title: Badmaash Company

text: In 1994 middle-class Bombay, three ordinary youngsters, Karan, Zing and Chandu graduate from college and go for a trip to Bangkok, Thailand, where they meet Bulbul and they start a business together. Karan eventually falls in love with her. Karan tells her that he always wanted to start his own business but his father Sajjan Kapoor wants him to study MBA. On the other hand, Bulbul confesses that she wants to be a supermodel and advises Karan that he does not need a large amount of money to start a business, but a big "idea". Back in India, Sajjan has a heart attack. Karan's mother Maya pawns her jewelry in order to arrange some amount of money for better facilities and an AC room at the hospital as his insurance could only afford a Non-AC room. This leaves Karan heart-broken, and he immediately decides to get rich by any means, he decides to start his own venture along with his friends. He comes up with an idea for smuggling branded Reebok shoes in India without any customs charges.


title: Badmaash Company

text: For this, they have to separate the consignment into two-halves, one half with only left shoes in Calcutta and the other half with only right shoes in Madras. At both places, the buyer will refuse to receive the consignment, hence the entire consignment will be confiscated. The confiscated consignment will then be auctioned in which Chandu (in Calcutta) and Karan (in Madras) will buy the entire consignment, pretending they are scrap dealers. Once the right shoes pair up with left shoes, the zero-valued product comes into a full value which can be sold at any profit without any customs charges. They name their venture "Friends and Company" and proceed to make a large fortune with it. When Karan is caught red-handed by Sajjan while putting away the black money, he explains the situation, including the fact that he is doing business with a smuggler. As a result, he is forced to leave the house and starts living with Bulbul and uses her to get contracts. After the government in India decides to reduce the import duty on foreign goods (including shoes), the friends decide to go to America. They get help from Karan's Uncle Jazz. They do the same business in the US as they did in India, only this time they import leather gloves. Soon, the group becomes excessively rich and starts to live royally. Zing meets Linda, who begin a relationship but Zing’s alcoholism strains it and Chandu secretly starts to fall in love with Linda. Meanwhile, the police start to suspect Karan and his team, owing to which they change their business. Instead, one of the friends rents a lavish house for one hundred thousand dollars by taking a loan from a bank. Then the house will be sold to another friend and again that friend will take a loan from the same bank, hence repeating the cycle. Since the property of the person who cannot return the loan is used to be seized by the bank, one of them will declare thyself as bankrupt and the house gets seized, with an actual worth of one hundred thousand dollars, but the company will have already gained two hundred thousand dollars' profit. However, Karan becomes too greedy and the group begins to fall apart. Zing and Chandu get into a fight after Zing hits Linda. Karan and Zing get into an argument about Zing's excessive drinking. Zing leaves and opens his own bar. Bulbul leaves when she finds out that Karan has married another woman for a green card. Chandu weds Linda and quits the company to start a video store with her.


title: Badmaash Company

text: Alone and heartbroken, Karan visits India and secretly attends a function where Sajjan is being honored for his years of service to his company. Upon seeing this, he realizes his mistake. On his return to America, he is arrested and put in jail for 6 months. He is bailed out after Bulbul comes and gives up Zing's, Chandu's and her share from what they earned in the company. Karan starts working with his uncle. One day, he meets Bulbul, who is revealed to be pregnant with his child and the lovers reconcile. At Uncle Jazz's office, Karan finds out that his uncle's entire consignment of imported shirts from Madras has been rejected as the color bleeds after washing. The news reaches to stock market due to which Jazz company's share fall down to 30%. Karan sees an opportunity and thinks of another brilliant idea and Karan patches up with Zing, Chandu and his family to start another new venture. Zing also apologizes to Chandu and says that he is happy that Linda is with Chandu. This time, he makes Jazz's buyers believe that his company offers a new kind of shirt in the market, which changes its color every time it is washed, hence a common man gets a new shirt every time he washes it. The buyers order a trial order of 5,000 pieces. Linda, who is one of Michael Jackson’s backstage dancers, promotes their shirt that he wears in one of his concerts. The public goes crazy over this new shirt, due to which Karan receives another order, this time for a much larger number of shirts. The shares of Jazz's company skyrocket as the public buys many shirts, hence recovering his Uncle Jazz' loss. Karan, Zing, Chandu, and Bulbul are now partners with Jazz in "Friends and Company", but it is turned into a public limited company. With his wife, son, friends and having made his father proud, Karan is finally content with his life.


title: Badmaash Company

text: Parmeet Sethi wrote the script for the film with dialogues in only six days. The four main characters are all based on real-life people. Parmeet reveals that he tired of television and was keen on pursuing film direction. Filming locations for the film included New York, Atlantic City, Philadelphia, Bangkok, Mumbai, and Hyderabad.


title: Badmaash Company

text: The film received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics. Taran Adarsh of "Bollywood Hungama" gave it a rating of 3 out of 5, saying; "On the whole, "Badmaash Company" is a watchable experience for various reasons, the prime reason being it offers solid entertainment, but doesn't insult your intelligence." Rajeev Masand of "CNN-IBN" gave the movie 1.5 out of 5 and claimed it to be "outrageously silly". Gaurav Malani of "Indiatimes" gave the film 3.5 out of 5 saying "Badmaash Company is a good entertainer. Worth a watch!" and praising Shahid Kapoor. Komal Nahta gave the film 2.5 out of 5, praising the performance of Kapoor and called "Badmaash Company" "an entertainer". Sukanya Verma of "rediff" gave the film 2 out of 5 stars saying Sethi's directorial debut starts out with cocksure confidence and zing.


title: Badmaash Company

text: Nikhat Kazmi of the "Times of India" gave the film 3 out of 5 stars and said, "Indeed, "Badmaash Company" does have a bunch of riveting scenes, although the story does follow a very predictable line of crime and punishment/repentance." "DNA" gave the film 2.5 out of 5 saying, "This company is worth keeping." Anupama Chopra of "NDTV" called it a "staggeringly tedious film" while Raja Sen of "Rediff" said, "There's not a single scene in the film that actually works". Mayank Shekhar of the "Hindustan Times" criticized the film as half-written; he only liked the film until the interval and gave it 2 out of 5. The film received an aggregate rating of 4/10 at "ReviewGang".


title: Badmaash Company

text: The film had a decent opening on its first weekend despite competition from the multi-starrer comedy "Housefull". The film made a drop in overseas collections, but it have much effect on its domestic collections. By the end of its first week, the film grossed 208.4 million. The film collected 529.8 million at the end of its theatrical run and became a commercial success at the box office.


title: Badmaash Company

text: The songs featured in the film are composed by Pritam with the lyrics penned by Anvita Dutt Guptan, while the film score was composed by Julius Packiam.


title: Nisha Rawal

text: Nisha Rawal (born 18 November 1980) is an Indian actress, known for her role in television show "Main Lakshmi Tere Aangan Ki" (2011-2012).


title: Nisha Rawal

text: Before getting into acting, Rawal appeared in advertisements for Sunsilk, Coca-Cola and Fem Bleech. She also appeared in music videos. She made her debut in Bollywood with "Raffo Chakkar" and "Hastey Hastey". She made her television debut with "Aane Wala Pal" on Doordarshan. She also worked in theatre where she featured in two different plays – "Poore Chand Ki Raat" and "Ichha". She also participated in the dance reality show "Nach Baliye 5" with Karan Mehra. She released her cover of "Ae Dil Hain Mushkil" as a surprise for her husband on occasion of their 5th wedding anniversary.


title: Nisha Rawal

text: Rawal was born on 18 November 1980. On 24 November 2012 she married TV actor Karan Mehra. In 2017, Nisha gave birth to a boy.


title: Nisha Rawal

text: Rawal accused her husband Karan Mehra of domestic violence on 31 May 2021 in Mumbai's Goregaon police station after she arrived with a bleeding forehead. Mehra was subsequently arrested and released on bail. Later, she claimed that Mehra had admitted to an extramarital affair with a Delhi girl while he was away on a shooting in Chandigarh.


title: 9th Infantry Division (United States)

text: The 9th Infantry Division ("Old Reliables") is an inactive infantry division of the United States Army. It was created as the 9th Division during World War I, but never deployed overseas. In later years, it would become an important unit of the U.S. Army during World War II and the Vietnam War. It was also activated as a peacetime readiness unit from 1947 to 1962 at Fort Dix, New Jersey, and Fort Carson, Colorado, and from 1972 to 1991 as an active-duty infantry division at Fort Lewis, Washington. Nicknamed the "Old Reliables", the division was eventually deactivated in December 1991.


title: 9th Infantry Division (United States)

text: The shoulder sleeve insignia is an octofoil resembling a heraldic design given to the ninth son of a family. This represents the son as a circle in the middle with eight brothers around him. The blue represents the infantry, the red the artillery with all the white making the colors of the flag of the United States of America.


title: 9th Infantry Division (United States)

text: The 9th Infantry Division was created on 18 July 1918 at Camp Sheridan, Alabama but did not serve overseas.


title: 9th Infantry Division (United States)

text: Its units included Division Headquarters; the 17th Infantry Brigade (Headquarters and Headquarters Company; 45th Infantry Regiment; 67th Infantry Regiment; 26th Machine Gun Battalion); the 18th Infantry Brigade (Headquarters and Headquarters Company; 46th Infantry Regiment; 68th Infantry Regiment; 27th Machine Gun Battalion), the 9th Field Artillery Brigade ( 25th Field Artillery (75mm Gun); 26th Field Artillery (75mm Gun); 27th Field Artillery (155mm Howitzer); Ninth Trench Mortar Battery); 25th Machine Gun Battalion; 209th Engineer Regiment; 209th Field Signal Battalion; Division Trains (HQ Train and Military Police Company; 9th Sanitary Train; 9th Motor Supply Train, and Ninth Ammunition Train).


title: 9th Infantry Division (United States)

text: The division was commanded by Colonel Charles C. Clark (July 1918 - September 1918), Maj. Gen. Willard A. Holbrook (September 1918 - October 1918), Brig. Gen. James E. Ryan (October 1918 - November 1918) acting, Maj. Gen. Willard A. Holbrook (November 1918 - February 1919)


title: 9th Infantry Division (United States)

text: The 9th Division was demobilized at Camp Sheridan, Alabama, on 15 February 1919. In 1921, because of funding cuts, the Army had decided to inactivate the 4th through 9th Divisions, except for one brigade and certain supporting elements of each division. When the 9th Division was reconstituted in the Regular Army on 24 March 1923, the 18th Infantry Brigade (5th and 13th Infantry Regiments) along with several other elements were assigned as active units; They formed the core from which the remainder of the division would be reactivated in the event of war. The division was allotted to the First Corps Area for mobilization responsibility, and assigned to the I Corps. Camp Devens, Massachusetts, was designated as the mobilization and training station for the division upon reactivation. The division's inactive units were assigned to "active associate" units for mobilization purposes. The division headquarters was organized on 28 July 1926 as a Regular Army Inactive unit with Organized Reserve personnel at the Army Base, Boston, Massachusetts, and by mid-1927, most of the inactive units of the division were also organized as such.


title: 9th Infantry Division (United States)

text: The 9th Infantry Division was among the first U.S. combat units to engage in offensive ground operations during World War II. (The others were the 32nd and the 41st in the Pacific on New Guinea, Carlson's Raiders on Makin Island, the 1st Marine, and the


title: 9th Infantry Division (United States)

text: Americal on Guadalcanal, and, alongside the 9th in North Africa, were the 1st Infantry, 3rd Infantry and the 2nd Armored Divisions.) The 9th saw its first combat on 8 November 1942, when its elements landed at Algiers, Safi, and Port Lyautey, with the taking of Safi by the 3rd Battalion of the 47th Infantry Regiment standing as the first liberation of a city from Axis control in World War II.


title: 9th Infantry Division (United States)

text: With the collapse of French resistance on 11 November 1942, the division patrolled the Spanish Moroccan border. The 9th returned to Tunisia in February and engaged in small defensive actions and patrol activity. On 28 March 1943 it launched an attack in southern Tunisia and fought its way north into Bizerte, 7 May. In August, the 9th landed at Palermo, Sicily, and took part in the capture of Randazzo and Messina.


title: 9th Infantry Division (United States)

text: Sent to England for further training, the division landed on Utah Beach on 10 June 1944 (D plus 4), cut off the Cotentin Peninsula, drove on to Cherbourg Harbour and penetrated the port's heavy defenses.


title: 9th Infantry Division (United States)

text: Following a brief rest in July, the division took part in the St. Lo break-through and in August helped close the Falaise Gap. Turning east, the 9th crossed the Marne, 28 August, swept through Saarlautern, and in November and December held defensive positions from Monschau to Losheim.


title: 9th Infantry Division (United States)

text: Moving north to Bergrath, Germany, it launched an attack toward the Roer, 10 December, taking Echtz and Schlich. From mid-December through January 1945, the division held defensive positions from Kalterherberg to Elsenborn. On 30 January the division jumped off from Monschau in a drive across the Roer and to the Rhine, crossing at Remagen, 7 March.


title: 9th Infantry Division (United States)

text: After breaking out of the Remagen bridgehead, the 9th assisted in the sealing and clearing of the Ruhr Pocket, then moved 150 miles (240 km) east to Nordhausen (where it assisted in the liberation of the local concentration camp) and attacked in the Harz Mountains, 14–20 April. On 21 April the Division relieved the 3d Armored Division along the Mulde River, near Dessau, and held that line until VE-day.


title: 9th Infantry Division (United States)

text: The 9th Infantry Division was reactivated on 15 July 1947 at Fort Dix, New Jersey and assumed a peacetime readiness and training role. In the 1950s, the division was stationed in West Germany. It later relocated to Fort Carson, Colorado where it was inactivated on 31 January 1962.


title: 9th Infantry Division (United States)

text: The 9th Division was reactivated on 1 February 1966, and arrived in South Vietnam on 16 December 1966 from Fort Riley, Kansas. On deployment the division was assigned to the III Corps Tactical Zone of Vietnam where it commenced operations in Dinh Tuong and Long An Provinces (6 January-31 May 1967) in Operation Palm Beach. Its area of operations was in the rivers and canals of the Mekong Delta from 1967 to 1972. Operating deep within the Viet Cong (VC)–controlled Delta, the Division was charged with protecting the area and its population against VC insurgents and ensuring the success of the South Vietnamese government's pacification program. Faced with unrelenting physical hardships, a tenacious enemy and the region's rugged terrain, the Division established strategies and quantifiable goals for completing their mission.


title: 9th Infantry Division (United States)

text: Division commanding generals were: Maj. Gen. George S. Eckhardt (February 1966 - June 1967), Maj. Gen. George G. O'Connor (June 1967 - February 1968), Maj. Gen. Julian Ewell (February 1968 - April 1969), Maj. Gen. Harris W. Hollis (April 1969 - August 1969)


title: 9th Infantry Division (United States)

text: One of the experimental units serving with the division was the 39th Cavalry Platoon (Air Cushion Vehicle) which used three of the specially designed hovercraft to patrol marshy terrain like the Plain of Reeds along the south Vietnamese/Cambodian border. Other experimental units were the 1st and 2nd Airboat Platoons, which operated Hurricane Aircat airboats.


title: 9th Infantry Division (United States)

text: From 1967 on, one of the division's brigades (the 2d Brigade) was the Army contingent of the Mobile Riverine Force (MRF). This brigade lived on the ships of Navy Task Force 117, and were transported on their infantry missions throughout the Mekong Delta on Tango boats (converted landing craft) supported by various other armored boats. The MRF was often anchored near the South Vietnamese city of Mỹ Tho, or near the Division's Đồng Tâm Base Camp and they conducted operations in coordination with the Navy SEAL teams, the South Vietnamese Marines, units of the ARVN 7th Division and River Assault Groups. Following the Tet offensive in 1968, General Westmoreland stated that the Division and the MRF saved the Delta region from falling to the People's Army of Vietnam forces. In 1969, the division also operated throughout IV Corps.


title: 9th Infantry Division (United States)

text: Chuck Hagel, former Secretary of Defense, served in the 9th ID from 1967 to 1968. Holding the rank of Sergeant (E-5), he served as an infantry squad leader. Hagel served in the same infantry squad as his younger brother Tom, and they are believed to be the only American siblings to do so during the Vietnam War.


title: 9th Infantry Division (United States)

text: In the 1994 film "Forrest Gump", the eponymous main character was a member of the 9th Infantry Division in Vietnam, notably: 4th Platoon, Company A, 2nd Battalion, 47th Infantry.


title: 9th Infantry Division (United States)

text: The Division's major units departed South Vietnam on 27 August 1969 (HHC & 1st Brigade) to Hawaii; 27 August 1969 (2nd Brigade) to Fort Lewis, Washington; 12 October 1970 (3rd Brigade) to Fort Lewis.


title: 9th Infantry Division (United States)

text: Following the Vietnam War the division was stationed at Fort Lewis in Washington. The formal activation ceremony was held on 26 May 1972. Initially the division was organized under the army's Reorganization Objective Army Division system.


title: 9th Infantry Division (United States)

text: From 1983 the division served as the High-Technology Test-Bed (HTTB) for the army. This led to the division to develop the concept of "motorized infantry" from 1983 onward. The motorized infantry division was to be equipped with enhanced technology to give it deployability and fire power and fill the gap between light and heavy divisions. The idea was to create a lighter version of the armored and mechanized divisions, which could be deployed easily by aircraft, while providing more firepower than a light infantry division.


title: 9th Infantry Division (United States)

text: Initially the vision was to create three motorized brigades with three new types of infantry battalion:


title: 9th Infantry Division (United States)

text: The light attack battalions utilized the Fast Attack Vehicles (FAV - later re-designated the Desert Patrol Vehicle). Essentially a Volkswagen-engined dune buggy mounted with either a 40mm Mk 19 grenade launcher or .50 caliber M2 Browning machine gun. The FAV was designed to provide highly mobile firepower that could attack the flanks of heavier mechanized units. Some variants also mounted TOW missiles. All of these weapons systems were attached to the FAV by a mount designed to break away if the vehicle rolled over, which they were prone to do. The FAVs were problematic at best and were eventually replaced by various versions of the Humvee/HMMWV light truck.


title: 9th Infantry Division (United States)

text: The combined arms battalions were organized as a mix of assault gun companies and light motorized infantry companies, with the heavy battalions fielding two assault gun companies and one light motorized infantry company, while the ratio was reversed in the light battalions. The assault gun companies were to be equipped with the Armored Gun System (AGS), but because of delays in the AGS program they were initially equipped with M901 ITVs Improved Tow Vehicles, then M551 Sheridan light tanks and later with Humvees with TOW missiles or Mk 19 grenade launchers. Light motorized infantry companies were equipped with Humvees mounting a Mk 19 grenade launcher. Each combined arms battalion also fielded a combat support company equipped with mortars, scouts, and an anti-armor platoon slated to be equipped with Humvees mounting a ground version of the Hellfire missile. As this Hellfire version never entered service, the platoons were later also equipped with Humvees with TOW missiles.


title: 9th Infantry Division (United States)

text: The division's first and third brigade were to field one of each of the three new battalions, while the second brigade would field three combined arms battalions heavy. The third brigade was to field one light and one heavy combined arms battalion and the 9th Cavalry Brigade two attack helicopter battalions, one combat support aviation battalion, and one cavalry reconnaissance squadron. The division artillery would consist of three battalions equipped with M198 155mm towed howitzers, one light artillery rocket battalion with M102 105mm towed howitzers and M270 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, and one target acquisition battery. The division support command would field three forward support, one cavalry support and one main support battalion. However, because of the delay of the Armored Gun System the division did only activate four of the envisioned five combined arms battalions heavy and retained the 2nd Battalion, 77th Armor instead.


title: 9th Infantry Division (United States)

text: In case of war with the Warsaw Pact the division's would have reinforced the Allied Forces Baltic Approaches Command defending Denmark. By 1984 the 9th Cavalry Brigade (Air Attack) was testing motorcycles for reconnaissance work in its reconnaissance squadron, the 3rd Squadron, 5th Cavalry Regiment. And the 9th Infantry Division (MTZ) tested motorized infantry doctrine at the Yakima Firing Center in Eastern Washington, at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin California and in Korea during the annual Team Spirit exercise. While the motorized units performed well they were vulnerable to heavier mechanized forces, particularly if forced to stand and fight. They were also extremely vulnerable to indirect (artillery) fires.


title: 9th Infantry Division (United States)

text: On 1 April 1984, Echo Company of the 15th Engineer Battalion reorganized to form the 73rd Engineer Company (Assault Ribbon Bridge), which was assigned to I Corps, which in turn attached it as separate company to the 15th Engineer Battalion. With the switch from Combat Arms Regimental System to the United States Army Regimental System the division saw a few of its units reflagged or inactivated:


title: 9th Infantry Division (United States)

text: During fiscal year 1987 the army decided to inactivate the division's 2nd brigade, which would be replaced by the 81st Infantry Brigade (Mechanized) of the Washington Army National Guard. The 2nd brigade was inactivated on 15 August 1988 along with the following units:


title: 9th Infantry Division (United States)

text: On the same date the 1st Battalion, 33rd Armor, which until then had been attached to the division, was assigned to the division. With the inactivation of the 2nd brigade the remaining units were reassigned among the remaining brigades: 1st brigade now consisted of 2nd Combined Arms Battalion Heavy, 2nd Infantry, 1st Battalion, 33rd Armor, and 4th Combined Arms Battalion Light, 23rd Infantry. 3rd brigade consisted of 2nd Light Attack Battalion, 1st Infantry, 3rd Combined Arms Battalion Light, 47th Infantry, and 2nd Combined Arms Battalion Heavy, 60th Infantry. The 2nd Combined Arms Battalion Heavy, 23rd Infantry was assigned to the 9th Cavalry Brigade.


title: 9th Infantry Division (United States)

text: In fiscal year 1989 Chief of Staff of the United States Army General Carl E. Vuono approved the conversion of the division's two combined arms battalions light to standard mechanized infantry battalions.


title: 9th Infantry Division (United States)

text: The division was the first to undergo full inactivation following the end of the Cold War. Army leadership at first decided that inactivating units would turn in all of their equipment at "10/20" standard – in ready and reusable condition. The division struggled to meet this standard. It required both extensive work on the part of the division's soldiers and high costs in repair parts. While the remaining 9th ID soldiers were ultimately successful, later inactivating units were not required to attain this goal.


title: 9th Infantry Division (United States)

text: The inactivation of the division began on 28 September 1990 with the inactivation of the 1st Brigade, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry, and 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry. The 1st Battalion, 84th Field Artillery inactivated on 15 January 1991. As inactivation proceeded, elements and individual Soldiers from the division were detached and deployed for service in the Gulf War.


title: 9th Infantry Division (United States)

text: On 16 February 1991 the 3rd Brigade was reflagged as 199th Infantry Brigade (Motorized) with the following units:


title: 9th Infantry Division (United States)

text: With the support and aviation units inactivating in the same timeframe. The divisional headquarters remained active until 15 December 1991. The 3rd Battalion, 11th Field Artillery became a General Support battalion of I Corps Artillery.


title: 9th Infantry Division (United States)

text: Though it was inactivated, the division was identified as the second highest priority inactive division in the United States Army Center of Military History's lineage scheme due to its numerous accolades and long history. All of the division's flags and heraldic items were moved to the National Infantry Museum at Fort Benning, Georgia following its inactivation. Should the U.S. Army decide to activate more divisions in the future, the center stated its activation recommendations would be the 9th Infantry Division, then the 24th Infantry Division, the 5th Infantry Division, and the 2nd Armored Division. The 7th Infantry Division, previously inactivated, resumed service as an administrative headquarters at Joint Base Lewis–McChord in 2012.


title: Danny Quinn

text: Danny Quinn (born Daniele Anthony Quinn; 16 April 1964) is a Mexican-Italian actor. He is the son of Anthony Quinn. Since 1986, he has appeared in more than twenty films, including his role as Carlos in the cult film "Band of the Hand".


title: Danny Quinn

text: On 21 October 2016, he married Nancy Maamary (Lebanese) in Verona, Italy, they have a daughter, Luna Quinn born on 14 March 2018.


title: Danny Quinn

text: Danny Quinn's most famous movies are "", "Judas" and "Thomas", all from 2001. In all of the three movies he plays Jesus of Nazareth.


title: Sylvain Wiltord

text: Sylvain Claude Wiltord (born 10 May 1974) is a French former professional footballer. Mainly a right winger, he also played as a centre-forward, second striker and on the left wing.


title: Sylvain Wiltord

text: Wiltord had a four-season spell at Arsenal, with whom he won two Premier League titles and two FA Cups. He also won the Ligue 1 title at Bordeaux and in each of his three consecutive seasons at Lyon.


title: Sylvain Wiltord

text: With the France national team, Wiltord earned 92 caps and scored 26 goals. He played at the 1996 Olympics, two FIFA World Cups and two UEFA European Championships. Wiltord was part of the teams which won Euro 2000 (for which he scored a last minute equaliser to take the final to extra time) and reached the final of the 2006 World Cup.


title: Sylvain Wiltord

text: Wiltord joined Rennes from lower-league side CO Joinville in 1991. At Rennes, he emerged in the 1993–94 season with eight goals in 26 games.


title: Sylvain Wiltord

text: In summer 1996, after Wiltord's excelled for France at the 1996 Summer Olympics Spanish La Liga club Deportivo de La Coruña reached an agreement with Rennes for him to join from 1 July 1997. As part of the agreement a transfer fee of 300 million pesetas (€1.8 million) was paid to Rennes while Wiltord was loaned back to Rennes for the 1996–97 season. In the summer of 1997, at the end of his spell on loan, he returned to Spain only to request a move back to France so as to link up with Bordeaux. For this transfer a fee of 375 million pesetas (€2.25 million) and a 40% sell-on clause were agreed.


title: Sylvain Wiltord

text: He was ever-present in his first term at Bordeaux and went on to score 22 goals in the following 1998–99 season, where he won the golden boot as Bordeaux lifted the Ligue 1 championship.


title: Sylvain Wiltord

text: Wiltord was signed by English club Arsenal, for what was then a club record fee of £13 million in August 2000, weeks after scoring the stoppage-time equaliser in the Euro 2000 Final. This record fee was not surpassed until eight-and-a-half years later when Arsenal paid £15 million for Russian winger Andrey Arshavin. Whilst with the Gunners he was occasionally paired with Thierry Henry up front or otherwise upon the wing. Wiltord made his debut as a substitute against Chelsea on 6 September 2000, and his first goal followed against Coventry City on 16 September 2000. A highlight in his first season was scoring a first half hat-trick in a win against West Ham United. Arsenal reached the 2001 FA Cup Final which Wiltord started. He was substituted for Ray Parlour with Arsenal leading 1–0, however Liverpool ultimately came back and scored two late goals to win 2–1.


title: Sylvain Wiltord

text: In the 2001–02 season Wiltord scored ten goals in the league as Arsenal finished as champions. He scored crucial winning goals along the way against Chelsea and Everton. The highlight of Wiltord's Arsenal career came at the end of that season; scoring the winning goal over Manchester United at Old Trafford, a 1–0 win which clinched the 2001–02 Premier League title as Arsenal achieved The Double on 8 May. Returning to Old Trafford the following season in the FA Cup, Wiltord netted again as Arsenal saw off United 2–0 in a year where they also won the Cup. Wiltord started the 2002 FA Cup Final and played as a substitute in the 2003 final.


title: Sylvain Wiltord

text: Wiltord went on to form part of Arsenal's 2003–04 "Invincibles" season, though his appearances were less frequent towards the end of the campaign. During the season he made a total of 12 league appearances, which was enough to earn a title winners' medal. Altogether he played 175 times for the Gunners in all competitions, scoring a total of 49 goals.


title: Sylvain Wiltord

text: When his contract with Arsenal expired in the summer of 2004, Wiltord trained for two weeks with Rennes and rejected a move to newly promoted Premier League team West Bromwich Albion. He was also reportedly keen on a move to Arsenal's rivals Tottenham Hotspur. On 31 August, he signed for Lyon on an initial two-year contract. Moving to Lyon, Wiltord found further success, winning three Ligue 1 titles and reaching the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League in successive seasons.


title: Sylvain Wiltord

text: Wiltord signed for Rennes in August 2007 on a two-year contract and with an opportunity to join the coaching staff when he finished his professional career.


title: Sylvain Wiltord

text: He joined Marseille on 15 January 2009 for the remainder of the Ligue 1 season. On 17 May 2009, he scored Marseille's only goal in a 3–1 loss to Lyon at home. He was released at the end of the 2008–09 season, and was considering a possible move to either America, UAE or perhaps retirement.


title: Sylvain Wiltord

text: On 30 January 2010, after training with US Créteil, Wiltord signed with FC Metz until the end of the season.


title: Sylvain Wiltord

text: On 18 July 2011, Wiltord came back from retirement and signed a contract at Nantes until the end of 2011–12. He announced his immediate retirement on 11 June 2012.


title: Sylvain Wiltord

text: Wiltord made his debut for France in a 2–0 victory over England on 10 February 1999 at Wembley Stadium. For France, Wiltord has been capped 92 times, scoring 26 goals. His most memorable goal for Les Bleus was scored in dramatic fashion in the last seconds of the UEFA Euro 2000 Final against Italy to tie the match 1–1 and bring the game to extra-time. France then won the final from a golden goal scored by David Trezeguet.


title: Sylvain Wiltord

text: Wiltord remained in the national squad for the 2002 World Cup, where France endured a shocking first round exit without a single win or scoring a single goal, the worst ever performance by a defending champion at the World Cup.


title: Sylvain Wiltord

text: Wiltord also took part at UEFA Euro 2004 in Portugal, having played seven games in the qualifying campaign with a fantastic return of six goals. However, a poor performance from "Les Bleus" saw a shocking quarter-final exit at the hands of eventual surprise winners Greece.


title: Sylvain Wiltord

text: Wiltord also was a part of Raymond Domenech's France squad that played in the 2006 World Cup final against arch-rivals Italy. Wiltord scored France's first penalty in the ensuing penalty shootout following the 1–1 draw, but France lost the shootout 5–3.


title: Sylvain Wiltord

text: Born in Neuilly-sur-Marne, a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, to a mother from the West Indies and a father he did not know. he was one of eight children. At the age of 14, he went to live at his 27-year-old sister's apartment where he cared for his 2-year-old niece.


title: Sylvain Wiltord

text: In 2015, he competed on the TF1 reality show "Dropped", in which sportspeople were dropped by helicopter into inhospitable environments. The day after his elimination from the programme, there was a mid-air helicopter collision which killed ten, including three contestants: swimmer Camille Muffat, boxer Alexis Vastine, and sailor Florence Arthaud. He wrote on Twitter after the crash, "I'm sad for my friends, I'm trembling, I'm horrified, I have no words, I don't want to say anything."


title: Sylvain Wiltord

text: Wiltord was sponsored by sportswear company Nike and appeared in Nike commercials. In a global Nike advertising campaign in the run-up to the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan, he starred in a "Secret Tournament" commercial (branded "Scopion KO") directed by Terry Gilliam, appearing alongside football players such as Thierry Henry, Ronaldo, Edgar Davids, Fabio Cannavaro, Francesco Totti, Ronaldinho, Luís Figo and Hidetoshi Nakata, with former player Eric Cantona the tournament "referee".


title: Finn (Star Wars)

text: Finn (Designation FN-2187) is a fictional character in the "Star Wars" franchise. The character first appeared in the 2015 film "" as a First Order stormtrooper who, shocked by the Order's cruelty in his first combat mission, flees and joins forces with Rey and later the Resistance. He is portrayed by English actor John Boyega, who reprised the role in "" and "". Boyega's performance and the character have received praise. For his performance in "The Force Awakens", Boyega won the BAFTA Rising Star Award and was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Actor.


title: Finn (Star Wars)

text: The idea for the character, whose name during early pre-production was Sam, came from screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan. Colleague Michael Arndt, who prepared an early draft of "The Force Awakens", said: And then we were struggling to figure out who the male lead was going to be. I remember we talked about pirates and merchant marines and all this stuff, and finally Larry [Kasdan] got pissed at all of us and he's just like, "You guys, you're not thinking big. What if he's a stormtrooper that ran away?"


title: Finn (Star Wars)

text: For the roles of Finn and other new "Star Wars" characters for "The Force Awakens", director J. J. Abrams intentionally looked for unknown actors, as he wanted audiences "to meet these characters [in the film] and not feel like it’s him from that thing, it’s her from that thing." Boyega, who had impressed Abrams in his debut role in the British sci-fi film "Attack the Block" (2011), was invited to audition for the role of Finn, a process which lasted seven months before he was finally cast. Kathleen Kennedy, one of the producers of "The Force Awakens", stated: John Boyega was somebody we'd known of because of "Attack the Block". And we'd been sort of putting him on the top of our list right from the beginning. But, then again, we went on a massive search just to see who was out there, and we kept coming back to realizing that John would be the perfect Finn.


title: Finn (Star Wars)

text: Finn's stormtrooper code name, FN-2187, is a reference to the number of the cell in which Princess Leia was detained in the original 1977 film "Star Wars". "Cell 2187", in turn, references Arthur Lipsett's short film "21-87".


title: Finn (Star Wars)

text: Abrams stated that it was intentional that Finn was given no last name in promotional materials for "The Force Awakens", suggesting that his full name and background would be revealed in future films. However, the film itself revealed that "Finn" is an adopted name, derived from his stormtrooper number.


title: Finn (Star Wars)

text: In 2021 whilst promoting the film "Cherry", Marvel Cinematic Universe actor Tom Holland revealed he had also auditioned for the role of Finn before Boyega was cast.


title: Finn (Star Wars)

text: Finn, originally designated "FN-2187", is an ex-First Order stormtrooper who served under Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie) and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). He was taken from his family at a young age and sold to the First Order to become a part of their ever-expanding army. He was trained for most his life to be an effective, loyal, and merciless soldier.


title: Finn (Star Wars)

text: In spite of his training, Finn becomes disillusioned with the First Order during his first combat mission on the planet Jakku. He is traumatized when a fellow stormtrooper dies in front of him, and is later horrified when Ren, having failed to secure the map that will lead to the missing Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), orders his squadron to massacre a village of Jakku civilians. The other stormtroopers follow Ren's order without hesitation. Finn, however, lowers his weapon, aghast, in a silent but firm refusal. While on Jakku, Phasma and Ren both notice Finn's inability to kill, and Phasma later instructs him to report for reconditioning to better follow her orders. Instead of heeding her word, Finn resolves to flee the First Order, and convinces the captured Resistance pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) to aid him in his escape.


title: Finn (Star Wars)

text: With Poe piloting a stolen TIE fighter, the two escape from aboard the "Finalizer"—the "Resurgent"-class Star Destroyer where Poe was being held prisoner. While piloting, Poe dubs FN-2187 "Finn" (from the "FN" in his designation), which the otherwise nameless stormtrooper embraces. Moments after, their TIE fighter is shot down by the "Finalizer's" turrets and crash-lands back on Jakku. When Finn comes to, he searches for Poe in the wreckage, but is only able to find the pilot's jacket before the shattered hull of their ship is swallowed by an enormous sinkhole. Finn assumes that Poe is dead. Alone, Finn decides to search for civilization, and dons Poe's jacket in place of his own stormtrooper armor.


title: Finn (Star Wars)

text: Poe's astromech droid BB-8, now in the care of the junk scavenger Rey (Daisy Ridley), recognizes the jacket that Finn is wearing belongs to Poe. Rey assumes Finn to be a member of the Resistance after mentioning that BB-8 has a partially completed map leading to Luke. Finn goes along with her mistaken assumption, hoping that she will help him get BB-8 to the Resistance. The three of them escape the First Order on the "Millennium Falcon" with help from Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew). Han takes them to his friend Maz Kanata (Lupita Nyong’o) on Takodana, who promises to take them to the Resistance. Finn decides to continue to flee the galactic conflict, but changes his mind when the First Order launches a preemptive strike on the capital of the New Republic and Ren's forces find them and take Rey prisoner.


title: Finn (Star Wars)

text: Finn flies to the Resistance base, where he discovers that Poe is still alive and meets General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), C-3PO (Anthony Daniels), and the hibernating R2-D2 (Kenny Baker). Finn reveals some details about the First Order's superweapon, Starkiller Base, and claims to be able to disable their shields. When he arrives on the planet with Han and Chewbacca, however, Finn reveals that he only worked in the base's sanitation section. Nevertheless, the team takes Phasma hostage and Finn forces her at gunpoint to disable the shields. This allows the Resistance to attack, led by Poe. They meet up with Rey, who has freed herself from captivity. Later, Finn watches in horror with the others as Ren kills Han. Ren confronts Finn and Rey in the woods, claiming that their fight is not over. Finn picks up Luke’s old lightsaber after Rey is knocked out by Ren and tries to fight him, but Ren easily overpowers him and knocks him unconscious. Rey stops Ren from killing Finn, and she and Chewbacca escape Starkiller Base in the "Millennium Falcon" and bring the comatose Finn to the Resistance base for medical care.


title: Finn (Star Wars)

text: Finn is featured in "" (2015) by Greg Rucka, an anthology book for young readers that focuses on the lives of Poe, Rey and Finn before the events of "The Force Awakens". Finn is also a point of view character in the of "The Force Awakens" by Alan Dean Foster.


title: Finn (Star Wars)

text: Finn awakens from his coma aboard the main Resistance cruiser, the MC85 Star Cruiser "Raddus", and immediately demands to know where Rey is, learning that Leia has a beacon that will lead Rey back to her when necessary. Later, following the attack on the cruiser that killed most of the Resistance's main leadership and rendered Leia unconscious, Finn takes the beacon and attempts to board an escape pod in the hopes of keeping both himself and Rey out of danger. Before he can board the pod, he is found by Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran), a maintenance worker whose sister Paige, a bomber for the Resistance, has recently died in an attack on the First Order. Seeing Finn trying to escape, Rose stuns him and intends to turn him in for desertion, but stops when Finn tells her that the First Order has found a way to track the cruiser through lightspeed. She tells Finn that she might be able to disable the tracker, and Finn says that, having worked aboard a Star Destroyer, he would be able to find where the tracker is. Rose and Finn run their plan by Poe, who contacts Kanata for help, but she claims that she is too busy and instructs them to find a "master code breaker" in a casino in Canto Bight, a resort city on planet Cantonica. Operating against acting Resistance leader Vice Admiral Holdo’s (Laura Dern) wishes, Finn and Rose, along with BB-8, steal a ship and go to Canto Bight.


title: Finn (Star Wars)

text: Finn is initially entranced by the lavish lifestyle of the casino, but becomes disillusioned when Rose tells him that most of the people there have become wealthy by dealing arms to the First Order. While they find the master code breaker, they are unable to recruit him as they are arrested and jailed for a parking violation. In their cell they meet DJ (Benicio Del Toro), a thief and codebreaker who offers to help them; they refuse, but he nonetheless breaks them out of their cell. Finn and Rose escape from the prison, where they set free a horde of horse-like racing creatures called Fathiers, escaping atop one of them. Outside the casino they are greeted by BB-8 and DJ, having stolen a ship together. DJ agrees to help them, despite Finn’s misgivings. Eventually, Finn, Rose, and DJ arrive aboard Supreme Leader Snoke's (Andy Serkis) flagship, the "Mega"-class Star Dreadnought "Supremacy," and disguise themselves as First Order officers; Finn finds the location of the tracker and DJ breaks them in, but before Rose is able to disable the tracker they are caught by Phasma. Upon being captured, DJ, having overheard the Resistance's plan of escaping to Crait via transports, secretly tells the First Order of the plans in exchange for money and his freedom, and Finn and Rose are to be executed. Before they are, Holdo rams the "Raddus" into the "Supremacy" at lightspeed, damaging the Mega-Destroyer and sending it into chaos. Finn has a one-on-one fight with Phasma, ending with him proudly declaring himself "rebel scum" before Phasma falls to her demise. BB-8, aboard a First Order AT-ST, rescues Finn and Rose from Stormtroopers and the three of them very narrowly escape to Crait aboard a damaged shuttle.


title: Finn (Star Wars)

text: As the First Order prepares an attack on the formerly abandoned Rebel base on Crait, Finn recognizes the weaponry that they plan to use to destroy the blast doors and leads a small strike on the First Order with the intention of disabling the cannon. The attack goes poorly, and Poe orders all fighters to retreat, but Finn is determined to destroy the cannon and flies directly into the blast, planning to sacrifice himself to defeat the First Order. At the last second, Rose stops him by ramming her speeder into his, pushing him out of the blast. Finn asks her why she stopped him, and she tells him that wars are won "not by fighting what we hate, but saving what we love;" she then kisses him before falling unconscious. Finn brings her body back to the Rebel base and summons a medic for her. When Luke appears on Crait, Finn's first instinct is to send forces to help him, but Poe realizes that Luke is stalling to give the Resistance time to escape. Finn and Poe lead the Resistance off the planet. Finn finally reunites with Rey and embraces her before boarding the "Millennium Falcon". Finn is last seen putting a blanket over the still unconscious Rose.


title: Finn (Star Wars)

text: Finn is a playable Hero in "Star Wars Battlefront II", voiced by Boyega. He was added through the DLC of "The Last Jedi". Finn's outfit in "The Rise of Skywalker" update.


title: Finn (Star Wars)

text: Finn, along with Poe, intercepts a message from a First Order mole that Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) has come back to life and is planning an attack on the free worlds in the form of the Final Order, a massive fleet of "Xyston"-class Star Destroyers built by the Sith Eternal. Finn then leaves along with Rey, Poe, C-3PO, and Chewbacca to the desert planet of Pasaana, where with the help of Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams) they locate a dagger that contains a clue to a Sith wayfinder, a compass to the Sith planet Exegol. Throughout the whole journey, Finn clearly has something he wants to tell Rey, but is unable to find the time to tell her. Their journey takes them to Kijimi, where the location of the wayfinder is extracted from C-3PO's memory files, and later to the "Resurgent"-class Star Destroyer "Steadfast", where Finn and Poe go to rescue Chewbacca, who was taken by the First Order. In the process, Finn and Poe are captured by Stormtroopers and set to be executed, but they are rescued by General Hux (Domnhall Gleeson), who reveals that he is the mole. Going free, Finn and Poe rescue Rey aboard the "Millennium Falcon" and head to the Endor system, where the wayfinder is located among the wreckage of the second Death Star.


title: Finn (Star Wars)

text: On Kef Bir, they encounter a group allied with the Resistance, led by a woman named Jannah (Naomi Ackie). Finn gets to know Jannah, who reveals that she and the entire settlement on Kef Bir are former Stormtroopers who mutinied after a battle. Finn tells her that he left the First Order as well and suggests that the Force brought them together and caused them all to leave the Order. Finn and Jannah follow Rey aboard the wreckage to try and stop her from confronting Ren, but she does so and nearly kills him before healing him and leaving aboard Ren's ship. Without Rey or the wayfinder, Finn, Poe, and Jannah return to the Resistance base, where they learn that Leia has died. Poe is named Acting General, and Poe appoints Finn as Co-General.


title: Finn (Star Wars)

text: Finn learns of Exegol's whereabouts based on Rey's transmissions, and he and Poe lead a strike against the Sith Eternal forces, including the Sith fleet, with Finn and Jannah specifically leading a ground attack on the surface of the "Steadfast" to take out their navigation. As the attack nears its end, Finn and Jannah are left on the surface of the damaged Resurgent Star Destroyer, but are ultimately rescued by Lando and Chewbacca in the "Millennium Falcon" and the rest of the Resistance fleet; Finn attributes his faith in his being rescued to a belief in the Force. Following the successful attack, Finn celebrates among the Rebels on the Resistance base, reuniting with Rey and Poe.


title: Finn (Star Wars)

text: Finn, having revealed what he was going to tell Rey to be of his own realization of being Force sensitive, is now training under her as her Jedi Padawan. Rey accidentally hurts Finn's feelings during a training session, making Finn use a wooden toy lightsaber instead of her own. Rey seeks out a path leading her to the World Between Worlds, allowing her to travel through time. Meanwhile, Finn plans for Life Day celebrations with Poe, Jannah, Rose and Lando, as they await the arrival of Chewbacca's family. During her travels, Rey learns from Yoda's ghost that patience and understanding is an important part of teaching a Padawan; Finn is shown to have prevented the Life Day tree from falling by using his wooden lightsaber. When Rey returns home, she allows Finn to slice the Life Day roast with her lightsaber. By mistake, Finn slices all the way through the table, but Rey reassures him that she'll help him get better.


title: Finn (Star Wars)

text: When asked about Finn's character traits, Boyega replied, I think the element of having to step up to a bigger calling, when your circumstances don't particularly reflect that. Because I'm young, at the beginning of my life; you haven't really achieved much, and then you have to do that whole adulthood thing, get responsible, work and all of that stuff, no more mommy and daddy taking care of things. I feel like it's the same kind of journey that Finn has when he leaves the First Order. He leaves a curriculum, he leaves a system and embarks on his own journey. He also noted that initially "most of his decisions are based on adrenaline. Like, 'Okay, you know what? I'm just going to get this blaster and run away.' " Boyega further noted that "[n]ot only is the character in over his head and someone who is just dropped into an extraordinary circumstance, the scenes and the script prove that and it's not a problem that can just be erased."


title: Finn (Star Wars)

text: Finn was originally going to be accompanied to Canto Bight by Poe in "The Last Jedi", but writer/director Rian Johnson found the storyline flat when he realized their dialogue was interchangeable. This led to the creation of the character Rose Tico, who would challenge and contrast with Finn.


title: Finn (Star Wars)

text: In "The Rise of Skywalker," Finn tries to tell Rey something which he does not want to say in front of Poe, but this thread is never resolved within the film. This was implied to involve him confessing he loved her, but Boyega denied this on Twitter. The novelization of the film reveals that Finn is Force-sensitive, implying this to be what he intended to tell Rey. Abrams later confirmed that Finn was indeed Force-sensitive shortly after the film's premiere. The novelization also states that Rey believes this as well, speculating on the kind of Jedi he could become.


title: Finn (Star Wars)

text: The character and Boyega's portrayal were praised; reviewer Jamie Graham wrote, "of the new triangle of characters, Boyega brings intensity and surprisingly honed comic timing." Reviewers also praised Finn's relationships with the other characters: The dynamic between Rey and Finn is something new for Star Wars, with her bright-eyed heroism complementing Boyega's roguish wit...Gone is the clunky dialogue of the prequels—instead, it's replaced by some seriously clever writing that often leads to nice little moments, many with Han and Finn. Drew McWeeny of HitFix notes, "Boyega has this great combination of self-interested fear and reluctant heroism that he plays beautifully, and he charts Finn's evolution as a person expertly here." Peter Travers of "Rolling Stone" described the character as "bracingly comic and cunning". Robbie Collin writes that Boyega has a "(very funny) half-brave, half-anxious, would-be-heroic schtick" and notes that despite being "brave, charming, and funny", Finn "only wants to be thought of as the daring freedom-fighter he's not quite sure he's cut out to be." Some reviewers were less than positive, however. Ty Burr of "The Boston Globe" wrote that "Boyega's Finn is the new movie's one weak link, a character who vacillates between noble impulses and cowardice until our interest drops away. The performance is fine but it's just fine, with little of the iconic bite a Wagnerian cartoon like this needs."


title: Finn (Star Wars)

text: The character was also subject to racist reactions by some fans online, to which Boyega responded, "I'm not going to lose sleep over people." After the first trailer premiered, Boyega responded to critics with, "To whom it may concern ... Get used to it", and further commented that, "All the films I've done have had a secret commentary on stereotypical mentalities. It's about getting people to drop a prejudiced state of mind and realise, 'Oh shit we're just watching normal people.' " In response to those who desired to boycott the film over their disagreements with the existence of a black stormtrooper, Boyega replied, "I'm proud of my heritage, and no man can take that away from me. I wasn't raised to fear people with a difference of opinion. They are merely victims of a disease in their mind."


title: Finn (Star Wars)

text: Some criticized "The Rise of Skywalker" for its treatment of characters of color, including Finn. In January 2020, the working script for Episode IX by Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly, titled "", was leaked. Some media sources argued that it gave characters like Finn more to do. In the script, Finn convinces stormtroopers to deflect the First Order and leads them into battle against it. Concept art of Finn's speech while holding a flag, as well as dialogue from the unmade film, were shared on social media and compared very positively and paralleling a speech given by Boyega during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. In September 2020, John Boyega publicly criticized "The Last Jedi" for sidelining characters played by people of color. In November 2020, he revealed that this led him to have a "very honest conversation" with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, who supported his claims.


title: Annapurna Circuit

text: The Annapurna Circuit is a trek within the mountain ranges of central Nepal. The total length of the route varies between 160–230 km (100-145 mi), depending on where motor transportation is used and where the trek is ended. This trek crosses two different river valleys and encircles the Annapurna Massif. The path reaches its highest point at Thorung La pass (5416m/17769 ft), reaching the edge of the Tibetan plateau. Most trekkers hike the route anticlockwise, as this way the daily altitude gain is slower, and crossing the high Thorong La pass is easier and safer.


title: Annapurna Circuit

text: The mountain scenery, seen at close quarters includes the Annapurna Massif (Annapurna I-IV), Dhaulagiri, Machhapuchhre, Manaslu, Gangapurna, Tilicho Peak, Pisang Peak, and Paungda Danda. Numerous other peaks of 6000-8000m in elevation rise from the Annapurna range.


title: Annapurna Circuit

text: The trek begins at Besisahar or Bhulbhule in the Marshyangdi river valley and concludes in the Kali Gandaki Gorge. Besisahar can be reached after a seven-hour drive from Kathmandu. The trail passes along paddy fields and into subtropical forests, several waterfalls and gigantic cliffs, and various villages.


title: Annapurna Circuit

text: Annapurna Circuit has been voted as the best long-distance trek in the world, as it combined, in its old full form, a wide variety of climate zones from tropics at 600 m asl to the arctic at 5416 m asl at the Thorong La pass and cultural variety from Hindu villages at the low foothills to the Tibetan culture of Manang Valley and lower Mustang. Continuing construction of a road has shortened the trail and changed the villages. The Beisahar-Manag road has been built which passes through the trekking trail much of the time. With the construction of roads, mountain biking is becoming popular, with Mustang, in particular.


title: Annapurna Circuit

text: The trek usually takes about 15–20 days, leaving from Kathmandu with a stopover in Pokhara before returning to the capital. The trail is moderate to fairly challenging and makes numerous river crossings over steel and wooden suspension bridges. Tea houses and lodges along the circuit are available for meals and accommodations. Some groups may opt for tents but these are typically only used for side trips away from lodges such as climbing a peak.


title: Annapurna Circuit

text: It is also possible to continue from Ghorepani to Tadapani, Ghandruk, Landruk, and then to Phedi, which follows the old Annapurna Circuit from the time when the road was not yet extended to Beni. The circuit can also be extended to visit Annapurna Base Camp (also called Annapurna Sanctuary). This trail turns to the north from Tadapani and rejoins the old circuit at either Ghandruk or Landruk.


title: Annapurna Circuit

text: While trekking in the Himalayas in the wet season is generally not possible, much of the Annapurna circuit sits within a rain shadow, so that it is possible to trek most parts of the circuit year-round, including the monsoon period. Trekking in the wet season is often encouraged as hikers avoid the crowds that plague the summer months. However, the days are often damp and many of the views are obscured by clouds.


title: Annapurna Circuit

text: This is the most popular hiking season in Nepal. Though the weather is generally warm, nighttime temperatures drop below freezing. This is the busiest period on the circuit and tea houses book up very quickly.


title: Annapurna Circuit

text: This is the coldest period on the circuit. Depending on the altitude, daytime temperatures will be cold and nighttime temperatures drop well below freezing. The trade-off is that the trails are much less busy. Thorung La Pass, which stands at over 5,400 meters, is often blocked with snow and may be closed for days on end. Unless the snow blocks most trails, tea houses still remain open during this period. Clouds prevail more frequently, but clear days are still common. Towards March the rhododendrons start flowering. This period is also when avalanches are most common.


title: Annapurna Circuit

text: Because of the warming weather, April to May is the second most popular trekking season on the circuit. Most of the snow has melted. As the monsoon period builds towards the end of May, the days become hotter and more humid.


title: Annapurna Circuit

text: This is the monsoon period. Whilst the south section of the Annapurna Circuit near Pokhara gets a lot of rain, the northern parts often receive less than 10% of the precipitation due to their location within a rain shadow.


title: Annapurna Circuit

text: The Annapurna area was opened to foreign trekkers in 1977 after the disputes between CIA-backed Khampa guerrillas operating from the area into Tibet, and the local populace and Nepal army were settled. The original trek started from the market town of Dhumre situated at the Kathmandu - Pokhara highway and ended in Pokhara, and took about 23 days to complete. Road construction started in the early 1980s both from Dhumre to the north and from Pokhara to the west and then up the Kali Gandaki valley. The road has now reached past Manang on the Marsyangdi river valley and Muktinath on the Kali Gandaki side. Of the trek's original 23 days, only 2 sections of 2-3 walking days in the length of the trek are now without a motor road, namely Thorong La pass and the section over Ghorepani/Poon Hill. In places, new trails and routes have been marked so that the road can be partly avoided. The existence of the road has nevertheless changed the area, appearance, and atmosphere of the villages. The road facilitates transport, increasing the popularity of mountain biking in the area. Since 2011, companies in Muktinath and Jomsom rent out mountain bikes to tourists. As the road sees very little traffic, and one can ride downhill (dirt road and/or single track) from Muktinath to Tatopani and descend almost 3000 meters in 2–3 days.


title: Annapurna Circuit

text: New areas near Annapurna have been opened for trekkers in the past years, such as Upper Mustang, Nar-Pho Valley, Manaslu and Tsum Valley. Currently, trekking these areas is restricted and subject to extra permits, costs, and other limitations.


title: Annapurna Circuit

text: In October 2014, Seth Wolpin achieved the fastest known time in 72 hours and 4 minutes. He started in Besisahar and finished in Nayapull, following all New Annapurna Trekking Trails.


title: Annapurna Circuit

text: It is reported that time has been recently surpassed by Greek athlete and philanthropist Lefteris Paraskevas, who, in May 2017 completed the classic route of the Circuit, from Besisahar to Nayapul, in 68 hours and 22 minutes.


title: Annapurna Circuit

text: In October 2014, a sudden blizzard killed over 43 people, half of whom were Nepalese. It was caused by the tail end of a dying cyclone which had ravaged the eastern coast of India; there were about 350 hikers caught in the blizzard.


title: Annapurna Circuit

text: Multiple locations of the trek circuit now have an Internet connection. This multi-district circuit's trekkers can use wireless internet across different districts like in Kaski, Myagdi, Lamjung and Mustang. Cellular 3G is also available at some locations.


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: Lucero Hogaza León (; born 29 August 1969) is a Mexican singer and entertainer. She is a multi-platinum singer in Mexico and has sung in Spanish, English, and Portuguese. Lucero has sold more than 30 million records worldwide. She is often referred to as ("The Americas' sweetheart").


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: As a child she starred in the popular Mexican children shows "Alegrias de Mediodia" and "Chispita". She went on to release a series of successful albums. Some of her songs peaked on top of most of the Latin charts including the "Billboard" charts in the USA.


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: She received her first leading role in the film "Coqueta" and went on to film a total of seven movies. Lucero starred in the leading role of nine Mexican telenovelas and has won more TVyNovelas Awards than any other actress.


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: Lucero has been the hostess of the Latin Grammy Awards on eight occasions, and has been the face of the fundraising show "Teletón Mexico".


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: Her career began in 1980. When she was young, she had concerns about being an artist, but at aged 10 Televisa offered her the opportunity to appear in a juvenile theme program named "Alegrías De Mediodía" ("Midday Happiness"), next to several children and young talents in music and comedy, like Aida Pierce and Aleks Syntek.


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: She combined work with academic studies, also taking singing and dancing lessons. At that time she also performed in the program "Juguemos a Cantar" ("Let's play to sing"), in which she was the interpreter of the theme. Following these opportunities, she received several offers in different programs, among them "Chiquilladas" ("Childishness"), making her first starring appearance in the series for children, where one of her more popular roles was in a Popeye skit as Olive Oyl.


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: In 1982, she starred her first telenovela, "Chispita" ("Little Spark"), alternating with great actors such as Enrique Lizalde, Angélica Aragón, among others. Her acting brought her 2 awards, her first TVyNovelas Award and "Azteca de Oro Award". From that moment her career was seen as a promising future; curiously enough with the emergence of Lucero as a singer, she did not record the theme song for this telenovela. Instead that task was given to "Timbiriche", the most popular juvenile group in Mexico. This is how Raúl Velasco invited her to conduct and interpret the main theme of the musical pageant "América, Esta Es Tu Canción". In 1982, she released her first album, with Musart Records, "Te Prometo" ("I promise you").


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: The following year, 1985, she was contacted to perform in her third film "Fiebre de Amor" (Eng: "Love Fever") along with one of the most sought-after male singer of the decade, Luis Miguel. This combination was a complete success with the audience and the film received two Diosa de la Plata Awards, including Breakthrough Performance for Lucerito.


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: She participated in the soundtrack with two songs, and due to the favourable outcome of the film, the soundtrack also had a special edition for Italy. In this same year, at the suggestion of her mother, Lucerito left her mentor from the first two albums, Sergio Andrade, as the gossip began to grow that he had fallen in love with her. To avoid problems, the music company decided to release another album, but this time without the guidance of Sergio Andrade. Instead she was provided with different producers and composers, among them Joan Sebastian and Jaime Sánchez Rosaldo.


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: In 1986, she recorded "Un Pedacito De Mí" (Eng: "A little piece of me"), her fourth and last album with Musart Records. In order to get away from the shadow of Sergio Andrade's management, she signed to Melody Records the same year. Due to the departure of the singer to another company, Musart did not promote this album, which resulted with sales lower than her previous albums. Her single "Era la primera vez" (Eng: "It was the first time"), was a hit in Mexican charts reaching the top 10 and the top 20 in "Billboard". In 1986, she was also cast in her first theatre role, in the play "Don Juan Tenorio", playing Doña Inés de Ulloa.


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: Ending the decade, she established herself as one of the best singers in Latin America and the United States. She continued her ascent in her career, now releasing her sixth studio album "Cuéntame". The sales of the album reached gold and platinum status in Mexico. This album opened the U.S. market, Spain, also across borders in Central America, in countries like Guatemala, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama and all South America. The title single achieved great success, becoming a number 1 hit in Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Guatemala among other countries. The same song was included in VH1 list "Best 100 Songs of the '80s in Spanish".


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: This disc was the last album she released under the name "Lucerito". During this year, Procter & Gamble saw in Lucero one of the most famous and best cared-for hair styles and hired her to be the central image of the Head & Shoulders shampoo campaign for Latin America.


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: Lucero left the 1980s with a solid career in which she was recognized as one of the best singers of the decade. In 1990, Lucero starred in her first telenovela as an adult "Cuando llega el amor" where she also sang the theme song. This telenovela earned her the TVyNovelas Award for Best Actress. Melody Records released a special EP called "Cuando llega el Amor", a huge hit in Latin America reaching the top five in several countries. In the same year, after conquering the youth market with a ballad, Lucero opened a new facet in her career with ranchero genre performing cover versions of the hits of the famous band, Los Bukis, in her album "Con Mi Sentimiento", produced by the composer Rubén Fuentes.


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: Her performances abroad earned her as a strong reputation as a Mexican singer in Latin America, Spain and the United States, giving her also the nickname of "Lucero de México" and "La Novia de América" ("The Bride of America"). She appeared in her sixth film, "Deliciosa Sinvergüenza" ("Delicious rascal").


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: In 1991, she released "Sólo Pienso En Ti" which achieved gold and platinum status in Argentina, Chile and Mexico. Five singles were released becoming big hits in "Billboard", Mexico, Spain and Latin America. The first single was "Electricidad" ("Electricity") which reached the peak position in 10 countries and the top 5 in the USA.


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: In the same year she received five awards for Best Singer for her work "Con mi Sentimiento". In 1992, she was selected as "Queen of Viña del Mar Festival" in the Viña del Mar International Song Festival. She returned to the ranchera genre with the album "Lucero de México", once again produced by Rubén Fuentes. The promotion of the album was big, since her first ranchero album had not been well promoted. Sales achieved the gold status in Central America and Chile. In Mexico, they reached the double platinum, becoming one of the best selling albums of ranchera music.


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: She was a recipient of the special accolate in the TVyNovelas Awards as "Best Legs in the Mexican Media". During the year she was designated the singer with most international projection by the critics. In 1993, Lucero received a nomination for the Lo Nuestro Awards for Female Regional Mexican Artist of the Year.


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: In 1994, Lucero released another ranchero album, "Cariño De Mis Cariños", her third album of this genre and also produced by Rubén Fuentes. The album was selected as one of the best albums of the year according to "Eres" magazine in Mexico. The album earned the platinum status in that country.


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: At the end of 1994, she released her album "Siempre Contigo", supervised by Rafael Perez Botija. The album achieved gold status in Mexico and high sales in Central America. From the album, five singles were released, reaching the top of the lists: "Siempre contigo" was her only song so far to reach the number one position in the USA. For the Lo Nuestro Awards of 1996, Lucero was nominated for Pop Female Singer and Video of the Year for "Palabras", directed by Fernán Martínez.


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: In mid-1995, she performed in the soap opera "Lazos de Amor" in which she played triplets. The telenovela topped the TV ratings and she also received several awards among them TVyNovelas, El Heraldo, Eres, Diosa de Plata, all for best actress. Melody released the soundtrack of the telenovela "Lazos de Amor" with good sales and good airplay through Latin America and the United States. During 1995, Lucero sang two new songs on a UNICEF album, "El Nuevo Sol", to raise funds for children, sharing credits with Pandora and Magneto. Apart from this participation, she made two more special appearances, in the album "Boleros:Por amor y desamor" and a duet with Mijares on the live album "El Encuentro", which received high rotation on radio in U.S. and Latin America, reaching the top ten lists.


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: In 1997, she returned to the music scene after an extensive tour throughout Latin America and the United States, with the album "Piel de Ángel" (Eng: "Skin of Angel") and after a pause of almost 3 years without releasing any studio album, in this album she is with an interpretive force that subdues a privileged voice that runs at will. In this new album, the hits "Tácticas de Guerra", "Toda La Noche" and "Quiero" made her a favorite of the public and earned her a gold disc and platinum for her high sales in Mexico and the United States.


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: In 1997, Lucero married the singer Manuel Mijares. They had two children. The wedding was called "the event of the year" and it was broadcast through Televisa to Latin America. The ceremony was held in the chapel of San Ignacio de Loyola Vizcaínas High School.


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: In October 1997, she was invited to sing to the Pope John Paul II during the II World Meeting of Families in the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro. The opportunity was, in Lucero's own words, the most emotional experience of her spiritual life and professional.


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: In December 1997, she captivated the Mexican public and other countries to lead the Telethon in Mexico for 27 hours non-stop to raise money for care and rehabilitation centers for disabled people. She has led the Telethon year after year to date, being the hostess of the event. From 1997, Radio Móvil Dipsa used Lucero as the new image for its mobile campaign with Telcel. She made television spots promoting rates, coverage, cellular models and wireless internet. Sales increased and her contract was renewed until 2000.


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: She received the Billboard Music Award for Best Ranchera Album. Also during this year, she collaborated in the soundtrack of "Mulan", nominated for the Best Original Musical or Comedy Score Oscar, singing the song "Reflejo". In this production she shared credits with Cristian Castro and Christina Aguilera. At the end of the 1990s, the event "Un Lucero En La México" took place in the Plaza de Toros Mexico bringing together more than 40,000 people who chanted Lucero's hits and gathered to celebrate her 20th anniversary as a singer and actress, in a concert of nearly three hours. She recorded her first live album that sold more than 200,000 copies.


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: During 1999, she participated in the dubbing of the Walt Disney Pictures movie "Tarzan", performing the voice of Jane Porter. Also in 1999, Banamex (Mexico's largest bank) chose Lucero to be the main image of the TV spot of its 100 years of existence, for Mexico only.


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: The new millennium started with new contracts to Lucero. In early 2000, Lucero and singer Chayanne were employed by PepsiCo to promote Doritos and Pepsi products. They did together a TV spot and several ads that were promoted throughout the Latino community in the United States. Also during this year, AT&T signed a contract with Lucero to be the main face to offer special rates for long-distance calls to Latino families in the United States, where she sang in several spots the number of the area code. In 2002 and 2003, the contract remained in force, so the company had printed some ads with her image that were published throughout the United States, and for private concerts.


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: In 2000, she recorded the album Mi destino ("Eng: My Destiny") for the company Sony Music International, with this album Lucero shows a wide range of rhythms and sounds as the disc is produced by three world-renowned producers, Rafael Perez Botija who has produced figures as José José and Rocío Dúrcal to name a few, Ric Wake who has worked with Mariah Carey and Celine Dion among others, and Jimmy Greco who has also produced great figures like Coco Lee and Jennifer Lopez, so she surprises with 2 songs in English with an outstanding quality and interpretation. She starred in the telenovela Mi Destino Eres Tú ("Eng: My destiny is you"), production again under Carla Estrada and with a multistellar cast like Jacqueline Andere, Silvia Pasquel, Julio Alemán, and María Sorté among others. Again making position in the highest ratings worldwide. This performance earned her an award as Best Lead Actress in a telenovela.


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: In 2001, she made a special appearance in the concert of Mijares for his second live album. Besides she received in Chile's Viña del Mar International Song Festival the award "Silver Seagull" granted by the public as favorite singer.


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: In February 2002, she began promoting the album Un Nuevo Amor ("Eng: A new love"), a ranchera cutting production under the supervision of three major producers such as Rubén Fuentes, Estéfano Salgado and Homero Patrón, which achieves high sales in Mexico and abroad. This album was the first for Sony Music in ranchera music, besides it was the returning of Lucero to the studios after her first pregnancy. For the time being, she was sought to participate in 3 studio album Huey Dunbar's, Gabriel Navarro's and a special tribute to Selena. In the month of June of this year, Lucero received the Double Eagle Leadership Award from the Chamber of Commerce of Mexico & United States in gala celebrated in Coral Gables, Florida for her commitment to build stronger relations between the United States and Mexico, presented by the TV host Don Francisco.


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: In early 2003, Lucero was invited by PepsiCo to be the main image of the new product Sabritas for Mexico. With only three TV spots and ads the company managed to sell more than expected, so Lucero was recognized with an award and was invited to be the image of the 60 anniversary of Sabritas, singing the official jingle "A Que No Puedes Comer Sólo Una" ("You can't eat just one").


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: Throughout 2003, she starred in the musical adaptation of the book by Antonio Velasco Piña, a musical that tells another version of what happened on 2 October 1968, in Tlatelolco. Lucero decided to take this play since she rejected to participate in the telenovela Amor real. Several months in theaters made her win an award for best actress in a musical and offered 100 performances with 100 standing ovations from the audience. Critics and reporters who were reportedly hostile to the actress created a situation whereby, when the plaque for the 100th performance was shown, television reporters insisted on having an interview with the actress and tried to follow her, only to have a security guard draw his gun against them. She defended the acts of her guard which led to her being removed from hosting the annual Telethon for several years.


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: In August 2003, she was back to film sets to perform the role of Esperanza Alcalá in one of the most ambitious projects of Mexican cinema, "" ("Eng: Zapata: The dream of a hero") by Alfonso Arau; starring Alejandro Fernández and photography by Vittorio Storaro who has to his credits 3 Oscars, art direction and costumes by Eugenio Zanetti who has also been awarded an Oscar. She participated in the of the movie with one song named "Quédate en mí" ("Eng: Stay in me"). In the fall of 2003, she signed a contract and start with Fuller Cosmetics to promote her own perfume. An elegant fragrance within a diamond-shaped container that represents exclusivity and style. This perfume has sold many pieces in Mexico that is still available by Fuller Cosmetics.


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: In 2004, it was released Cuando Sale Un Lucero ("Eng: When a star comes out") under the company of EMI Music Mexico, a new ranchera album with the production again of Ruben Fuentes and Homero Patrón; with the singles "Entre La Espada y La Pared" and "Vete Por Donde Llegaste" achieved gold record and release a special edition. That same year she returns to telenovelas, now with a relevant part in Alborada ("Eng: Dawn") where the story takes place in the 1800s and where she played María Hipólita Díaz alongside Fernando Colunga, Daniela Romo, and more. They achieve top position in the audience.


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: After her role in this soap opera that lasted until 2005, Lucero began to record her next album in early 2006. She released Quiéreme Tal Como Soy ("Eng.: Love Me As I Am") in September 2006, where she pays tribute to Rafael Pérez Botija, the composer and producer of her biggest hits. With this record she achieved strong sales thanks to the singles "La Única Que Te Entiende" ("Eng: The One who understands you") y "O Tú O Nada" ("Eng: Either you or nothing"). In November 2006, she hosted for the first time the 7th Latin Grammy ceremony, since then she has participated as a host five times so far. As a result of the good sales of "Quiéreme tal como soy", the company decided to make a concert in the National Auditorium in March 2007, recording an album completely live that achieved high sales on CD and DVD formats. This was her second and last live album to be released to the public.


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: On 20 October 2008, the telenovela "Mañana es para siempre" ("Eng: Tomorrow Is Forever") was released and produced by Nicandro Diaz. This soap opera had a primetime broadcast where Lucero starred Barbara Greco, the villain of the trama; this was her second antagonist role since her well-received character María Paula in "Lazos de Amor" in 1996. She shared credits alongside great actors such as Silvia Navarro, Fernando Colunga and Sergio Sendel. The ratings were high and reached 51 points in his final chapter with a special two-hour duration. Due to the popularity and credibility, Procter & Gamble invited Lucero to be the face and spokesperson for the line of creams and Olay beauty products. In this way, year after year the cosmetics company has renewed its contract with the actress and singer, even getting the image of Pantene shampoo in 2011.


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: During mid-2008 there was controversy, the singer Lucero filed a lawsuit against the Universal Music label at not receiving royalties for sales of some of her albums in the last 14 years, albums recorded with Melody Records from Fonovisa, now part of Universal. Melody Records had agreed in 1998 to pay what they owed and never paid off the debt. Lucero and the company reached an undisclosed financial agreement on the debt of the old company.


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: Enrique Peña Nieto, governor of the State of Mexico in 2008, chooses Lucero to be the official spokesperson of the achievements that his government have met over the months. With the response from people, she renewed the contract to remain the face in 2009. After finishing the contract, she was called to participate in the Spanish version of the album Voces ("Eng: Voices") of the Greek composer Yanni, where it was released the single "Eterno Es Este Amor" ("Eng: Eternal is this love").


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: The new decade begins with bad news for the world, a calamitous magnitude 7.0 M earthquake hit Haiti with an epicenter near the town of Léogâne. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. Due to the proximity of the release of the 25th anniversary of the worldwide hit We Are the World, written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, Quincy Jones and Richie decided to release it as We Are the World 25 for Haiti to raise money for the victims. Jones made a determination to promote a Spanish version of the song hiring Emilio Estefan and his wife Gloria Estefan, they arrange it to be sung in Spanish language. Both were responsible for selecting the singers who participated in the new song titled Somos El Mundo 25 Por Haiti; Lucero was called to be part of the song, but at the time she was very busy with a new telenovela and a new album to contribute in a leading part; thus she decided to participate at least in the chorus to help.


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: She finished filming Soy Tu Dueña a remake of the 1995 telenovela "La Dueña". It was known to be a hit. Critics said she was back on the spotlight. In "Soy Tu Dueña" she played Valentina Villalba. Along with Fernando Colunga). In October 2010, she released "Indispensable", a pop album.


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: For her work in television and the recording industry, Lucero's hand-prints have been embedded onto the "Paseo de las Luminarias" in Mexico City.


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: On 17 January 1997 Lucero married singer Manuel Mijares with whom she had two children, a son José Manuel Mijares (born 12 November 2001) and a daughter Lucero Mijares (born 2 February 2005). On 4 March 2011, after 14 years of marriage, Lucero and Mijares announced their separation. In January 2014, Lucero came under controversy after she posed with her boyfriend Michel Kuri in front of a supposed dead animal following a hunting activity. She released a statement that the picture was leaked from her personal computer. Amid the criticisms, her performance was suspended at the International Festival Viña del Mar 2014 in Chile.


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: The Billboard Latin Music Awards are awarded annually by "Billboard" magazine in the United States. Lucero has received one nomination.


title: Lucero (entertainer)

text: The Billboard Mexican Music Awards are awarded annually by "Billboard" magazine in the United States. Lucero has received three nominations.


title: Sanctification

text: Sanctification (or in its verb form, sanctify) literally means "to set apart for special use or purpose", that is, to make holy or sacred (compare ). Therefore, sanctification refers to the state or process of being set apart, i.e. "made holy", as a vessel, full of the Holy Spirit of God. The concept of sanctification is widespread among religions, including Judaism and especially Christianity. The term can be used to refer to objects which are set apart for special purposes, but the most common use within Christian theology is in reference to the change brought about by God in a believer, begun at the point of salvation and continuing throughout the life of the believer. Many forms of Christianity believe that this process will only be completed in Heaven, but some believe that complete holiness is possible in this life.


title: Sanctification

text: In rabbinic Judaism sanctification means sanctifying God's name by works of mercy and martyrdom, while desecration of God's name means committing sin. This is based on the Jewish concept of God, whose holiness is pure goodness and is transmissible by sanctifying people and things.


title: Sanctification

text: In the various branches of Christianity sanctification usually refers to a "person" becoming holy, with the details differing in different branches.


title: Sanctification

text: According to the "Catholic Encyclopedia" "sanctity" differs for God, individual, and corporate body. For God, it is God's unique absolute moral perfection. For the individual, it is a close union with God and the resulting moral perfection. It is essentially of God, by a divine gift. For a society, it is the ability to produce and secure holiness in its members, who display a real, not merely nominal, holiness. The Church's holiness is beyond human power, beyond natural power.


title: Sanctification

text: Orthodox Christianity teaches the doctrine of theosis, whereby humans take on divine properties, and in a particular sense, participate in the being of God. A key scripture supporting this is . In the 4th century, Athanasius of Alexandria taught that God became Man that man might become God.


title: Sanctification

text: Essentially, man does not become divine, but in Christ can partake of divine nature. This Church's version of salvation restores the likeness of God in man.


title: Sanctification

text: Martin Luther taught in his Large Catechism that Sanctification is only caused by the Holy Spirit through the powerful Word of God. The Holy Spirit uses churches to gather Christians together for the teaching and preaching of the Word of God.


title: Sanctification

text: Luther also viewed the Ten Commandments as means by which the Holy Spirit sanctifies. "Thus we have the Ten Commandments, a commend of divine doctrine, as to what we are to do in order that our whole life may be pleasing to God, and the true fountain and channel from and in which everything must arise and flow that is to be a good work, so that outside of the Ten Commandments no work or thing can be good or pleasing to God, however great or precious it be in the eyes of the world...whoever does attain to them is a heavenly, angelic man, far above all holiness of the world. Only occupy yourself with them, and try your best, apply all power and ability, and you will find so much to do that you will neither seek nor esteem any other work or holiness."


title: Sanctification

text: Pietistic Lutheranism heavily emphasizes the "biblical divine commands of believers to live a holy life and to strive for holy living, or sanctification."


title: Sanctification

text: Anabaptist belief emphasizes that sanctification is initiated by being born again by the Spirit of God and then practiced by following or being a disciple of Christ. The role of the Spirit, Word of God, suffering, self-denial as well as the community of believers in sanctification is also considered essential. Sanctification is believed to be a process that begins with conversion and continues throughout the Christian life. Perfectionism or eradication of the flesh is rejected and it is considered necessary to take up the cross and deny yourself daily to truly be a disciple of Christ. When a believer steps out of the sanctification process, his salvation is seen as jeopardized. Sanctification is seen as mortifying the deeds of the flesh, cleansing impure motives and thoughts of the mind and heart as well as glorifying the Father through worship, obedience and faith working in love.


title: Sanctification

text: A 2002 Anglican publishing house book states that “there is no explicit teaching on sanctification in the Anglican formularies”. A glossary of the Episcopal Church (USA) gives some teaching: “Anglican formularies have tended to speak of sanctification as the process of God's work within us by means of which we grow into the fullness of the redeemed life.” Outside official formularies sanctification has been an issue in the Anglican Communion since its inception.


title: Sanctification

text: The 16th century Anglican theologian Richard Hooker (1554-1600) distinguished between the “righteousness of justification” that is imputed by God and the “righteousness of sanctification” that comprises the works one does as an “inevitable” result of being justified.


title: Sanctification

text: Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667) argued that justification and sanctification cannot be separated; they are “two steps in a long process”.


title: Sanctification

text: A 19th century Church of England work agreed with Jeremy Taylor that justification and sanctification are “inseparable”. However, they are not the same thing. Justification is “found in Christ's work alone”. “Sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit in us, and is a progressive work.”


title: Sanctification

text: Baptists believe in progressive sanctification, the work of sanctification of the believer through grace and the decisions of the believer after the new birth.


title: Sanctification

text: It is not clear that John Calvin, in his "Institutes of the Christian Religion," conceives of sanctification as a doctrine separate from justification. There is no separate treatment there of a doctrine of sanctification. Instead, the clearest references he makes to the process of the Christian's growth in holiness appear in Book III of the Institutes, which concerns the work of the Holy Spirit. There he intermixes the grace by which justification is accomplished and the grace that empowers the Christian toward moral reform. Following Augustine, Calvin embraces a non-perfectionist account of sanctification as progressive but incomplete until eschatological consummation:"I insist not that the life of the Christian shall breathe nothing but the perfect Gospel, though this is to be desired, and ought to be attempted. I insist not so strictly on evangelical perfection, as to refuse to acknowledge as a Christian any man who has not attained it. In this way all would be excluded from the church, since there is no man who is not far removed from this perfection, while many, who have made but little progress, would be undeservedly rejected." Against those who "maintain the perfection of holiness in the present life," Calvin replies:"...we deem it sufficient briefly to reply with Augustine, that the goal to which all the pious ought to aspire is, to appear in the presence of God without spot or blemish; but as the course of the present life is at best nothing more than progress, we shall never reach the goal until we have laid aside the body of sin, and been completely united to the Lord." But the imperfection of sanctification in this life is not, for Calvin, an excuse for slackness in the search thereof. The grace of justification is not separable from the grace that makes one perform good works and the grace that perfects what is deficient in the works of the regenerate:“Justification, moreover, we thus define: the sinner being admitted into communion with Christ is, for his sake, reconciled to God; when purged by his blood he obtains the remission of sins, and clothed with righteousness, just as if it were his own, stands secure before the judgment seat of heaven. Forgiveness of sins being previously given, the good works which follow have a value different from their merit, because whatever is imperfect in them is covered by the perfection of Christ, and all their blemishes and pollutions are wiped away by his purity, so as never to come under the cognizance of the divine tribunal. The guilt of all transgressions, by which men are prevented from offering God an acceptable service, being thus effaced, and the imperfection which is wont to sully even good works being buried, the good works which are done by believers are deemed righteous, or, which is the same thing, are imputed for righteousness.”


title: Sanctification

text: In Wesleyan-Arminian theology, which is upheld by the Methodist Churches (inclusive of the holiness movement), Methodism teaches that sanctification has three components—initial, progressive, and entire:


title: Sanctification

text: As such, "sanctification, the beginning of holiness, begins at the new birth". With the Grace of God, Methodists "do works of piety and mercy, and these works reflect the power of sanctification". Examples of these means of grace (works of piety and works of mercy) that aid with sanctification include frequent reception of the sacrament of Holy Communion (work of piety), and visiting the sick and those in prison (work of mercy). Wesleyan covenant theology also emphasizes that an important aspect of sanctification is the keeping of the moral law contained in the Ten Commandments. As such, in "sanctification one grows to be more like Christ." This process of sanctification that begins at the new birth (first work of grace) has its goal as Christian perfection, also known as entire sanctification (second work of grace), which John Wesley, the progenitor of the Methodist faith, described as a heart "habitually filled with the love of God and neighbor" and as "having the mind of Christ and walking as he walked". To John Wesley the work of entire sanctification was distinctly separate from regeneration, and was "wrought instantaneously, though it may be approached by slow and gradual steps." A more complete statement of Wesley's position goes like this:"It is that habitual disposition of soul which, in the sacred writings, is termed holiness; and which directly implies, the being cleansed from sin, 'from all filthiness both of flesh and spirit;' and, by consequence, the being endued with those virtues which were also in Christ Jesus; the being so 'renewed in the spirit of our mind,' as to be 'perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect.'"This is the doctrine that by the power of God's sanctifying grace and attention upon the means of grace may cleanse a Christian of the corrupting influence of original sin in this life. It is expounded upon in the Methodist Articles of Religion:


title: Sanctification

text: Justification is seen as an initial step of acknowledging God's holiness, with sanctification as, through the grace and power of God, entering into it. A key scripture is Hebrews 12:14: "Follow after...holiness, without which no one shall see the Lord." The importance of "growth in grace", according to Methodist doctrine, is important before and after entire sanctification:


title: Sanctification

text: In the same vein, in addition to entire sanctification, the Kentucky Mountain Holiness Association affirms a belief in "the progressive growth in grace toward Christian maturity through a consistent Christian life of faith and good works."


title: Sanctification

text: If a person backslides but later decides to return to God, he or she must confess his or her sins and be entirely sanctified again (see conditional security).


title: Sanctification

text: John Wesley taught outward holiness as an expression of "inward transformation" and theologians in the Wesleyan-Arminian tradition have noted that the observance of standards of dress and behaviour should follow the New Birth as an act of obedience to God.


title: Sanctification

text: There are two Pentecostal positions on sanctification, entire sanctification and progressive sanctification.