CHAPTER 9
Ferias
Between 1915 and 1920, fairs, or ferias, took place during the harvest season, but, especially during the cotton harvest season of July and August, there were ferias. The ferias were similar to county fairs and were held in the communities close to their ranch. The family attended those in Benavides, San Diego, La Bandera, Filadelfia, and Concepción. In the 1930s, there were also ferias in the smaller communities, such as Santa Cruz, Mazatlán, and even La Tres Flores, a tiny community. The fair at Concepción was the best organized and attended and was the only one to survive into the late 1960s.
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Decorated horse cart ready for a parade in San Diego
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Ferias were the major entertainment in the country at the time. At these ferias, people visited with each other and enjoyed themselves. The people arrived in mule-drawn wagons. They placed wide boards across the wagon bed to use as seats. In later years, people traveled in their carretelas.
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Men
beside a buckboard
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Eugenio
,
one of the brothers, took Lupe,
Mamá María,
Flavia,
Natalia,
and Anastacia
to the feria at La Bandera, which was the closest to their ranch. They
left about 3 p.m. and arrived at 7 p.m., when it was almost dark. On one
of the trips to the La Bandera feria, Eugenio made a funny noise
with his mouth that scared the mules. When the animals bolted in opposite
directions, the wagon tongue broke, making it impossible to move any further.
Eugenio fixed the wooden tongue by patching it with some fence wire, and
they finally made it to the feria. They began the journey home
around midnight, arriving about 4 a.m.
Natalia had an uncle, Francisco Ríos, whom she called Tío Pancho. He married Tía Rosa, who was a sister to Mamá María. Tío Pancho was the man who usually called out the numbers for the lottery, or bingo, called lotería at the Mazatlán feria. He was a very charming person with a booming voice that could be heard over the noise from the crowd.
At the ferias stood places to eat called fondas. A fonda was a booth enclosed with duck canvas and boards to keep out the dust and the wind. These had tables and benches inside. There were also small booths, or puestos, made of lumber, where vendors sold sodas; fruits; snow cones, or raspas; and ice cream. At the fondas, cooks prepared food in iron skillets over an open fire. They sold rice; beans; cowboy stew, or carne guisada; and country bread known as pan de campo. They served tamales; menudo; and goat, or cabrito, prepared in different ways. In addition to the food booths, other booths offered games, such as the wheel of fortune called la manita and a game called los cordones.
The visitors saw the smoke as they arrived at the feria, and the smell of the cooking food was everywhere. In the center of the feria stood a kiosk, or gazebo, called a quiosco, with benches for the local musicians. The quiosco was built at least eight feet high so the music could be heard. Benches were set on posts or pylons called pilones all around the town square. The ends of the long benches were left open to allow for entry from either end. Most people using the seats were mothers and small children. The young men and women walked around the square in two circles, one inner circle and one outer circle, the men circling in one direction, the women in the other. Large kerosene lamps hanging from a board nailed to the top of the mesquite posts provided light.
In some of the puestos, visitors could buy household articles such as dishes, vases, gift items, and articles of clothing. Many of the vendors who sold articles at the feria traveled around the area offering bargains in clothing, fruits, candy, blankets, and jewelry. They usually traveled in mule-drawn wagons, although later they traveled in buckboards, or carretelas.
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Vendor
with horse and wagon
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They also bought or traded merchandise for old objects of gold. The names of most of these merchants are no longer remembered, except for Melecio García, whose son was named Tristan. On one occasion, Mamá María had two rings made from some gold she had, one ring for Lupe and the other one for Anastacia.
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