UPFRONT.

Americas' Eclectic Menu

I am writing to congratulate you on Americas Magazine. I enjoy reading every article in the magazine. I read it was first published in 1949 and imagined how many magazines I would have if my parents had subscribed for me then. I was eleven years old at the time.

One of my favorites in the April 1999 issue is "Music Notes": I hope that these songs and instrumental music can be bought in music stores or ordered.

Also, "Books": I love to read nonfiction, but I was very impressed by Jo Soares's novel, A Samba for Sherlock. I am going to order it through the bookstore. The "Food" section: I was tickled. I'm going to try out the recipes.

You have my gratitude and vote of thanks for such a pleasurable magazine. I am of Mexican descent, and I have always loved to hear of other cultures of Hispanic life and customs.

Linda Madrid-Farfan Vacaville, California

Miles and Miles of Chile

In the June 1999 English edition, Danilo Gartner of Canberra, Australia, points out a different listing of mileage between the coast of Chile and the island of Rapa Nui (most often referred to as Isla de Pascua or Easter Island). The figures listed in the letter were "approximately two thousand three hundred miles" and two thousand miles.

Both figures are approximately correct. The larger one represents statute and the smaller represents nautical miles.

I have been a reader of your magazine for many years and visited the island when flying home from Santiago, Chile, via Tahiti.

Scott Walls Oakland, California

Premiere Issue, Please

I have been reading Americas for over ten years. It is a magazine tied to the three Americas: One can begin on any page with such a menu of information.

I would like to congratulate you on your fifty years, and I support...