ABSTRACT
The tehuanos are in the majority Zapotec Indians with a good measure of blood from practically every race in the world. Tehuanas have always taken easily to foreigners, and the many Spaniards, Frenchmen, Americans, Irishmen, Near-Easterners, Chinese, and Negroes who have passed through the Isthmus or have lived there permanently have all left unmistakable traces in their wake. The Zapotecs are generally small but well developed, with sensitive hands and rather large but well-made feet, with the toes spread apart as with all peoples who go barefoot. Men are taller than women despite the popular belief to the contrary, induced no doubt by the grandiose character of the women’s costume and by the comparatively rachitic appearance of the men. The costume of the tehuanas is one of the country’s greatest assets; picturesque and charming, elegant and alluring, it brightens the bare, arid landscape with brilliant touches of color and with lively, graceful silhouettes.
