Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-10
YOYO CRAZE TAKES
MEXICO BY STORM
Beauties of Comitan Lure
Traveller Into Mountain
Region.
BIZ JUNIUS b. WOOD.
greciaI Correspondence of the Chicago
Daily News Foreign Service. Copy
riSht, 1880. by the Chicago Daily
kpWs-

srefisI c2ggssDSnasnes the Chicago
Da risht ses 1850 Sg the oSicaso DSg
News, Inc.
CONTAIN, Mexico.-"Why should
20 to Comitan?" 1 asked that after
Che suggestion had registered from
frequent repetitions in Tapachula.
ITO see the beautiful women was
always the answer
That answer, which was invariable,
probably originated when Comitan
was six days ride away, up hills, down
in valleys, winding up around more
mountains and finally up, up, up to
the ancient town. After that much
mountain navigation on a mule
travellers judgment might be lax and
would accept a hot tamale for an ice
cream cone.
1 had been told the same about the
women of Tehauntepac, and while they
are 1.-the and beautiful, Mexico has
other beautiful women and not so far
away. However, Comitan could be
reached and duty to art, future tour
list travel. friendly relations between
nations and natural curiosity made
the trip necessary. But 1 fooled them.
] went by airplane, only one hour,
and in such a short time person
will not forget what a beautiful woman
should look like.
Planters Now Use Planes.
The plane scared off the sunny
field, up through haze of clouds, and
the mountains we're ahead as if we
were coming out of a bowl. Yellow
trees. like scattered aSters, were on
their sides but the ridges were bare
and brown. More valleys, more ridges,
flew past below, thin lines of zigzag
trails to their tops, once hut high
on a corner, and green in the valleys,
big houses around bare concrete dry
ing floors and rows of little hutS in
straight lines for the workers. The
coffee planters and their families,
mostly Germans, now come home by
airplane where, until this year, it took
them days over the trails.
We eiided down into a valley with
river winding beneath, then up again.
following the ridge and climbing, until
the altimeter registered 10000 feet
When we came back that afternoon it
was up to $4,000 before Pilot James L.
Griffin could find enough holes to drop
through three ceilings of clouds and
then we came out as Huehuetan and
followed the railroad Is miles to Tapa-
chuia. A gossamer waterfall broke into
spray down 1000 feet of bare rock.
zocoltenaga lay in a green valley on
our left, then over another sun-dried
ridge of scrub trees and a big brown
plain with patches of fertile green, the
white churches, straight streets and
tree-lined plaZas of Comitan were be-
low
People Are of Light Complexion.
An automobile took me from the
field to the only hotel. The air of the
high altitude was fresh, cool and in
MIGRATING after torrid Tapachula. The
shady side of a street is always cool
and it shows in the people. more
sprightly and lighter In complexion
than the lowlanders. It was not I'M
til I started to wander through the
town that ! discovered sidewalks and
street pavements were all of cobble-
stones, possible designed to discourage
the wearing of shoes with heels, or any
shoes.
Comitan is one Of those towns that
are different, clean and picturesque,
vines and flowers in front of the homes
and blends so numerous that it does
not seem like Mexico. A stout young
blond and another of less weight were
playing yoyo from a second story bal
cony, where height requires more skill.
Everybody YoyOs Now.
Yoyo has taken Mexico by storm.
Commerce has improved over the
wooden ball with a groove, which the
Filipinos and South Sea islanders gave
whistles family as it hobs up and down
is on the market Chauffeurs yoyo
through Car window and the flock of
bootblacks who with beggars were the
most active of CONTAINS population
were so busy yoyoing that a person
wearing shoes could sit in the plaza
without continuously refusing a shine.
In Oaxaca I ran into a street paving
gang where the foreman, the time
keeper and the pilot of the steam roller
were holding a yoyo competition while
q dozen others leaned on their brooms
and watched. Today is Sunday in
Comitan, and the city employees are not
yoyoing on their own time.
Through the town was a tinkle of
bells, sometimes near and again in the
distance. Burros passed on half trot
two small half-round kegs strapped on
each side-the city water works. 9th
ers, more artistocratic, had lattice
work like a section of mail boxes strap
ped over their backs and in each
pigeonhole was bottle of pop, deliver
ing to refreshment stores and collecting
the empties.
Indians Indulge in Spirits.
In addition to ordinary people the
Indians gave a local touch all their
own. They are short, swarthy and
unkempt. They stuck together in
family parties, men Flooding up the
hills into town bent almost double
with immense loads on their backs, held
by strap around their foreheads, and
the women carrying babies and stop
ping at every door to beg. Most of
them were considerably lighter in body
and spirit when they left. The town
. produces a fiery brandy known as
comiteco, and aguardiente helps out.
The men wear a two-piece suit with
short trousers above the knee-per-
haps they invented "shorts'-and en-
broidery around the bottom One
homeward-bound party was in front of
cantina, the woman squatted against
the wall and the men on the sidewalk
soiling their white panties, tears sream-
ing down their faces and all wailing
as If broken hearted.
Town Has Many Statues.
At the hotel a smiling, barefoot waiter,
who changed the photograph record
between every course, his two-piece
suit of blue and white plaids an inch
square, saw that I was filled up. The
big plaza with band stand as large
as dance floor livened UP as the sun
started to drop. 1t has a statue of
Juarez in bronze with a Masonic en-
blem, gilded one of Hidalgo in priest