QUIROGA: a MEXICAN MTJNICIPIO — BRAND 



221 



bus lines, and a modern primary school. Most of 

 the people of Santa Fe are bilingual, and it is 

 merely a matter of how strong the local forces 

 are which perpetuate the Tarascan along with the 

 Spanish. 



RECREATION 



Probably the outstanding "recreations" are the 

 religious-social festivals which have been men- 

 tioned previously. Also, the weekly markets, the 

 fetching of water, and the washing of clothes at 

 some spring or water hole afford the women and 

 girls combinations of work and pleasiu-e in which 

 the pleasure is provided by the opportunity to 

 visit and to gossip. The campcsinos obtain the 

 equivalent social pleasures going to and from work 

 in the fields and woods. Furthermore, a great 

 many of the men congregate in off-hours in the 

 two pool halls and the fom' cantinas, and to a 

 lesser extent in the barbershops. However, during 

 our entire stay in Quiroga we saw relatively few 

 drunks and very few loafers. 



For no good reason Quiroga has neither a band 

 nor an orchestra, and whenever such are needed 

 the musicians must be brought in from Patzcuaro 

 or such communities as Teremendo, Ihuatzio, San 

 Jer6nimo, and San Andrfe. Consequently, al- 

 though Quhoga has a pleasant plaza with a kiosk, 

 there is no formal serenata (evening promenade 

 and opportunity for courting to the strains of 

 occasional music). However, on many evenings 

 and especially on Sundays there is some promenad- 

 ing in the Plaza Principal, punctuated by pur- 

 chases at nearby stands and booths of foods, 

 soft drinks, and ices. Most of the music heard in 

 Quiroga is provided by the 6 sinfanolas (juke 

 boxes), 62 radios, and 9 phonographs. The rate 

 of increase of the radio is indicated by the fact 

 that in 1939 there were only 28 radios in the entire 

 municipality. There are four pianos in Quiroga, 

 but as we made no attempt to census other 

 musical instruments we can only sm-mise from 

 observation that portable stringed instruments 

 (violins and guitars) are the most numerous. 

 Also, there are a few drums and flutes used in 

 connection with religious ceremonies, although 

 we were given to understand that flutists and 

 drummers were brought in on occasion. These 

 latter instruments can be considered as derived 

 from Tarascan prototypes since wooden and skin 

 drums, flutes, ocarinas, trumpets, and rattles were 



important in pre-Conquest Michoacan, and the 

 Relaci6n de Michoacan mentions the existence 

 of a chief of musicians. In addition to the cere- 

 monial dances (Moros y Cristianos, Santiago, 

 Toritos, etc.) there are a few public dances each 

 year. However, most of the dances are com- 

 paratively small private affairs. The music played 

 is a combination of native Mexican, European, 

 and North American pieces. The yoimger people 

 seem to like American dance music, although we 

 feel that their own dance music is superior. It was 

 interesting to note in 1945 that the "Raspa," 

 which was currently popular, was considered to 

 be of North American origin although we had 

 encountered it years earlier in the American 

 border states where it was considered a Mexican 

 importation. 



Competitive group sports are quite popular at 

 present in Quiroga. Apparently this is a develop- 

 ment since 1935. The town and schools of 

 Quiroga boast of five soccer teams, four baseball 

 teams, one basketball team, and one volleyball 

 team. The leading football (soccer) team is the 

 Vasco de Quiroga which more than holds its own 

 in competition with teams from larger centers 

 such as Patzcuaro and Morelia. A footbaU field 

 has been cleared west of town, and matches open 

 and free to the public are played here. Ball 

 games, of course, are no novelty to the peoples of 

 Michoacan, since the ancient Tarascans played 

 a form of the juego de pelota which was so impor- 

 tant prehistorically over central and southern 

 Mexico. We were unable to locate a prehistoric 

 ball court {querehta or queretaro) in the area, 

 although one presumably was located near Ihuat- 

 zio, and in 1941 we saw one in the northwestern 

 part of the State near Jiqudpan. The juego de 

 pelota was outlawed in the early colonial period. 



Traditional Spanish sports include buU fights, 

 cock fights, and horse races. These were avidly 

 followed in Quiroga during the nmeteenth century 

 and until the Madero Revolution. At present 

 horse races are rare (the number and quality of 

 the horses in the area have declined smce the 

 revolution), and the dirt track formerly used is 

 now the paved street knowTi as Las Carreras. 

 Although real corridas de toros were held occasion- 

 ally in the latter part of the nineteenth century, 

 and a formal Plaza de Toros was erected on the 

 Calle de la Reforma in 1900, at present there is 

 only the rustic form of bull baiting which forms a 



