I can remember returning late from a hunt, the stars our only guide, since the one we were supposed to use--Evaristo, our groom--had by then a headful of pulque and was in no shape to lead us home. But once back at Tlalayote's main house we handed over our game-bags to Miscaela, the magnificent cook, who prepared several of the birds and served us plentifully with great mugs of pulque brought in from the fermenting shed. This rural life seemed yet another indication of the land's undying attraction. As a young man I learned to ride charro style, to throw a calf by its tail, to lasso on horseback and on foot, to drive a six-mule team, to break wild colts and calves, and use firearms of various kinds. I enjoyed the brandings, the shearings, and the weanings, which include one of my favorite sports ... separating calves from their mothers. [Illustration: Hacienda Corralitos, Corralitos, Chihuahua: one-million-acre cattle and mining hacienda, 1750. Adobe residence, 1886, surrounded by cottonwoods.] But there were a few hacendados who disavowed the great estates: One of them said: "I'd rather have an attic in Paris than an hacienda." [Illustration: Hacienda de Bellavista, Jalisco: sugar refinery silo.] +IV. Fiestas+ [Illustration: Hacienda cattle brand] Haciendas were the home of the fiesta. The first fiestas were held shortly after the Conquest. As the influence of Catholicism spread, fiestas increased in number--honoring a saint, commemorating a religious event, a holiday, a wedding. Generally, fiestas were initiated by the peasants and represented a communal expression. At an hacienda village someone had to collect funds, arrange for costumes, supervise church or chapel decorations, commission the fireworks, hire or borrow musicians, and arrange for food and drinks. If the hacendado hosted a fiesta, he might leave the details to his wife or the _mayordomo_. The priest and his assistant also managed fiestas. People came on foot, by ox cart, palanquin, burro, mule, horse, wagon, and carriage--from distant haciendas and towns. For some four hundred years fiestas livened these feudal outposts that existed across the nation. Guests were often royalty or politically important: a viceroy, a duke, a governor, or church dignitary. Since travel was usually tedious and fatiguing, everything was done to make the festival memorable. [Illustration: Hacienda de Yocotepec, Hidalgo: church and stone cross.]