Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-10-19
BEYOND OUR SOUTHERN BORDER.
"BEAUTY UNADoRNED NOT ALWAYS
APPRECIATED.
Female Beauty Obscured by Bad Dress
ing-Home Life in hot
Climate.
! Special Correspondence of the REcoRD-UN1osl
GUAYMAs, Sonora, 1889.


GUAYMAs, Sonora, 1889.
Travellers say of this odd and isolated
little town that it possesses two things IN
an eminent degree-pretty girls and hot
weather. The latter is simply indescrlba-
bic, especially when the wind happens to
be shoreward, the incircling hills COM
pletely shutting off every breath of air
not heated to 1909 in the shade. As to the
senoritas, they certainly are beautiful
while young, but, unfortunately, women
age rapidly in this fervid climate, and
seem as old at % as most Northern females
at 40. There is one thing, however, in
favor of the Guaymus girls, viz, that they
know how to dress better than their SIS
tiers in most parts of Mexico circum-
stance due to the large foreign element of
the city, chiefly American and French.
"Beauty unadorned" is all very well-in
poetry, and perhaps in fact, if left abso-
lutely unadorned But the prettiest wo-
man is not attractive when slouching
about corsetless, in an ill-ftting, badly cut
gown mo matter how rich the materially,
which says just enough in the rear to wipe
ND the dusty streets, hatless and gloveless,
hair banged straight over the brows la
poodle and feet crowded into shoes two
sizes too small, with enormously high heels
that give the wearer gait absurdly
awkward.
In many plazas, in various portions of
this sunny country, where the elite are
wont to promenade, have watched the
professions of wealth, youth and beauty,
longing to prop up the plump figures into
something like shapeiiness, to gather the
untidy folds the skirts into grace of con-
tour and fling those ungainly heels into
the middle OF next week" But then, they
all have abundant dark hair, lustrous eyes
and pretty teeth; and in Sonora most of
them know how to wear their good clothes
in becoming way, and, better than all,
their faces have blush and glow, in keep
ing with their liquid eyes, indicating good
health, rich blood and warm hearts-and
beside them the average pale-tinted Amer
Icano looks like a snow-drift.
Here all the native women, Mexican and
Yaqui, still wear over the head, instead of
hats or bonnets, either the Spanish man
tilla pronounced man-tee-ya) or the
rebosa. The former is simply a three
cornered shawl of black or white lace; and
the latter is long, widescarf, black or blue
cotton, wool or silk. No other sort of
head-covering is ever seen here, except
among the visiting strangers, and none
other could be so universally becoming and
SO suited to the climate. In most other
respects the Sonora ladies follow Ameri-
can styles, except in the matter of gloves
(which are never worn at ALL, and those
execrable French heels, nearly finger
high, set directly under the instep. Prob
ably the
TOTAL ABSENCE OF GLOVES
Is largely owing to the difficulty of getting
them on and off in an atmosphere so pers-
piration-provoking; but, Notwithstanding
this lack of protection from the tropic sun
and the blistering glare of the nearby bay,
the Guaymas ladies are justly famed for
the whiteness and beauty of their hands,
in which they take great pride. Probably
this arises from the fact that manual labor
is considered dishonorable for any but the
lowest classes; and poor, indeed, must the
aristocratic Mexican become before he or
she will consent to do any kind Of work,
indoors or out-;n most cases | verify be-
lieve they would prefer starvation. To be
sure, the ladies look after their households
a little each day, after fashion-that is,
they 90 around the casa and worry the
multitude of servants by Ignorant orders
and most of them use the needle skillfully
on lace work and embroidery. But for the
most part their lives are spent in the ham,
intoxicating, sleeping, smoking cigarettes
in dainty silver holders, and chatting airy
nothings. They are all very religious and
regular church-goers to morning mass and
evening vespers, observing all festas and
doing whatever priest and confessor die
tates. They read little or nothing as a
rule know nothing of the world beyond
their limits of vision, and their highest
idea of enjoyment is in dancing and sinless
Irritation. There are great many balls,
and every evening there is informal dane
ing in somebody's casa. 1t is the universal
custom everywhere in Mexico for neigh
bors and friends to 'drop in" of an even
ing without especial invitation, and al
WAYS "where two or three are gathered to-
gether" there is music and dancing, to
which these light-hearted, pleasure-loving,
warm-blooded people incline, as naturally
as ducks to water.
As an incident characteristic of the
place, l may mention that coming to Quay
mas once, via the California Gulf the
steamer arrived on Monday morning; it
was after o'clock when | went ashore
with the Captain, but We found everything
shut-up-the Custom-house, the Postoffice,
the stores; nobody stirring but the Ameri
can Consul even the distributor of the
mails and the master of the port being
cross and sleepy because disturbed so early.
There had been carnival ball the night
before Sunday, and young and old had
danced till Monday dawning.
THE HOUSES OF eUAYMAs
Are of stone and adobe-mostly the latter,
built in the prevailing style of Mexico,
one story high, with fiat roofs and walls
from three TO FIVE feet thick. The more
pretentious residences inclose a court,
around the inner walls being a broad YER
anda or corridor, open to the court, every
apartment leading into it by its only door,
there being no outside doors, excepting the
main entrance, which also leads to the
court and thence to the rooms of the casa,
and through which donkeys and carriages
NAV come as well as the people. The
poorer classes-and they compose by far
the larger part of the population-inhabit
palaces made of poles tied together by
withes and plastered with little sun
dried mud, doorless, windowless and rooted
with cactus branches, palm-leaves old rags
or whatever happened to come in the
builders way. Even in the best houses,
window-slass is rare, the easement being of
the French type-double and reaching
from floor to ceiling, the place of the ordi- |
nary sash, to which we of the North are
accustomed, being filed by folding doors of
solid wood, so that when closed the rooms
are in total darkness.
But in this mild climate there is no
season of the year when the windows may
,,nt he left wide omen. hY night as by day, |