The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 60, July 1956 - April, 1957 Page: 180

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Southwestern Historical Quarterly

toms and traditions. America, a land of people with backgrounds
from many nationalities, has developed a way of life which we
call "the American Way of Life." In this plan there is no desire
to destroy the numerous heritages of the people, but rather to
understand and to combine them to form one vast heritage that
belongs to all.
Mrs. Waugh, the author of The Silver Cradle, has given us
an insight into the life of a group of people which forms a large
per cent of the population of San Antonio. In this city which
had its beginnings in the early history of Texas, the customs
and traditions are a part of the people. The people of Mexican
ancestry, often mistakenly called Latin-Americans, have retained
their ancestral customs changing them to suit their needs and
environment whenever they so desire, but retaining the basic
and original tradition.
The author has chosen a vehicle of interest in which to carry
the story as a whole, using as a thread, the family of Polycarpo
and Felicidad Mendez. This family from "the bottom of the
pile," which the author so sympathetically and vividly portrays,
possesses no envy of the life of their more fortunate neighbors.
Although they are from the "bottom of the pile" economically,
their social and cultural customs and traditions possess so high
a dignity and so simple a demand that it fulfills a need as dis-
played by the group.
The author does not attempt an analysis, but simply tells
the events from a friendly viewpoint while participating with
the rest to whom it is a part of life.
The customs of Spanish origin brought by the Franciscan mis-
sionaries and scholars to dramatize in a graphic manner the
story of Christianity are a part of the story. "Las Posadas" and
"Los Pastores," those miracle plays of the Middle Ages, served
a purpose in the New World, and the descendants of those to
whom they were first presented have adopted the stories adjust-
ing and translating them to their own understanding and mak-
ing them their folk customs.
In some of the chapters we are transported to Mexico and are
participating in the fiestas and celebrations of that nation.
The "Visit to the dead" on November second; September 16

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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 60, July 1956 - April, 1957, periodical, 1957; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101163/m1/201/ocr/: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.

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