Muchacho Meets Muchacha

NBC last week was inclined to think Henry Agard Wallace a pretty good idea man. A new program series, worked up at his suggestion, turned out to be the mail-getter of the week. What was more, it belonged to a class of program in which U.S. networks have usually been mediocre or worse. The show was in fact a lot fresher than its title, Down Mexico Way (Sat. 4 to 4:30 E.W.T.).

Vice President Wallace's idea came to him on his visit to Mexico in 1940. Like many a language student before him, he discovered that songs improve the ear, enlarge the vocabulary and warm the heart. Mexican popular songs are good. Mr. Wallace listened, learned, sang. One evening last autumn he talked to NBC's Executive Frank Mullen about a radio program to teach Spanish that way.

Hardbitten, bright-eyed Mr. Mullen set NBC's assembly lines in motion. Fortnight ago the ' Wallace dream boat slid down NBC's ways with launching speeches by gracious Senorita Castillo Najera, daughter of the Mexican Ambassador, and Mr. Wallace. At network stations the National Federation of Music Clubs, the National Federation of Business & Professional Women's Clubs held listening parties.

They heard the opening adventure, in Jalisco, of a good-natured young man from the U.S. By the end of the half-hour, boy had met girl (Mexican), had danced, heard much music, learned some handy Spanish words and phrases and at least one simple song. Last week's chapter, laid in Michoacan, taught him another. As the radio audience was informed, all songs used in the eight-week series can be had on records.

Down Mexico Way managed to be primer-like but not too cute. An offer to send the text of its songs in Spanish and English drew 1,700 letters last week. Students of Spanish could take heart from the fact that its Mexican tone was achieved by an Irish-born script writer (McDonagh), a Canadian-born director (Corday), and a cast whose ingenue (Gould) was born & bred in Manhattan.

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