The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-03-18
YANKEE GIRLS IN MEXICO.
nov THEY CONTRAST WITH MAIDENS
OF CAsTILI4N BLOOD.

Til. invasion Of the tourist girl at this SEASON
riyes the smartly dressed and cane supported
Mexican dude many moments OF interested spec
uisnon. los gomosos" line Plateros street, &C.
casionally drift down the street 10 the doorway
Of the lt,ubide Hotel, and, with a Latin American
air Of affected creole indifference, gaze on the
tell. dainuly a,ired and wholly independent
daughters Of our Uncle Samuel.
During the hours that most men devote 10 their
Offices Or the conduct Of their business, the lizard
Of the Mexican capital hugs the walls Of the great
shops, preferentially the jewellers, and, nursing
his big headed cane, contemplates, ecstatically,
the feminine shopping procession. II il a daily
exhibition Of the wealth, grace and fashionable
world OF Mexico; fair women mingled in q surging
crowd of bullfghters and Bishops, bill collectors
and laneurs, Journalists and professional men,
passing, always passing, up and down the great
central shopping thoroughfare Of the city. The
provincial and Haunting modes Of the women
from the provinces, up 10 the capital ON a shop
ping tour, give rise 10 the comment Of the up to-
date women Of the metropolis, and the lips Of the
"gomosos, holding up the walls. curl in derisi0u
al the loud colors won by las napas, " or women
from the interior, who may h. rich in mines and
haciendas, but who lack "el buen gusto' and the
ultra relinp ments Of the federal capital.
ollfu TIC hluiu VI biA - nv '' ''oh
Ing. Ills mOuslachios turn up In the German
military style, his eyes Ge big and bold and very
black. and his manners are Us culnyatedly I'm.
pudent ms his tailor Is correct. IA currecusmo,
good form, Is the desire Of the young mans heart,
every point Il his toilet has been duly considered,
Ills Ideal Is 10 lounge on the "banquetas, ~ side
walks. Of the principal street, ana dart ardent;
of languishing, glances. at the daughters OF
wealthy families. In This manner h. spends
his late afternoons and his early evenings, when
the great shops are all brilliant with light and
fair fa,aa anpT,agh Tho windows of line rFant
irwelry shops, Sometimes, grown OVERLOAD,
the pride Of the Plateros street "echar una flor,
throws a flower. at the S%'n9ritas, 81 besi"ws the
SANE delicate attention on the handsome married
women. To "eChar una tOT" Is 10 make a verbal
compliment, and II Is a high art The women,
II The nor w. graceful, are ap,. to be pleased rather
than offended. The bulltighters, in their mush-
room hats AMI shuri Jackets, have their fay0rile
corner, and their compliments ara Andallian
in poetic elOquence
Ii is into this daily procession up and down
the great thoroughfare which has for social
,ermini he Jockey club 'zaguan, or entrance,
and La rrrla iewelry store, TINT the tall, slender,
dainty a,tired American tourist girls are plunged
What charming heads, svelte forms, pretty an
dacitias IT color and Independence Of manner
the obscrvant "gompSo' finds. It's type he never
wraria, Of studying, he exchanges numhrrleSS
observations with his companion "iAardS' rs they
hug the wall and let the girls go by.
Taller Is tho fair touris,a than the average young
pretty face to catch her eye And this. feat OF
an upward glance y! alteration lends p~iquancy
10 the young dlndy's sport ot woman ogling
That the American girl Is rlrh, her iather a ntuil
millionaire, is an article uf faith among the dudes
Of platerus street. Hence she is q gallant prize
TO be won, II that he possible, and the deed done
tn" financial future ot the dude Is assured lEs
nurant of the language, the fair Americana
passes the "%torrrus, with their mushroom hats
and deliriously aroused by the sight OF the hrr,
mosa %yanqui" Spain hauls down the flag OF
blood and gold again as the daughter Of I nCle
sam trips by, and Spain does 50 chivalr2uNly
and CALAMITY Winged words in the clippedi
Spanish Of Andalusia are shot AT ia %tour7siai
hut she heeds not the compliment. and the nun
fighters are chasrined and swear they WI, give
M firtations and "Copitas' Of sherry, ana learn
English!
under which they hide the Soul,ane, winch must
not legally ba exhibited. and they, too, glance
at the American girl, tall, Gibsonian, Of lovely
complexion and eyed a deep, LIQUID gray or anIue
as oi the sky Of Mexico And often the priest
turns to catch another glimpse Of this nigh novelty,
this alta novedad," on the streets OF ancient
Mesico.
The oval faced Mcsicau women are II another
type. They early incline to embonpulnt, they
are soft eyed, their hShes ar" long, and their h,ile
feet tHse them glidingly over the ground, Tor
sin is the walk of the woman 81 Spanish blood
enchanting. and turns the heads OF Nmerirans
sud the modern, Mexican as " did that lar famed
"meneo,' the sober heads Of The Roman military
chiefs stationed in me southern provinces "i lhela
centuries ago.
It is February, the Mexican spring begins,
the odor of yiolets fills the air, and a delicious
languor steals over ones senses, and in this nloId
one stops t. ~11e m this wonderful procession oi the
women Of NJ 'yico, daughters II the. tropics, their
voices low, and grave, and sweet, and their speech
all soft liquid syllahles which hint OI low" ana nap
piness. II is New Spain, SPAR transplanted
10 the tropics, Under a moro s~nntherly sun, that YOU
see here. Once in a while q daug ht"r oi the Nnofs
passes, her step elastic, arabian; her eyes are dark
az the night on the desert, her lpCFs are black
and glossy, and YOU know why the poets OF the
Orient have celebrated her in delicate verso. The
Moor has persisted in Spain and in spain cot
onies. He has lett hs most useful words s~prinklei
all through the daily vocabulary; h- has influenced
pronunciation, and has made the laws OF serial
life to a considerable degree.
Cold is the Northerner who remains in Mexico
and Keeps his heart Here are women to insrir"
passion. women who recall the heroines of the
Andalusian- Moriscan ballads, for the type per-
slsts, is az strong oday as eight centuries ago
The stately, Aragonesr, the proud and naughty
OF Galicia, the quiet eyed and ruddy .hued women
oil the lofty basque country, recently celebrated
by Lott, and the little women of Andalusia, who
open their eyes and conquer,
Among these women the American. girl re-
mains distinct, as 81 the north, selfcentrsd,
somehow, not recalling the English women or
the remote Scand lnavians whose blood flows
in her veins, In dress she II distinct from the
women Of the upper class here. She il slender,
she is tall, and she affects the high -cOlored silk
waist, the formidable high white collar, and her hat
sits differently on her head. She walks as II
accustomed TO go alone, 10 60 anywhere unques-
toned There is the light Of intellect in her eyes;
she Is one who questions, thinks, and is oi the
moderns most mplern. She meets dlgnitaries
Of church and state on equal terms, and dGres
interrogata them She matches the tall young
American mrn, clear Of hue, well groomed, direct
and business ike. Youth and maid are Of the
same stock: they seem not likely TO plunge into
love, a guitar and poetry They will ass their
episode Of love-making discretly, without sigh
ing like q furnace, and VIII have a very clear
idea Of each the other before the nupt!al knot
is tied. Romance with them will be dlScIeely
kept in check, there are more I'M Important questions,
the future home, how il IN 10 bn maintained, where
the good clothes, the theatre and opera tick rs
and all those things are t. come from. And
they will we'd, and their children will grow up
tall, fair and keen eyed, as u questioning destiny,
and afraid not of the gods themselves
The Mexican woman with the blood OF Spain,
and a dash ofttimes Of the Arabian IN her veins,
will love, often without wisdom, allowing the
unworthy IT, win her heart Shs Will love on
devotedly even II neglected. but when her heart
Is at peace in marriage she will shine, a queen
Is capable Of romantic, uncalculauhg love. and
in poverty she remains the same. true and sweet
and patient.
Usually it Is her destiny 10 live out her life in
the tranquility Of her semi Moorish home, amid
her flowers and her birds and her babies, ana
the children grow up adOring their mothers, wor.
shipping her into old age, and mourning her at
Ing queen Of hearts Is the aspiration OF the woman
with Spanish blood Sh" is ardent, but not Shdl
low, the current Of her love runs deep She has
~ notion II business, regards money and money
masking As al Affair IT men, and l. often, In widow
hood. exploited remurs"l"ssly She is religious,
most deyout, and the ancient church is her refuge
in all tie tnhls of life In her pietv there is no
calculation Of advantages 10 be gained by faith
fulnesss 10 church dulles Her heart Is In her
religion, and You viii never change her creed