Spanish Page Miguelito E. ABREU GÓMEZ MIGUELITO era tan pobre, tan pobre, que nunca creyó reunir los diez centavos necesarios para comprar dos canicas de esas que llaman de tiro.1 Por eso cuando su papá le dió el último centavo, Miguelito no sabía si reír o llorar. Contó y recontó sus centavos. De veras eran diez. Al principio pensó cambiarlos por una moneda de plata. Pero tuvo miedo-¡es tan fácil perder una moneda pequeña!— Después, quiso ver sus centavos limpiecitos. Los juntó y los lavó con ceniza y limón. Parecían de oro. Sonaban que era un gusto. Casi se arrepintió de haber hecho esto. Así tan limpiecitos, tan relucientes, tan amarillos, no parecían legítimos, despertaban sospechas. Quiso volverlos a ennegrecer. Los revolvió entre cisco de carbón. Palidecieron. Pegando unos contra otros, puestos de plano en la punta de sus dedos, creyó oírlos con menos claridad. De todos modos, ya eran suyos los diez centavos. Pretendió alinearlos From Siete Cuentos Mexicanos, selección de Manuel Maples Arce, Biblioteca Selecta, Panamá, 1946, p. 39. 1 Marbles for shooters. en la mesa. Quiso también ponerlos en orden de fecha; de 1900-que era el más antiguo a 1938, que era el más moderno. En esta tarea estaba entretenido cuando advirtió que la pieza de 1901 la tenía duplicada y que, en cambio, le faltaba la de 1905. Se asustó. Pensó que por esta falla, su dinero no valía. En seguida discurrió lo que podía hacer. Iría a la tienda de la esquina y le diría al dependiente que le cambiara la que sobraba. No era mucha molestia en verdad. Le diría también que no era cosa de prisa, que podía esperar, por ejemplo, uno o dos días. Al fin, no hizo nada. . . . ... Guardó los centavos en la bolsa de su pantalón, y se acostó. A media noche se levantó, cauteloso, a contarlos. Estaban fríos. Contó nueve. Había perdido uno. No era posible. Los volvió a contar: eran diez. Tal vez había contado mal. Le entró una gran desconfianza. Los contó de nuevo; en efecto, eran diez. . . . Los juntó todos y los apretó con la mano; contándolos, volvió a quedarse dormido. De sus dedos resbalaron y cayeron al suelo, casi sin hacer ruido, como si tuvieran miedo de despertar a su dueño. Entre sueños siguió contándolos, once, doce, trece, catorce, quince. Llegó hasta cien. Lo dejamos dormido. Nosotros sabemos que sólo son diez. 507 In Our Hemisphere—I. FAR up in the Andes, on the border line between Bolivia and Peru, is Titicaca, South America's largest lake. About one third the size of Lake Erie, Titicaca is 139 miles long and, at its broadest point, 69 miles wide. More than 12,500 feet above sea level, it is the highest steamnavigated body of water in the world. Rocky, treeless hills rise from its shores, and snow-capped mountains nearly two miles higher than the lake glimmer in the distance. Picturesque boats or balsas, made by the Indians of the region from the reeds or bulrushes that grow on the lake shore, ply through its waters side by side with four steamers, which provide passenger service between Puno, Peru, and Guaqui, Bolivia. The Yavari was carried up the Andes in sections in 1861 by mule and Indian. The Coya, the Inca, and the Ollanta (the flagship, which arrived in 1929) were taken up by rail. Ruins along the shore of the lake bear witness to the pre-Columbian civilizations the rise and fall of which its waters have reflected. Among the most interesting remains are those on the sacred Intikarka, the Island of the Sun, and Coati, the Island of the Moon. According to Inca legend it was on Intikarka that Manco Capac and Mama Oclla, the Children of the Sun and the founders of the Inca Empire, first came to earth. The Inca Empire achieved a civilization in some ways unsurpassed in the Western Hemisphere, and covered a territory stretching from north of Quito, Ecuador, as far south as the Maule River in Chile (a distance of 1,500 miles), and from the Pacific Ocean as far east in places as the lowlands beyond the Andes. At the time of the Spanish Conquest the population of this vast Empire may have amounted to as many as eight or ten millions. Fifteen miles outside of Quito, Ecuador, stands the Equatorial Line Monument on which are carved the figures 0°00'00" and a line marking the position of the equator. This monument was erected in 1936 to commemorate a survey made two hundred years before by a French scientific mission for the purpose of determining accurately the equatorial line and measuring an arc of the meridian, in order to find the exact dimensions of the earth. A person standing on this monument during the equinox in March and September casts no shadow, because at that time the center of the sun crosses the equator. In spite of the direct rays of the sun, the cli SITTING ON THE EQUATOR A monument to La Condamine's expedition in 1736 stands exactly on the equator. In a curve of nearly 9,000 feet the waters of the Iguassu river pour over a series of precipices. mate at the monument is comfortable in the daytime because it is 8,070 feet above sea level. The monument can be reached in two and a half hours by car from Quito, capital of the country named for the equator. Tourists visiting the monument may stand with one foot in the Northern Hemisphere and the other in the Southern Hemisphere. • Hidden away among the dense jungles lining the Argentine-Brazilian frontier are the magnificent Falls of Iguassu. The Iguassu River, the main source of these Falls, flows westward from the hills of Curitiba in Brazil and absorbs during its 800-mile course the water of many tributaries. Shortly before the Iguassu reaches the Argentine border it opens to a width of some two and a half miles, and is in terspersed with a large number of small, wooded islands. Then, twelve miles before its confluence with the Paraná, this great flow of water pours itself, in a countless number of separate cataracts, over a series of precipices, forming a semi-circle 215 feet high and 8,860 feet wide (1,970 feet on the Brazilian side and the remaining 6,890 feet on the Argentine side). This makes the Falls about fifty feet higher than Niagara; the width is more than double. They are in a breathtaking setting of dense subtropical vegetation, and their waters glitter with many colors as they fall over jet-black rock. The back drop includes mammoth bamboos, regal palms, giant ferns, orchids, and begonias. The Falls can be reached by plane from Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo via Curitiba, or from Buenos Aires via Asunción, Para guay. The land journey to the Falls from São Paulo is usually made by railroad west to the Paraná River, then by river boat to the vicinity of the Sete Quedas (Guaira Falls), and finally by railroad and boat to Foz do Iguassu. There is a paved highway from the latter town to the Falls. From Buenos Aires the route is via Posadas and Puerto Aguirre, whence there is a macadam road to the Falls. "But thou, Defoe, o'er that lone isle hast thrown I seem'd as well to know creek, cave, and grot, There are many who share the poet's feelings about the "lone isle" of Robinson Crusoe, but few who know its real name and location. Its name is Más a Tierra, and it is the largest of the Juan Fernández Islands, located about 400 miles west of Valparaíso, Chile. It was this mountainous island that witnessed the adventures of Alexander Selkirk, the British sailor whose name has been almost lost in the dusty pages of history, but whose adventures were immortalized by Daniel Defoe. A tablet placed on the island by the British Navy in 1858 outlines the story of the reallife Robinson Crusoe. It reads, "In Memory of Alexander Selkirk, Mariner, a native of Larco, in the county of Fife, Scotland. Who lived on this island in complete solitude for four years and four months. He was landed from the 'Cinque Ports' galley, 96 tons, 16 guns, A. D. 1704, and was taken off in the 'Duke' privateer, 12th Feb. 1709." "ROBINSON CRUSOE'S ISLAND" It is generally thought that Robinson Crusoe is based on Alexander Selkirk's experiences during four lonely years spent on Más a Tierra of the Juan Fernández Islands off the coast of Chile. |