John Gary

John Gary (born John Gary Strader; November 29, 1932 – January 4, 1998) was an American singer, recording artist, television host, and performer on the musical stage.

Early life

From Watertown, New York, Gary started singing at the age of 5. He joined his older sister, Shirley Strader. At the age of 9, he won a 3-year scholarship to the prestigious Cathedral School of St John in Manhattan. He auditioned for the choir master, Norman Coke-Jeffcott. At the age of 10, Gary had won two (2) pins of distinction from the American Theatre Wing Merchant Seaman's Club for the Stage Door Canteen. Aged 12, he toured the southern states with Frank Pursley, a blind pianist for the Mason Conservatory.

Career

Gary sang in movies, on Broadway, had his own television show, and appeared at Carnegie Hall, with numerous symphonies. He appeared thirty times as a guest on The Tonight Show with Jack Paar, Steve Allen and Johnny Carson. He traveled across the US and Canada with approximately 40 concerts per year. For six years he gave community concerts in over 400 cities and towns. He was a stylized singer, who recorded 23 albums for RCA Victor Records.

Nicole Scherzinger

Nicole Scherzinger (/niˈkoʊl ˈʃɜːrzɪŋər/; born Nicole Prescovia Elikolani Valiente; June 29, 1978) is an American recording artist, actress and television personality. Born in Honolulu, Hawaii and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, she performed in various singing competitions and musicals before joining American rock band Days of the New as a backing vocalist and later becoming one of the members of the ill-fated girl group Eden's Crush in 2001. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the burlesque troupe turned-recording act, the Pussycat Dolls becoming one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. During their hiatus Scherzinger planned to embark on her solo career with Her Name is Nicole but was later shelved after four singles failed to impact the charts. Following the disbandment of the Pussycat Dolls, Scherzinger became a judge for two seasons of The Sing-Off and in 2010 won the tenth season of Dancing with the Stars.

In 2011 she released her debut studio album, Killer Love to moderate success. It featured the top-ten hits "Don't Hold Your Breath" and "Right There". Later that year she served as a judge during the first season of the American version of The X Factor before heading to the UK version for two years in 2012. Her second studio album, Big Fat Lie (2014) had a minor impact on the charts. Its release was preceded by three singles including, "Your Love". For starring in the 2014 West End revival of the musical Cats Scherzinger garnered a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical.

Craig David

Craig Ashley David (born 5 May 1981) is an English singer-songwriter who rose to fame in 1999 featuring on the single "Re-Rewind" by Artful Dodger. David's debut album, Born to Do It, was released in 2000, after which he has released a further five studio albums and worked with a variety of artists such as Tinchy Stryder, Kano, Jay Sean, Rita Ora and Sting. David has 14 UK Top 10 singles, and six UK Top 20 albums, selling over 13 million records worldwide as a solo artist.

David has been nominated for twelve Brit Awards: three times for Best British Male, and twice received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

Early life

David was born in Southampton, Hampshire, the son of Tina (née Loftus), a retail assistant at Superdrug, and George David, a carpenter, and grew up in the Holyrood estate. David's father is Afro-Grenadian and David's mother is Anglo-Jewish and related to the founders of the Accurist watch-making company; David's maternal grandfather was an Orthodox Jew and his maternal grandmother a convert to Judaism. David's parents separated when he was eight and he was raised by his mother. He attended Bellemoor School and Southampton City College.

Xibalba

Xibalba (Mayan pronunciation: [ʃiɓalˈɓa]), roughly translated as "place of fear", is the name of the underworld in K'iche' Maya mythology, ruled by the Maya death gods and their helpers. In 16th-century Verapaz, the entrance to Xibalba was traditionally held to be a cave in the vicinity of Cobán, Guatemala. According to some of the K'iche' Maya presently living in the vicinity, the area is still associated with death. Cave systems in nearby Belize have also been referred to as the entrance to Xibalba. In some Maya areas, the Milky Way is viewed as the road to Xibalba.

Inhabitants

Xibalba is described in the Popol Vuh as a court below the surface of the Earth associated with death and with twelve gods or powerful rulers known as the Lords of Xibalba. The first among the Maya Death Gods ruling Xibalba were Hun-Came ("One Death") and Vucub-Came ("Seven Death"), though Hun-Came is the senior of the two.

The remaining ten Lords are often referred to as demons and are given commission and domain over various forms of human suffering: to cause sickness, starvation, fear, destitution, pain, and ultimately death. These Lords all work in pairs: Xiquiripat ("Flying Scab") and Cuchumaquic ("Gathered Blood"), who sicken people's blood; Ahalpuh ("Pus Demon") and Ahalgana ("Jaundice Demon"), who cause people's bodies to swell up; Chamiabac ("Bone Staff") and Chamiaholom ("Skull Staff"), who turn dead bodies into skeletons; Ahalmez ("Sweepings Demon") and Ahaltocob ("Stabbing Demon"), who hide in the unswept areas of people's houses and stab them to death; and Xic ("Wing") and Patan ("Packstrap"), who cause people to die coughing up blood while out walking on a road. The remaining residents of Xibalba are thought to have fallen under the dominion of one of these Lords, going about the face of the Earth to carry out their listed duties.

Xibalba (band)

Xibalba is an American metal band from Pomona, California, formed in 2007. They play a blend of sludge metal and death metal, with some doom metal tendencies, with lyrics in English and Spanish, but not in Mayan. Their debut album, Madre Mia Gracias Por Los Dias (2011) was released through A389 Recordings. Their second album, Hasta La Muerte (2012), was released by Southern Lord.

History

The band started in 2007 in Pomona, California when long time friends Nate, Brian, Jason and Bryan wanted to play dark and heavy music as opposed to the hardcore punk bands they were in before. In 2012, the band went on an Australian tour with Warbrain and Incendiary. In 2013, they traveled with the "No Way Out" U.S. tour with headliners The Acacia Strain, and Within the Ruins, Fit for an Autopsy, and American Me. Xibalba was toured on the "Die Knowing" U.S. tour alongside Comeback Kid, Backtrack, Downpresser, and To the Wind.

Discography

Studio albums

Chiquibul Cave System

The Chiquibul Cave System is one of the largest and best-known cave systems in Central America. It consists of four distinct caves along the course of the Chiquibul River; Actun Kabal, Actun Tun Kul (Tunkul) and Cebada Cave in Belize, and Xibalba in Guatemala, as well as several other smaller associated caves. Included within the cave system are two of the largest underground chambers in the world.

Actun Kabal (Kabal Group)

This upper section of the Chiquibul Cave System has over 12 km of mapped passages with a depth of -95 m. Included is Chiquibul Chamber, at 250 m by 150 m one of the world's largest underground chambers.

Actun Tun Kul

Tun Kul ("stone drum") includes Belize Chamber - with dimensions of 300 m by 150 m by 65 m, it is one of the largest natural underground chambers in the world. Tun Kul was connected with Cebada Cave in 1999 resulting in a 39km long cave.

Cebada Cave

Cebada Cave and Tun Kul were linked in 1999; at 39 km it is the longest cave in Belize.