Home » Database » Search » Writing
Writing Type: Diary
His account of the women of Tepic, Mexico,tertulias and fiestas.
Keywords: Mexican society, tertulias, fiestas
Publisher: Edward Moxon, London
Archive: John Rylands Library
Location Details: From Captain Basil Hall, Extracts from a Journal Written on the Coasts of Chili, Peru, and Mexico, in the years 1820,1821, 1822, part 2, Edward Moxon, Dover Street, London, 1840, pp.38-40.
Text: pp.38-40
CHAPTER XLIV. TEPIC IN MEXICO. Feast of Santa Cruz Dress worn by the Inhabitants
Tertulia, or Evening Party Theatre in the open Air.
Convité or Dinner Tumultuous Uproar.
THE FEAST OF SANTA CRUZ.
IN the afternoon, we had an opportunity of seeing the gay world of Tepic, especially the female part, to great advantage. At about an hour before sunset, apparently the whole population repaired in large family groups, to the church of La Santa Cruz, by a broad public walk, shaded by four or five rows of chesnut trees, extending nearly half a mile out of the town. The evening was exceedingly pleasant, for the sun was low, and no longer scorched us, as it had done during the morning. The church stood in a little hollow behind a small grassy knoll, in the brow of which the road leading to the court had been cut. Through this opening the town and the hills beyond it, and part of the great public walk, could be seen from the porch at the entrance: in other respects the spot was quite secluded, and cut off from the sight of the low country surrounding the town.
As none except women attended the service, we were unwilling to intrude to see what ceremonies were performed ; but the door was thronged with comers and goers, and a continued, low, humming noise, like that round a bee hive on a fine summer's day, indicated that a multitude were engaged in a common pursuit. Sometimes a group of six or eight damsels would arrive together, and vanish at the entrance ; or a stray demure Beata would steal in at the side with affected humility. A compact cluster of merry lasses, a minute before in high gossip, might be seen sobering down their looks, and adjusting their shawls, as they approached the church ; while another party, still running over their last "Ave," were pressing outwards ; and, as soon as the threshold was passed, flying off in all directions.
The women of the lower class wore lively-coloured gowns, and scarfs, called Rebozos, generally of a blue and white pattern, which was not printed but woven. Some of the patterns consisted of red, blue, and white, in zigzag stripes differently arranged. The dress of the lowest class was of cotton only ; that of the, others was a mixture of cotton and silk and that of the richest people entirely of silk the whole being of the manufacture of the country.
During the middle of the day at Tepic, the heat was so great that no one could venture to stir abroad ; but at half past three or four, when it became agreeably cool, riding or walking parties were formed. In the evening, every house was thrown open to receive visitors ; but there were generally one or two, more fashionable than the rest, to which strangers were invited as a matter of course, as they were always sure of meeting pleasant company. The men of business repaired to their counting houses very early in the morning ; but the ladies were not visible till about ten o'clock, when they received company in the principal bed-room, or in the sala. One o'clock was the dinner hour ; and from two to half past three or four all the world were taking their siesta; the streets at this period being literally deserted.
The ladies of Tepic were already beginning to dress in the European style ; though, of course, some years behind the fashion, but still without anything peculiar to describe. The gentlemen wore brimmed brown hats, encircled by a thick gold or silver band, twisted up like a rope. When mounted every gentleman carried a sword ; not belted round him, as with us, but thrust, in a slanting direction, into a case made for the purpose in the left flap of the saddle, so that the sword' lay under, not over the thigh, while the hilt rose in front nearly as high as the pommel of the saddle, where it was more readily grasped, in case of need, than when left dangling by the side. The saddle was turned upwards four or five inches, both before and behind ; in order, as I was told, to give the rider support both in going up and in coming down the very steep roads of the country. On each side, before the knees, hung a large skin of some shaggy coated animal, reaching nearly to the ground : in wet weather these skins cover over the rider's legs, while the Mangas covers the body. This is a cloak exactly resembling the poncho of the south, being of an oblong form, with a hole in the middle to receive the head.
In Mexico these cloaks are generally made of fine cloth, richly ornamented round the neck with gold embroidery. The stirrups are made of wood, taken, no doubt, from the Spanish box stirrup; but they are more neatly made than in Spain, and are lighter, and fit the foot better. Silver spurs, of immoderate length and weight, were generally worn ; and, instead of a whip, a long and curiously twisted set of thongs, which are merely a tapered continuation of the slender strips of hide of which the bridle is made, plaited into a round cord.
On Sunday, the 7th of April, the public were kept in full employment first, by high mass; next by feats of horsemanship in an open circus; and, lastly, by a play. The theatre was rude enough, but the greater number of the party, having seen no other, were perfectly satisfied. The audience were seated on benches placed on the ground, in a large court, open to the sky. The stage was formed of loose planks ; the walls of cane and plaster, covered by a roof formed of boughs ; the scenes consisted of pieces of cloth pinned together, and suspended from the cross bars supporting the thatch. There was no light but that of the moon; but the climate was so mild, that we sat for several hours without any inconvenience either from cold or from dew. As for the play itself, it deserved a better stage and better acting ; it was a comedy of Calderon's, however, and caused great mirth.
There was a tertulia, or party, somewhere every evening, to which every person who chose was expected to go, without particular invitation. I shall endeavour to describe that which I visited on Sunday night.
Across the upper end of a large room, and for some distance along the sides, were seated the ladies, about twenty in number, in a compact line, and glued, as it were, to the wall. Sometimes, in the course of the evening, a gentleman succeeded in obtaining a station amongst the ladies, but he was generally an intimate acquaintance, or a very determined stranger. In each corner of the room was placed a small stone table, on which stood a dingy tallow candle, the feeble glimmer of which gave a dismal light to the apartment ; but, by an incongruity characteristic of the country, the candlestick was large and handsome, and made of massy silver. Behind the light, in a glass case, was displayed an image of the Virgin. dressed up as Nuestra, Señora de Guadaloupe, the patron saint of Mexico, almost suffocated with a profusion of tawdry artificial flowers. The line of ladies on one side reached to the door, and, on the side opposite, to a table about half way along the room, on which were placed wine and water, gentlemen's hats, and ladies' shawls. Against one of the corner tables rested a guitar; and it seldom happened that there was not some person present ready to play a popular tune, or to accompany the ladies, many of whom sung very prettily. This occasional music went on without interrupting the conversation ; indeed, the sound of the guitar amongst the Spaniards or their descendants is so familiar, that it acts more as a stimulus or accompaniment to conversation, than as an interruption. At the further end of the room was a card table, where most of the gentlemen played at a game called Monte. The space in the middle of the room seemed to be allotted as a play ground for the children of the house and those of many removes in consanguinity. The nurses, too, and the old servants of the family, used the privilege of walking in and out; and sometimes they addressed themselves to such of the company as happened to be seated near the door. It may be remarked here, that in all those countries a degree of familiarity is allowed between the servants and their superiors of which, in England, there is no example in any rank of life.
The entrance to the room was from a deep verandah, or, more properly speaking, a passage open to the court and flower garden in the centre of the quadrangle forming the house.
It occurred to me during the evening, that if a person were suddenly transported from England to this part of the world, he might be much puzzled to say where he had got to. On entering the house, by an approach not unlike the arched gateway of an inn, he would turn into the verandah, where he would in vain inquire his way from the merry group of boys playing at bo peep round the columns, or scampering in the moonlight amongst the shrubs in the centre of the court; nor would he gain more information from the parties of neatly-dressed girls, who would draw up and become as prim and starch as possible, the moment they beheld a stranger; they would pout at him, and transfix him with their coal black eyes, but would not utter a single word. Mustering courage, he might enter the sala or drawing room ; in an instant, all the gentlemen would rise and stand before their chairs like statues; but as neither the mistress of the house, nor any other lady, ever thinks of rising in those countries to receive or take leave of a gentleman, however cordial to ladies our friend would be apt to conceive his reception somewhat cold. But he could have no time to make minute remarks, and would scarcely notice the unevenly paved brick floor the bare plastered walls the naked beams of the roof, through which the tiles might be counted indeed, the feebleness of the light would greatly perplex his observations. The elegant dresses, the handsome looks, and the ladylike appearance of the female part of the company. would naturally lead him to imagine he was in respectable society; but, when he discovered all the ladies smoking cigars, and heard them laughing obstreperously, and screaming out their observations at the top of their voices, he would relapse into his former doubts, especially when he remarked the gentlemen in boots and cloaks, and some with their hats on. Neither would his ideas be cleared up by seeing the party at the other end of the room engaged in deep play, amidst a cloud of tobacco smoke. And were he now as suddenly transported back again to his own country, it might be difficult to persuade him that he had been amongst an agreeable amiable and well bred people in the very best society in the Grosvenor Square, in short. of the city of Tepic.
On the 12th of April, I made one of a great dinner party, a sort of feast, or, as it is called in Spanish, a convité. The hour named was one o'clock, but it was half past one before the company were all assembled. We were first invited into a side room to take a whet. which, to say the truth looked more like a substantial luncheon than a sharpener of the appetite ; for in the middle of the table was placed a goodly ham, flanked by two huge bowls, one filled with punch, the other with sangaree a mixture of wine, sugar, lemon juice, and spirits, and a favourite beverage of all hot climates. At each end of the table stood a dish of cheese, ingeniously carved into the shape of radishes and turnips ; and at the corners a dish of olives covered with slices of raw onions, floating about in vinegar. I need not add, there was aguardiente and wine in profusion. Such ample justice was done to this whet, that the dinner, I thought, stood a poor chance of being touched, but in this I was much mistaken.
Forty people gat down to one table. At the top were placed the two principal ladies; on their right sat the military Commander in chief, while I was requested to sit on the other side, next to the lady of the house. Then came the Alcalde, the chief civil authority, and so on. The master of the house would on no account sit down, but served at table in the capacity of waiter, assisted most good naturedly by four or five gentlemen, for whom there were no places, or who preferred making themselves useful in this way to dining in another apartment along with ten or a dozen young men, equally shut out by want of room.
At first a suspicious kind of calm prevailed; but the soup had scarcely been removed before there appeared symptoms of an approaching storm. While we were discussing the olla, the dish which always succeeds the soup, a principal person in company rose tip and shouted out, "Copas en mano! 'I handle your glasses ! But such was the noise and clatter of plates and tongues, that he had to repeat his mandate several times, and to stretch out his tumbler brim full of wine, before the distant parts of the company stood up in honour of the toast. which I had expected was to have had some point, but was merely one of the common places of the day," Union y Libertad." After this signal there was kept up during the whole dinner a constant discharge of toasts and sentiments ; and upon an average, towards the end. of dinner, there could be no less than ten or twelve gentlemen on their legs all speaking at once, at the full stretch of their voices, and accompanying every remark with some theatrical gesticulation. Others kept their seats, thinking perhaps that they might thereby have a fairer aim at the table, which rung from end to end with the blows by which these jovial orators sought to enforce their arguments.
Meanwhile the dinner went on as if nothing remarkable was passing; the plates and dishes were changed by the servants and the amateur waiters, with such singular dexterity, that in spite of this vast disorder, the bottle passed in safety, and more and more rapidly; the noise increased; the bawlers became more numerous; and by the time the dinner was well over, the party fell to pieces, and all seemed uproar and confusion ; groups of four or five, and sometimes twice that number, might be seen clustered together, all speaking or singing at once. I never was more astonished than at seeing men, on all other occasions perfect models of decorum, suddenly lose their formality, and act like professed topers and merry makers. At first, judging by the analogy of Europe, I thought this must needs end in blows, and stood prepared to avoid the bottles and glasses, which were soon likely to be flying about. But after a little while, it was easy to discover more sounds of mirth than of anger ; and as the ladies, who must have been accustomed to such scenes, sat very composedly, viewing it all with great delight, I became reassured, and kept my place.
Something like order was presently restored by the feats of a merry Biscayan, who dressed himself like a cook, by throwing off his coat and waistcoat, turning up the sleeves of his shirt above the elbows, and pinning a napkin across his breast. Those who knew him of old were immediately aware of what he was going to do, and roared out, "Pastel! pastel!" (a pie! a pie!) upon which all singing, drinking, and talking were put an end to for a season, and every one crowded round to see this famous pie made.
The Biscayan first indicated by signs that a large dish was to be supposed before him, into which he pretended to place a number of ingredients, naming each as he affected to put it into his pie. These ingredients consisted principally of his friends, some of whom he inserted whole ; of others he appropriated merely some ridiculous quality or characteristic peculiarity ; and as he chose only such persons as were present, the laugh went round against each in his turn. His satire was sometimes very severe, especially against the ladies; and at length he pretended, after a long and witty preface, to cut up the curate, who was sitting opposite, and thrust him into the dish, to the unspeakable delight of the company. No one enjoyed the laugh more than the priest himself. But the Biscayan wits too judicious to risk tiring his audience with any more of the pie after this last happy sally, so catching up a guitar, an instrument always at hand wherever Spanish is spoken, and casting his eyes round the company, he addressed an extempore verse to each of the principal guests; then jumping off the table, on which he had seated himself to play the guitar, he set about imitating the manner of walking and speaking of five or six different provinces of Spain. This mimicry, though lost upon us, appeared to be so accurately done, that he could scarcely begin an imitation before a number of voices called out "Gaditano! Gallego!" or whatever might be the province the manners of which he was representing.
His last feat was one which certainly would not have been permitted a year or two before in a country so bigoted, or indeed in any country under Spanish control. Having taken a table cloth, he dressed himself like a priest, and assuming the most ludicrous gravity of countenance. went through a part of the ceremony of high mass, to the infinite delight of the company, who shook the house with peals of laughter. The curate was nowhere to be seen during this exhibition, which he could not, I suppose, have permitted to go on in his presence although, indeed, everything serious seemed banished for the time.
Immediately after this joke, the noise ceased, the party broke up, and and every one went off to his siesta, with a composure and steadiness which showed that the greater part of the preceding riot was the effect of choice, not of intoxication ; to which, certainly, in appearance. it was most closely allied. To satisfy myself on this point, I entered into conversation with several of the most boisterous of the party ; but they were now so perfectly quiet and sedate, that it was difficult to believe they were the same individuals, who, but a few minutes before had been apparently so completely tipsy.
School of Modern Languages and Cultures
Trent Building, University Park
Nottingham, NG7 2RD
telephone: +44 (0)115 951 5655
email: Catherine.davies@nottingham.ac.uk