Rivera, Diego, 1886-1957, Mexican mural painter, studied as a youth with Posada and other Mexican painters; husband of Frida Kahlo. The native sculpture of Mexico deeply impressed him. In Europe (1907-9, 1912-21) he worked in several countries and was influenced by the paintings of El Greco and Goya. He had close association with Cézanne and Picasso and with communistic Russians in exile. He became convinced that a new form of art should respond to "the new order of things … and that the logical place for this art … belonging to the populace, was on the walls of public buildings." Returning in 1921 to Mexico, he painted, with the assistance of younger artists, large murals dealing with the life, history, and social problems of Mexico, in the Preparatory School and the Ministry of Education in Mexico City and the Agricultural School of Chapingo. To the peasants and workers he became a sort of prophet. He visited Moscow in 1927-28 and upon his return painted in the National Palace and in the Palace of Cortés at Cuernavaca. In the United States he painted frescoes in the luncheon club of the Stock Exchange and in the Fine Arts Building, both in San Francisco, and murals in the Detroit Institute of Arts, giving his interpretation of industrial America as exemplified in Detroit. A mural for Rockefeller Center, New York City, was destroyed by order of his sponsors because of the inclusion of a portrait of Lenin. The mural was reproduced in Mexico City at the Palace of Fine Arts. Rivera in 1936 interceded with President Cárdenas to permit Trotsky to come to Mexico. In 1956 the artist went to Moscow for an operation. Several months before his death he announced his affiliation with the Roman Catholic Church.

Rivera, Fructuoso, 1790?-1854, first president of Uruguay (1830-34, 1839-42). After serving with Artigas, he was one of the Thirty-three Immortals who raised the standard of independence under Juan Antonio Lavalleja. He was chosen president and was responsible for the succession of Manuel Oribe, against whom he revolted in 1836. In the long civil strife, which was to characterize much of Uruguay's subsequent history, two factions appeared, distinguished by their badges, the Colorados [reds] of Rivera and the Blancos [whites] of Oribe. Rivera succeeded (1838) in routing Oribe, who fled to Buenos Aires. The following year Rivera declared war on Juan Manuel de Rosas, ruler of the United Provinces of La Plata (Argentina). With the help of Rosas, Oribe besieged Montevideo from 1843 to 1851. Rivera, opposed by factions within his own party, was exiled from the invested city in 1847, taking refuge in Brazil. After the downfall of Rosas and the end of the siege, he was selected (1853) as one of the triumvirate to head the provisional government of Uruguay.

Rivera, José Eustasio, 1889-1928, Colombian novelist. Rivera served on the commission to fix the Venezuelan boundary deep in the rain forest of the Amazon basin. The jungle became the setting and protagonist of his masterly novel, La vorágine (1924, tr. The Vortex, 1935). In fluid language he tells of the hardships and brutal sufferings of rubber gatherers. Rivera wrote sonnets in classical manner about the tropics in Tierra de promisión [promised land] (1921).

Rivera, Julio Adalberto, 1921-73, president of El Salvador (1962-67). An army lieutenant colonel, he headed the junta that overthrew the leftist government in Jan., 1961. His junta rule was unexpectedly progressive, enacting numerous measures, including a new income tax law. In 1962 the junta promulgated a new constitution under which Rivera was elected president for a five-year term. His administration was noteworthy for its social reforms, economic prosperity, and domestic tranquility. He was succeeded by Fidel Sánchez Hernández.

Rivera, Mariano, 1969-, Panamanian baseball player. A right-handed relief pitcher, he has been with the New York Yankees organization since 1990. He began (1995) his career in the majors as a lackluster starter, but within two years was the team's star closer. Extremely consistent, with superb control and a devastating cutter (cut fastball), Rivera is widely regarded as the finest closer in major-league history. He scored his 500th career save in 2009, and holds records for most postseason pitching appearances, most postseason and World Series saves, and others.

Rivera, Primo de: see Primo de Rivera, Miguel.

(born Dec. 8, 1886, Guanajuato, Mex.—died Nov. 25, 1957, Mexico City) Mexican muralist. After study in Mexico City and Spain, he settled in Paris from 1909 to 1919. He briefly espoused Cubism but abandoned it circa 1917 for a visual language of simplified forms and bold areas of colour. He returned to Mexico in 1921, seeking to create a new national art on revolutionary themes in the wake of the Mexican Revolution. He painted many public murals, the most ambitious of which is in the National Palace (1929–57). From 1930 to 1934 he worked in the U.S. His mural for New York's Rockefeller Center aroused a storm of controversy and was ultimately destroyed because it contained the figure of Vladimir Ilich Lenin; he later reproduced it at the Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico City. With José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros, Rivera created a revival of fresco painting that became Mexico's most significant contribution to 20th-century art. His large-scale didactic murals contain scenes of Mexican history, culture, and industry, with Indians, peasants, conquistadores, and factory workers drawn as simplified figures in crowded, shallow spaces. Rivera was twice married to Frida Kahlo.

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(born Jan. 8, 1870, Cádiz, Spain—died March 16, 1930, Paris, France) Spanish general and dictator of Spain (1923–30). A military officer from 1888, he served as military governor of Cádiz (1915–19), Valencia (1919–22), and Barcelona (1922–23), where he firmly suppressed disorder. Believing the parliamentary system to be corrupt, he took power in a coup in 1923, dissolved the Cortes (parliament), and suspended constitutional guarantees. He successfully ended the Moroccan War (1927), settled labour disputes, and undertook public works, but he failed to implement agrarian reforms. Increasing discontent with his repressive government and lack of support from the army forced him to resign in 1930. José Antonio Primo de Rivera was his son.

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(born Jan. 8, 1870, Cádiz, Spain—died March 16, 1930, Paris, France) Spanish general and dictator of Spain (1923–30). A military officer from 1888, he served as military governor of Cádiz (1915–19), Valencia (1919–22), and Barcelona (1922–23), where he firmly suppressed disorder. Believing the parliamentary system to be corrupt, he took power in a coup in 1923, dissolved the Cortes (parliament), and suspended constitutional guarantees. He successfully ended the Moroccan War (1927), settled labour disputes, and undertook public works, but he failed to implement agrarian reforms. Increasing discontent with his repressive government and lack of support from the army forced him to resign in 1930. José Antonio Primo de Rivera was his son.

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(born July 6, 1907, Coyoacán, Mex.—died July 13, 1954, Coyoacán) Mexican painter. The daughter of a German Jewish photographer, she had polio as a child and at 18 suffered a serious bus accident. She subsequently underwent some 35 operations; during her recovery, she taught herself to paint. She is noted for her intense self-portraits, many reflecting her physical ordeal. Like many artists working in post-revolutionary Mexico, Kahlo was influenced by Mexican folk art; this is apparent in her use of fantastical elements and bold use of colour, and in her depictions of herself wearing traditional Mexican, rather than European-style, dress. Her marriage to painter Diego Rivera (from 1929) was tumultuous but artistically rewarding. The Surrealists André Breton and Marcel Duchamp helped arrange exhibits of her work in the U.S. and Europe, and though she denied the connection, the dreamlike quality of her work has often led historians to identify her as a Surrealist. She died at 47. Her house in Coyoacán is now the Frida Kahlo Museum.

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(born Dec. 8, 1886, Guanajuato, Mex.—died Nov. 25, 1957, Mexico City) Mexican muralist. After study in Mexico City and Spain, he settled in Paris from 1909 to 1919. He briefly espoused Cubism but abandoned it circa 1917 for a visual language of simplified forms and bold areas of colour. He returned to Mexico in 1921, seeking to create a new national art on revolutionary themes in the wake of the Mexican Revolution. He painted many public murals, the most ambitious of which is in the National Palace (1929–57). From 1930 to 1934 he worked in the U.S. His mural for New York's Rockefeller Center aroused a storm of controversy and was ultimately destroyed because it contained the figure of Vladimir Ilich Lenin; he later reproduced it at the Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico City. With José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros, Rivera created a revival of fresco painting that became Mexico's most significant contribution to 20th-century art. His large-scale didactic murals contain scenes of Mexican history, culture, and industry, with Indians, peasants, conquistadores, and factory workers drawn as simplified figures in crowded, shallow spaces. Rivera was twice married to Frida Kahlo.

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Rivera is a city in Uruguay.

Population and location

It is the capital of the department of Rivera in Uruguay with a population of 64,426 (2004 census). Rivera is located exactly on the border with Brazil, and with the Brazilian city of Santana do Livramento, right across the border line, just a street away, it forms an international city of 200.000 inhabitants.

Links with Brazil

In 1943, the Plaza Internacional (on the photo) was built, celebrating this peaceful relationship, and perhaps being the only international square in the whole world.

The border community is unusual as inhabitants from both Livramento (Brazil) and Rivera (Uruguay) are free to move anywhere throughout the twin city community. It is easy for one to get lost in the suburbs and not know if he is in Brazil or Uruguay. Customs and checkpoints are located outside the cities.

Notable local person

• Aparicio Méndez, from Rivera, was President of Uruguay from 1976 to 1981.

See also

• Rivera Department