Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 13.djvu/459

* MEXICO. 419 MEXICO. all suits (if merdiandisc, the best hotels, eaffe, and restiiuraiits, the business ollices and clubs, pour liii'th during the later afternoon hours their elegantly attired throngs that overflow the nar- row sidewalks and fill the costly equipages and luK-kney coaches moving in a double line along the crowded street. San Francisc-o Street is in- teresting any day. but it is doubly so when pro- cessions of " llower-bedecked carriages, columns of troops in showy uniform, and the gaily decorated fronts of the buildings, proclaim the celebration of the fiestas of September or of the Cinco de Mayo (Fifth of May). The name Cinco de Mayo is also applied to the prin- cipal rival of San Francisco street, and is borne by a thoroughfare extending from the Cathedral to the New National Theatre. As San Francisco street represents the business life of the city, so the Fasco de la Hcforma is the highway of Mex- ican social life. This beautiful drive, two miles in length, extends from the Alameda to the hill of Chapultepec. With its double avenue of fine trees, sliading well-constructed stone sidewalks; its seven large circles, each 300 feet in diameter, some alreaily surmounted with statuary of Iiis- toric interest, and others exhibiting a wealth of llowers and shrubbery; with its terminal parks of rare beauty in the midst of an architectural setting that each year becomes more imposing, it is no wonder that daily from five to seven o'clock the Paseo is the favorite parade ground for every Mexican who owns or can afl'ord to hire an equipage. Along the line of handsome vehicles one occasionally detects a touch of do- mestic color in the person of some caballero in native costume, but such appear with less fre- quency as the 3-cars pass on, and the Mexican 'Vanity Fair' approximates more closely to the ordinary park processions of the great world centres. A spilt hardly second to the Paseo in interest is the beautiful park and promenade known as the Ahniicila. With its 40 acres well shaded with jioplar and beech trees and variegated with a most profuse collection of semi-tropical plants and shrubs, it has long been the favorite stamping ground of Mexican aristocracy, whose weekly parade on Sunday from eleven to one exhibits the fashionable life of the capital at its best. Here a fountain now stands on the site of the Qiirma- dcro or "burning place' of the Inquisition, where many a heretic expiated his heresy at the behest of the then all-powerful Church, and had his ashes thrown into the ditch flowing behind the neighboring sanctuarj' of San Diego. The central I'laza (ic Arm OS or Plaza Mayor, surrounded by the magnificent Cathedral, the Palacio, the mu- nicijial buildings, and some of the finest retail stores, seems more truly than any other spot the real centre of the city. It covers 14 acres and is beautified by trees, flower plots, statuary, and niarbh' fountains, while in the centre is the charming liaiid-stand which gives to it its popular name of 'Zocalo.' At all times the centre of the commercial and political life of the metropolis, it is preeminently so for the patriotic celebra- tions so dear to the heart of its populace. It is here, during the fiestas of September, that one can view the floral parade of the 14th; can listen to the charming military concerts of the 15th, and behold the gorgeous electric and pyrotechnic display that follows the commemorative ring of the grito of Hidalgo; and on the 16th can per- ceive in column after column of well-drilled troojis on parade the ma)w fuerte (strong hand) of the modern ruler whose sway has been charac- terized by peace and order, MoNUME.XTS, The city, which contained the first academy of fine arts erected upon the Amer- ican continent, still afl'ords many examples of the artistic instinct of its people in its well-built public and private residences and in important groups of statuary. Among the most important of these is the equestrian .statue of Carlos IV., begim in 1794 and finished in 1803, the work of a native artist, Manuel Tolsa. Originally placed on the Plaza Mayor, it is now situated at the city terminus of the Paseo. Farther along the same thoroughfare appear statues of Columbus and Cuauhtemoc, the last of the Aztec rulers, as well as others of less artistic pi-ominencc. The monument over the tomb of Juarez, in the San Fernando Cemetery, is also worthy of notice. Clubs and Theatres. As may be imagined, the social life of Meixico City, from a Latin- American point of view, is exceedingly attractive. In addition to many native organizations, all of the principal foreign colonies have a social centre, the British and the Americans being especially well housed. The Jockey Club, a native organiza- tion, has as its headquarters one of the finest buildings in the city, formerly the palace of the Count del Valle. Among the play-houses the old Teatro yaeional, or 'opera house,' had a seat- ing capacity of 3000. It has been replaced by a more commodious .structure at the terminus of the Cinco de Mayo street. The Teatro Principal is smaller, and there are several others of less note. Although the theatres of Mexico City are not the finest of the Republic, it is one of the im- portant stations of the Spanish-American circuit. In no other country, except Spain, is bull-fighting so popular, and although the administration of Diaz has made quiet efl'orts to bring the sport into disrepute, the two bull-rings are well thronged on festal days and at the Simday per- formances. Suburbs, etc. The tramway expansion of the past few years has resulted in the building of new suburbs, formed of houses constructed in American style with 511 modern conveniences. Although possibly more desirable as places of residence, they do not yet equal in interest the older suburbs. Prominent among the latter, at the far end of the Paseo, is Chapultepec. a mass of rock rising some 200 feet from the midst of magnificent cypress groves, and topped by the splendid structure containing the National Mili- tary Academy and the President's summer ]ialace, from which may be obtained the finest view of the valley. Farther on. reached by the same tramway." is Tacubaya, the most fashionable re- sort of Mexico, situated in the most fertile por- tion of the Federal District. Here is located one / oi the National Observatories, occupying a former palace of the Archbishop of Mexico. To the north of the city lies Guadalupe, whose beautiful and rich church is the Lourdes of ^Mexico, and whose traditional Virgin has become the tutelar divinity of the modern Republic. To the south is the Viga Canal, lined with the so-called 'floating gardens,' the region which furnishes the flowers, fruits, and vegetables for the city markets, and whose inhabitants present some of the most in- teresting pictures of contemporary native life. Upon this canal are the towns of Santa Anita and