Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-01-16
THE PRETTY NATIVE CHAPPIES
Languorous Eyes and Powdered
Faces of the Cuban Bellies.
HOW GIRLS ARE BROUGHT UP
staff Correspondence of The Evening Star.

the concern down to the humDleSt porter,
is a Spaniard. Every steamship that ar
rives from Spain brings a thousand or more
immigrants, and it can be stated, as rule,
that they are all males. Or course, many
of the merchants and business men and
many of the officials bring their wives and
families from Spain to Cuba. and some of
them marry here, but most Of the Span
iards have no families in Cuba. They live
as if they were mere sojourners. Cuba Is
place for them to make their fortunes.
All expect to return some day to Spain 10
live on the fortunes made here. AS a mat
ter of fact, many of them never do return.
Either the fortune they seek is not found,
or after nearly d lifetime of residence mere
they come to love Cuba as their home "A
visitor can hardly fail to get the impression
that the conditions surrounding the SPAN
ish population, the temporary character as
they believe, of their residence, and the abb
sence among them OF a wholesome domestic
life. with its good influences and restraints,
have had bad effect on the morals OF the
large communities There are, of course.
many Spanish households here, where one
will find a home life as pure and attractive
in any city in the world, but the rule is
that tho Spaniard in Cuba has no such ties
here, and no such incentive to strive to
elevate the morals of the community.
Spanish and Cuban Types.
The Spaniards ard the Cubans are easily
distinguished. The Cuban. though of Cas-
titan descent, has. on account of climatic
influences. exerted through several gen.
erattons, become a distinct type. The
Spaniard Is likely to intimate also that
there has been a deterioration. due to mix
lures with other races. One Will lind ire
quently among them a dark tint, which
does not appear to differ much from that OF
the octoroon. But those CubanS who are
not liable to any such suspicious differ
greatly from the Spaniards. They are
smaller of stature and more effeminate in
appearance. The forceful, stronS-featured
Spanish face. the heritage of the Castilian
from the old Roman. has been softened
in this tropical cline. There has been left
handsome, brown-tinted face, with deli
cate features, black hair and large, dark
eyes. The Cuban gentleman has 1.-the.
graceful, well-knit figure. He is about five
feet six inches in height. His hands and
feet are remarkably small and neat in
size. The young Cuban dude is one of the
prettiest male creatures on earth. The
physical charms CT Cuban women have
often been laCded by travellers, who have
come under the spell of their languorous
dark eyes. but in my opinion 1t Is time the
Cuban man had his share of the compli-
ments. In Havana one will see many OF
these young men, sons of the old families.
Cuban butterflies, who are prevented both
by tradition and by lack of energy from
engaging in useful toll and who have
much the air of a landed gentry. Although
conditions are changing now, the Cubans
have been and still are to large extent
the landowners. They are the planters and
farmers. In the days before emancipation
they owned the slaves. There is among
them a large aristocratc class. Though
many of them poor, they still hold
themselves aloof from the contamination
of labor. Out of this class come the neat
looking swells or dudes. who powder their
faces and attire themselves with as much
care as a fashionable belle. The influences
h,, vH1 hA
Spaniard seem to have left the Cuban also
without much force of character. They
are like all the Latin race, excitable and
liable to go to great lengths in moments Of
enthusiasm. They proved in their long
and unhappy struggle for freedom that
they could suffer much and dare much,
but still one cannot but see that in the
island of Cuba today the Spaniard is the
master.
The Cuban Women.
Some young Spaniards, when I have ask
ed them why they did not marry, have told
ME they could not afford to marry a Cuban
woman. The Cuban women of the upper
class are raised in Incidence. The young
Span:ards say these girls expect when mar
ried to continue to live in incidence 10
have servants and every luxury provided
for them and scorn the notion of taking
care OF a house or of attending to other
duties. that the wife of a man in moderate
circumstances might have to assume. This
is a Spanish statement OF the case, and
must be regarded as not wholly unpreJu-
diced In the first PLACE, the young Span
lard wants some justification for leading
gay bachelor life, whose gayety in most in
stances, is hardly dis tinguishabie from i'm
morality Then there is between the two
pee pie a feeling amounting almost to race
hatred. The testimony of men who have
married Cuban wives shows that a large
percentage of the women make helpful
hIIt nj
amCng them the busting. energetic women
of higher ATTITUDES. They have tropical
love of ease. They know nothing of the
blessings of StrongmindedneSS II a Susan
B. Anthony appeared among them she
would cause their dark eyes to open as big
as saucers with wonder.
1t is not to be accepted as true that
Cuban women are all beautiful. 1t be
stated as a rule, however, that the Cuban
woman has beautiful eyes. Faces that
would otherwise be plain and unattractive
are glorfied by ravishing dark eyes, with
arched brows and long lashes that cast
shadows on their cheeks. When the face,
as is sometimes the case, is perfect oval,
the features prettily formed, with a touch
of vOluptuousness about the mouth, the
hair raven black, such eyes complete a
beauty that is we'll worth journey to
Cuba to see. one will often catch glimpse
of face like that, framed in by a man
tilla at the opera or in the street. He for
the same spelD will often find himself COM
ing to a sudden stop in the street a the
sight of such a face. peerinG out from the
shadows of carriage, perhaps with fan
provoklng1y held to hide half the
beauty He will see such beauties, too,
now and then at the windows of houses.
and this is likely to encourage in him a
habit CT looking into the wide-open will
dows as he sides by them the narrow
footw alks. He will rarely see one walking
on the street in the daytime and when he
does she will be accompanied by an elderly
woman or a negro servant. But in the
evening he will see many such in the car
riages that crowd some of the favorite
drives, walking, properly attended. on
the Prado. They have even in midwinter,
thanks to the climate, all the summer
girls advantage of wearing light, fluffy
mate rails, and rarely have any other head
covering than mantilla of black or white
lace Most frequently the Cuban girl IS
bareteaded.
The Powdered Bellies.
The Island of Cuba has many evils to
complain Of but it is blessed in the fact
hat here the theatcr hat is unknown. The
Cuban women, like the men, are small of
stature and erect and graceful of figure.
The same general differences can be re-
marked between them and the Spanish
women as between the Cuban and Spanish
men Notwithstanding the loveliness of
of