Sunday

Saturday night brought a pleasurable stir to the Quinta. In the maid's quarters there would be much ironing of fine huipils, and in the kitchen preparations for some special dulce, to be eaten at Sunday lunch. The nursery also made preparations. Miss would hang her good black skirt and embroidered white linen blouse in the air to lose their creases and by my own pile of white underthings would be placed white Mary Janes, a Sunday frock of French lawn trimmed with embroidery and real lace, and freshly ironed satin hair ribbons. Also a hat, either of Leghorn straw trimmed with flowers -- or a "Charlotte" of embroidered frills!

I do not remember that anyone slept late on Sunday, and indeed, with such a large household, little groups of maids and men servants started going to church early and continued doing so through the morning. The boy who did the marketing was off at daybreak and went to Mass either on his way to or from market.

Dominga and the other women looked charming in huipils of snowy white bordered with cross-stitch embroidery and lace. Rosaries of gold filigree or coral hung around their necks -- and their earrings were also of gold and precious or semi-precious stones. Their rebozos were of heavy silk, with magnificent fringes, and they wore Turkish slippers of embroidered satin -- with turned-up, pointed toes. Maria, who was from the interior of the republic, did not wear the huipil but dressed in the charming costume of Jalapa, wide flounced skirt of dainty sprigged cotton with matching lace trimmed blouse, a fine shawl of black nun's veiling, and in her wavy black hair, a rose or a hibiscus flower.

The men were clad in bell-bottomed trousers of starched duck with high collared guayabera-like overshirts -- and intricate sandals with rather high heels. Their hats were of finely woven straw -- and most of them wore a little apron (between trouser and shirt) which covered them fore and aft and left one leg bare. This apron was made of blue and white ticking and the stripes were worn horizontally. I never found out the origin of this garment.

Just before leaving for church my mother would bring out a little case of tooled Florentine leather. This held the jewelled trifles which she had given me, and she would select one item which went with my clothes. She would point out that no lady wore anything gaudy during the day hours. Pearls -- yes -- diamonds, No -- one's engagement ring was the exception.

The streets of Merida were very gay on Sundays as the Mestizas were in their loveliest huipils, and the women of Spanish descent wore charming gowns of airy cotton. Most of the dresses were homemade, but they looked pretty. One or two well-known society women boasted a new dress for every Sunday of the year. As most of the big households included a resident seamstress -- it was no trouble at all to run up a new dress each week -- and I am afraid this led to some distractions at the beginning of the more fashionable Masses.

This page was last updated on Sunday, April 11, 2004.