at "the gringos." We thought of Mexico as backward, her people barefooted peons a hundred years behind the "civilized" nations of the world. But then a change began to come over us. Our art students returning from Europe informed us that in Paris and Rome the most famous "American" artists were not from the United States, as far as opinion in Europe was concerned, but were Rivera, Orozco, Siqueiros and Tamayo, from Mexico. Occasional visitors south of the border returned with the information that Mexico city was one of the most cosmopolitan and beautiful large cities in the world. And then, following the war, we began to hear in earnest of the cheap prices. Why, you could live in a fabulous beauty spot for less than a hundred a month! So we began to visit this land to our south. First a trickle, then a stream of tourists, and then a fabulous rush which is still taking place. As in any land which enjoys (or suffers, according to how you look at it) a tourist boom, certain cities became centers of tourism and prices there zoomed. Such places as Acapulco, famed Pacific coast beach resort, quickly became almost as expensive as Florida or California. Cuernavaca, just south of Mexico City, became a city of retired wealthy folk, sky-high in price by Mexican standards. Mexico City itself began to feel the boom and American style apartments and houses upped in price.
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