Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-18
FAMILY LIVING AMONG BELLS.
| Births, Deaths and Marriages in
Great Cathedral Tower.

From the Mexican Herald.
So far above the pavement that those who
walk in and out among the hundreds of
pa ssing vehicles appear like creeping IN
sects, and so high that the ordinary noises
of the city reach upward only as confused
murmur, lives the family that has the dis
tinction of being the most elevated in Mex
ico's capital. The home Of this family Is
high I'D In the eastern tower of the cathe-
dral, and there. among the bells that for
centuries have called the faithful to the
services of the church, this family has lived
for years, and there is every Indication that
the tower will be their home for many years
to come Two years ago Manuel Brena, the
head Of this family, died, and now his
widow, Luisa de la Brena, assisted by her
three sons and her daughter, looks after
the ringing of the bells and cares for the
great clock that has marked time for so
many years for the residents of that part of
the city.
Brides have been led to the little home
among the bells, births have there been cell
ebrated and death many times has come
to the occupants. 1t is more than 100 years
ago that man was placed in charge of the
bells, and those who now live there are the
lireal descendants of this man. This man
was the grandfather of Tulsa de la Brena,
who now Is grandmother herself. When
her husband died he was an old man. and
the woman Is no longer young, but 1t Is
pre- bable that the time -honored position or
bell-ringer will not pass to new hands when
she's carried down the winding flight OF
stairs Doubtless the work will fall to one
or all Of her sons, who now spend their time
in looking after the work of ringing the
bells at intervals. the time of which Is. no
doubt, known to the priests themselves no
better than to them.
hat
cation. Those who sing the masses before
the affairs know the time for the ringing
and the length Of the performance no better
nor as we'll as the members of the Brena
| family. There are three sons. Francisco,
Augustin and Antonio, and one daughter,
Maria Guadalupe. The mother and daugh-
ter care for the home and the sons handle
the ropes their father, their grandfather and
| their great-grandfather once handled.
PrOba bly, not one man out of ten knows
| that a family is living in one of the cathe-
dral towers and probably not one man out
of hundred knows anything of the condi-
| ton of that home. By far the majority of
| those who do know there is a family there
| 1t is imagined that they live like ordinary
poems. The idea doubtless prevails that the
| family lives like the poorest portero, but
| should any one pay a visit to this home
above the city they would find a nome TAR
superior to the average home in Mexico City.
The Brena home is of the most COM
Portable of homes. Its sanitary condition
tenths of the homes on a level with the
| thousands of buildings that compose the
| city, and the air that reaches the cathedral
home seems filtered of the nauSeous doors
| that are not uncommon to those who live
below. The fresh air of the country seems
| blowing about one and Il requires no effort
| of the imagination to believe 1t really is the
same untainted atmosphere of the hills that
circle the city.
Instead of living like poems the Brena
family lives among luxurieS the poor of the
city never have the pleasure of knowing.
The cement floors are covered with carpets
and furniture and pictures give to the sew
eral rooms that are located there home
like air that might cause the family to be
envied in spite of the immense number of
steps 1t is necessary to take in order to
reach them. At one side of the parlor is a
piano, and Miss Brena and one of her broth
erS are skilled in its use. The music of the
church and music that is never heard in the
organ loft may frequently be heard by those
who sit on the benches in front of the ca
thedral. Many have wondered where the
sounds came from, and few have discovered
that they come from among the bells of the
old cathedral.
1t was there the mother was married more
than thirty years ago, and doubtless it will
be there that the daughter will be married
some day. For the maldens of the Brena
family the bells of the cathedral are we'd
ding bells. and on those occasions the men
of the family perform a double duty when
they pull the ropes, and those below seldom
know that the ringing is for anything more
than one of the regular services of the
church.