The Duchess of Alba and la Beata The Duchess of Alba and la Beata The Duchess of Alba and "la Beata" (or The Duchess of Alba and the Pious Woman; Spanish: La duquesa de Alba y su dueña o La Duquesa de Alba y "la Beata") is a small 1795 oil on canvas painting by the Spanish artist Francisco Goya. It portrays the Duchess María Cayetana de Silva, 13th Duchess of Alba reaching playfully towards her maid (or "duena") Rafaela Luisa Velazquez (known as "la Beata"), who leans away. María holds a red cord under the chin of the older woman, which seems to scare her as
Víctor Alba the University of Kansas and in the Kent State University in Ohio. Initially identifying as a Marxist, he adopted social-democratic and anti-communist views during his exile. In 1974 he retired from Kent State University, returning to Spain where he died in 2003. Alba wrote many works in various languages: Víctor Alba Víctor Alba who also went as Pere Pagès i Elies (Barcelona, 1916 – Sant Pere de Ribes, March 10, 2003) was a Spanish anti-Stalinist communist politician, journalist, writer and Spanish university professor. Alba began to study rights at a young age, beginning his studies at the University of Barcelona.