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San
Juan Capistrano
Little Chapters
Chapter VIII
Little Chapters About San Juan Capistrano
Chapter VIII: The Patio
The arch-lined quadrangle around which the mission buildings
are clustered is commonly called the "patio" and
such it was called by the padres in their reports to their
superiors. But some of the old Indians that remain call it,
"La Plaza de la Mision" to distinguish it from "La
Plaza del Pueblo", which formerly lay in front of the
Mission. The latter is now partly built up with houses, which
obliterate its character of a plaza. The area of the patio
is just about one acre, each side measuring approximately
two hundred feet. It is not a rectangle but a trapezium in
shape, for no two sides are exactly parallel.
In mission days, one of its uses was that of an outdoor workshop
for the Indians. Here the blacksmith, the carpenter, the blanket-makers,
the fruit-curers, and the atole grinders plied their respective
trades. The indians were children of the open air and the
padres wisely provided for them an open-air workshop.
When the Mission passed out of the hands of the Franciscans,
and was converted into a Parish Church, the patio became a
kind of recreation ground for both the Indians and the other
dwellers of the vicinity. In those days bull-fighting was
one of the sports of the people, as it is to-day in Mexico
and Spain. The bull-fight took place in the plaza of the town,
within an enclosure surrounded by high stakes which were driven
into the ground and bound together by means of rawhide strips.
No bull-fight was ever carried on in the patio of the Mission.
There was a kind of "Bull-game" conducted there,
but the animal was never killed during the sport. The bull
was admitted into the patio through the "Puerta Chiquita",
or little gate, on the north side, with a purse of silver
tied on his head between the horns. The object of the game
was to seize and pull off the money, which became the prize
of the lucky "toreador" who succeeded. Then the
bull was driven out of the patio through the Saguan on the
south, receiving a vigorous twist of the tail as he rushed
through the passageway, - "lo corrieron coleandolo."
During these games the spectators crowded the roof of the
corridor around the patio, whence they cheered in perfect
safety the bull-fighters below.
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