EMPIRES CHILDREN: THE PEOPLE OF TZINTZUNTZAN FOSTER 



123 



flavor for the mezcal. There is still half a belief 

 that eating lots of sweet foods, candies, and pi- 

 loncillo helps to ensure a high percentage of 

 sweet, and hence desirable, mezcal. In the words 

 of one mezcal maker, "es muy delicado el mez- 

 cal" ("mezcal making is tricky business"). 



In Tzintzuntzan, there are several teams of 

 four or five men who regularly make mezcal 

 throughout the season. Rights to exploit the hill- 

 side land on which the cactus grows are obtained 

 from individual owners. One mezcal maker says 

 that he and his associates paid a total of $55 to 

 various owners for the rights to sufficient land 

 for the entire season. Usually contracts are re- 

 newed year after year, since the plants must be 

 selected and cut when they begin to flower the 

 spring preceding the cooking. Usually the price 

 includes, in addition to money, a couple of 

 small hearts from each batch. The communal 

 lands of the Comunidad Indigena are also ex- 

 ploited. In practice, the president of this organ- 

 ization simply sells the rights as if it were his 

 own land; legally, the money should go into the 

 treasury of the Comunidad. 



Mezcal is either eaten as a between-meal 

 snack or, preferably, with atole. In the latter 

 case, the technique is to take a bite of mezcal, 

 chew it a little to extract the liquid, and then 

 take a drink of atole, swallowing all together 

 except the fibers, which are spat out. Mezcal 

 eating at best is messy; the strong dark-brown 

 liquid streams over the hands and dribbles down 

 the chin, until one looks like an inveterate to- 

 bacco chewer. Mezcal, taken with hot water, is 

 said to be a purge. 



The distilled tequilalike drink known as mez- 

 cal, made from this cactus, formerly was made 

 in Tzintzuntzan. License fees became so high 

 that the industry was taxed out of business. 



HOUSE BUILDING 



The census lists one full-time mason, and 

 eight who devote a part of their time to this 

 trade. Four individuals are part-time carpen- 

 ters. Though not listed in the census, there are 

 several individuals, mostly from the nearby Ta- 

 rascan villages, who make adobes during the dry 

 season. Since the bulk of the work in building 

 is in the making and laying of adobes and stones, 

 it is understandable that there should be fewer 

 carpenters than masons and adobe makers. Also, 



much of the carpentry work, such as doors and 

 window frames, is done in Patzcuaro or Qui- 

 roga, and the finished product brought to Tzin- 

 tzuntzan. Moreover, it must be borne in mind 

 that many individuals with other professions 

 are capable of helping in these also, for the 

 average Tzintzuntzeiio is a jack-of-all-trades. 

 Since barns and storage houses are lacking, the 

 construction of a home is the only building 

 worthy of mention. Stores are built in exactly 

 the same manner as houses, and in most cases 

 simply consist of an ordinary room with one or 

 two doors opening directly onto the street. 



Whether a house is large or small, elegant or 

 simple, the construction is much the same. All 

 are built with a view to long life, and many are 

 still in good condition after 100 or more years. 

 Jose Villagomez recently tore down a house to 

 make room for another. His father had purchas- 

 ed it 50 years earlier, at which time it was an 

 old house. Who knows, perhaps the house was 

 200 years old. And some of the adobe walls 

 were still so sound that he incorporated them in 

 the newT structure. 



A master mason is almost inevitably put in 

 charge of new construction. After the room 

 plan has been decided upon, a ditch 50 cm. 

 deep is dug for the foundation, and rock, hauled 

 from any nearby gully, is cracked with sledges 

 and laid in a mud mortar, each layer carefully 

 alined with twine. This rock foundation is car- 

 ried from 20 to 60 cm. above the ground, with 

 50 cm. as an average. Thus, rain and running 

 water in the streets will not affect the adobe 

 which follows above. The standard building 

 adobe in Tzintzuntzan is 50 by 30 by 10 cm. 

 Some larger ones 60 by 30 by 15 cm. are occa- 

 sionally used, and in massive constructions, es- 

 pecially in former times, an enormous block 

 100 by 30 by 25 cm. was known. A hole is 

 excavated in the yard of the builder and the 

 same earth put back with water and straw. The 

 earth and water are mixed with the straw in the 

 afternoon and allowed to stand and thicken until 

 the next morning. The mixture is placed in wood- 

 en molds of the desired size, the top smoothed 

 off" even with a stick, the mold removed, the in- 

 side wiped with a wet rag, and the next adobe 

 begun. Adobes are dried from 4 to 7 days flat, 

 and then 4 or 5 more days on edge before being 

 used. If not thoroughly dry, walls will crack. 

 Often they are stacked on edge when dry, under 



