The courtship ritual of walking the plaza involved an inner and outer ring, the first consisting of young women and their chaperones who walked or sat, while young men walked the perimeter, and initiated contact. By 1920s, the Plaza was rebuilt as a park, where people could meet for business or pleasure. The large wooden buildings that lined the streets around were a mix of homes and businesses, a block of which burned down a year after the 1910 census was recorded. The views in the next image are from opposite sides of the Plaza– the 1927 image is taken from the steps of the church, looking down. Over subsequent decades, the plaza underwent a series of makeovers to accommodate the growing population. This was a small bar, and in the strong tropical sun, two men walk away dressed in loose white suits and straw hats that glare in the sun. It shows the church, and at the base of the hill is a small wooden building. This is the oldest photograph of Moca, taken in 1914 by Benito Rosa Quinones. At harvest time, the area was used to dry coffee beans in the sun. The first plaza in Moca was a cleanly swept area at the base of this hill at the front of the Iglesia de Nuestra Senora de la Monserrate, the Catholic church built in 1854. One could catch the trade winds, enjoy the company of others, or attend concerts or other events. Older folks spoke of the tradition of walking the perimeter of the Plaza, so that youth could check each other out in a controlled manner. Located at the heart of town, adjacent to both the Iglesia Monserrate and the Alcaldia, the church and the state, people met to talk, share a quick snack, or just take the breeze. Traditionally, the Plaza was a site that served as the crossroads of a town. Most buildings are of concrete and reinforced bars, but years earlier, they were of wood. Going around to the right is the Alcadia, a combined City Hall and Mayor’s office, Jaime Babilonia’s Pharmacia, different shops, and the police station sits opposite the alcaldia. No need for a watch, as the bells played from the church of Nuestra Senora de la Monserrate, which sits on a hillock on one side of the plaza. One could relax before sleeping and facing the next day. In different sections of the plaza, people grouped by age, family, friendship to talk, crochet, make lace, sing, or play dominoes until 11 or 12. It was fun, and over time the mix of women changed for one reason or another. We moved around the edges of the plaza, so there really wasn’t one spot, but whereever the gathering was, there was La Punta. When I stayed in Moca for a few months on my research trip on mundillo, I had the pleasure of being adopted by a group of women at the Plaza and the spot was jokingly called, La Punta de Viejas.
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