DOMESTIC LIFE IN CUBA.

Western Star, Issue 1116, 15 January 1887, Page 2 (Supplement)

DOMESTIC LIFE IN CUBA.

Passing through Havana, or any Cuban town, during the day, one is struck by the quiet, death-like appearance of the dwelling houses. 1 The windows are tight-closed behind the prison-like bars. The only sign of life an occasional face (more or less dark) peering curiously through a “ postigo” —a small window cut in the heavy doors—out into the street. Not so after sunset; for with the close of day ail nature—human nature —wakes.- The windows are thrown wide open, the houses lit up, and life begins. All visiting (among ladies as welll- as among gentlemen), shopping, walking upon the Prados—in fine, all those social diversions which take place in the daytime, take place here at night. And yet night is not “ turned into day,” as in Madrid and the gay capitals of Europe. The Cuban, moderate in all things —barring love and ’ the lottery-retires early, generally between 10 and 11 o’clock. Then all is quiet, hushed, dead; the silence of night not evenbeen disturbed as formerly by the cry of the “ sereno” (watchman) singing out every half-hour as in these words —“ Lac doce y media y todo esta sereno,” the time of the nighty and telling you all is peace. I must say that I miss this ; there was something so weird and yet comforting in in this sound, heard through the sweet distance of drowsiness. 'h.hn'*

In the evening, when the houses are thrown open, a favourite seat jwith the young ladies of the house is large front windows. To understand this you must know that these windows project into the street, and are about’ two feet and a half deep. Many a; courtship, principally when the wooer is objectionable to the parents of the young lady is carried on through the’bars of these windows—the young lady in the window on the side farthest from the “ saguan" and the young man outside on the side walk, but close to the wall of the house, that he may not be seen by those inside. This, with the help of secret billets-doux sent a la Bosina through other parties (generally servants), sometimes goes on for several years, and then ends in a family row and a marriage in direct opposition to the parents. In many other cases; —love running., no smoother here than elsewhere things are brought to an abrupt close, by a lover’s quarrel. The parties’ then rather “ upset,” till consoled, by. another affair of the same kind. 5 This they call “ Uevando amores”—we might call them flirtations, but that here, while they are going on, the parties interested are in earnest, being really and truly in love. An American flirtation the Spanish nature cannot understand. It is, in his estimatipn, a cold-blooded transaction.

I often wonder what an Englishman,! with his jealous love of home privacy, would think were he to walk in tike evening through a Cuban town aid see, as he would, far into the onestorey residences; for, as 1 said before,. all is wide open and lit up, and the passer-by sees—when the white, curtains of communicating rooms are drawn aside, which they generally are —even into the bed-rooms.