59 present régime] Administration of Pascual Ortiz Rubio (1877–1963), president of Mexico in 1930–32.
60 Ay, Sandunga. . . por Diós!”] From “La Sandunga” by Máx-imo Ramón Ortiz (1816–1855), popular song in the voice of a Zapotec woman grieving over the body of her dead mother. Sandunga means “elegance,” “charm,” “grace,” words that describe the dead woman.
61 repartition of land] Seizure and redistribution of privately owned land by the government began almost immediately after the Mexican revolution of 1910. It was accelerated with Article 27 of the Constitution, ratified in 1917, which declares that all land within Mexico is the property of the state, which has the right to transfer ownership as it sees fit: “Hence, private property is a privilege created by the Nation.”
62 aguacate] Avocado.
63 Puss Moth] Three-seat single-wing airplane, built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company in 1929–33.
64 corrido] See note 38.
65 Agrarians] Peasants and others sympathetic to the repartition of land and hostile to the wealthy hacendados or land-owning class.
66 charro] See note 40.
67 hacendados] See note 66.
68 like Rivera’s] In the style of Mexican muralist Diego Rivera (1886–1957).
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