Word: laredos
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Bach: Six Sonatas for Clavier and Violin (Violinist Henryk Szeryng, Harpsichordist Helmut Walcha, Philips; 2 LPs). Several virtuosos have recorded these crystallizations of the baroque sonata style (Oistrakh, Menuhin, Laredo), but none can beat the suave brilliance of this set. Szeryng plays with an impassioned aristocrat's clarity, grace and brio. Walcha, a virtuoso in his own right, is appropriately brought to the fore by Philips' bright tonal presence...
Most American merchants were happy when their sales volume just kept ahead of inflation in 1978, but those in Laredo, Texas really had a banner year. Their sales will probably be a record $470 million-or more than $6,000 for every one of Laredo's 76,900 residents. Pretty impressive for a border town where per capita income is only $3,575, one of the lowest in the country...
...Laredo's storekeepers had to depend on the locals for patronage, they would starve. Nearly all of their customers are Mexicans who cross the border to buy American, European and Japanese products, which they consider superior to Mexican goods. Brand-conscious Mexicans think the General Electric refrigerator that is produced in the U.S., for example, is much better than the one GE makes in Mexico...
...Laredo is the hub of the trade. Poor Mexicans make many small purchases, but large amounts of goods are bought by the rich, a number of whom buzz into town in their Lear jets from as far away as Mexico City. Sometimes they are met at the airport by a 1939 Rolls-Royce belonging to Joe Brand, who owns three Laredo clothing stores. Other wealthy Mexicans fill empty suitcases with $195 suede handbags or $105 men's loafers from the Gucci boutique in the Frost Bros. department store. Says Gary Payne, general manager of the Laredo Chamber of Commerce...
...Laredo, some still unpaved streets are lined with quaint, two-story Spanish-style buildings that house hundreds of tiny discount shops. Aisles are packed with color TVs, pocket calculators, tape decks and radios. Prices-$460 for a Sony 17-in. portable color TV, vs. $634.95 at Foley's department store in Houston-attract a different kind of professional smuggler, the chiveras. They sometimes hire pilots, who are occasionally smugglers themselves, and twin-engine Beechcraft "Beech 18" airplanes with the noses extended 6 ft. to haul more cargo...