El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-03-31
Mexicans Energetic in the
Pursuit of Leisurely Fun
Spend About OneThird Year Having Good Time
in Various Ways

bevy of chorus girls spring from a
pumpkin. they get the shock Of their
lives. The padre always has taught
them to regard the work Of the ma
gician as the work Of the devil and
when such films are displayed the row
Of departing poems testifies what ex-
cellent fruit the teaching of the padre
has borne
Dancing In Mexico.
One of the greatest accomplishments
Of the Mexican peOn Is his ability TO
dance. One of the favorites is the
sombrero dance. A big Mexican hat
is placed on the floor and a couple
dance round 1t, sometimes with the
young man deftly balancing wine
bottle on his head. They wear a SOL
emn funereal air all through the
dance, but seem to enjoy it thoroughly,
especially when the music gives
place to lively airs on a screechy
graphophone. Some Of the indians still
keep up their old-time "aevi1 Dances"
in which they paint their bodies to re-
semble human skeletons. Many of them
dress as Americans might when going
TO a tacky party. and down in Oaxaca
no dance is complete without the uni
form Of the French zouaves. 1t seems
that during the war against the
French some indians took these uni
forms. off the bodies of soldiers who
had been killed in battle, and have
treasured them ever since as cotumes
for the dance.
The ceremony of blessing the ami
mails is one of the most picturesque
in Mexican life. Once it was a re-
Hgfous rite, but one would scarcely
call it that today. On the appointed
day the people congregate in the
churchyard, driving with them their
household pets. all fittingly decorated
for the occasion. One may see cows
and burros painted in all the colors OF
the rainbow and green pigs. yellow
sheep, pink horses abound. Chickens,
turkeys, parrots, canaries, cats and
dogs all help TO make up the motley
procession which makes a rush for
the church door as the church bell
rings and the priest sprinkles holy
water over the gathering.
Christmas In Mexico.
Christmas time witnesses many
ceremonies and customs that are full
of peculiarities. The posada begins
December Is and extends on to Christ
mas eve. It is supposed to commem-
crate the journey of the Virgin Mary
to Bethlehem and her quest for shell
ter The persons who go about taking
part in the posada call at the houses
Of their friends. At first they are
coldly received; afterward they are
welcomed Suspended from the ceiling
are little baskets of fruit Each shell
terless Wanderer is blindfoIded and
given a stick, with which he strives
to knock the fruit out Of the basket
Each day is a posada within itself.
and many persons make the rounds
every day for week.
Flowers In Demand.
With every feast day there is a boom
in the flower market, and every town
and village in the republic is ablaze
with color Even in such cities as
Tehauntepec women come from far
and near with loads Of flowers, and
the market on the preparatory day
is q riot Of gorgeous blooms Every
body buys flowers, and the native can
buy them for so much less than the
foreigner that even in their poverty
they get a good supply. Floral feasts
have their elimination in the celebra-
ton Of the Combat of Flowers. This
takes place on the Sunday nearest the
5th of May cinco de Mayo being a
national holiday in celebration OF the
defeat of the French at Puebla IN
1852. The whole republic gathers
flowers preparatory TO this great COM
bat. and everybody. from the highest
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