al Andalus

In 711 an army of Arabs and Berbers from North Africa, united by their faith in Islam, crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and arrived on the Iberian Peninsula. In less than a decade the Muslims brought most of the peninsula under their domination; they called the Iberian lands they controlled al-Andalus. Although the borders of al-Andalus shifted over the centuries, the Muslims remained a powerful force on the peninsula for almost eight hundred years, until 1492, when they were expelled by Ferdinand and Isabella. …

Miguel Ríos is a best-selling, internationally renowned Spanish singer, songwriter, and actor whose career is intrinsic to the establishment of rock & roll as a serious art form in Spain. It has been written that without rock & roll it is impossible to understand Spain's contemporary history, and without Ríos, it is impossible to understand rock, so proclaimed King Juan I in 1993. Ríos began his recording career in 1963 with the single "El Rey del Twist," but spent most of the decade acting in films and television. He didn't release his debut album until 1969's Mira Hacia Ti; the following year, his single "Himno a la Alegría" (adapted from the final movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony) was also released in an Anglo version as "A Song of Joy" and hit number 14 on American charts, sold over three million copies, introduced the concept of "symphonic rock" to Spain…

Une histoire de l'Espagne musulmane au XIe siècle, devenue un exemple notable de tolérance culturelle et à l'origine de l'identité andalouse du XXIe siècle. …