QUIROGA: a MEXICAN MXINICrPIO — BRAJSTD 



193 



Items sold in the Quiroga market, December to June — Con. 



Other items— Continued 



Trousers. Handkerchiefs. 



Huaraches. Sashes. 



Shoes. Belts. 



Purses. Napkins. 



Needles and pins. Toy guitars. 



Scissors and knives. Dolls. 



Threads and yarns. Other toys of wood, terra 



Mirrors. cotta, etc. 



Combs. Glass. 



Palm raincoats. Religious pictures. 



Blankets. Cheap jewelry. 



Shawls. Etc. 

 Shirts. 



The origins of commodities produced within the 

 Patzcuaro Basin could be determined rather 

 readily, but many items purchased from whole- 

 salers in Morelia, Patzcuaro, Tacambaro, etc. 

 could not be traced farther. Most of the vege- 

 tables were raised in the lake lowlands near 

 Tzintzuntzan, Chapultepec, Santa Fe, and Patz- 

 cuaro; small quantities were raised in Quiroga; 

 jicamas, peanuts, and sweetpotatoes came chiefly 

 from the State of Guanajuato; potatoes came in 

 part from the VaUey of Toluca; chile peppers 

 came from the Patzcuaro Basin, the tierra caliente 

 to the south, Querendaro and Chucandiro to the 

 north, and the States of Aguascalientes, Guana- 

 juato, and San Luis Potosi; garlic was purchased 

 wholesale in Morelia and Patzcuaro and also 

 came from Panindicuaro ; onions were produced 

 in the basin, purchased from jobbers in Morelia 

 and Patzcuaro, and obtained from Chucandiro 

 and Panindicuaro; sour tunas came chiefly from 

 the Morelia area; and sesame seed came from the 

 Balsas Basin. Most of the temperate and some 

 of the subtropical fruits came from the Patzcuaro 

 Basin and the Tarascan sierra. Most of the 

 tropical fruits were attributed to Patzcuaro, 

 Tacambaro, and Ario de Rosales, although in most 

 of these cases the actual origin was from communi- 

 ties in the valleys and slopes leading down to the 

 tierra caliente or in the heart of the tierra caliente, 

 such as La Huacana, San Pedro Jorullo, Apatz- 

 ingan, and Taretan. Bananas also came from 

 Veracruz and Tabasco; pineapples came from 

 Guerrero, Veracruz, and Oaxaca; coconuts came 

 from coastal Guerrero as well as from the Balsas 

 Basin; most of the oranges came from the Alonte- 

 morelos district in Nuevo Le6n; the melons were 



from Guanajuato State and the watermelons 

 came from the tierra caliente, and sugarcane was 

 brought in from both the south and the north 

 (Chucandiro, etc.). Most of the dried beef and 

 the cheese originated in the tierra caliente. The 

 other foodstuffs came principally from the northern 

 lake communities, especially Tzintzuntzan and 

 Santa Fe. The other items had quite varied 

 origins: metates from San Nicolas Obispo (about 

 12 miles to the east at the foot of the Cerro del 

 Aguila) ; lime from Etucuaro el Grande (south of 

 Acuitzio) ; chocolate beaters, wooden spoons, and 

 rebozos from Paracho ; fire fans of tule and of wheat 

 straw from Santa Fe and Quiroga; cheap china- 

 ware (chiefly Amfora and Favorita marks) from 

 Mexico City; glass from Mexico City, Puebla, 

 and Guadalajara; enameled ware and oil lamps 

 from Monterrey; baskets from Ihuatzio and 

 Capacho; utilitarian and some decorative potteiy 

 from Tzintzuntzan, Santa Fe, Capula, Sipiajo, 

 and Dolores Hidalgo; jicaras and bules from 

 Uruapan and San Pedro Jorullo; most of the folk 

 medicines from the tierra caliente; canvas from 

 Sal va tierra in Guanajuato; woolens and cottons 

 from the Federal District, Queretaro, Guana- 

 juato, Puebla, and Veracruz States; straw hats 

 from Jaracuaro and Sahuayo; etc. 



By 8 o'clock in the morning the market was in 

 full swing, and by 3 o'clock in the afternoon most 

 of the people had left. On the basis of checking 

 ordinary Sunday markets (not markets that coin- 

 cided with important festivals) we concluded that 

 there seemed to average between 70 and 90 venders 

 (not counting members of a family who might 

 assist in selling). In addition to the venders in 

 the market there were many individuals who sold 

 their commodities directly to wholesale and retail 

 merchants in Quiroga. We were not able to make 

 an adequate check of such individuals. Also, on 

 Sundays there was an increase in the number of 

 people who peddled their wares through the streets 

 and in the number of miscellaneous puestos in the 

 arcades and on some of the sidewalks away from 

 the market plaza. The ease and rapidity of bus 

 communication between Quiroga and Morelia and 

 Patzcuaro has greatly increased the niunber of 

 traveling merchants who handle assorted wares 

 ranging from cheap jewelry and toys to ready- 

 made clothing. 



