166 



INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 6 



children, perhaps breakfasts herself at the same 

 time, sends them off to school, and then prepares 

 almuerzo for Vicente when he returns in the 

 middle of the morning. For all families on a 

 three-meals-a-day schedule, the heaviest meal is 

 at midday, between 1 and 3 o'clock. This pattern 

 of a moderate breakfast, heavy dinner at a rela- 

 tively late hour, and light supper is as familiar 

 in urban Mexican centers as in the country. 



Table 34 reveals that, among families which 

 can afford the luxury of considerable variation 

 in food, each meal is far from stabilized for 

 each eater. Thus, at noon on February 14, Vi- 

 cente ate an enormous meal of rice, fish, broad- 



Table 35 summarizes the data of table 33, 

 showing the total possible number of meals in 

 the 27-day period (reckoned three to a day), 

 the number actually eaten, and the frequency 

 of consumption of certain foods. The prepon- 

 derance of beans and tortillas as the diet of the 

 lower income groups is apparent, as well as the 

 very limited quantities of other foods. Striking 

 also is the fact that the members of these fam- 

 ilies eat only about half as frequently as those 

 of the higher income brackets. Wealthier fam- 

 ilies, except for the lack of fruit and fresh 

 vegetables, have a diet which seems basically 

 sound. The lack of these items is more apparent 



beans, beans, and tortillas. Nati omitted rice 

 and fish, otherwise eating the same. Gaudencio 

 ate eggs and tortillas, Teresa fish and tortillas, 

 and Consuelo eggs, beans, and tortillas. In this 

 case, the differences were accounted for simply 

 by personal preferences. At other times, and 

 in other families as well, some foods may be 

 limited — perhaps leftovers from a previous 

 meal — so that there is not enough to go around. 

 Certain foods, beyond the ubiquitous beans and 

 tortillas, tend to be eaten in cycles of several 

 days at a stretch. Thus, bread, meat, fish, atole, 

 coffee or nopales may appear for two or three 

 days, followed by a week's absence. Sometimes 

 this is due to a slightly larger than ordinary 

 purchase, which leaves enough for a second day. 

 More often it is again a question of taste: a food 

 which has not been eaten for a week or longer 

 strikes the fancy of the family, approval is ex- 

 pressed, and if finances permit, the housewife 

 repeats the successful meal until her family is 

 tired of it. 



than real. Actually, considerable quantities of 

 cabbage, tomatoes, onions, and chiles are con- 

 sumed, usually in a meat stew. Squash is more 

 commonly eaten from August to late winter, 

 when it ripens on vines and while it is still 

 fresh, and chayotes likewise are out of season 

 in March. Fruit, as will be seen, is commonly 

 eaten between meals. A full stomach whenever 

 the individual feels the need is characteristic of 

 these families, while actual hunger is the lot 

 of the others. Members of the upper brackets 

 eat when they want to; those of the lower brack- 

 ets when there is food available. 



A good deal of nourishment is taken between 

 meals in the form of odd snacks, purchases in 

 markets, and the like. Fruit, for example, never 

 appears on a menu, yet considerable quantities 

 of oranges, pears, peaches, bananas, capulines, 

 mangoes, and zapotes are consumed. These are 

 thought of, not as food, but as special delicacies, 

 and are eaten when available. Sugarcane and 

 peanuts are great favorites in many families. 



