Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1901-11-28
The Fiestas Of Mexico

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ssENTIALLY land Of fiestas, as
Mexico Is, the Mexican has be-
come a past master in the art Of
festival decoration, regardless Of
the ineager means at hand the re-
suits obtained are full Of artistic color
and marvels OF beauty-the opportunity to
practice Is ample as the fiestas are oft
recurring, hardly month passes but
there Is some celebration Of church or
state, and the saints days. are number
less, so that the average Mexican is either
preparing FOR fiesta or just getting over
one all the time.
On feast days stores and Offices close
their doors and everybody goes abroad
on pleasure bent-everybody comes to
town, some in RACES some in tatters some
in velvet gowns-the former predominant
ing. Hackmen are permitted to double
their prices because a fiesta is conducive
of desire to ride, and q demand always
produces bull market. which the
cocheros are not slow to take advantage
Of.
September Is the mouth Of the great ma
tional fiesta, Mexico's Fourth of July
comes on the 10th of September, and
President Diaz birthday on the 18TH and
the two events are combined in one grand
fiesta, that generally takes week in get
ting ready and getting we'll.
This year q damper was thrown over
the festivities by the death of President
Mckinley, which was most sincerely
mourned in Mexico, and all of the events
except those required by law were post
poned or abandoned altogether. and ev-
erywhere the somber shade of mourning
was entwined with the green, white and
red.
have seen the great plaza mayor in
the city of Mexico on the night of the
10th of September, packed with surging
mass of humanity waiting the browning
event of the fiesta at IL o'clock, when
the president Of the republic comes to the
balcony of the palace over which hangs
the liberty bell that came from the little
church Of Atotonilco, and strikes the
bell as did Hidalgo at the same hour on
that fateful night in 1910, and announced
the birth of Mexican independence The
first stroke of the liberty bell is answered
by the deep toned bells Of the cathedral,
a flash of electric light Eliminates the
scene the towers of the great church the
facade of the palace hang in festoons of
green, white and red lights showing pa
triotic pictures and phrazes of loyal senti-
ment-the scene beggars all description.
The bells are ringing. the people shout
their "vlvas" and cannon roar in unison
very pandemonium of patriotism. This
year was in Guadalajara, there the ma
tional fiesta is more of social function
though tho same general features prevail
in electric lighting the state palace and
the cathedral which have the same rela,
tive position on the main plaza. There IS
no city in the world with, equal advan-
tages for outdoor promenades-there is
never any postponement on account Of the
weather in Guadalajara, the big blocks
in the city's center are surrounded by
portals, colonnades "A temporary balus-
trade is placed between the columns, and
covered archway across intervening
streets joins the portales and makes one
grand promenade-the streets between
these squares are closed to traffic during
the week Of the fiesta and are laid out in
gardens wherein are blooming all the
flowers of the tropics there are lawns,
green colored mass spread over the pave
ment, and playing fountains.
Pleasure is queen, and King Business
that pass through these thoroughfares
must go around some other way till the
fiesta is over and the burros are rele-
gated to the suburbs. The arched and
columned portals are ablaze with myriads
of electric lights, making the arches out
lines and hanging in artistic wreaths and
pendants Only the elite elect may pass
in promenade inside the balustrade, and
there is professional galaxy of beautiful
women in never ending parade as they
pass around and around meeting an outer
line of men going the other way. Full
evening dress is the custom, and the cos
tunes are bewildering in gorgeous beau
ty; the light, airy fabrics of the semi
tropics prevail; here and there the fas-
cinating matilda of Spanish lace half
hides an olive beauty's face. a memory
of old Spain and Mexico that was
before the railroads brought in the
Partisan hat. The men show diversity
of dress; the conventional swallowtail is
alongside the silver spangled trousers
and the big gold braided sombrero. But
the peaked-crown straw sombrero and
the red blanket are not there; they are
outside the baiustrade with the blue re-
boso.
On each corner Of the portales an or
chestra plays the soft sensuous airs of
the country; they are just far enough
apart for the notes Of one sweet melody
to be lost ere the other comes in caress-
ing cadences-and tits no wonder that
dark eyes flash furtively and the fringe
of dropping lashes sweep the coloring
cheek.
This all seems like one great social
function rather than the celebration of
independence day-quite different from
the noisy firecracker Fourth Of July of
ours, and, it seems to me, all in their
favor.
In order that there may be no. crushing
crowds in the plaza and around the por-
tales the city council has hired halls in
other parts of the city, furnished music