Viva! . . . the many faces of Mexico, all enchanting . . . The low-lying valleys blooming with luxuriant tropical growth . . . The snowcapped volcanoes standing guard over the capital city . . . The wide yellow beaches and the shimmering blue waters of the Pacific at Acapulco.

The stamping, whirling gaiety of the Mexican hat dance . . . The sizzling, spectacular brilliance of the fireworks at a fiesta in Taxco . . . The breathtaking daring of the boys diving from the rocks in Acapulco . . . The magnificence of the fighter’s red and gold costumes, the rhythmic olés of the crowd at a bull fight.

Sunset behind the enormous pyramids that were old when Cortez conquered Mexico . . . Lantern-lighted patios where voices and guitars are sounding the soft, rich romantic ballads of Mexico . . . A stroll through the lovely Chapultepec Park in the heart of Mexico City under trees so ancient that they also gave shade to the last of the Aztec emperors.

The tireless beasts of all work, the burrows, clip-clopping over the cobblestones of the square of a tiny sunlit town . . . The purple bougainvillea pressing heavily against the walls surrounding houses in Cuernavaca . . . Groups of beautiful flashing-eyed Mexican girls in Sunday finery circling the red and blue bandstand in the square at Oaxaca . . . Viva!