"THE MAICA tiAN IJAIJA WED!r

NESDAY..

AT THE BULLFIGHT--"All matadores thrive on praise from the audience. The real showmen take care to make sure the horns almost scrape their bodies."

Taxco Typifies Mexican Life

By JANET WINKLEHAUS
Special to The Daily
TAXCO - The village of Tax-
co, pronounced Tas-co, located 100
miles from Mexico City, is typical
of the popular conception of Mex-
ican life.
Built on varying levels in the
hill sides, Taxco has no airfield,
and can be reached either by
train, or by means of a winding
road through the mountains.
By village law, no one is allowed
to construct a building of modern
design, but instead must conform
to a regulation building code. All
homes and shops are of rough
white plaster and have red tile
roofs. A single well, located in the
middle of the town square pro-
vides all of Taxco's residents with
water.
,The steep narrow cobblestone
streets make driving almost im-
possible, and many drivers have
ruined the transmissions on their
cars in an effort to tour the "easy
way."
Absence of traffic signals makes
it necessary for drivers to honk
their horns when approaching an
intersection.
Taxco, one of Mexico's leading
silver centers, has extensive show-
rooms, where native craftsmen
display their originally designed
silver products. Here one can buy
silver of 100 per cent purity --
taken right from the mine tto the
shop.
One of the leading tourist at-
tractions in the village is the
"Casa Fitueroa." Constructed in
the middle of the 18th century by
the Count Cadena, then magis-
trate of the district, it became
known as the "House of Tears."
This name was derived from the
Indians who were forced to pay


their fines by working on the
house.
During the following years, the
"Casa Figuero" proved indeed to
be a house of tears because of the
many sorrows that seemed to
plague its interior.
One of the descendents of the
Cadena family shot and killed his
daughter's suitor in the beginning
of the nineteenth century, and in
1935, a spinster who had bought
the home from the Cadenas, was
murdered by two workmen who
were seeking hidden treasure.
The house then in turn became
a reformatory, a mint, a home for
priests, and finally_ a grocery
warehouse. The second floor, now
a studio, housed a candle factory,
a cantina, and four families,
while the roof was used to raise
pigs.
In 1943, a Mexican artist, Fidel
Figueroa, s'eeking a large studio,

purchased the "House of Tears,"
and began to restore it.
Within the 26-room house he
found five secret recesses for hid-
ing treasure. The house originally
contained only two windows, both
of which opened upon a centrally
located patio. The exterior was
completely closed with solid doors,
admitting neither light nor air.
The "Casa Figuero," as'it is to-
day, is a museum containing many
fine oil paintings and Mexican art
objects. A large portion of the in-
terior is done in hand-painted tie.
The kitchen has the traditional
charioal stove and a massive sink
lined with steel bars, which was
once used as a treasure chest. The
dining room is furnished in Mex-
ican laquer made in Urapan.
The only modern touches in the
building's interior are found in
the electric lights and in the ca-
tina where the owner has installed'
a juke box.}

'U' GRADUATE:

Earl

Sayer

Stars in Play

Bullfights S
Down Mexic
By JANET WINKELHAUS
Special to The Daily
MEXICO CITY - Each year
70,000 tourists flock to. Mexico to
inspect evidences of its fine Aztec
and Spanish ancestry, and to loaf
in the sun to strains of the South
American cha cha cha.
Here one finds a friendly at-
mosphere and a fascinating cul-
ture which is a combination of
both new and old.
It is often. said, that the only
events that start on time in Mexi-
co City are the bullfights. Late ev-
ery Sunday afternoon, one can see
thousands of people streaming
past the large fountains into Plaza
Monumental Mexico, Mexico
City's magnificent bull ring.
Promptly at four o'clock a hush
falls over the crowd, and the pa-
rade of matadores begins.
All matadores thrive on praise
from the audience. The real show-
men take great care to make sure
the bull's horns almost scrape
their bodies.
It is considered great sport and
very daring for a matadore to get
on his knees and make a pass
with his cape, and then to get up
and walk away with 'his back to-
ward the bull.
The matadore who receives the
most "oles" from the crowd is the
one who shouts at the bull, makes
daring passes with his cape, and.
finally drives his sword deep into
the exhausted animal. This is the
matadore, who after the final kill-
ing, struts around the ring filling
his arms with flowers.
The formal bullfighting season
runs from October through April.
During the summer months, the
"Novilladas" or amateurs are giv-
en a chance to display their skills.
Shopping, of course, is the tour-
ist's delight. The rate of exchange,
12.5 pesos to the American dollar
enables every visitor to return to
his own country with a bag full of
souvenirs.
The small open silver shops,
which dominate every main thor-
oughfare offer elaborate arrays of
ewelr7' miniature tea services,
trays, and silver buckles, with
prices ranging from eight to over
2000 pesos.
The Mexicans are also famous
for their wood carving, and glass-
ware. Large wooden masks of Az-
tec gods adorn the walls of most
handicraft shops, and many

Recently appearing in an origi-
nal off-Broadway musical, "Com-
media dell' Arte," was University
graduate Earl J. Sayer, Jr.
The production, almost a true
Commedia popular in Italy in the
16th century, retained the stylized
costumes. The decor of the Bleek-
er Street Theatre was redone in
wild colors and murals to fit the
carnival spirit.
Sayer played the role of Flavio
in the show .that featured ad lib
dialogue built around 14 musical
production numbers.
Due to lack of financial backing,
"Commedia" was forced to close
after the second week.

tart on Time
o City Way




shelves are lined with green, blue
and yellow hand-blown glassware.
The University of Mexico, lo-
cated five miles from the center of
Mexico City is notable for its new
and modern buildings. The seven-
year-old campus was designed by
over 180 leading Mexican archi-
tects and engineers.
.Most of the classroom buildings
are glass and steel skyscrapers
surrounded by patterns of geo-
metrical landscaping. Some of the
more impressive structures fea-
ture giant colored murals, and
complicated designs in mosaic tile.
Once each year the School of
Architecture has an initiation
ceremony, for its freshmen,
through the main streets of Mex-
ico City. Over 200 students dressed
in assorted costumes parade down
Juarez Avenue riding horses, bi-
cycles, or foreign cars.
At the tail end of the parade,
three students, dressed in the cos-
tumes of the Spanish conquerors,
ride white horses. Gales of laugh-
ter can be heard from 'the large
groups of people, lining the
streets, who very frequently get
doused by buckets- of water or
chased by hooded knights swing-
ing black whips.
An hour's drive from Mexico
City brings the visitor to the Py-
ramids of Teotihuacah. Here one
finds the massive Pyramid of the
Sun, said to be larger than the
great Pyramid of Cheops, in
Egypt.
The Pyramid of the Sun, uncov-
ered within the last half century,
is of solid construction, and core-
tains no hidden rooms. Near this
structure lies the Pyramid of the
Moon, which is not yet completely
uncovered.
Approximately 20 large mounds
of earth in the surrounding area
are known to contain similar
structures.
Wle Given
Arctic Grant
Robert T. Wilce of the Botany
department has received a grant
in aid for a field project under
auspices of the Arctic Institute of
North America.
Wilce will undertake a study of
marine flora in the Strait of Belle
Isle (between Newfoundland and
Labrador).

EARL SAYER
...in the Commedia

I1111-H______________

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Values to $11.95
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ANN ARBOR BARGAIN DAYS
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Assorted Colors
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