Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, December 28, 1902, Image 24
Glimpses of Life in Mexico's Metropolis ?n--ft i .: W7 ' . V. w, - ', ft. 3: r. MM r r rtt, 5" - , Hi 1 ? J! SI I'KErAUINO THE DAILY TORTILLA. CAUGADOUS MOViNC HOISEIIOLI) GOODS. I llTY Oh' MKXICO, I Hi. (St'c!al I I ((irrt'HiMiiiilciirc.) Tho City of (m l her kiiiiIi I tin n Omalia. II In it t xi 1 1 1 f ii r liini'H a h I u rn iin.l bcvcii llnii'd m IiIkIi. Ih'Iiik nearly S.ikmi fret above I he Hru Irvrl. It Iiiih siM'ii luuiilrc'ls of ycurH of lilKtory to Omaliii'H t Yet In initny wuyH Oinulia excels. Whlli' Mox li'6 Iiuh many larKi-, Ann Hton-H, they aro not an up-to-ilato hh thoau of Omaha. After t lit in i I n k arounil for half a day In march of some Hilch simple urtlcleM u.i a rulliiK pen or 10-cent erawh for klteh -n toweln, It wc.ulil be a ureut eomfort to step into Home of the HtoreH at home ami flii'l Jimt what you want. The City. of Mexico, however, in lmlcel a city. With a population of over 40(l,Oiio, many mllea of electric car line, ItH bril liantly IlKhted HtreetH, It woulil compare favorably with any city of its Hl.e In the I'niled StatcH. Vleweil from an aestheite 8taiiilKitnt, there 1h but one thing Unking o niakii It a very beautiful city. Indeed, one cannot nay that It la not beautiful, with Its bread, clean, asphalt streets, Its beautiful buildings, many of adobe, white or tinted In varloiu shades; Its hundreds of church spires that point upward toward the blue, blue sky. And on every Hide the towering mountains, some snow-capped, keeping guard over the city. Yet the first thing one misses 1b the beautiful expanse of God's green and the lovely flowers the. "messengers of God" that are so common in the home land and which one expects to find In abundauc here in the tropica. Aside from a few very small parks, where one Is never al lowed on the grass, one never sees a grerji thing from the streets of Mexico. Houses, which are ncvr more than three stories high, are built straight up from the street, with never a porch or a foot of lawn. Tho nearest approach to a porch Is a balcony on the necond Moor, which Ih built out a foot or two over the street. The windows on the tlrst floor of the old houses are always protected by Iron grat ings, like a pilsoii. which U a relic of the necessity of early days. The family very seldom lives on the firt floor, that l reserved for the servants and animalH. One enters the house from the Htr'et through a great door onto the "patio," or court. This Is paved and often made very pretty with potted palms, etc. The carriages drive right Into this part of the house. To the buck of the patio are the tttahhs and servants' quarters. From the pat In a broad stuirway leads to the second floor, where are all the living roius. These are all arranged around tho i' ili. - f - . : - ; . -i A ,m"-jri r MEXICAN MOTHER WITH HER BABY, READY TO GO FORTH. 'THEY OFTEN CARRY GREAT LOADS BACKS." ON THEIR open patio and in the best houses are very pleasant. Sometimes there will be a beau tiful garden back of the house inclosed by a high stone wall. The com moil people, or "peons" of which class there Bre so many live In very differ ent homes from the ones described. Their homes are dark, damp and cheerless, with many In one tuna II room. They sleep there, but spend but little time there dur ing the day. The fath-r goes to his work very early In the morning. Mexico is known as a country cf no breakfasts. They never eat more than a piece of bread and a cup of coffee. The mother straps the little one on her back .with her "rebozo" and goes to her work, too. Often fhe has a little stand in the plaza where she sella ery uninviting lookiug cakeB, tarts an.l pies. The baby Is stowed away in a box under the stand, where he seems to be very contented. At noon the woman takes the dinner to her husband. She, with the children and her husband, sit down wher ever they baiipen to be and spread out their dinner. Often It Is on the pavement. The meal will consist of frljoles (kidney beans) cooked with an abundance of chill (red peppers), tortillas (a thin pancake of na tive cornmeal which the women grind them selves with two stones), and a pitcher (f puliiie, the common liquor. It is the fer mented Juice of the cactus and Is the uni versal drink. They give It to their children from the baby to the oldest. The pulque shops are numeii i.. Living in such a manner as this, with such poor, cheerless homes, it is little wonder that one sees the plazas always thronged by the peons. It is a picturesque sight that one sees in the Alameda (plaza). The men. In huge sombren s, wear a sort of blouse, hanging loose In the back and drawn around to the front and tied In a knot; trousers which are made very tight down to the ankle, and from there flare out Into a bell-shaped piece which is long enough to drag on the ground. These trouisers are iften made of two kinds of cluth and tucked in clusters of small tucks down each side. On their feet are sandals that Is, If they are not barefooted, which U often the case. In the morning and even ing, when it U cold, they always have their bright colored blankets around them. The women of this class never wear hats. They have their "rebozo." or Bhawi, around them always, and If It U cold they draw It over their heads. They are usually ban fcoted. Often several women will sit in a group gossiping and enjoying their cigarettes with their babies in their arms. It is common to see a man and woman walking together, either or both smoking. Often the woman and not the man. Men, women and children all smoke. There are dozens of little stands In the Alameda and along the streets where one can buy fruit, caked and candies. Other more ambitious venders carry trays around on their heads, crying out their various wares. It is as common to see women and little girls selling newspapers as to see men and boys. There are hundreds of persons of all sizes and sexes that peddle lottery tickets on the streets. The Mexi cans are a great people to be always eat ing some little trirle, and no matter If tho person has no shues and the clothes are more patches than whole cloth, they stop at a stand and buy "un ceatavos" of "d nice." From childhood fhr nen are trained for strength In thtir necks and backs by hav ing stones strapped on Lhem. When grown it is amazing to see tire-rtrongth they pos sess. One man will carry enough for a wagon load. The "cargador" of a furniture house will carry a large-sized refrigerator, a mattress and several other things on hi.) back at one time, and seem to enjoy It. They support these immense loads by means of a strap which passes over their fore heads and practically all the weight hangs from the head. On Sundays and Thursday?, the band playa In the Alameda. On Sundays the peons are not allowed there between the hours cf II) and 1 o'clock. Then it is that canvas U stretched for a long promenade, with awnings over it, and rows of chairs at each side. Crowds don their best attire, the women often dressed elaborately In silkii and satins some as for evening and prom enade in the Alameda. This is the only time when the plaza is not thronged with peons, and consequently the only time when one sees the better class of Mexicans. Some of the women are very beautiful. They are very fond of bright colors. Even tiny babies will be dressed in red and yellow. Children of 2 or 3 will wear dresses of bright colored silks made after the fashion of women. Thus the scene presented on Sundays Is in marked contrast to that seen on a week day. CORA CHAFFEE BABCOCK. ... i J v ',' ' k 0 'fr ' PIFwPfP WTTTTTM r lis n h f VW If u ' F f ) J: Kmiii Left lu Right Vice President UV.11:i.h" niin.hi: l'resldeiit James Coukling. Frank lin; Vice J'rehident Lew Tlbbetts. HaliiiKs; Vice l'resldeiit J. A. Slater. .Mliuleli: Vice President Wil lis Caldwell, Broken How; Secretary J. F. Hanson. Fremont ; Stenographer t. K. Anderson, r rnnunt. OFFICERS NEBRASKA REAL ESTATE DEALEKS ASStM i.m I noio uy diuu .-n.i. DELEGATES TO THE CONVENTION OK THE NEBRASKA REAL ESTATE DEXLEUS" ASSOCIX TION. ASSEMBLED ON THE FRONT STEPS OF THE OMAHA CITY HALL Photo by a Staff Artist.