EMPIRES children: THE PEOPLE OF TZINTZUNTZAN FOSTER 



279 



prepared to meet the situation. My proffered 

 cigar is accepted, with the ditty: 



El que chupa puro, ladron seguro, 



Y si sigue ckupando, sigue robando. 



"He who smokes (lit. "sucks") a cigar, a rob- 

 ber, sure. 



And if he continues smoking, he will continue 

 robbing." 



After a few puffs Vicente laughingly an- 

 nounces that j* although he is glad to try a cigar, 

 he obviously cannot allow himself to be con- 

 sidered a robber, and throws it away. The ditty 

 was learned, he says, while on a trip through 

 the tierra caliente. Some of the local muleteers 

 rolled crude cigars from the loads of tobacco 

 which they were carrying. When someone asked 

 for too many, the head man cautioned him in 

 this way. 



XI. 



The fiesta of Rescate is well under way. Je- 

 sus Pena has thought up two ways to make mon- 

 ey. The first consists of a couple of outhouses, 

 the only pay toilets the town has ever seen. The 

 second is more successful. He has an enclosed 

 patio, just behind his cantina, off the plaza. It 

 is centrally located, and just the right size for 

 cockfights. Don Pancho, the tax collector, is 

 the only local man with fighting cocks, and he 

 is to be met by several aficionados, fans from 

 Patzcuaro. An octagon-shaped enclosure 6 m. 

 across with a fence 70 cm. high has been erect- 

 ed, shaded by a canvas on poles. A crudely 

 lettered sign on one side reads "Tzintzuntzan," 

 and on the other, "Patzcuaro." Each cock is 

 carried in a flour sack, and each owner has a 

 small wooden box with trays, which holds 

 string, knives, and other accessories. It is the 

 first cock fight I have seen, and I watch with 

 interest. The left spur is cut off with a minia- 

 ture hack saw about 1 cm. from the leg. Around 

 it is tied the botana, a felt and leather glove 

 which protects a couple of centimeters of leg, 

 and covers the stump. It also is the base to 

 which the knives are tied. These are, curiously, 

 measured by inches, and each box with a full 

 set has a series of five: 



Punzon, a short point. 



Cuarta pulgada, a quarter inch. 



Media pulgada, a half inch. 



Una pulgada, an inch. 



Pulgada y media, an inch and a half. 



Before the knives, one on the left leg only, 

 are tied in place, the cocks are presented to 

 each other, held by the owners, and lightly 

 beaten on the chests to arouse their anger. Each 

 knife has two prongs on the butt, which are 

 lashed to the botana, so that the curved blade, 

 razor sharp, curves upward and inward. While 

 being tied each blade is covered with a sheath 

 to protect fingers from a sudden kick. With 

 guards still in place, the cocks are allowed to 

 strut, to show their good qualities, and to 

 give time for placing of bets. These are made 

 guards are removed and the birds fly at each 

 informally between individuals. Finally the 

 other, half on the ground, half off. The activity 

 lasts only about 30 seconds, and both birds 

 usually are wounded. Presently, barring a lucky 

 thrust, both are lying on the ground, pecking 

 at each other. At this point the owners pick 

 them up, take mouthfuls of aguardiente, and 

 spray it on the heads of the birds, partially 

 reviving them so that they again can fly at each 

 other. Few birds die in the ring, but the mor- 

 tal wounds appear during the first few seconds. 

 After that, it is a question of rate of bleeding 

 and endurance. But the element of chance re- 

 mains down to the last second: a dying and 

 badly beaten bird, in his death convulsions, 

 may strike the jugular vein of a little-injured 

 apparent victor, striking it down a split second 

 before the first bird expires. 



XII. 



"Nothing succeeds like success," goes the old 

 saying. In Tzintzuntzan, this could be para- 

 phrased, "Nothing is maliciously envied like 

 success." Jose Villagomez has bought a new 

 truck, a 12-year-old Chevrolet. In spite of its 

 battered condition, it limps into town under its 

 own power, and is delivered to Jose's front 

 door. Jose spent many years in the United 

 States, and has decided that the town should 

 have its own transportation. He will be the en- 

 trepreneur. His analysis of the need is accu- 

 rate. The few busses which run from Morelia 

 to Patzcuaro are entirely inadef|uate for the traf- 

 fic, and passengers often are passed by and left 

 standing in the road. Particularly on Fridays 



