Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-08-05
By JAMES M and
LINDEN s. BLUE

There was going to be some
sweat on this takeod; We we're
some 1000 feet above sea level
high In the Oaxacan Mountain
ranges Of Southern Mexico. and
our runway was somewhat less
than 900 feet.
Reviving the engine up to full
power at the highest end of what
had been made an airstrip but
four hours earlier, the brakes
were released and our single
engine Tri-Pacer swung around
for the shortest Of short takeoffs.
Our weight load was maximum
gross. When we had covered
three-fourth Of the field the air
speed indicator had only begun
to register 40 m,p.h., with an
airspeed Of SO m.p.h. necessary
to be airborne. While scores Of
Mexican Indians looked on, our
nosewheel cleared the ground
just as we reached the end Of
the plateau. We had not broken
from the runway-it had broken
from us. but by now we had
sufficient airspeed to begin
climbing.
Not on Aerial Charts
1t takes quite an extraordinary
attraction to warrant the hazards
of landing on a short plateau
nestled 1000 feet high In the
Oaxacan ranges. and 1t was
exactly such an attraction which
brought us to a place called To-
tontapec, which was not indi-
Gated on our aerial charts. Lit
tie Tontontapec is q city Of
nearly 1000 Mexican Indians
built on the side Of a 9.000-foot
mountain and surrounded by
some Of the highest and most
Enthusiastically beautiful mountains
in Mexico. The town is three
days by burro from the nearest
settlement Of any size in South
ern Mexico.
After landing we approached
the excited gathering around
the plane with our mediocre
Spanish, which didn't register
these Indians speak a language
all their own. Soon, however,
the president Of the town intro
duced himself in good Spanish
and we learned such things as
their agriculture products (Which
are almost entirely grown for
local consumption due to their
isolation and lack of tranSporta-
ton facilities) and the particular
type Of alcohol fermented for
local consumption. This Indian
fiesta drink is made from the
Juice Of crushed sugar cane and
is used with considerable free
dom by everyone during fiesta
times (of which there are about
two a week. and by some all
the time.
Among the real celebrities Of
Tontontapec are the players in
the town band, they play during
ell the flestas. funerals and we'd
dings. In return for these serv-
ices the town players" are
exempted from having to par
ticipate In any town labor"
(such as clearing a trail or i'm
proving our "airstrip") and are
entitled to all the fermented
cane Juice they can drink.
The poorer Indians Of the
town live In Sngle-room reed
huts with thatch roofs. tend a
small corn patch. live from day
to day and hand to mouth.
while the more fortunate solid
bourgeois families wear sandals
and have one or two room adobe
huts with tile roofs. A days
earnings Gf not always for q
hard days workD for an I'M
skilled Indian is about I pesos
CSC cents United States), while
a skilled worked will earn around
q dollar a day.
Not Really Poor
Yet these Indians do not seem
10 be really poor; they all seem
quite happy. have plenty TO
eat, always have a roof Of some
sort over their heads and live
. in isolation among some the
most beautiful mountains in the
world. Their daily diet provides
nutrient. II not variety: Beans
and tortillas serve for two square
, meals. beans and tortillas and
corn for the third.
But even in the mountains Of
Oaxaca. isolation has its limits.
In the town presidents ONCE
there was an old Remington
typewriter on one Of the two
tables. and a Coleman gas Lam
tern for light at night. An old
brass bugle and a picture Of the
Mexican flag hung on the wall.
When We asked about electricity.
We were told that there was no
electric lighting. but that a gas
oline-powered generator was
used for operating electric pho
nogrsphs and public address
system during the fiestas.
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