Introduction/Home Page by Ira Jacknis Introduction to Tzintzuntzan by the Anthropologist George Foster/ Map of Tzintzuntzan/ The First Fieldwork: 1944–46 Mariano Cornelio, a Tarascan fisherman/farmer, in his boat Vicente Rendon and his compadre Salvador Villagomes harvesting maize Vicente Rendón on the way to market with pottery Family at the grave on All Saints’ Day Jesús Peña making candles Tarascan masked dancers, "owner" and "watcher", at the Octava of Corpus Christi Highway victim Changes in Tzintzuntzan: 1945–79 and 1979-88 View towards the northwest side of Lake Pátzcuaro Yácatas, reconstructed ruins on the east edge of the village Doña Micaela González, in her small patio Melecio Hernández, husband of Micaela González, making an ox yoke Micaela González’s house; in front are her daughter Virginia Pichu, and William Iler, a UC Berkeley graduate student The new second floor on Micaela González’s house; Mary Foster on the balcony Dolores (Lola) Pichu and her younger sister Virginia Pichu, daughters of Micaela González and her first husband, Pedro Pichu Pachita Villagómez and her husband Faustino Peña Doña Andrea Medina, her daughter-in-law Pachita Villagómez, and her granddaughter Lucía Lupe Calderon and Eustolio Campos coming out of the parish church after their wedding Florentina Dominga, a Tarascan woman, with a midwife’s offering La Soledad chapel The arrival of fireworks (La Obra) at La Parroquia, the Parish church Death dancer, Salvador Maturino Red devil dancer Female attendants of the king and queen figures, Rosa Lara Group of spies entering the house of Ambrosio Zaldívar, to pay homage to the district saint (barrio santo) and to be fed; Holy Wednesday A spy; Holy Wednesday A penitente, with his assistant (cirineo); Good Friday Fish dancer and net in the procession of trades; Corpus Christi Little Old Man Dance (Los Viejitos) House façade decorated for a posada procession; before breaking the piñatas; Christmas season Tarascan women making tortillas by hand, cooked on a wood fire Lola Pichu making tortillas in a press, inside her present old-style kitchen Amalia Felices making pots, by joining two mold-made halves and smoothing the inside Doña Andrea Medina at the kiln in her yard Otilia Zavala, wife of Wenceslado Peña, glazing pottery Pachita Villagómez painting a fish design on a large platter, before glazing Salvador Cuirís and his pottery delivery truck Pottery sellers in the church atrium; Fiesta of Nuestro Señor del Rescate The store, "La Central," and the plaza on the main highway, looking south Lola Pichu inside her family’s store; Christmas Changes in Tzintzuntzan: 1988–2000 George Foster Biography Lola Pichu making tortillas in a press, inside her present old-style kitchen; February 17, 1998. A good worker who is not interrupted can make and cook four liters of tortillas-65 or 70-in about an hour; this meets the needs of an average family. In contrast, thirty years ago before mechanical mills were introduced, hand grinding of the nixtamal [maize grains soaked in lye water] alone required an additional two hours of backbreaking work, time which was found by arising two hours earlier than at present. Nothing has liberated the Mexican country woman like the mechanical nixtamal mill. Moreover, she is spared the rheumatic shoulder pains which almost all older women complain of, and which they attribute to the severe physical effort of grinding nixtamal. And today the task of food preparation is lightened even more in some families by a small tortilla press which reduces the time needed to make tortillas to half or less than that of the hand process. Many husbands object to this press, just as they initially objected to the mill, on the grounds that the tortilla tastes less good (1967). CONTINUE >