El Bierzo in the context of Álvaro de Mendaña de Neira

Álvaro de Mendaña y Neira (or Neyra) (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈalβaɾo ðe menˈdaɲa i ˈnejɾa]; 1 October 1542 – 18 October 1595) was a Spanish navigator, explorer, and cartographer, best known for two of the earliest recorded expeditions across the Pacific Ocean in 1567 and 1595. His voyages led to the discovery of the Marquesas, Cook Islands, and Solomons among other archipelagos. Born in Congosto, in El Bierzo Region (León), he was the nephew of Lope García de Castro, viceroy of Peru.

Congosto (Spanish pronunciation: [koŋˈɡosto]) is a village and municipality located in the region of El Bierzo (province of León, Castile and León, Spain) . It is located near to Ponferrada, the capital of the region. The village of Congosto within the municipality has about 254 inhabitants.

Its economy was traditionally based on agriculture, wine and coal mining. Nowadays, most of the inhabitants work on the surrounding area on activities such as wind turbine manufacturing or coal mining.

Mozarabic art is an early medieval artistic style that is part of the pre-Romanesque style and emerged in al-Andalus and in the kingdom of León. It's named after the Mozarabs (from musta'rab meaning "Arabized"), the Christians of al-Andalus. It was developed by the Hispanic Christians who lived in Arab-Muslim territory and in the expansion territories of the León crown, in the period from the Arab-Islamic Conquest of the Iberian Peninsula (711) to the end of the 11th century. During this period, disciplines such as painting, goldsmithing and architecture with marked Caliphate influences were cultivated in a context of medieval coexistence - Christian, Hebrew and Muslim - in which the territories were constantly changing in size and status. Other names for this artistic style are Leonese art or repopulation art.