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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 6 



plaza at Patzcuaro, 16 km. to the south. Then, 

 when a new fountain of dolphins was cast in the 

 larger town, like old clothing, worn yet service- 

 able, the stand was passed on to Tzintzuntzan. 

 Around it was laid a concrete walk, the first in 

 the town, on which were placed cement benches 

 which, miraculously, bear the names Tariacuri, 

 Tangaxoan, Timas, and others of the ancient 

 Tarascan kings and nobles, rather than the com- 

 moner advertisements such as "Courtesy of Ro- 

 driguez Brothers, Druggists," characteristic of 

 most Mexican plaza seats. This good taste, 

 worthy of emulation by other towns, does not 

 reflect the enterprise of local citizens. General 

 Cardenas was filled with a sentimental and 

 humanitarian desire to restore, in some small 

 way, the former greatness of the Tarascan capi- 

 tal, and to increase the well-being of the modern 

 population. Thus, it was not by chance that the 

 old bandstand appeared in Tzintzuntzan, nor 

 that the benches recall the former great. Like- 

 wise the road, the school, the water system, 

 electricity, the open-air theater, and the political 

 category of municipio, all are due to the former 

 president. With its tall changungo trees and 

 brilliant purple jacarandas, the small plaza has 

 a certain air of beauty and restfulness. 



Two blocks beyond the plaza and to the right, 

 is a small tree-filled alameda backed by a stone 

 wall and arched gate. Within the gate is an 

 expanse of several hectares, dotted with tall 

 cedars and gnarled old olive trees, planted by 

 the first Franciscan fathers. On the far side is 

 the burned out shell of a church, and to the 

 left a rambling two-story building, formerly 

 the Franciscan convent, and now the priest's 

 home. To the right is a second church, less 

 ornate than the ruined one, its single moss-cover- 

 ed tower already presaging destruction in the 

 grass and small bushes sprouting from its crev- 

 ices. In the center of the atrium, hung from an 

 iron pipe between the two largest cedars, are the 

 three church bells, large, middle-sized, and 

 small. 



On the east side of the road, opposite the 

 alameda, is another small plaza, flanked on one 

 side by a nondescript building, the presidencia, 

 court room and jail, and on the rear side by a 

 white cement open-air theater, rarely used. The 

 basket-ball court which formerly occupied this 

 plaza has been abandoned. For want of a wash- 



er the water tap in front of the presidencia con- 

 tinuously dribbles and has muddied the court. 

 To the right of the theater a narrow road leads 

 in easy sweeps to the five ydcatas which stand 

 on an artificial earth platform a couple of score 

 meters above the town. 



In sharp contrast to the town from the road, 

 the view from the ydcatas is breathtaking. To 

 the north and west stretches the lake. Beyond 

 rise a series of hills, extinct volcanic cones, 

 which culminate to the north in mighty Zirate, 

 towering more than 1,000 m. above the water. 

 In the morning and evening its head is often 

 capped with fleecy clouds, more suggestive of 

 the Tropics than the cold country. At noon, in 

 the direct light of the sun, it stands out clear 

 and bold. And in the evening the slanting rays 

 of the sun outline its ridges and crevices in 

 perpendicular lines of light and shadow. At 

 its foot, in the early morning and at dusk, a 

 patch of white haze, the smoke of hundreds of 

 fires, reveals the presence of Santa Fe de la 

 Laguna, and to the east, at the extreme tip of the 

 lake, one sees the white walls of Quiroga. To 

 the west two more patches of haze are seen, the 

 first marking San Andres and the second San 

 Jeroninio Purenchecuaro. 



On the near side of the lake the detail is 

 greater. At a distance of perhaps 3 km. to the 

 west, just at the water's edge, stands a tall, slim 

 cedar, and beyond are seen the first houses of 

 Ichupio. This tiny Tarascan settlement, the only 

 one visible from the ydcatas, is the first of sev- 

 eral lakeside clusters collectively known as La 

 Vuelta. Beyond, passing in a canoe, one comes 

 first to Tarerio, and then Ucasanastacua. These 

 are, however, hidden from view by the bulk of 

 pine-capped Tariaqueri, whose gullied sides rise 

 700 m. above Tzintzuntzan, concealing the south- 

 ern two-thirds of the lake and all of the islands. 



Behind the ydcatas rises a lesser peak, Ya- 

 huaro, and because of its proximity the ravages 

 of erosion, the deep gulches and washes, are 

 strikingly brought home to the observer. Here, 

 his mind torn for a moment from the breath- 

 taking view, he realizes that he is face to face 

 with Mexico's number one problem. The cause, 

 but not the solution, is clearly visible. All of 

 the unforested slopes, however steep, are cover- 

 ed with a series of small fields, separated and 

 outlined by low stone walls. If the visitor 



