The Coolidge examiner., 1932-11-18
A Street Vendor Of Rio.

I with beautiful trees, and piercing
the city from the Beira Mar to the
piers, was boldly opened only two
decades ago in the ambitious plan
for better city. To cut 1t through,
nearly GOO buildings were razed.
One of its startling aspects is its
sidewalk, made up of small stones
of different colors, laid in zigZags,
in waves and in other dizzy pat
terms.
Interesting Street Crowds.
But 1t is the people who interest
you most, especially the crowds who
| promenade late in the afternoon.
Coffee shops, cafes and tea rooms
line the Avenida Rio Branco, many
with wide colored awnings that
reach out over the pavement. Flocks
open air, so that patrons may sip
drinks, smoke, and watch the we'll
dressed, handsome women who stroll
by to be admired. This is a Gus
tom of the country. 1t is perfectly
correct TO cast admiring glances,
and the women do not resent it..
In fact they expect it. And,
on fine evenings, the passing show
Is not unlike a parade of man
nequins displaying the latest styles
in feminine garb at a New York
fashion show.
Although prohibition is unknown
in Brazil, very few seem to daily
much with the cup that cheers. Cos
mopolitan seaport though II is, Rio
is most orderly and abstemious
place. But ii drinks coffee to ex-
cess.
What we call lunch is breakfast
in Rio. After this meal the brokers,
bankers. merchants and clerks all
flock to their favorite resort to
drink coffee. Late in the after
noon they all go again, and perhaps
at various other times during the
day they drop in for the tiny cup.
II they happen to be near a cafe.
Coffee is taken very strong and
sweet, as In the Near East. In the
cheaper cafes an automatic bowl OF
granulated sugar is on each table.
By means of a trigger, 1t shoots a
mans allowance into his cup at one
dash. Often you see men try il
first toward the floor, to see II II
is workingl
BY his dress alone you can sell
dom tell an upper-class Brazilian
from a well-groomed European. You
seldom see q man without a vest
even on hot days. Derby hats and
canes are everywhere; some men
carry fans; and bootblacks and bar
bers could almost claim an essen
tial occupation" to avoid the draft
in wartimeI
Here, along the Rio Branco. is the
voice Of the city. Around these
sidewalk cafes you hear town talk.
which may be in any one of three
or four languages. 1t is a gossips'
free-for-all. And here conversation
is an art-as much enjoyed as
music. All the lounging coffee
drinkers and the groups standing
! about wave their hands and wobble
their heads in Latin-American en-
| phasis, each anxious to make him.
self heard. Passing by. you hear
scraps of talk on every theme, from
the coffee crop and the Sac Paulo
snake farm to the identity of the
pretty girl who just went by in a
roadster.
United States Visitors Welcome.
Nowhere. from the Rio Grande
to Cape Horn, is the visitor from
the United States more welcome
than in Rio. Whether he comes as
tourist. salesman. scientist, diplo
mat, artist, student, teacher, resi-
dent engineer. merchant, or delegate
to an international highway confer
ence, he soon senses that Brazilians
hold our country in high esteem.
Between the two capitals. Rio and
Washington, friendly diplomatic in
tercOurse has been unbroken for a
hundred years. When we entered
the World war, President Braz of
| Brazil said in his message to con-
gress: with our elder brother.
the United States, at war, it is i'm
possible for Brazil to remain neu-
trail"
Rio-rich, leisurely, and at ease
is not "Americanized" in dress, man.
ners, or in methods. Probably she
never will be, for here a new race
| is in the making-a racial ANAL
gamation new to the world, possess
ing unique social. industrial and cul-
tural possibilities.
But Rio is tolerant and wise.
From US, as from Europe, she takes
what she can use. whether 1t is ideas
or goods. This is fair play among
nations.