EMPIRES CHILDREN: THE PEOPLE OF TZINTZUNTZAN FOSTER 



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members of the town council sold plaza licenses, 

 it is hard to tell how much money was actually 

 collected. Tax records show that $451.10 final- 

 ly found its way to the books, of which $283.50 

 came from small stands selling fish, belts, sc- 

 rapes, food, and so forth, while $167.60 came 

 from the larger establishments — $15 each for 

 the merry-go-round and largest bingo stands, and 

 from $1 to $5 for moderate-sized stands, includ- 

 ing the folding tables of gamblers. Gambling 

 is illegal, though condoned, and gamblers' fees 

 are found on the books side by side with those 

 of the sellers of religious items. The following 

 description is a chronological account of the 

 fiesta, recorded at the time in diary form. 



Friday, February 2. The first outsiders begin to 

 arrive and stands to go up. though the official open- 

 ing of the fiesta is more than 48 hours away. Streets 

 are swept for the last time, and men doing their 

 faena, or obligatory work, are clearing grass away 

 from the main thoroughfares. 



Saturday, February 3. The activities of yesterday 

 continue with increased tempo. Tables and boards 

 are carried from houses to stands, tents go up, and 

 trucks of equipment and merchandise arrive. Most 

 local women are at home preparing alole, pozole. 

 tamales, and other foods. Each family expects many 

 visitors, and food must be awaiting their arrival. 

 The cargueros and members of Church organizations 

 consult with Padre Tovar about the decoration of 

 the church, and particularly the arrangement of the 

 jiicture of Rescate. This is the first fiesta since the 

 burning of the parish church last year, and everyone 

 feels slightly ill-at-ease. Some pessimists doubt the 

 success of the fiesta, but are forced to admit that 

 activities are up to normal. 



Sunday, February 4. This is the first day of the 

 fiesta proper. From noon on it is possible to eat a 

 wide variety of foods in the outdoor stands, the merry- 

 go-round is running, bingo and other gambling games 

 are going full swing, and animation is great. At Mass 

 Padre Tovar speaks briefly of the fiesta, warning 

 people of the dangers of drink, and urging them to 

 stay away from the cantinas and centers of vice. A 

 rosary for Monday afternoon and a great Mass on 

 Tuesday morning are announced, and all members 

 of religious orders are admonished to bring candles. 

 In the afternoon there is great consternation among 

 all authorities — neither of the bands has arrived at 

 the 4 o'clock hour stipulated in the contracts. Accord- 

 ing to custom, the municipal officials followed by 

 townspeople are to go to the edge of town to meet 

 the bands, and to escort them to the plaza. Tonight 

 the Ihuatzio musicians arrive quietly at 8:30, step- 

 ping off^ a truck at the plaza itself, while the members 

 from Nocosepu straggle in separately around 9 

 o'clock. Indignation is great, and there is talk of 

 sending them all to jail for breach of contract. Final- 

 ly, the "magnificent meeting" takes place in the form 



of a march around the plaza, one band stationing 

 itself in the kiosk, and the other under the portales 

 of a store, to play alternately for most of the night. 

 From now on musicians will receive little sleep and 

 much drink. $50 has been allocated for brandy for 

 Ihuatzio, and $30 for Nocosepu. And, in spite of the 

 priest's wise warning, the cantinas are well filled and 

 the tragadieces ("swallow dimes," i. e., juke boxes) 

 are blaring forth their refrains. Prostitutes from 

 Patzcuaro and Zacapu have rented quarters just off 

 the plaza. 



Monday, February 5. At 3 o'clock in the morning 

 the two bands, accompanied by the president and 

 town council, and various cargueros, go through the 

 streets to Ojo de Agua where they are greeted by the 

 family heads, who offer them a pozole with much 

 brandy. The powder for rockets has been purchased 

 by the families of Ojo de Agua, and after this early 

 breakfast it is carried to the town hall, each band 

 with its followers making many detours through the 

 streets. Here the powder, in the presence of all, is 

 divided, and half sent with one band to the priest, 

 for Church uses, and half remaining in the town hall, 

 for civil use. During the day it will be made into 

 the rockets which are indispensable in any fiesta. 



In the morning the red, white, and green crepe 

 paper decorations are cut in patterns and stretched 

 across the streets, and over doors and windows. Busi- 

 ness is brisk and the streets are crowded. Jesus Pena, 

 recently returned after 6 months as a bracero in the 

 United States, is cashing in on a new wrinkle he has 

 picked up — the pay toilet, and a $0.05 latrine has 

 been ])artitioned off in his patio. Unfortunately, to 

 most visitors this seems to be a needless expense, and 

 already one must watch one's step, even in the plaza 

 itself. It is not chance that the end of the fiesta sees 

 the greatest outbreak of illness of the entire year. 

 The sellers of religious items are doing well in the 

 atrium, and the first penitents have arrived. In time 

 of need, danger, or illness one may vow to the Res- 

 cate that, if saved, one will crawl on knees the 200 m. 

 from the atrium entrance to the church and the altar 

 with the picture, carrying a lighted candle. All day 

 today these individuals could be observed, supported 

 at each elbow by a helper, while other helpers place 

 serapes in the path to lessen bruising from rocks and 

 gravel. This form of flagellation seems limited to 

 women, as contrasted to the male flagellation of Good 

 Friday, in which only men take part. 



Two hawkers of religious music are hard at work 

 selling their wares — printed songs about the history 

 of the Virgin of Guadalupe and "Las Nuevas Mana- 

 nitas al Seiior del Rescate." One plays a guitar, both 

 sing. Both songs are interrupted after each verse for 

 the commercial. "The Virgin of Guadalupe for only 

 $0.10; here you can get it." The "Mafianitas" brings 

 $0.20. More verses and commercials, but sales go 

 poorly. "We are from the Archbishop of Morelia (all 

 hats are tipped). His Holiness wants you to know 

 that he is coming tomorrow afternoon at 3 o'clock, 

 and that each of you should have a copy so that you 

 can sing. The Mananitas, only $0.20 each." The 



