Corpus Christi in Nineteenth-Century Mexico City

From Ruth R. Olivera and Liliane Crete. Life in Mexico under Santa Anna, 1822-1855:

The procession of the Holy Eucharist...was one of great pomp and solemnity. Many more people observed the procession than were part of it, and it became an occasion for high fashion among the wealthy, who watched it from their balconies, and for holiday dress among the general throng of spectators below...

A twenty-one-gun salute marked each of the nine phases of the ceremony. The first was at the break of dawn, the second was at the beginning of mass, the third was at the elevation of the Eucharist [One moment: sweeeeeeeet. Okay, back to regularly scheduled programming.] and the fifth was as the Eucharist was escorted by the archbishop out of the cathedral in a grand procession composed of all the dignitaries of the church, the religious communities, the employees and administrators of the civil government with their alternates, the rectors of the schools, the seminarians and students, and the rank and file of the military. A sixth salvo was fired as the procession passed through Vergara Street in front of the Teatro Nacional, a seventh when the procession reentered the cathedral just as the last of the officials were leaving, the eighth at twelve noon, and the ninth and final salute at sundown...

Never was the pageantry more magnificent nor the dress code for city officials and the military more flamboyant than when it was decreed by Santa Anna [then dictator of Mexico] in 1854. Public employees appeared in blue dress coats embroidered in gold, white trousers with stripes of gold, and gold-embroidered vests set off by ornaments appropriate to the individual's rank, plus plumed hats and rapiers. What a bonanza it was for the tailors of the city! [...] Of course, the military was just as colorful in green frock coats with yellow piping, deep blue trousers with sky-blue piping and caps with green pompons. Even their horses had to be of a minimum required height.