Dos Cabezas: Mexico's Beautiful Mansion — In Scottsdale

An Arizona Institution An International Landmark

In Scottsdale, Arizona there is a street named "Fifth Avenue," which could be lost in any corner of a city block of the internationally famous Fifth Avenue in the city of New York. Scottsdale's Fifth Avenue is a remarkable capsule world of rare, quality establishments reflecting various degrees of above average standards in the creation, presentation and marketing aspects of merchandising. In the inner sanctum of Fifth Avenue's world are several establishments, each singularly unique, in a special field. Because of the nature and character of business and the people involved, they must be classified as examples of "fine art in business" institutions. Outstanding in that select elite group of Fifth Avenue institutions is one identified by the name "Dos Cabezas." We can state that in all the world there is no establishment to compare with "Dos Cabezas."

Dos Cabezas of Scottsdale, Arizona must be ranked with Gumps of San Francisco, Van Cleef and Arpeles of New York, Abercrombie and Fitch, Fifth Avenue, New York, F. J. Cooper of Philadelphia, Harrod's of London, and the best of Nieman Marcus of Dallas, Texas. In the cold language of commercial nomenclature, the listing reads: Dos Cabezas, Mexican Importers. To an international clientele distinguished for its critical taste, Dos Cabezas is the fountainhead of Mexican influence transformed into a degree of perfection in terms of professional creative decor. For more than twenty years, a fairy-tale princess we know as Newey De Mille has guided, inspired and rewarded a devoted staff and an adoring clientele with a spell of almost sublime enchantment. The key to Mrs. De Mille's success is an uncanny sense of extraordinary extra-sensory perception (E.S.P.) applied to merchandising. Not everyone has the uncanny sense of recognizing a fine product. The person so gifted with that awareness knows at a glance what is quality, what is genuine, and why it is precious or significant. The supreme zenith of the "one-in-a-million" merchant is reached when in the time it takes to blink an eye, the source, the product and the client evolve as one consummate thought. Newey De Mille knows her clientele and she knows their resources. She knows the source of her wares, and she knows no other credo than "Primera classe especial."

For a client in Boston, the people of Dos Cabezas will search the market places of Mexico for a one-of-a-kind crowned lantern. Or for a "dear friend" 'in Charlottesville, Vir-

Mexico's Beautiful Mansion-in Scottsdale DOS CABEZAS

Arizona's internationally known native born artist, Ted DeGrazia was our travelling companion on our journey through Mexico last May and June. Ted has lived, studied and worked in Mexico. He loves the land and the people. And he loves the Indians deeply. The poorer the Indian, the greater is DeGrazia's rapport with him. Ted is a gentle man with a soft voice and soul searching eyes. He but needs to approach the Indian man, woman or child and no matter how dreamy-eyed they seem, when he speaks they startle themselves awake. Eyes sparkle and faces wrinkle into shy smiles. Children are his love of loves and by some mysterious polarity known to God, dogs and children . . . they sense it and once a confrontation is made the image of one is marked in the heart of the other for life. We do not offend by "stealing" photographs, DeGrazia makes no face to face sketches. We are honored to present a series of paintings of Ted's remembrances of Mexico's Indians.None of DeGrazia's original paintings are painted for sale. They are displayed for the education and pleasure of the people who visit The Gallery In The Sun, 6300 North Swan, Tucson, Arizona. A limited edition of special prints are reproduced and the proceeds of their sale is placed in trust for some worthy benefit.

"Huicholito" will go into a special edition printing with all donations going to The Mental Health Foundation of San Diego, California.

The Huicholes are Indians from the mountain regions of Nayarit. In order to win the favor of their deities the children make offerings of "ojos de Dios", gods eyes, sticks bound together in the form of a cross and decorated at each end with squares woven of bright colored wool.

Editor's Note: The birds pictured on pages 24 and 25 were introduced to us by Catharine Noble, a dear and wonderful friend. When she learned of our special Mexico edition we received her personal, autographed copy of John S. Dunning's Portraits Of Tropical Birds, an exquisite publication published by Livingston Publishing Company, Wynnewood, Pennsylvania. Mr. Dunning had been on one of Miss Nobles Mexico South guided study tours and had preceded his autograph with "Best wishes to Catharine Noble who is making a contribution to tropical bird conservation.John S. Dunning is Field Collaborator, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology and Research Associate. The Florida State University. Since he retired from business he set himself the goal of photographing as many neotropical birds as time and effort allows. Mr. Dunning's photographs speak eloquently for his mastery of the technical and mechanical phases of his avocation. Miss Noble wrote John Dunning and obtained for us the original transparencies from which our reproductions were made. Arizona Highways Magazine is proud and honored to present a special selection of birds seen and photographed in their native habitats, which are on the routes of Catharine Noble's Mexico South Tours. And what are Mexico-South Tours? No one is more qualified to answer that question than Catharine Noble.

MEXICO-SOUTH TOURS is a unique and intimate way to visit Mexico. We start as a group of strangers who wish to see and know Mexico and its people. Traveling together in our own motor coach as a private party, we make many Mexican friends and are sometimes invited to their homes. Stops are made when a guest wishes to take a picture, identify a bird, pick flowers, gather weeds, hunt rocks, or just look at the view. On board are books, maps, and reference materials dealing with the regions through which we travel. The number of guests is limited to a maximum of twelve. Our coach is equipped with rest room and we carry hot and cold drinks and tidbits for snacks along the way.

Cost of each tour varies with length of stay, season, and extra events scheduled along the route. Accommodations are first class or the best available, two persons per room, twin beds, private bath. Cuisine is excellent and the water pure. Fares include lodging, all meals, snacks, picnics; transportation by bus, train, plane, taxi, motor launch, pick-up truck, and dugout. Gratuities and insurance are covered.

No passport is necessary. No vaccination or shots are required. We will procure your Mexican Tourist Permit free of charge, upon receipt of proof of citizenship or passport. Baggage is not limited but the usual is one large suitcase plus a train case per person. Guests may bring scope, zoom camera, tape recorder, etc.

Simple clothes, including comfortable shoes and all-purpose coat, are advisable. The days are quite warm but nights frequently cool. Gentlemen should bring coat and tie. Ladies may wear pantsuits. We all change for dinner. Mexico is a country of charm and tradition, sophisticated yet conventional.

The Birds

From our brochure on the East Coast & Southern Mexico Tour in part: . . . The route along the coast is often in sight of the Gulf of Mexico. Lagoons and palm forests are excellent places to stop for birds, flowers, and pictures. Kingfishers dart into the water and Parakeets chatter overhead. Jungle villages and a few pineapple plantations are near the highway. Tropical savannah divides the open grasslands. Ahead, we climb into a black cindercone highland dominated by lush forest-covered mountains from which we peer down into the valleys of coconuts, plots of elephant ears, and thatched huts set deep-roofed in banana groves.

Archaeological zones, scientifically exciting, lie near by. At TRES ZAPOTES was found the famous Tuxtla Statuette. Southward and westward, the Olmec peoples created their civilization some say the mother culture of Mexico. Pyramids, temples, mammoth stone heads, still covered with carvings of historical events and dates, are hidden back in the jungle. Some have been discovered; others wait silently amid tangled vines and strangler figs.

LAKE CATEMACO, just off the main highway, and a thousand feet above sea level, has been formed by a horseshoe ring of volcanoes facing Mt. San Martin, whose eastern slopes mark the northernmost extension of the tropical rain forest. This forest primeval is as near as can be found to the original vegetation of this earth before the ice age. Tropical birds abound, among them: Keel-billed Toucans, Barred Antshrikes, Turquoise-browed Motmots. Beautiful views are seen as the road climbs away from the lake. Our route gently descends towards the coast through rolling hills and lowland jungles.

COATZACOALCOS is the northern terminus of the trans-Isthmus railroad, of great importance before the opening of the Panama Canal. It is still a significant shipping outlet for the petrochemical industry, lumber, sulphur, tropical fruits, and fish.

VILLAHERMOSA, on the Rio Grijalva, is the capital of the state of Tabasco. In the vicinity are large plantations of cocoa with their extensive processing plants. Road-stands sell a variety of bananas, coconuts, breadfruit, etc. Here is one of the most important museums in Mexico, the Museo de la Venta. It is located in a park by the Lake of the Illusions a setting representative of the area where the exhibits were found. These are the great carved stone heads, altars, stele, etc. from the La Venta site now occupied by a large oil field.

The ruins of PALENQUE and the adjoining tropical rain forest are the objects of our stay in the little village of the same name. These ruins are a jewel of the Mayan culture. Exquisite stucco reliefs adorn the roof-combed temples which top small pyramids covered with wild begonias. We may descend into the depths of the pyramid of the Temple of the Inscriptions. Here we view a royal crypt, one of the most majestic of all Mayan works of art.

The jungle covering the surrounding foothills abound in some of Mexico's most exotic birds. Around 200 species live in this area. Our stay amid these splendors is most memorable.

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