The pioneer West : $b Narratives of the westward march of empire
History
The pioneer West : $b Narratives of the westward march of empire
Frontier and pioneer life -- West (U.S.)
It was always the same round of music, taken in the same series--“La
Paloma,” “Golondrina,” and the rest. I made a collection of some twenty
of these ditties or madrigals, and was impressed with the poetic fervor
and the absolute lack of common sense shown in them all, which is the
best evidence that as love songs they will bear comparison with any
that have ever been written. The music in many cases was excellent,
although the execution was with very primitive instruments. I do not
remember a single instance where the fair one made the least sign of
approval or pleasure on account of such serenades, and I suppose that
the Mexican idea is that she should not, because if there is a polite
creature in the world it is the Mexican woman, no matter of what degree.
But it is morning now, and the bells are clanging for first mass, and
we had better go home and to bed. Did we so desire we could enter the
church, but as there is much to be said in regard to the different
feasts, which occurred at different seasons and most acceptably divided
the year, we can leave that duty unfulfilled for the present and give
a few brief sentences to the christening and funerals, which were
celebrated under our observation.
The Mexicans used to attach a great deal of importance to the naming
of their children, and when the day for the christening had arrived,
invitations scattered far and near brought together all the relatives
and friends of the family, who most lavishly eulogized the youngster,
and then partook of a hearty collation, which was the main feature of
the entertainment.
Funerals, especially of children, were generally without coffins, owing
to the great scarcity of lumber, and nearly always with music at the
head of the procession, which slowly wended its way to the church to
the measure of plaintive melody.
Birthdays were not observed, but in their stead were kept the days of
the saints of the same name. For example, all the young girls named
Anita would observe Saint Ann’s day, without regard to the date of
their own birth, and so with the Guadalupes and Francescas and others.
I should not omit to state that there were whole blocks of houses
in Tucson which did not have a single nail in them, but had been
constructed entirely of adobes, with all parts of the wooden framework
held together by strips of rawhide.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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