'Buena gana tenía de ir a jugar’: The Recreational World of Early San Antonio, Texas, 1718–1845 [1]

Abstract

Although a limited archival record prevents a full examination of sporting and recreational activities, the available evidence reveals that the people of early San Antonio entertained themselves in the same ways as people throughout the Spanish world. The record for any kind of organized sport is completely absent, and there are few references to ball games and children's play, but well-documented are the dances, cockfights, and card games that were the most common recreational activities among adults. Holidays offered opportunities for horse racing, bullfights and other special entertainments. Although the authorities frowned on many recreational activities, especially dancing and card games, as morally corrupting, the population in general found in these entertainments an escape from the uncertainties of life on an isolated and often hostile frontier. Early San Antonio, then, was home to Hispanic frontiersmen whose recreational activities reflected the Spanish origins of much of New Spain's popular culture.