On the Mexican highlands, with a passing glimpse of Cuba . d pestilence and cruel enslavement to a proudand ruling race. 197 XVIII The Journey by Night from Mexico City—Over the Mountains to the Sea Coast—The Ancient City of Vera Cruz Vera Cruz, Mexico, December 19th, Last night was to be my final one in Mexico,and as a troupe of Spanish actors was billed at oneof the larger theaters, I went to see the play. Thereare a number of playhouses in the city, and pater-nal government is laying the foundation for anopera-house which, it is announced, will be one ofthe most ^magnifico^ in the world. Th
On the Mexican highlands, with a passing glimpse of Cuba . d pestilence and cruel enslavement to a proudand ruling race. 197 XVIII The Journey by Night from Mexico City—Over the Mountains to the Sea Coast—The Ancient City of Vera Cruz Vera Cruz, Mexico, December 19th, Last night was to be my final one in Mexico,and as a troupe of Spanish actors was billed at oneof the larger theaters, I went to see the play. Thereare a number of playhouses in the city, and pater-nal government is laying the foundation for anopera-house which, it is announced, will be one ofthe most ^magnifico^ in the world. The theaterwe attended was one of the largest, and the actors,Spaniards from Barcelona, were filling a seasonsengagement. In purchasing tickets, the first nov-elty was the separate coupons which are issued foreach act. You buy for one act or another as youprefer. The Mexicans rarely stay the play out,but linger for an act or two and then depart. Thereare tiers of boxes around the sides, in which weremany men arid ladies in evening dress, the belles 198. AZTEC INDIANS—MEXICO CITY Journey by Night from Mexico City and beaux of the city. We sat among the occu-pants of the seats upon the floor, the greater partof whom were men. The first noticeable differ-ence between the audience here and that at home isthat every man keeps on his hat except when oc-cupying a box. It is bad enough, we think, for awoman to retain her hat or bonnet, but imaginehow it is when you are confronted by multitudinoushigh-peaked broad-brimmed sombreros of the mostobtrusive type. The excuse for the wearing ofthese great hats upon all occasions is, that in thechilly air of these high altitudes, it becomes a nec-essary protection. The faces about me were dark; even the menin the boxes were of darker color than would bethose of the pure Spanish blood. The women arealso dark, their color much darker than that of theusual mulatto in the States. This is due to thelarge inffision of Indian blood among the Mexic
Size: 1383px × 1807px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookidonmexicanhig, bookyear1906
