A Twilight In Two Cities

[Music] good evening ladies and gentlemen this is jack douglas if we were to make a list of the gayest and most colorful cities in the western hemisphere mexico city and panama city would surely be high on that list but instead of making believe with a paper list let's just pick up our tv passports and sale right now and best of all we're going to arrive at sundown after the shadows fall this is our true travel tale a twilight in two cities [Music] the jack douglas true television series in association with bing crosby productions across the seven seas combining the different worlds of travel and adventure and presenting tonight sundown a tour of the world's most exciting cities after the shadows fall [Music] they call it the mexicali rose the fairest flower in the land of montezuma and like all big cities mexico city reaches full bloom at sundown after the shadows fall but let's bypass the twilight scenery and meet our hosts salvador quesada the brilliant designer of furnishings and original decor pieces conchita solis a beautiful ballerina with a valley to mexico and laredo velazquez one of mexico city's thousands of mariachi violinists on this particular night sundown came to mexico city at seven minutes past seven the cars make a beeline for the white boulevards and the shops and stores turn on their charm to entice the pedestrian [Music] the neons make it emphatically clear that mexico city is spain in north america because of the long midday siesta salvador quesada worked into the early evening as usual this is office routine that must be done whether he likes it or not but these are samples of what he does best designing attractive metal fittings and decorative pieces for export to smart shops throughout the world an hour before sundown salvador telephoned the lovely young ballerina he had met only briefly several weeks before he had remembered her name and all he knew was that she was with the ballet de mexico which is under the direction of amalia hernandez conchita solis was impatient for rehearsals to end it isn't every night that a girl has a date with a handsome bachelor who also happens to be a very successful designer so impatiently but politely conchita watched as other members of the company rehearsed at last it's conchita's turn a folk dance based on the old veracruz culture she's a happy girl because this is her last rehearsal number [Music] minutes later she had changed into street clothes and left the school for her the day was just beginning [Music] in the life of laredo velasquez sundown generally means just one thing get dressed in fancy clothes and become a wandering minstrel a mariachi or what we would call a street musician at sundown after the shadows fall rato and his friend juan gonzalez meet as usual at the same place and light up a smoke to make their plans now as a rule they will separate and play single sometimes they will join up with other mariachis but first always first an evening prayer at the shrine of saint cecilia considered the patroness saint of musicians [Music] salvador quesada waited out the clock until the time of his dinner date with conchita 9 p.m he lives alone in a beautiful apartment at number seven michelle this is salvador self-portrait yes he's also an artist and a good one and it only takes one guest to figure out who decorated the stunning bachelor apartment [Music] conchita's exotic dark-haired beauty disguises one of the sweetest kindest and most gracious personalities we've ever met on our camera caravans many of mexico city's office workers are still on their way home from work as far as the natives are concerned the night hasn't even begun but there are always tourists around who aren't aware of the working and playing schedules so mariachis like laredo take their posts at a favorite street corner hoping to pick up some pesos from the tourist trade playing a song for a peso the street urchins are playing lotteria the mexican picture card game [Music] a taxi pulls up to the corner and laredo races to meet it before some other mariachi beats him to it but no luck it's just an old friend who asks how things are going laredo smiles grimly business is terrible not a song not a peso a woman selling tickets for the national lottery promises laredo his luck will change providing laredo will buy a ticket for a peso about eight cents luck indeed laredo says the only luck he's ever had was staying alive but he buys the ticket the manalo restaurant was the first of many places salvador and conchita would visit they planned cocktails here dinner elsewhere the atmosphere at the mauna loa is pure polynesian one of the most attractive restaurants of its kind anywhere [Music] the food is excellent and the huge broilers are screened off by glass and therefore plainly visible to all now if you look beyond conchita and salvador what appears to be a painting isn't these are real pink flamingos from the mexican coast the management of the mauna loa is terribly romantic and the headwaiters like to play cupid by presenting ladies with corsages of fresh flowers best of all the flowers are free this is just about the place to whine and dine in mexico city the rincon de goya deriving its name from spain's immortal painter and from the moment you step through the massive doors you somehow feel that you're not in mexico city but in madrid or barcelona [Music] so [Music] [Music] the waiters dressed in the costumes of old spain add to the spanish atmosphere more music on the street salvador engages a mariachi band meanwhile a sketch artist begged for the chance to sketch conchita for a fee of course and salvador agreed but watch the expression of the boy on the right as he looks from the picture to the subject and back again he's just checking up on the artist [Music] the lotteria nationale the national lottery was originated in mexico in 1770 by decree of king charles iii of spain 65 of the money from the sale of tickets is divided among the winners and much of the balance is used to support public welfare projects the actual drawing is open to the public and some of the hopeful attend there were no winners here and laredo also had to tear up his ticket well out of sheer boredom still unable to find any customers willing to pay for his music he struck up a tune for his penniless admirers la fuente is another landlocked port of call for those seeking unusual nightlife entertainment on this occasion la fuente is sponsoring a beauty contest honoring alberto vargas creator of the famed varga girl that's varga and the artist mock and these are some of the semi-finalists bring to life vargas magazine creations of yesteryears [Music] some of you men may remember this one the varga bridesmaid the winner a lovely girl who wisely chose to wear a mexican sombrero a nostalgic touch that had its effect on the judges their decision was wildly supported the astoria is also high on the must list for the visitor at sundown here an afro-cuban troop and dances full of voodoo overtones [Music] catacombs and the neon sign says fantastico and that it is the eeriest night spot in mexico city the catacombs has a collection of mummies from the arid regions of guanajuato [Music] well meanwhile having escorted conchita to her home salvador then rounded up a dozen mariachis including laredo and had them serenade outside conchita's window now if a light goes on and off it will indicate that conchita has enjoyed the evening and that salvador may call again there's no mistaking the signal and salvador quezada is a happy young man senora angela de fonseca became a widow when her husband passed away several years ago at the age of 88 but when the fonsecas gather they give the senora little time to think of sad things there's only the present and those who live in the present her robust sons and sons-in-law her daughters and daughters-in-law and the handsome grandchildren she adores [Music] senora fonseca does not have a scrapbook all the memories that have any meaning are proudly mounted on the walls of the modest department this photograph of her was her husband's favorite senor fonseca passed away at his carpentry workbench but years ago when revolutions in mexico were common he was a soldier and a good one a captain in the cavalry dinner ended mama angela insists that dishes can wait and orders are brewed to the small living room where the most valuable piece of furniture is the television set and there below the border they love television with a passion and the popular local jest is that the only real emergency telephone calls go to the family doctor or the tv repairman and in mexico as in our own country only mom seems able to make the set work and they love those gringo cowboys [Music] when the sons and daughters and grandchildren leave mama angela has nothing left except some modest furniture and the four walls the walls are quite enough for this gentlewoman who lives now only for the rest of the fonsecas [Music] shortly after 10 not even the familiar walls can hold the sonyara's attention even taco her sole companion at night surrenders to drowsiness so perhaps a bit of fresh air is in order and for a single wistful moment senora fonseca thinks perhaps she might enjoy a short stroll but no the pattern of habit is too strong she will take the bird indoors give taco a night cap of milk and then of course there are the dishes and so to bed there's much more in store for us ladies and gentlemen when we resume our journey we'll continue in just a few moments as the crow flies it's about 1500 miles from mexico city to panama city the capital of panama and even at night we're reminded that much of panama is still primitive jungle this statue honoring balboa symbolizes panama's heritage as one of the oldest white settlements in continental america panama city is situated on the pacific side of the canal and the canal zone virtually surrounds the capital city but through its port of balboa in the canal zone panama city is in touch with the entire world and as in the case of mexico the neons make it clear that spanish is most decidedly the favorite language the canal zone influence of the usa is reflected in neons employing both languages panama is a free port so the many luxury items from all parts of the world are sold here very cheaply many of the city's best shops are owned by hindus and much of the merchandise featured is from the far east such as this japanese kimono [Music] this beautiful hand embroidered tablecloth is selling for a hundred and sixty dollars a fraction of its true worth in our country if you're fond of ivory you've come to the right place chinese junks bridges a magnificent chess set and even tea tables with carved ivory tops how the people of a city entertain themselves at sundown is generally a good indicator of the character of the people and the city and surprisingly although panama city is a sailors town most of the entertainment features native and spanish folk dances this man mr fritz will play an important real-life role in our story [Music] [Applause] [Music] our friend mr fritz applauds but he isn't through yet his next stop is the salon richie featuring a dancer who performs with a live boa constrictor draped around his neck and shoulders panamanians love subtle humor and here the dancers poke good natured fun at the limbo dancers of trinidad by not dancing under the limbo stick well this was too subtle for us but the dancers were worth watching anyway [Music] the owner of this phone our nightclubbing friend mr fritz was sound asleep by midnight and he relished this call not a bit well we can't blame him much it's only 18 minutes to 3 a.m the caller is polite but adamant and mr fritz dresses in a hurry the caller is the government of the united states earlier that same evening this man mr clifford nurse a man who sees very little of the daylight hours spent the minutes before dinner playing with his youngest children [Music] the nurses have nine children seven girls and two boys the boys ages three and one and a half are the youngest and the youngest of these is the pet of the entire family but you'd never guess it at dinner time every time he reaches for something somebody takes it away [Music] despite the many children this family lives better than the average panamanian family mostly because junior's daddy has had the same good job for 30 years that a boy junior finally near midnight when mr fritz was just hitting the sack mr nurse said good night to his wife and went to work the call to mr fritz came from this office and his name is posted under the words pilots next out captain fritz this vessel has been waiting at the entrance to the canal waiting for its pilot captain fritz once on the bridge and until journeys end some 12 to 15 hours later captain fritz is in charge of navigation [Music] clifford nurse who probably has never met captain fritz had already been on the job for several hours his job is handling the housers and cables that are attached to the locomotives which in turn will slowly tuck the vessel through the locks the hazards are road to the vessel and made secure a security officer alerts the dispatcher's office that the vessel is ready to be pulled through the lock and now a complex but virtually fool-proof system of procedure starts to roll here on this magnetic board one of the dispatchers gave us a condensed illustration of how the progress of the vessel would be charted every step of the way until it passed through the canal and reached the opposite ocean [Music] the ship-to-shore phone contact is maintained throughout the passing and at least one pair of human eyes aboard the vessel is glued to the radar these handles are the keys to the canal they open and close the lock gates raise and lower the water levels the signal is go and the locomotive pulls the vessel through the first of a series of locks leading to gotton lake [Music] especially in the locks the pilot is the busiest man aboard and this is high tension work for just one moment of carelessness just one little mistake and almost half the world shipping would come to a standstill not until the locks have been safely navigated thus captain fritz relax and gobble a quick sandwich [Music] at journey's end the pilot's work is finished and the captain of the vessel assumes navigational responsibility launch takes captain fritz to shore and from there a long train ride back to panama city he may not have another vessel for days but clifford nurse the man who sleeps until sundown will be back at his job the very next night [Music] at sundown after the shadows fall the well to do in our story are represented by these daughters and sons of panama's wealthy families and in panama city the well-to-do are very wealthy indeed these youngsters well the world is their oyster but they aren't dilatants one of the girls works for an airline and the boy studies drama in mexico city boy meets girl boy dates girl and since they're in their 20s they're welcome at the best night spots in the city and where haven't we seen this name before [Music] caramba it's the sambar is it the mambo or the cha-cha-cha well at 1am it really doesn't matter [Music] they have a casino here that reminds the visitor of monte carlo in miniature the croupiers are formally attired and it's all very chic and black tie but despite the stacks of chips and evidence the wagering is extremely modest for these wealthy panamanians are shrewd educated citizens who aren't about to risk their savings just to see a little ball go round and round at 4 30 a.m the presses roar in panama city and mexico city bringing to the people of these two colorful cities the happenings of the night before the news will be important news much of it of the outside world but long after these headlines have made way for new headlines the people we have met will still be here waiting for you and me to pay them another visit perhaps in person but by all means at sundown after the shadows fall well now as time goes on we'll surely forget their names but it's likely that we'll recognize their faces faces that reflect warmth and kindness and happiness most of them anyway and most means better than half and that's a mighty good percentage when it comes to people well adios amigos and thanks for this twilight visit to your two exciting cities you