Washington's Birthday Celebration
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Washington's Birthday Celebration
The Washington's Birthday Celebration (WBCA) is an almost month-long event held each February in Laredo, the seat of Webb County in south Texas, that celebrates the birthday of George Washington. It is the largest celebration of its kind in the United States with approximately 400,000 attendees annually. The celebration consists of various festivals; a Society of Martha Washington Colonial Pageant and Ball, Princess Pocahontas Pageant and Ball, two parades, a carnival, an air show, fireworks, live concerts, "Fun-Fest" at Laredo Community College, and a citywide prom during which many of the Laredo elite dress in Colonial attire. Each year a prominent Laredo man and woman play the roles of George and Martha Washington. One of its main events, the Jalapeño Festival, has recently been named one of Top 10 eating festivals in the United States. History The celebration was first staged in 1898 by the San Antonio-based Improved Order of Red Men, which established the Laredo local c ...
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WBCA Seal
WBCA may refer to: * Washington's Birthday Celebration * Women's Basketball Coaches Association * West Bengal Chess Association * WBCA-LP, a low-power radio station (102.9 FM) licensed to serve Boston, Massachusetts, United States * WBCA (Schenectady, New York), a radio station (101.1 FM) which was deleted in 1952 * WTOF a Bay Minette, Alabama radio station (1110 AM) which held the WBCA call sign from 1957–2006 * Wild Bird Conservation Act {{Disambiguation, callsign ...
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Carnival
Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typically involves public celebrations, including events such as parades, public street parties and other entertainments, combining some elements of a circus. Elaborate costumes and masks allow people to set aside their everyday individuality and experience a heightened sense of social unity.Bakhtin, Mikhail. 1984. ''Rabelais and his world''. Translated by H. Iswolsky. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Original edition, ''Tvorchestvo Fransua Rable i narodnaia kul'tura srednevekov'ia i Renessansa'', 1965. Participants often indulge in excessive consumption of alcohol, meat, and other foods that will be forgone during upcoming Lent. Traditionally, butter, milk, and other animal products were not consumed "excessively", rather, their stoc ...
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Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to the rank of major general and becoming a national hero for his victories in the Mexican–American War. As a result, he won election to the White House despite his vague political beliefs. His top priority as president was to preserve the Union. He died 16 months into his term from a stomach disease, thus having the third shortest presidency in U.S. history. Taylor was born into a prominent family of plantation owners who moved westward from Virginia to Louisville, Kentucky, in his youth; he was the last president born before the adoption of the Constitution. He was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army in 1808 and made a name for himself as a captain in the War of 1812. He climbed the ranks of the military, establishing military fo ...
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Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1845 American annexation of Texas, which Mexico still considered its territory. Mexico refused to recognize the Velasco treaty, because it was signed by President Antonio López de Santa Anna while he was captured by the Texan Army during the 1836 Texas Revolution. The Republic of Texas was ''de facto'' an independent country, but most of its Anglo-American citizens wanted to be annexed by the United States. Sectional politics over slavery in the United States were preventing annexation because Texas would have been admitted as a slave state, upsetting the balance of power between Northern free states and Southern slave states. In the 1844 United States presidential election, Democrat James K. Polk was elected on a platform of expand ...
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Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP ("Grand Old Party"), is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States. The GOP was founded in 1854 by anti-slavery activists who opposed the Kansas–Nebraska Act, which allowed for the potential expansion of chattel slavery into the western territories. Since Ronald Reagan's presidency in the 1980s, conservatism has been the dominant ideology of the GOP. It has been the main political rival of the Democratic Party since the mid-1850s. The Republican Party's intellectual predecessor is considered to be Northern members of the Whig Party, with Republican presidents Abraham Lincoln, Rutherford B. Hayes, Chester A. Arthur, and Benjamin Harrison all being Whigs before switching to the party, from which they were elected. The collapse of the Whigs, which had previously been one of the two major parties in the country, strengthened the party's electoral success. Upon its founding, it supported c ...
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Samuel M
Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul, and again in the monarchy's transition from Saul to David. He is venerated as a prophet in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In addition to his role in the Hebrew scriptures, Samuel is mentioned in Jewish rabbinical literature, in the Christian New Testament, and in the second chapter of the Quran (although Islamic texts do not mention him by name). He is also treated in the fifth through seventh books of ''Antiquities of the Jews'', written by the Jewish scholar Josephus in the first century. He is first called "the Seer" in 1 Samuel 9:9. Biblical account Family Samuel's mother was Hannah and his father was Elkanah. Elkanah lived at Ramathaim in the district of Zuph. His genealog ...
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Improved Order Of Red Men
The Improved Order of Red Men is a fraternal organization established in North America in 1834. Their rituals and regalia are modeled after those assumed by men of the era to be used by Native Americans. Despite the name, the order was formed solely by, and for, white men. The organization claimed a membership of about half a million in 1935, but has declined to a little more than 15,000. History On December 16, 1773, a group of colonists — all men, and members of the Sons of Liberty — met in Boston to protest the tax on tea imposed by England. When their protest went unheeded, they disguised themselves as their idea of Mohawk people, proceeded to Boston harbor, and dumped overboard 342 chests of English tea. (See Boston Tea Party.) In the late 18th century, the Tammany Societies, named after Tamanend, were formed. The most well-known of these was New York City's Society of St. Tammany, which grew into a major political machine known as "Tammany Hall." For the next 35 ...
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San Antonio, Texas
("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_type2 = Counties , subdivision_name2 = Bexar, Comal, Medina , established_title = Foundation , established_date = May 1, 1718 , established_title1 = Incorporated , established_date1 = June 5, 1837 , named_for = Saint Anthony of Padua , government_type = Council-Manager , governing_body = San Antonio City Council , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Ron Nirenberg ( I) , leader_title2 = City Manager , leader_name2 = Erik Walsh , leader_title3 = City Council , leader_name3 = , unit_pref = Imperial , area_total_sq_mi = 504.64 , area_total_km2 = 1307.00 , area_land_sq_mi = 498.85 , area_land_km2 = 1292.02 , area_water_sq_mi = 5.79 , area_water_km2 ...
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Jalapeño
The jalapeño ( , , ) is a medium-sized chili pepper pod type cultivar of the species ''Capsicum annuum''. A mature jalapeño chili is long and hangs down with a round, firm, smooth flesh of wide. It can have a range of pungency, with Scoville heat units of 4,000 to 8,500. Commonly picked and consumed while still green, it is occasionally allowed to fully ripen and turn red, orange, or yellow. It is wider and generally milder than the similar Serrano pepper. History and etymology The jalapeño is variously named ''huachinango'', for the ripe red jalapeño, and ''chile gordo'' (meaning "fat chili pepper") also known as ''cuaresmeño.'' The name ''jalapeño'' is Spanish for "from Xalapa", the capital city of Veracruz, Mexico, where the pepper was traditionally cultivated. The name ''Xalapa'' is itself of Nahuatl origin, formed from roots ''xālli'' "sand" and ''āpan'' "water place". Genetic analysis of ''Capsicum annuum'' places jalapeños as a distinct genetic clade wit ...
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Elite
In political and sociological theory, the elite (french: élite, from la, eligere, to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. Defined by the ''Cambridge Dictionary'', the "elite" are "those people or organizations that are considered the best or most powerful compared to others of a similar type." American sociologist C. Wright Mills states that members of the elite accept their fellows' position of importance in society. "As a rule, 'they accept one another, understand one another, marry one another, tend to work, and to think, if not together at least alike'." It is a well-regulated existence where education plays a critical role. Universities in the US Youthful upper-class members attend prominent preparatory schools, which not only open doors to such elite universities as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and the University of Pennsylvania, but also to the universit ...
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Prom
A promenade dance, commonly called a prom, is a dance party for high school students. It may be offered in semi-formal black tie or informal suit for boys, and evening gowns for girls. This event is typically held near the end of the school year. There may be individual junior (11th grade) and senior (12th grade) proms or they may be combined. At a prom, a "prom king" and a "prom queen" may be revealed. These are honorary titles awarded to students elected in a school-wide vote prior to the prom. Other students may be honored with inclusion in a ''prom court''. The selection method for a prom court is similar to that of homecoming queen/princess, king/prince, and court. Inclusion in a prom court may be a reflection of popularity of those students elected and their level of participation in school activities, such as clubs or sports. The prom queen and prom king may be given crowns to wear. Members of the prom court may be given sashes to wear and photographed together. Similar ...
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Laredo Community College
Laredo College (LC) is a public community college in Laredo, Texas. Founded as Laredo Junior College in 1947, it is part of the Laredo Independent School District. As defined by the Texas Legislature, the official service area of LC includes the municipality of Laredo and all of Webb, Jim Hogg and Zapata counties. Finances and enrollments Budgets and taxes The 2012–2013 LC budget was approximately $50 million. The student tuition and fee share of the budget doubled in a decade from 18 to 36 percent.Andrew Kreighbaum, "LCC: Raises, Bonus OK'd", ''Laredo Morning Times'', August 24, 2012, pp. 1, 8A The 2011–2012 LC budget was $48.3 million, or a decrease of $1.43 million from the preceding year. The college property tax rate of $0.2365 per $100 of assessed valuation declined slightly in the 2012–2013 budget. Unlike many other community colleges in Texas which can reach into the county or adjoining counties for purposes of taxation, LC can levy property taxers only wit ...
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