This color film from the 1960s was produced for Pan American by Vision Associates Productions. The Yucatan Peninsula (:26) is less than 2 hours from the U.S. by a Pan American Boeing 707 Jet Clipper. A Golden Triangle vacation is to visit the cities of Merida, Mexico City, and Guatemala City (:50). Merida is a city dating back to the Maya Indians. It is the capital of Yucatan (:59) and has many street vendors (1:14). A show at night reenacts the Mayan rituals (2:18-3:05). The ruins of temples (3:28) have intricate stone carvings, and their mastery of building is shown by a large stone palace (3:59-4:23). At a hacienda, a boy sculpts in clay (4:40) and a man paints the figures (4:56). The city of Chichen Itza (5:17-5:55) has a pyramid that is actually a Mayan calendar. This most sacred city of the Maya (5:57) has a hall of columns that originally supported a ceremonial platform (6:11). At its center is the Temple of the Warriors (6:20) and the statue of Chaahk, the god of rain (6:26). Sports played here included passing a ball through a two-foot hoop (6:39) with carvings at its base of the winners (6:48). Along another wall is the record of the losing team (7:00), its captain beheaded. Also there is Cenote, a sacred well that is a natural sinkhole (7:11-7:33). The Quintana Roo territory also contains abandoned temples on the hillside (8:11-9:00). Offshore is the island of Cozumel (9:07), a new vacation destination at that time. A group goes scuba diving (9:18-11:32) as others enjoy sailing and swimming (11:34-13:30). Scuba divers grabs lobsters for eating back at shore (13:31-14:45). Guatemala City is the nation’s capital, where modern architecture mixes with classic symbolism (15:57-17:09). A giant cross (17:13) rises at Antiqua, a city with many ancient churches intricately carved but heavily damaged by earthquakes and so turned into parks (17:26-18:30). Agua, an active volcano, overlooks the city (18:44). A woman displays and makes hand-loomed rugs (18:48-19:15). The Maya still live around Lake Atitlan (19:17-19:37). On Sunday mornings, they walk to Chichicastenango, a meeting and marketplace where they sell the goods they carried there on their backs, including pottery, vegetables, wood, and textiles (19:56-21:40). Worshipers wave incense on the steps of the Iglesia de Santo Tomas church, built around 1545 (21:42-21:51).In Mexico City, the Angel of Independence statue (22:06) looms over the Paseo de la Reforma Boulevard with its many high-end hotels (22:15-22:41). An art market (22:45-23:30) offers many selections while a man plays a street organ (22:51). The National Autonomous University of Mexico Library is covered In mosaic art work (23:36). A mariachi band plays among boats hand-maneuvered through the canals (23:55-24:50). Nighttime lights highlight the Zocalo, the main square of the government buildings (24:57) as well as many neon lights and shows (25:03-25:53). The film ends with highlights of everything we’ve already seen.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit www.PeriscopeFilm.com