To this day the Mestizos of Yucatan, the most direct descendants of the ancient Mayans, preserve a colorful local culture. Beautiful examples of costume art are to be seen in Mérida and in Motul, the source of Plate 25.

For daily use the Mestiza, as the woman of Yucatan is called, wears a plain blouse and skirt of un- bleached cotton, but for special occasions she dons a blouse of finer cloth, white embellished with floral embroidery and lace. Her best shoes are of satin, generally white and sometimes embroidered. In former days all embroidery was hand work but now there is much of machine origin and of course the Iresults are less fine. Rebozos are worn but they are manufactured outside the state.

The Mestiza combs her hair back into a chignon called chango or tuch in Maya. This style becomes the handsome racial features of these women.

The men of this tropical country are impeccably white, wearing starched shirts and ankle-length trousers. The high heeled shoes are called alpargata.

Carlos Merida

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