He passed the Hotel Oriental with tables full of Spaniards close by Calle Rosario, a narrow street where you could see a world of Chinese as though enclosed in a giant bubble, beside the tower of Binondo Church. He traversed the Escolta, flirting with the ladies who threw him a glance probably out of curiosity from their carriages.

Reaching the less commercial and gayer street of San Sebastian, flanked by pretty structures with azoteas decorated with porcelain pots of flowering plants and little shaded gardens full of shrubs of gardenias and shadows, he reached the calzada of Sampaloc where the dust formed a cloud at the wake of the carriages, calesas and horses richly harnessed. The world of delight was brought to Sta. Mesa like a large nimbus of gold and silk by Spanish mestizas who had skin like porcelain and Indias with coppery skins, their hair tied in a knot, displaying long skirts of many colors reminding him of the gypsies of his homeland.

He arrived in Santa Mesa avid to observe like a newly arrived child in the country. There was a great gathering of Spaniards and foreigners dressed in white suits, while the ladies wore their famous piña skirts and airy blouses.

It seemed as though everyone stared at him as a new person. General Alaminos, Gov. General and the Civil Governor Carrascon, occupied the grandstand decorated in rich clothes of red velvet; the trophies that were to be presented to the victors shone in the tropical sun. Swift as the wind, the horses pranced onto the track; Imparcial, Mosquito, Albay, and other horses ridden by distinguished military and enthusiastic foreign youngsters with the objective of fighting for that trophy. The native ponies were so alive, so gallant, and so strong that if they had been five or six inches taller they would have been mistaken for Arab or Andalusian.

The person to his right without his being able to identify as mestizo or native was making notes on a racing sheet that he got from his pocket and asked him:

"I’m for Mosquito, Señor. And you?"

His words: "I looked at him with envy since I was perspiring in a closed jacket and trousers of silk and satin that I had worn thinking to make an impression. He wore a loose rich shirt of piña that I later learned was worth P100 with diamond buttons in the chest and in the wrists, beautiful watch chain of gold that sparkled under the sun’s rays, a pair of linen pants and patent leather shoes.

"Bueno," I answered, "you’re for Mosquito and I will be for whoever you wish.

"How do you bet? he asked.

"Whatever you wish.

"We’ll bet P20 if you wish.

"Forty also if you want."

We lost. He wanted to reimburse me but I refused. It turned out he was the former gobernadorcillo of Pandacan. The other people present were the Tuasons, the Ayalas, the Casals, Roxas, Ortiz de Zarate, Vizmanos, the Captain General, and the commander of the Navy plus a host of others he didn’t know.

Entrala speaks of dinner dances that people called Katapusan meaning final or end. It’s a word frequently used that the researcher runs into frequently in accounts of fiestas or any celebration and was in effect a dinner dance. It wasn’t all of that different from present day fetes where guests show off their jewelry and showy gowns, dancing till they drop following the music of sometimes more than one orchestra. In between dance numbers guests would chew betel nut if they wished or smoked tobacco, ate sweets and partook of wine or beer. The buffet table displayed turkey, ham, lamb, roast pig, chicken, asado of cow or veal. The songs they sang were in Spanish or local "habaneras" written by Arche and Masaguer or other masters of the genre such as Peres, Luna or Castaneda who also wrote La Mestiza.

Entrala mentions the sculptors of his day as Arevalo, Salgado, Murriel, Tampinco, Romualdo T. de Jesus. Painters included Hidalgo referred to as Resurreccion although there is no mention of Luna yet; Felix Martinez painted a portrait of the Marquez de Estella (wouldn’t you love to know where that ended up?), Guerrero and the then young Zaragozas and Villanueva. Resurreccion presented a painting called "Siesta" to Alfonso XII.