New-York tribune., 1910-06-26
Nexf-Door WefebborS
Pictur esque and Oriental Looking. These Women
Live Only Across the Rio Grande.

, seldom ground by machinery but by hand
rolling process. and from IL is made the
tortillas which are served at every meal
The marketing is conducted, even by tho
rich people in q manner that no poor
American would tolerate at home A PEN
ny's worth of this and sample OF thati
But the servants steal everything that 10
left over after a meal, so, no doubt this Is
a necessary evil Also the difficulty ana
expense of preserving ice make II inpossi-
BILE to keep food In quantities for long
''Women's clothes are expensive in Mex
ico and in consequence the women OF the
middle class are not as rule, attraceiVeiy
dressed. But the wives and daughters OF
the rich appear in their carriages wearing
gowns and robes fresh from Paris. and the
Indian women are most graceful and pict-
uresuue in their native costume. which con-
sists of the uypil and the rebosa- The for
mer garment is pronounced 'we-pul, and
the name really describes ii, because 1t
goes on over the head and comes off the
same way. It is made Of white linen or
muslin in one straight piece. The neck 10
square cut and bordered with a band OF
embroidery or print In colors. The short
kimono-shaped sleeves and the lower edge
of the garment are trimmed in the Same
way. A white skirt with a very deep hem
is worn underneath The rebosa is worn
over the head, and sometimes the Mays
maids wear it without the uypil.
These beautiful garments constitute the
everyday attire of the Indian woman OF
Mexico but on festive occasions all is
changed. Of course, il is impossible for her
to obtain the costly inportations affected
by the more fortunate but she makes
wild stab in that direction. Scornfully
casting aside her uypil and rebosa. she
decks herself out in any kind OF Yankee
wrapper or bedroom negligee that she can
obtain in return for her hard-saved money
These awful creations are as greediiy aov-
eted by the Indian women as Paris gown
by the debutante of more enlightened
circles. The men suffer from similar hal
lucinations, and imagine that they look
smart and modish with their locks shorn
like Americanos and their sombreros look
ing like isolated skyscrapers.
"A love affair in Mexico is very exciting |
In the first place the lover has to be will |
ing to let everybody know that he is ab- |
jectly the slave of his lady fair. That's |
nice for the girl, and has points. In order |
to indicate to the world that this is the |
case he must pace up and down under her :
balcony, pining and signing for look or |
token. Because of the look of Gagged /
animal which he wears, he is called bear
-Hacer el oso is to play the bear After a
few months of that the girl begins to indf- |
cate the state of her heart. Perhaps she
tosses him rose-or perhaps she lets him
see her kiss The rose-and then toss it on
the floor OF her balcony. or course, Mexi-
can lovers are jealous-it goes with tenn
perament' probably. Many a lover turns
from a bear 10 plain spy. dressing himself
TO look like a peon to see what the girl
will do if she thinks he is away. If the
tender affair prospers and the lovers wish
to marry a few tempestuous notes are sert |
by the bear at the imminent peril Of life |
or at least liberty; the maiden whispers TO
him on the way to mass and makes eyes 7
at him at every possible opportunity.
Then it is that the man may approach |
the parents of his divinity. But approach |
ing is not the limit of his privilege He !
may want to entertain his sweetheart at
dinner or the theatre or take her. for q |
trip for the day. and If he does not
include every relative she has within hall
ing distance-all the sisters and the cous
ins and the aunts'-he Will not be consid-
cred as a pleasant person q desirable |
partf If his suit IS successful he has to
pay for his brides wardrobe and for her
furniture and linen and everything else. |
He generally gets his moneys worth later
on In some cases when the brides fam
fly and competitions are wealthy and i'm
portant the bride does have belongings OF
her OWE, which she may bring into her
new home"