198 



INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 11 



of Quiroga, and would travel only 2 to 6 weeks, 

 principally in the tierra caliente of Michoacfin and 

 Guerrero, and occasionally as far as Colima or 

 Acapulco. The most common return cargoes con- 

 sisted of bananas, rice, hides, salt, pineapples, 

 coconuts, dried meat, and cheese (the order of 

 mention of these commodities approximates that 

 given us by a number of the older arrieros). The 

 number of animals used and the quantity of cargo 

 carried varied greatly according to the resources 

 of the different arrieros. According to several of 

 our informants, an average trip of about 22 days 

 netted in the neighborhood of $25. A com- 

 monly followed route led from Quiroga, through 

 Tzintzuntzan, Pdtzcuaro, Santa Clara (Villa Es- 

 calante), Ario de Resales, Puente Alto, Rancho 

 Nuevo, and on to Churumuco near the Balsas 

 River, and return was made by way of La Huacana, 

 Nuevo Urecho, and Ario de Rosales. Another 

 commonly used route went by way of Ario and 

 Nuevo Urecho and on across the Rio Grande de 

 Tepalcatepec to Carrizal de Arteaga where salt 

 was purchased, and returned via Tumbiscatio, 

 Nueva Italia (where rice was obtained), Lombar- 

 dia, and Nuevo Urecho. A third but less im- 

 portant route went to Acalpican on the coast of 

 Michoacdn (in what was a part of Guerrero until 

 1906), via Carrizal de Arteaga, whence pineapples 

 and salt were obtained. A fourth and quite 

 minor route went to Coahuayana and on to the 

 coast of Colima, which was also used by arrieros 

 seeking pineapples and salt. 



The third or modern period has witnessed the 

 death of the religious gremio, the cessation of 

 distant journeys, and conversion of practically all 

 of the arrieros into hired packers of local products 

 (chiefly grains, firewood, charcoal, adobes, tile, 

 and water) within the municipality and as far as 

 El Tigre, Chucandiro, and Teremendo. The 

 gremio de arrieros is said to have disappeared when 

 the oiled road entered Quiroga (al entrar la carre- 

 tera) or "some 4 or 5 years ago" (as of 1945), 

 which would be approximately between 1937 and 

 1941. Formerly it was one of the most important 

 of the guilds in Quiroga, and took care of the 

 festivities on some day in May in an especially 

 elegant fashion. Two religious functions were 

 paid for (a mass in the morning, and a rosary in 

 the afternoon), many firecrackers were exploded 

 during the day, a display of fireworks was made 

 in the evening, musicians were hired, and the 



members of the gremio had a banquet. The 

 profession of arriero persisted until the highway 

 was finished (oiled) ; and then the arrieros (so the 

 local accounts go) gave up completely, and aban- 

 doned, gave away, or sold all of their animals. 

 The few animals (burros) now owned by the 

 arrieros were purchased more recently after some 

 of the men had gotten over their initial despair. 

 No distant trips, even to Churumuco or Arteaga, 

 have been made for a number of years. At 

 present there are 23 arrieros (including sons, and 

 some old men). Their average income is $1 per 

 animal per day. 



LAKE TRANSPORTATION 



Since the lands immediately touching the lake 

 belong almost entirely to Santa Fe and Tzin- 

 tzuntzan, the people of Quiroga are not and never 

 have been users of the lake. They do not fish, 

 hunt ducks, cut tule, or own any type of water- 

 craft. However, from about 1888 until about 

 1918 some use was made of a lake steamer which 

 was launched at the Patzcuaro embarcadero in 

 1887. This ship, the Mariano Jimenez, reached 

 Veracruz in January of 1887 in 800 pieces. It 

 was floated at Patzcuaro May 5, 1887, as a two- 

 decked, 85-foot, steam-propelled vessel which 

 could make 4 knots an hour. For some 30 years 

 this ship made fairly regular daily cruises of the 

 lake which included stops for passengers and 

 freight at Ibarra, Charahuen, Erongaricuaro, San 

 Andres, and Quiroga. Between 1887 and 1889 

 the municipality of Quiroga constructed a cobble- 

 stoned highway (Calzada del Muelle) south from 

 Las Carreras to the lake shore, and erected a small 

 wharf {muelle). At present the road dwindles off 

 into weeds and fields near the lake, and no vestige 

 of the wharf remains. From about 1918 into the 

 1920's motorboats made regularly scheduled trips 

 from Patzcuaro to Quu-oga. Some of the Patz- 

 cuaro motorboats at present make chartered trips 

 to the Quiroga shore, but this is rare since the 

 passenger must wade ashore through the tule and 

 mud shallows and then has nearly a mile to walk 

 before reaching town. Very definitely Quiroga 

 is not a "lake community," although it is situated 

 within the lake basin and within sight of the lake. 



COMMUNICATIONS 



The mails, a telephone line, and private radio 

 receiving sets constitute the chief forms of com- 



