is "one to watch" in the BBC's Sound of 2022 shortlist. The group was also named one of "Paste"'s "Best New Artists of 2021". On 1 July 2022 a re-recorded version of "100% Endurance" was released featuring a collaboration with Elton John.


title: Yard Act

text: Critics have categorised the band's music as post-punk and indie rock. Often making use of elements of 1970s Italo disco, ’90s hip-hop and .


title: Yard Act

text: Their lyrics are often political, discussing opposition to topics including capitalism, gentrification and social class, told using "dark humor and cynical storytelling". Their lyrics also take a surrealist style, such as on the song Payday from their first album.


title: Bedřich Smetana

text: Bedřich Smetana ( , ; 2 March 1824 – 12 May 1884) was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style that became closely identified with his people's aspirations to a cultural and political "revival." He has been regarded in his homeland as the father of Czech music. Internationally he is best known for his 1866 opera "The Bartered Bride" and for the symphonic cycle "Má vlast" ("My Fatherland"), which portrays the history, legends and landscape of the composer's native Bohemia. It contains the famous symphonic poem "Vltava", also popularly known by its German name "Die Moldau" (in English, "The Moldau").


title: Bedřich Smetana

text: Smetana was naturally gifted as a composer, and gave his first public performance at the age of 6. After conventional schooling, he studied music under Josef Proksch in Prague. His first nationalistic music was written during the 1848 Prague uprising, in which he briefly participated. After failing to establish his career in Prague, he left for Sweden, where he set up as a teacher and choirmaster in Gothenburg, and began to write large-scale orchestral works.


title: Bedřich Smetana

text: In the early 1860s, a more liberal political climate in Bohemia encouraged Smetana to return permanently to Prague. He threw himself into the musical life of the city, primarily as a champion of the new genre of Czech opera. In 1866 his first two operas, "The Brandenburgers in Bohemia" and "The Bartered Bride", were premiered at Prague's new Provisional Theatre, the latter achieving great popularity. In that same year, Smetana became the theatre's principal conductor, but the years of his conductorship were marked by controversy. Factions within the city's musical establishment considered his identification with the progressive ideas of Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner inimical to the development of a distinctively Czech opera style. This opposition interfered with his creative work, and may have hastened a decline in health that precipitated his resignation from the theatre in 1874.


title: Bedřich Smetana

text: By the end of 1874, Smetana had become completely deaf but, freed from his theatre duties and the related controversies, he began a period of sustained composition that continued for almost the rest of his life. His contributions to Czech music were increasingly recognised and honoured, but a mental collapse early in 1884 led to his incarceration in an asylum and subsequent death. Smetana's reputation as the founding father of Czech music has endured in his native country, where advocates have raised his status above that of his contemporaries and successors. However, relatively few of Smetana's works are in the international repertory, and most foreign commentators tend to regard Antonín Dvořák as a more significant Czech composer.


title: Bedřich Smetana

text: Bedřich Smetana, first named Friedrich Smetana, was born on 2 March 1824, in Litomyšl (German: Leitomischl), east of Prague near the traditional border between Bohemia and Moravia, then provinces of the Habsburg Empire. He was the third child, and first son, of František Smetana and his third wife Barbora Linková. František had fathered eight children in two earlier marriages, five daughters surviving infancy; he and Barbora had ten more children, of whom seven reached adulthood. At this time, under Habsburg rule, German was the official language of Bohemia. František knew Czech but, for business and social reasons, rarely used it; and his children were ignorant of correct Czech until much later in their lives.


title: Bedřich Smetana

text: The Smetana family came from the Hradec Králové (German: Königgrätz) region of Bohemia. František had initially learned the trade of a brewer, and had acquired moderate wealth during the Napoleonic Wars by supplying clothing and provisions to the French Army. He subsequently managed several breweries before coming to Litomyšl in 1823 as brewer to Count Waldstein, whose Renaissance castle dominates the town.


title: Bedřich Smetana

text: František Smetana played violin in a string quartet, and Barbora Smetana was a dancer. Bedřich was introduced to music by his father and in October 1830, at the age of six, gave his first public performance. At a concert held in Litomyšl's Philosophical Academy he played a piano arrangement of Auber's overture to "La muette de Portici", to a rapturous reception. In 1831 the family moved to Jindřichův Hradec in the south of Bohemia—the region where, a generation later, Gustav Mahler grew up. Here, Smetana attended the local elementary school and later the gymnasium. He also studied violin and piano, discovering the works of Mozart and Beethoven, and began composing simple pieces, of which one, a dance ("Kvapiček", or "Little Galop"), survives in sketch form.


title: Bedřich Smetana

text: In 1835, František retired to in the south-eastern region of Bohemia. There being no suitable local school, Smetana was sent to the gymnasium at Jihlava, where he was homesick and unable to study. He then transferred to the Premonstratensian school at Německý Brod, where he was happier and made good progress. Among the friends he made here was the future Czech revolutionary poet Karel Havlíček, whose departure for Prague in 1838 may have influenced Smetana's own desire to experience life in the capital. The following year, with František's approval, he enrolled at Prague's Academic Grammar School under Josef Jungmann, a distinguished poet and linguist who was a leading figure in the movement for Czech national revival.


title: Bedřich Smetana

text: Smetana arrived in Prague in the autumn of 1839. Finding Jungmann's school uncongenial (he was mocked by his classmates for his country manners), he soon began missing classes. He attended concerts, visited the opera, listened to military bands and joined an amateur string quartet for whom he composed simple pieces. After Liszt gave a series of piano recitals in the city, Smetana became convinced that he would find satisfaction only in a musical career. He confided to his journal that he wanted "to become a Mozart in composition and a Liszt in technique". However, the Prague idyll ended when František discovered his son's truancy, and removed him from the city. František at this time saw music as a diverting pastime, not as a career choice. Smetana was placed temporarily with his uncle in Nové Město, where he enjoyed a brief romance with his cousin Louisa. He commemorated their passion in "Louisa's Polka", Smetana's earliest complete composition that has survived.


title: Bedřich Smetana

text: An older cousin, Josef Smetana, a teacher at the Premonstratensian School in Plzeň (German: Pilsen), then offered to supervise the boy's remaining schooling, and in the summer of 1840 Smetana departed for Plzeň. He remained there until he completed his schooling in 1843. His skills as a pianist were in great demand at the town's many soirées, and he enjoyed a hectic social life. This included a number of romances, the most important of which was with Kateřina Kolářová, whom he had known briefly in his early childhood. Smetana was entirely captivated with her, writing in his journal: "When I am not with her I am sitting on hot coals and have no peace". He composed several pieces for her, among which are two "Quadrilles", a song duet, and an incomplete piano study for the left hand. He also composed his first orchestral piece, a B-flat minuet.


title: Bedřich Smetana

text: By the time Smetana completed his schooling, his father's fortunes had declined. Although František now agreed that his son should follow a musical career, he could not provide financial support. In August 1843 Smetana departed for Prague with twenty florins, and no immediate prospects. Kateřina Kolářová's mother introduced Smetana to Josef Proksch, then head of the Prague Music Institute (where Kateřina was studying), with whom he began composition lessons. In January 1844 Proksch agreed to take Smetana as a pupil, and at the same time the young musician's financial difficulties were eased when he secured an appointment as music teacher to the family of a nobleman, Count Thun. During the course of his studies, Proksch introduced Smetana to both Liszt and Berlioz.


title: Bedřich Smetana

text: For the next three years, besides teaching piano to the Thun children, Smetana studied theory and composition under Proksch. The works he composed in these years include songs, dances, bagatelles, impromptus and the G minor Piano Sonata. In 1846 Smetana attended concerts given in Prague by Berlioz, and in all likelihood met the French composer at a reception arranged by Proksch. At the home of Count Thun he met Robert and Clara Schumann, and showed them his G minor sonata, but failed to win their approval for this work—they detected too much of Berlioz in it. Meanwhile, his friendship with Kateřina blossomed. In June 1847, on resigning his position in the Thun household, Smetana recommended her as his replacement. He then set out on a tour of Western Bohemia, hoping to establish a reputation as a concert pianist.


title: Bedřich Smetana

text: Smetana's concert tour to Western Bohemia was poorly supported, so he abandoned it and returned to Prague, where he made a living from private pupils and occasional appearances as an accompanist in chamber concerts. He also began work on his first major orchestral work, the Overture in D major.


title: Bedřich Smetana

text: For a brief period in 1848, Smetana was a revolutionary. In the climate of political change and upheaval that swept through Europe in that year, a pro-democracy movement in Prague led by Smetana's old friend Karel Havlíček was urging an end to Habsburg absolutist rule and for more political autonomy. A Citizens' Army ("Svornost") was formed to defend the city against possible attack. Smetana wrote a series of patriotic works, including two marches dedicated respectively to the Czech National Guard and the Students' Legion of the University of Prague, and "The Song of Freedom" to words by Ján Kollár. In June 1848, as the Habsburg armies moved to suppress rebellious tendencies, Prague came under attack from the Austrian forces led by the Prince of Windisch-Grätz. As a member of Svornost, Smetana helped to man the barricades on the Charles Bridge. The nascent uprising was quickly crushed, but Smetana avoided the imprisonment or exile received by leaders such as Havlíček. During his brief spell with Svornost, he met the writer and leading radical, Karel Sabina, who would later provide libretti for Smetana's first two operas.


title: Bedřich Smetana

text: Early in 1848, Smetana wrote to Franz Liszt, whom he had not yet met, asking him to accept the dedication of a new piano work, "Six Characteristic Pieces", and recommend it to a publisher. He also requested a loan of 400 florins, to enable him to open a music school. Liszt replied cordially, accepting the dedication and promising to help find a publisher, but he offered no financial assistance. This encouragement was the beginning of a friendship that was of great value to Smetana in his subsequent career. Despite Liszt's lack of financial support, Smetana was able to start a Piano Institute in late August 1848, with twelve students. After a period of struggle the Institute began to flourish and became briefly fashionable, particularly among supporters of Czech nationalism, in whose eyes Smetana was developing a reputation. Proksch wrote of Smetana's support for his people's cause, and said that he "could well become the transformer of my ideas in the Czech language." In 1849 the institute was relocated to the home of Kateřina's parents, and began to attract distinguished visitors; Liszt came regularly, and the former Austrian emperor Ferdinand, who had settled in Prague, attended the school's matinée concerts. Smetana's performances in these concerts became a recognised feature of Prague's musical life. In this time of relative financial stability Smetana married his beloved, the young pianist Kateřina Kolářová, on 27 August 1849. Four daughters were born to the couple between 1851 and 1855.


title: Bedřich Smetana

text: In 1850, notwithstanding his revolutionary sentiments, Smetana accepted the post of Court Pianist in Ferdinand's establishment in Prague Castle. He continued teaching in the Piano Institute, and devoted himself increasingly to composition. His works, mainly for the piano, included the three-part "Wedding Scenes", some of the music of which was later used in "The Bartered Bride". He also wrote numerous short experimental pieces collected under the name "Album Leaves", and a series of polkas. During 1853–54 he worked on a major orchestral piece, the "Triumphal Symphony", composed to commemorate the wedding of Emperor Franz Joseph. The symphony was rejected by the Imperial Court, possibly on the grounds that the brief musical references to the Austrian national anthem were not sufficiently prominent. Undeterred, Smetana hired an orchestra at his own expense to perform the symphony at the Konvikt Hall in Prague on 26 February 1855. The work was coolly received, and the concert was a financial failure.


title: Bedřich Smetana

text: In the years between 1854 and 1856 Smetana suffered a series of personal blows. In July 1854 his second daughter, Gabriela, died of tuberculosis. A year later his eldest daughter Bedřiška, who at the age of four was showing signs of musical precocity, died of scarlet fever. Smetana wrote his Piano Trio in G minor as a tribute to her memory; it was performed in Prague on 3 December 1855 and, according to the composer, was received "harshly" by the critics, although Liszt praised it. Smetana's sorrows continued; just after Bedřiška's death a fourth daughter, Kateřina, had been born but she, too, died in June 1856. By this time Smetana's wife Kateřina had also been diagnosed with tuberculosis.


title: Bedřich Smetana

text: In July 1856, Smetana received news of the death in exile of his revolutionary friend Karel Havlíček. The political climate in Prague was a further source of gloom; hopes of a more enlightened government and social reform following Franz Joseph's accession in 1848 had faded as Austrian absolutism reasserted itself under Baron Alexander von Bach. Despite the good name of the Piano Institute, Smetana's status as a concert pianist was generally considered below that of contemporaries such as Alexander Dreyschock. Critics acknowledged Smetana's "delicate, crystalline touch", closer in style to Chopin than Liszt, but believed that his physical frailty was a serious drawback to his concert-playing ambitions. His main performance success during this period was his playing of Mozart's D minor Piano Concerto at a concert celebrating the centenary of Mozart's birth, in January 1856. His disenchantment with Prague was growing and, perhaps influenced by Dreyschock's accounts of opportunities in Sweden, Smetana decided to seek success there. On 11 October 1856, after writing to his parents that "Prague did not wish to acknowledge me, so I left it", he departed for Gothenburg.


title: Bedřich Smetana

text: Smetana initially went to Gothenburg without Kateřina. Writing to Liszt, he said that the people there were musically unsophisticated, but he saw this as an opportunity "for an impact I could never have achieved in Prague." Within a few weeks of his arrival, he had given his first recital, opened a music school that was rapidly overwhelmed by applications, and become conductor of the Gothenburg Society for Classical Choral Music. In a few months Smetana had achieved both professional and social recognition in the city, although he found little time for composition; two intended orchestral works, provisionally entitled "Frithjof" and "The Viking's Voyage", were sketched but abandoned.


title: Bedřich Smetana

text: In summer 1857, Smetana came home to Prague and found Kateřina in failing health. In June, Smetana's father František died. That autumn Smetana returned to Gothenburg, with Kateřina and their surviving daughter Žofie, but before doing so he visited Liszt in Weimar. The occasion was the Karl August Goethe-Schiller Jubilee celebrations; Smetana attended performances of Liszt's "Faust Symphony" and the symphonic poem "Die Ideale", which invigorated and inspired him. Liszt was Smetana's principal teacher throughout the latter's creative life, and at this time was crucially able to revive his spirits and rescue him from the relative artistic isolation of Gothenburg.


title: Bedřich Smetana

text: Back in Sweden, Smetana found among his new pupils a young housewife, Fröjda Benecke, who briefly became his muse and his mistress. In her honour Smetana transcribed two songs from Schubert's "Die schöne Müllerin" cycle, and transformed one of his own early piano pieces into a polka entitled "Vision at the Ball". He also began composing on a more expansive scale. In 1858 he completed the symphonic poem "Richard III", his first major orchestral composition since the "Triumphal Symphony". He followed this with "Wallenstein's Camp", inspired by Friedrich Schiller's "Wallenstein" drama trilogy, and began a third symphonic poem "Hakon Jarl", based on the tragic drama by Danish poet Adam Oehlenschläger. Smetana also wrote two large-scale piano works: "Macbeth and the Witches", and an Étude in C in the style of Liszt.


title: Bedřich Smetana

text: Kateřina's health gradually worsened and in the spring of 1859 failed completely. Homeward bound, she died at Dresden on 19 April 1859. Smetana wrote that she had died "gently, without our knowing anything until the quiet drew my attention to her." After placing Žofie with Kateřina's mother, Smetana spent time with Liszt in Weimar, where he was introduced to the music of the comic opera "Der Barbier von Bagdad", by Liszt's pupil Peter Cornelius. This work would influence Smetana's own later career as an opera composer. Later that year he stayed with his younger brother Karel, and fell in love with Karel's sister-in-law Barbora (Bettina) Ferdinandiová, sixteen years his junior. He proposed marriage, and having secured her promise returned to Gothenburg for the 1859–60 winter. The marriage took place the following year, on 10 July 1860, after which Smetana and his new wife returned to Sweden for a final season. This culminated in April 1861 with a piano performance in Stockholm, attended by the Swedish royal family. The couple's first daughter, Zdeňka, was born in September 1861.


title: Bedřich Smetana

text: Meanwhile, the defeat of Franz Joseph's army at Solferino in 1859 had weakened the Habsburg Empire, and led to the fall from power of Baron von Bach. This had gradually brought a more enlightened atmosphere to Prague, and by 1861 Smetana was seeing prospects of a better future for Czech nationalism and culture. Before deciding his own future, in September he set out on a concert tour of the Netherlands and Germany. He was still hoping to secure a reputation as a pianist, but once again he experienced failure. Back in Prague, he conducted performances of "Richard III" and "Wallenstein's Camp" in the Žofín Island concert hall in January 1862, to a muted reception. Critics accused him of adhering too closely to the "New German" school represented primarily by Liszt; Smetana responded that "a prophet is without honour in his own land." In March 1862 he made a last brief visit to Gothenburg, but the city no longer held his interest; it appeared to him a provincial backwater and, whatever the difficulties, he now determined to seek his musical future in Prague: "My home has rooted itself into my heart so much that only there do I find real contentment. It is to this that I will sacrifice myself."


title: Bedřich Smetana

text: In 1861, it was announced that a Provisional Theatre would be built in Prague, as a home for Czech opera. Smetana saw this as an opportunity to write and stage opera that would reflect Czech national character, similar to the portrayals of Russian life in Mikhail Glinka's operas. He hoped that he might be considered for the theatre's conductorship, but the post went to Jan Nepomuk Maýr, apparently because the conservative faction in charge of the project considered Smetana a "dangerous modernist", in thrall to avant garde composers such as Liszt and Wagner. Smetana then turned his attention to an opera competition, organised by Count Jan von Harrach, which offered prizes of 600 florins each for the best comic and historical operas based on Czech culture. With no useful model on which to base his work—Czech opera as a genre scarcely existed—Smetana had to create his own style. He engaged Karel Sabina, his comrade from the 1848 barricades, as his librettist, and received Sabina's text in February 1862, a story of the 13th century invasion of Bohemia by Otto of Brandenburg. In April 1863 he submitted the score, under the title of "The Brandenburgers in Bohemia".


title: Bedřich Smetana

text: At this stage in his career, Smetana's command of Czech was poor. His generation of Czechs was educated in German, and he had difficulty expressing himself in what was supposedly his native tongue. To overcome these linguistic deficiencies he studied Czech grammar, and made a point of writing and speaking in Czech every day. He had become Chorus Master of the nationalistic Hlahol Choral Society soon after his return from Sweden, and as his fluency in Czech developed he composed patriotic choruses for the Society; "The Three Riders" and "The Renegade" were performed at concerts in early 1863. In March of that year Smetana was elected president of the music section of Umělecká Beseda, a society for Czech artists. By 1864 he was proficient enough in Czech to be appointed as music critic to the main Czech-language newspaper "Národní listy". Meanwhile, Bettina had given birth to another daughter, Božena.


title: Bedřich Smetana

text: On 23 April 1864, Smetana conducted Berlioz's choral symphony "Roméo et Juliette" at a concert celebrating the Shakespeare tercentenary, adding to the programme his own "March for the Shakespearean Festival". That year, Smetana's bid to become Director of the Prague Conservatory failed. He had set high hopes on this appointment: "My friends are trying to persuade me that this post might have been especially created for me," he wrote to a Swedish friend. Again his hopes were thwarted by his association with the perceived radical Liszt, and the appointing committee chose the conservative patriot Josef Krejčí for the post.


title: Bedřich Smetana

text: Almost three years passed before Smetana was declared the winner of Harrach's opera competition. Before then, on 5 January 1866, "The Brandenburgers" had been performed to an enthusiastic reception at the Provisional Theatre—over strong opposition from Maýr, who had refused to rehearse or conduct the piece. The idiom was too advanced for Maýr's liking, and the opera was eventually staged under the composer's own direction. "I was called on stage nine times," Smetana wrote, recording that the house was sold out and that the critics were full of praise. Music historian Rosa Newmarch believes that, although "The Brandenburgers" has not stood the test of time, it contains all the germs of Smetana's operatic art.


title: Bedřich Smetana

text: In July 1863, Sabina had delivered the libretto for a second opera, a light comedy entitled "The Bartered Bride", which Smetana composed during the next three years. Because of the success of "The Brandenburgers", the management of the Provisional Theatre readily agreed to stage the new opera, which was premiered on 30 May 1866 in its original two-act version with spoken dialogue. The opera went through several revisions and restructures before reaching the definitive three-act form that in due course established Smetana's international reputation. The opera's first performance was a failure; it was held on one of the hottest evenings of the year, on the eve of the Austro-Prussian War, with Bohemia under imminent threat of invasion by Prussian troops. Unsurprisingly the occasion was poorly attended, and receipts failed to cover costs. When presented at the Provisional Theatre in its final form, in September 1870, it was a tremendous public success.


title: Bedřich Smetana

text: Back in 1866, as the composer of "The Brandenburgers" with its overtones of German military aggression, Smetana thought he might be targeted by the invading Prussians, so he absented himself from Prague until hostilities ceased. He returned in September, and almost immediately achieved a long-standing ambition—appointment as principal conductor of the Provisional Theatre, at an annual salary of 1,200 florins. In the absence of a body of suitable Czech opera, Smetana in his first season presented standard works by Weber, Mozart, Donizetti, Rossini and Glinka, with a revival of his own "Bartered Bride". The quality of Smetana's production of Glinka's "A Life for the Tsar" angered Glinka's champion Mily Balakirev, who expressed himself forcefully. This caused prolonged hostility between the two men. On 28 February 1868 Smetana conducted another national opera by another Slavic composer, "Halka" by Stanisław Moniuszko. On 16 May 1868 Smetana, representing Czech musicians, helped to lay the foundation stone for the future National Theatre; he had written a "Festive Overture" for the occasion. That same evening Smetana's third opera, "Dalibor", was premièred at Prague's New Town Theatre. Although its initial reception was warm, its reviews were poor, and Smetana resigned himself to its failure.