Smithsonian Report. 1963. — Crist 



1. Closeup of Mr. Sanchez's house, wiih a pepper plant in the right-hand foreground, and a 

 plant of cooking bananas (plantains) behind our host. Corn and beans are to be seen 

 drj'ing on the roof. 



The primitive hand press, just to our right of Mr. Sanchez, which consists of a pole 

 stuck through a hole in a post, is used to squeeze the juice out of a stalk of cane; the juice 

 is used straight, or to sweeten coffee: when fermented, it is a refreshing drink. 



n§Mt ; n 



2. Mr. Sanchez standi' )■ hiMm ai the far end of the clearing fium his liousc, 



with the mass of fallen trees in the middle ground and virgin forest still standing in the 

 background. 



The 70 million Sanchezes in Latin America, even on the small plots they do not own, 

 are a conservative group; they are indeed a prey to fears of the forces unleashed by both 

 man and nature; but they are imbued with the spirit of pioneers, not easily swayed by 

 the winds of revolutionary change advocated by a floating, landless proletariat, or willing 

 meekly to submit to the whims of a power elite intent upon preserving the status quo. 



