The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-04-04
LIFE AND PEOPLE IN CUBA.
Havana During the Mardi Gras Festival
-Scenesina Drive Alongthe Prado.
The Curious Homes of Cuban People-Funer
ais of the Rich and Poor-The Posi-
ton of Women in Cuba.
of the Indian apolis Journal.


during the Mardi Gras carnival, and as We drove
| to our hotel we met many maskers in the streets
on foot and in carriages returning from the pro-
cession, which was just over. In I, Q evening
| we went to public masked ball at the Tacon
Theater. This is one of the largest buildings OF
the kind in the world about the size of the
| metropolitan Opera-house in New York, but 1t
| is quite devoid Of ornaments very ordinary
| looking place. About 10 o'clock great crowd
| began to collect, some in masks and fancy
| dresses, mostly women, while the came in
ordinary street costume. kept their hats on, and
smoked necessarily. The music not partic-
| ularly good. there seemed to be too great pre-
| ponderance of drums and brass instruments.
! These made frightful din. The first dance
| was very peculiar one. The dancers would
| rest during few bars of the music, and then a
| peculiar wooden instrument making rafting
| noise, would commence and they would turn
slowly around few times to a step which l
never saw before, and then stop again. Afterward
we this dance at some of the balls given by
| the various clubs of Havana, the "Circulo Ha-
| banero' and ''Caridad,' and it looked extremely
| graceful, but as the Tacon ball is attended by
every class of society, and poor dancers largely
| preponderated, it seemed like a melancholy per-
| formance. There was no conversation, the same
thing was repeated over and over, and we thought
| it would never end. Later in the evening, how
| ever, stepped out of the theater into large
courtyard outside surrounded by high stone
| walls and paved with smooth stones. Here
another band was playing wild and beautiful
| air and another set of dancers, mostly masked
presented a strange and weird appearance in the
dim light which illuminated the court yard. 1t
was scene to be long remembered. Even af-
ter returning to the hotel the strains of the wild
| music followed u.s. floating across the Campo de
Marie through the windows Of our bed-chamber
| and crept into our very dreams.
The costumes at this ball were some of them
| rather pretty, but most of the maskers were in
dominos, and there seemed to be little extraya-
| gance. 1t was the bali of the people, not the
aristocracy.
On the afternoon after our arrival we drove
| up the Prado (which would be called boule-
| ward if it were in French or American city,, a
| wide avenue with drives each side, and a
| broad walk, bOrdered with trees, in the middle,
and thence along the street next the ocean to the
little fort called La Reina. The houses this
street have the Atlantic ocean for their back
| yards. They are built upon rock foundation:
and at short intervals large excavations are
| made in the rocks for abathing 1t is danger
Gus to battle in the serf on account of the great
number and vast size Of the sharks which infest
| it, At this season, however, there is no bath
| ing even in these rock excavations, since the
north winds which prevail, and the consequent
rough sea, render it impossible to keep uD the
wooden partitions which separate the bath In
| summer these baths are a universal resor It
LA Reina we saw a curious sight-al Vt
twenty -six coach horses came up to the sea, ne
head of each horse fastened to the tail of the
horse ahead of him. A single man riding the
| leading horse was in charge of the entire
| train. He plunged into the sea, and of
were running very high. The horses
| went in up to their backs. and
| and the breakers would frequently break entire
| " over them. They seemed to enjoy it i'm
| mensely This bath is almost the only pleasure
| that these poor creatures get In word full of
| toll and privation. Driven hard early and late,
| l-fed and cruelty beaten they rarely survive
more than five or six years of this service in the
| burning climate of Cuba. little further out
| in the ocean saw huge shark leap from the
water. While we were watching them the chain
| gang came along, about forty or fifty men, man
| acled, in charge of half dozen soldiers with
rifles. returning from their work upon the roads.
| These are generally the most desperate malefac-
| tors, highwaymen and murderers, who are con-
| demned to hard labor under this tropical sun.
| Most of Them were negroes and coolies. They
| did not appear to be in bad physical condition.
nor did they look entirely wretched, but the
| clank of many chains had an unpleasant
| sound. Driving still further to the west, along
| the sea- we left the city behind u.s. and after
| ride of some miles, arrived at pretty little
| suburban town with great number of the bet
we
| should call them. This town was connected
| with Havana by tramway, over which dunn
my engine and single passenger car passed at
| intervals of perhaps an hour.
Cuban residence is peculiar affair The
houses differ considerably as to plan, but none
| that have yet seen at all resembles any house
| in our own country. There are scarcely any of
| them more than two stories in height, generally
| only one story. The ceilings are however, very
high-eghteen or twenty feet at least-and
VIII Tha wis
dows have no panes OF glass, but, instead. there
are immense iron gratings, made in fantastic
| shapes. The floors are of tile or marble.
Frequently, in the better class of houses, there
are porticos in 'front.' very wide, with Doric or
| Corinthian columns The great front door is
often used alike for horses and men, and the car
riage. when not in use, is kept in the front hail.
| The front portico is generally nearly on level
with the sidewalk. 80 that horse and carriage
| can drive in the front door. Sometimes, how
| ever, 1t is more elevated. and low wall or ter
race of bright-coored encaustie tiles separates it
| from the street. A lamp hangs from the roof of
the portico and the interior of the house is often
brilliantly lighted, that, you pass along the
streets of the better part of the city, you see
| families and their guests sitting upon the
porches, and in their elegant parlors,
in the most public manner possible utterly
regardless of the curiosity of ers-by
These Cubans are the most sociable people mag
| Unable. They are always visiting each other
If you drop in" of evening, you will, per-
haps find dozen other visitors. We made
call last night and found the room quite full of
others who had dropped in, in the same way.
Sometimes the proprietor of a plantation who
has no city house will make a visit of several
months duration upon his friend in Havana.
We knew of family who had to give up house
keeping from lack of ability to entertain their
numerous guests. Cuban hospitality seems
Ito know no bounds During our
brief g&yt-x> and with an acquaint-
ance Of not more than two or three fam
lilies, scarcely a day has passed without invita-
tons to balls and parties, cards of introduction,
various clubs, drives and expeditions to points of
interest. and every device that can be imagined
to make our visit pleasant Such attentions are
enough to make one ashamed of the colder and
more selfish character of Americans. The fam
lily equipage generally consists of small, but
neat Victoria, drawn by single horse The