Daily Pic 10/21/18 (El Cervantino)

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Welcome to El Cervantino

Every autumn in Guanajuato, Mexico, the city celebrates the Festival Internacional Cervantino, or El Cervantino, as it is known to many. The event began in the mid-20th century as a festival of theater performances—short plays called entreméses, mostly those written by Spanish novelist and playwright Cervantes. But in the 1970s, the festival expanded to include many additional arts, music, and cultural performances from around the world. This photo captures a performance by a group called Studio Festi.

Daily Pic 10/21/17

© Vince Cavataio/plainpicture

A wave building on Oahu’s North Shore, Hawaii



Today in History 10/21 (Battle of Trafalgar)

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Painting Denis Dighton of the Battle of Trafalgar, depicting the the fatal injury of Admiral Nelson (© Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)(1805) Napoleon’s navy soundly defeated by Nelson
England expects that every man will do his duty. With this signal from his flagship HMS Victory, British Admiral Horatio Nelson begins five of the most decisive hours in maritime military history as his fleet takes on a French and Spanish coalition of ships at the Battle of Trafalgar.
The Battle of Trafalgar was a naval engagement fought by the British Royal Navy against the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars.
Date: Oct 21, 1805

Report of casualties suffered by the Spanish army at the Battle of Trafalgar, written 15 days after the battle
Report of casualties suffered by the Spanish army at the Battle of Trafalgar, written 15 days after the battle. The text says “News in figure of the dead and wounded that each ship has had in the action of October 21, according to which it was possible to acquire (…) Cadiz, November 5, 1805”. The ships are the Prince, Santa Ana, Trinidad, Rayo, San Ildefonso, San Agustín, San Juan, Neptuno, Monarca, Montañés, San Justo, Assisi, Leandro, Bahama and Argonauta.
wiki/Battle_of_Trafalgar
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(1805) Napoleon’s navy soundly defeated by Nelson.
Also on this day,

1797 | America’s new 44-gun frigate USS Constitution glides into Boston Harbor as ‘Old Ironside’ launched
Christened with a bottle of madeira, the USS Constitution is launched in Boston Harbor as one of the biggest war ships of her day. She’ll earn the nickname ‘Old Ironsides’ in the War of 1812, dodge the scrap heap many times, and survive to sail under her own power in 2012.
1854 | Nightingale off to war as nurse journeys to the heart of battle
Although born to a life of luxury, Florence Nightingale is devoted to serving others and begins a long journey to the Ottoman Empire to help soldiers wounded in the Crimean War. Nurse Nightingale will significantly reduce death rates, and lay the foundations of the modern nursing profession.
1923 | Museumgoers see stars as first modern planetarium makes its debut
The Carl Zeiss Company exhibits the first planetarium at the Deutsches Museum in Munich, Germany. It gets a rave review from astronomer Elis Stromgren, who writes, ‘The planetarium is school, theater, and cinema in one classroom under the eternal dome of the sky.’

Today in History 10/21/17

Illustration of the USS Constitution or 'Old Ironsides,' circa 1930 (© GraphicaArtis/Getty Images)(1797) America's new 44-gun frigate glides into Boston Harbor
Christened with a bottle of madeira, the USS Constitution is launched in Boston Harbor as one of the biggest war ships of her day. She'll earn the nickname 'Old Ironsides' in the War of 1812, dodge the scrap heap many times, and survive to sail under her own power in 2012.
USS Constitution is a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy, named by President George Washington after the Constitution of the United States of America. She is the world's oldest commissioned naval vessel afloat. Constitution was launched in 1797, one of six original frigates authorized for construction by the Naval Act of 1794 and the third constructed. Joshua Humphreys designed the frigates to be the young Navy's capital ships, and so Constitution and her sisters were larger and more heavily armed and built than standard frigates of the period. She was built in the North End of Boston, Massachusetts at Edmund Hartt's shipyard. Her first duties with the newly formed U.S. Navy were to provide protection for American merchant shipping during the Quasi-War with France and to defeat the Barbary pirates in the First Barbary War.
Address: 3rd St, Boston, MA 02129
Phone: (617) 242-5670
Length: 203 feet (62 m)
Keel laid: 1795
Launched: Oct 10, 1797
Beam: 43' 8" (13.30 m)
USS Constitution fires a 17-gun salute
BOSTON (July 4, 2014) USS Constitution fires a 17-gun salute near U.S. Coast Guard Base Boston during the ship's Independence Day underway demonstration in Boston Harbor. Constitution got underway with more than 300 guests to celebrate America's independence. (U.S. Navy photo by Seaman Matthew R. Fairchild/Released) 140704-N-OG138-866

wiki/USS_Constitution
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Daily Pic 10/20/18 (Valletta, Malta)

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Adrian Malanca/Getty Images

Moody skies over Valletta

We approach from the Mediterranean to arrive at a 2018 European Capital of Culture: Valletta, Malta. This celebration of city-specific culture began in 1985, and since 2010 two cities have shared the title each year (Valletta shares the 2018 honors with Leeuwarden, in the Netherlands). Valletta, the southernmost capital of Europe, has a remarkable range of architectural styles throughout the city, from 16th-century churches to the ultra-modern Parliament House. Aside from its rich homegrown culture, Valletta reflects a variety of outside influences, including several jazz clubs and a Baroque music festival.

Daily Pic 10/20/17

© travelstock44/Alamy

Detail of ‘Le Nomade,’ Antibes, France



Today in History 10/20 (Lynyrd Skynyrd)

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The wreckage of a Convair 240 plane near McComb, Miss. Six were killed in the crash, including three members of Lynyrd Skynyrd. (© AP Photo)(1977) Lynyrd Skynyrd’s plane goes down, killing six
The band’s chartered plane runs out of fuel due to a faulty engine and crashes in Mississippi. Singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, and backup singer Cassie Gaines are killed, along with three crew members. Lynyrd Skynyrd would disband after the accident, with the remaining members reuniting a decade later.
Lynyrd Skynyrd, is an American rock band best known for popularizing the Southern rock genre during the 1970s. With roots tracing to the formation of My Backyard in Jacksonville, Florida in 1964, the band was also known by names such as The Noble Five and One Percent, before finally deciding on “Lynyrd Skynyrd” in 1969. The band gained worldwide recognition for its live performances and signature songs “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Free Bird”. At the peak of their success, band members Ronnie Van Zant and Steve Gaines, and backup singer Cassie Gaines, died in an airplane crash in 1977, putting an abrupt end to the 1970s era of the band.
Movies: Freebird… The Movie
Lead singers: Ronnie Van Zant (1964 – 1977) · Johnny Van Zant (Since 1987)
Tours: One More from the Road Tour · Rock N Rebels Tour II
Awards: Grammy Hall of Fame (2009, 2008)

Trade ad for Lynyrd Skynyrd's single
Trade ad for Lynyrd Skynyrd’s single “Gimme Three Steps”.
wiki/Lynyrd_Skynyrd
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(1977) Lynyrd Skynyrd’s plane goes down, killing six.
Also on this day,

1720 | Calico Jack protects the rum while Anne and Mary fight
Crossed swords and a grinning skull distinguish Calico Jack Rackham’s flag, and that’s just what pirate hunters find while prowling Jamaican waters. When they attack Pirate Jack’s ship, his female crew, Anne Bonny and Mary Read, return the fight while the men, drunk on rum, wait it out in the hold.
1947 | Hollywood’s ‘Red Scare’ as Cold War paranoia breeds hysteria
In Washington, DC, the House Un-American Activities Committee holds its first hearings into possible Communist infiltration of the US film industry. Soon after, a career-killing blacklist will be drawn up with the help of famous informants, and Hollywood will be held in the jaws of the ‘Red Scare.’
1973 | Sydney Opera House opens as an architectural wonder graces Australia
Queen Elizabeth II and Ben Blakeney, a Bennelong Aborigine descendant, help mark the official opening of a new and spectacular performance space seemingly caught in full sail at the tip of a Sydney Harbor peninsula. The breathtaking Sydney Opera House will become an Australian icon.

Today in History 10/20/17

Actor Robert Montgomery tells House investigators of Hollywood "reds" in Washington, October 23, 1947 (© Byron Rollins/AP)(1947) Cold War paranoia breeds Hollywood hysteria
In Washington, DC, the House Un-American Activities Committee holds its first hearings into possible Communist infiltration of the US film industry. Soon after, a career-killing blacklist will be drawn up with the help of famous informants, and Hollywood will be held in the jaws of the 'Red Scare.'
A "Red Scare" is promotion, real and imagined, of widespread fear by a society or state about a potential rise of communism, anarchism, or radical leftism. The term is most often used to refer to two periods in the history of the United States with this name. The First Red Scare, which occurred immediately after World War I, revolved around a threat from the American labor movement, anarchist revolution and political radicalism. The Second Red Scare, which occurred immediately after World War II, was preoccupied with national or foreign communists infiltrating or subverting U.S. society or the federal government.
First occurred: 1917
1919 Political Cartoon
Political cartoon from 1919 depicting the Russian revolution's impact on the Paris peace talks

wiki/Red_Scare
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Daily Pic 10/19/18 (Harbor Festival)

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CFW Photography/Getty Images

Portland celebrates its bounty

Colonial settlements in Portland, Maine, began with an economy based heavily on fishing, but over the years the city has built up a bustling culinary scene as well. In fact, it’s been dubbed the ‘Foodiest Small Town in America.’ This week the Harvest on the Harbor Festival is showcasing what Portland’s chefs and other food and drink professionals can do with the region’s abundant foods, especially locally caught lobster. Harvest on the Harbor lasts until October 21, so if you’re the jet-setting type, there’s still time for a weekend getaway.

Daily Pic 10/19/17

© Robert L. Potts/Offset

Salt pans on the Great Salt Lake, Utah