¡Quélindo es Michoacan!

Of Infinite Charm

The Mexican people have a quiet charm and gentle dignity all their own. It is part of the national soul, an inherent racial characteristic that springs from courtly Spain and old civilizations such as the Toltec, Aztecs and Mayan. Call it what you will-manners, courtesy, breeding, bearing-you will find it alike in the well-bred gentleman and his lady or in the poor farmer an his family, tilling a field on the hillside. It's that friendly gesture that makes a casual introduction a ritual of honor received, honor bestowed. Graciousness clothes the little, everyday acts of living, making them important and beautiful. It's the warmth of a smile, the cordiality of a greeting. Goodbye isn't just goodbye: it's "Adios" or "God be with you!" Their language is replete with words and phrases both intimate and sincere, expressions of good will, deeply felt. Courtliness is a matter of the heart, and one of the charming qualities of the Mexican.

Youth and beauty amid the old-world charm that is Mexico. These pictures were taken at Rancho Del Artista, at Coyoacan, founded and operated as an art colony by Francisco Cornejo.

You pass the state of Michoacan (mee-cho-ah-cahn) traveling from Guadalajara to Mexico City. Here the Tarascan Indians live in all their simplicity and beauty. How beautiful, indeed, is Michoacan.

These are the farming people, living in countless little villages. They even till the hillsides and their fields climb mountains.

Modernity has come to some of the little villages in Michoacan, but in many places old methods of farming remain. Zamora and the capital, Morelia, are among the great cities of the Republic, beautiful places as befits such a beautiful countryside.