Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1888-03-16
A CUBAN CARNIVAL.
CELEBRATION OF THE MARDI
GftAS IN HAVANA
The City Practically Surrendered
to Merrymakers-Brilliant and
Grotcslue Costumes of the
Multitude OF Maskers

Quaint, gay and brilliant at her worst,
on First Carnival Sunday Havana is I'M
doub,edly one of the most interesting
cities of the world. Her blended No r
ish, Saracen and Doric architecture has
taken on added ancient seemn ng from
the single universal decoratiou-the red
and yellow flags Of Spain, in every con-
ceivable form Of festoon aud drapery, dis
posed i'll every conceivable manner. By
daylight the narrow Gales and great
paseos are swarmng with the lower
classes. In these, their costumes, ways
and sunny faced delight one has as true
q study OF the mixed horle5 Of Spain, OF
Morocco and Of Africa as though arce-
Iona and Morocco were put in stirring
panorama together before ones
vision. Until after the "break-
fast" at the crowded casinos and
cafes, along toward noon, there is
little else to be contemplated than uni.
vcrsal jollity, cheer and song. Then be-
gins the gradual movement OF the quar-
ter m lion souls who exist in Havana.
and the thousands upon thousands from
every Part of Cuba. toward the Louvre,
the Campo Mario, and the mayniicent
laurel shade Prado, which sweeps from
Campo Mato to ParIue de la Punta, by
the sea. Up Sol, Offices, Teinte Rey
and Obispo streets come the dense
throngs of mestizos or mixed breeds of
every sort from the dark corners of Regia.
From Nedado and the outlying villas
along the sea come great crowds of
merrymakers. Down Cerro and Jesu del
Monte ways and from the white calzadas
that wind to the interior troop startling
masses of people. While from out the
weird recesse3 Of Gale. Balluarte quarter
comes hordes of the densest, barbaric
and awful, with enough le,ichism in
score of them to plague who'e city.
But on this day all are equal. There is
the same license to all. And vast as the
throngs repeatedly become, the pressure
is invariably relieved without panics or
the police
The principal occupation of the people
in these carnival throngs is seeing and
being seen. Next in importance in at
tracing ones attention are the vocifer
ous chattering, terrific gesti ulation,
feasting, drinking and singing, which
are continually in progress. The songs
of Old Spain are often heard. But here
and there rollicking Cuban ballads are
shouted and beloved uproariously. A
singular fact about all these street carni-
val songs is that one will never hear the
beginning or ending of any. Bars and
slaves seem to gurgle through the uni
versal bubbllpg over of good feeling. A
hundred voices will seize upon them and
curiously follow them. But this is only
for moment. Then here, or there, an
other and another is begun, and these in
time drown out the former abruptly; or
some sudden criticism or sight has at
tracted the attention, and instantly
away go mind and merriment in a total
ly different direction. Impulse rules all
action.
By 8 o'clock in the afternoon the
maskerS have taken possession of the
entire city. These do not appear in i'm
posing professions. Tens of thousands
of groups of individuals, each simply
giving expression to some isolated va
gary, fit hither and thther like myriads
Of mystic spirits of m srue. There is
not in it al single keen or witty thing.
The same antiquated idiotic things are
done as have been done in the streets of
Madrid, Lisbon and Barcelona formore
than 1000 years. Up and down the
streets, with the ponderous airs of 100, =
600 grave Don QuiXoteS, troop and tramp
the weird maske;s rs if in time with the
rhyme of never-ending tune; and, as
though as endlessly, thrice an hundred
| thousand voices roar and yell with de-
light. Every soul in the city is upon the
streets, in the myriads of balconies, orupon
the housetops. Wine flows like water.
Every conceivable form of melody tune
and sound clash and crash in pleasant
uproar. Under the poIticos or swarm
ing upon the balconies OF the great
structures facing the Prado and Campo
Mario are thousands of foreigners. Peo-
pie Of every known nationality look upon
these bewidering scenes. Ten thousand
carriages, including the public victoria,
are filled with the wealth and beauty of
Cuba. High officials di<porting lavish
insignia, nobility profusely decorated,
and famous Generals blazing in lace and
gold; rich planters in white, in gorgeo IS
turnouts; noble caballeros on magnifi-
Gently accoutred stceds, and thousands
of carriages crowded with the most
strikingly beautiful women in the world,
form moving lines of CLINT and flash and
color intercepting and separating the
masses afoot, until the changes OF color,
the tlutter of laces and fans, the flash of
jewels and gold blend and scintillate in
indescribab c brill.ancy.
When night has come the city is one
tremendous blaze of light and Llare of
sound. The aristocracy resort to the
splendid casinos where the most brilliant
balls of the world are given. Most Of
these are en- masque. What W uld stand
for an American fortune is fre uently
lavished upon one woman's costume.
The less rich, the IN dIle and lower
classes, the very coil es. are provided
for All Havana is bundle of casinos,
or centros. Every grade of human be-
longs to some one of these centros. At
these 0,000 merrymakers resort to
feast, sing and dance the whole night
long A hundred thousand souls carouse
upon the streets until daylight - Globe.
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