In her book Etta also tells of an idyllic night when she and Maggy attended a wedding at a Mexican hacienda in San Vicente. The following are excerpts from the book.
"We were met at the river crossing by horses and guides. I mounted a horse and clung to the saddle as if in danger of my life. . . . Lest I fall off from the sheer dizziness of watching the swirling water [as we crossed the Rio Grande.] I shifted my gaze to the shore beyond. . . . The moon, glowing golden, lent an unreal setting, while the Del Carmen mountain backdrop contributed its stagelike effect.
After traveling a half mile or so we reached our destination. . . . The exterior of the hacienda in the moonlight was picturesque. The usual cactus and desert growth surrounded the place, but most unusual for these eyes of mine was the fence of ocotillo stalks that surrounded the house, for it was in full bloom. The [green-leafed] fence with bright flame-colored tips was, to me, a phenomenon.
The ranch house was . . .a rambling affair. . . . I passed in admiration through a doorway decorated in what appeared to be stenciled flowers with touching evidence of a homemaker's love for this plain adobe structure with its dirt floor packed hard and swept clean. The bedroom beyond was also festive with hand-embroidered bedspread and pillow shams, beautifully done. In one corner of the room was a small shrine with artificial flowers adorning a picture of the Virgin Mary. A votive candle sent small flickering shadows up the wall."
"We were conducted to the feast being served on the patio. There, at a long table, the guests were seated on benches. . . . The food was especially good-- a thick spicy goat stew. Tortillas were passed around to be used as spoons to scoop up the stew and have a bite of tortilla at the same time. When this 'spoon' had been swallowed there were others waiting.
"It was a merry party. Most of the Mexicans were known to us, or at least to Maggy, being her customers as well as friends, for Maggy was a friend to all.
"The meal finished we adjourned to an open courtyard with a trellis-like roof. Here the wedding ceremony took place followed by a dance. The men seated themselves on one side of the courtyard; the women on the other.
"The ceremony was a simple reading of the marriage vows . . . .[After the ceremony] a three-piece orchestra struck up a dance tune and each young man rose from the bench on his side of the court, crossed to the lady of his choice, and they began to waltz to the music of two violins and a guitar. Following the dance the young men returned their partners to the ladies' bench, and returned to the mens' side of the floor. I was struck by this formality. I also noticed that the men held their partners loosely, reminding me of Slavic folk dancing I had seen. Their faces were expressionless, almost stoic, and if they enjoyed the dance, it was not obvious."
"The moon was high and as the moonlight fell over my shoulder that early March evening my eyes sought the distant horizon of the Chisos, beyond the fence of fiery ocotillo. As the music shattered the silence with its plaintive notes, I could hardly believe that Hot Springs and the simple everyday life of this tenderfoot was but a few miles downstream. . . .
"It was as if I had stepped into a looking glass [and found] another world where the meld of breeze, violins and a blossoming fence produced the same unreality as did the chiseled peaks of the ghostly Chisos mountains beyond the far shore."