The Lexington advertiser. [volume] (Lexington, Miss.) 1904-1985, 1949-04-14
THROUGH
HAZEL
EYES
By Hazel Brunnon

Rio De Janeiro must be the
most beautiful city in the world.
The natural loneliness of the har-
Dor and surrounding mountains IS
unsurpassed in exquisite beauty
and form the setting for Ameri-
cas- most glamorous city.
When dusk descends a million
lights spring up and the city
spread out below from the peak
of Pao De Assucar, or Sugar Loaf
mountain, is n never to be for
gotten. Ascent to Sugar Loaf is
by a small cable car and the ride
at night resembles a tiny FREELY
vending its way from n noun
tain peak to another. Rocked to
and fro by a gentle breeze and
swaying in the wind the ride gives
a thrill never before experienced.
The wide streets Of Rio r out
lined with gorgeous palms and
the drives around the bay r out
lined with trees and flowers and
Illuminated as bright as day - a
brilliant sight by day and fairy
land ct night.
Even the skies conspire with
the magic that is Rio - for here
it is bluer and when seen from
the 2,300-foot summit of Corco-
vado appears to form the first
stair to the gate of Heaven itself.
On Corcovado is mounted a huge
statue Of Christ whose outspread
arms seem to take unto Himself
the city and all its two million in
habitants.
Broad beaches with sugar-white
sands dot the bay and Copacabana
beach is the most amazing in the
world - lovelier by far than the
famed beaches Of the French and
italian Rivieras.
Rio derives its living from three
principal sources. 1t is the capital
of Brazil, a nation larger than the
United States with another state
of Texas thrown in. 1t is an inn
portant harbor for importing and
exporting. Last of all it looks to
tourists. Perhaps the fact that 1t
has developed along these lines
rather than industry is responsible
for the fact that it has remained
SO much like a jewel.
The sky line of Rio is ultra
modern with ~skyscrapers and
modernistic apartment houses
The buildings all look brand new
and most q rthem have been built
in the past fifteen OF twenty years.
Little here remains visible to the
casual eye of the picturesque ar
chitect and courtyards of the past
- Rio seems concerned only with
the present.
Making a startling contrast to
this overwhelming splendor are
the bleak little huts which occupy
the hills opposite some of the most
fashionable residential sections of
the city. These huts are lived in
with droves of children and they
have neither lights nor water. The
women trudge downhill to get
their water for cooking and.drink-
ing - and at the public watering
places they wash their clothes
and hang them on the bushes to
dry.
Living Comes High Here
The overall cost of living in Rio
has been set at about forty per
cent above New York. Canned
goods from the States cost four
to five times as much. Plenty of
American cigarettes are struggled
in by sailors who make this port
and they can be bought for about
twenty five cents per package.
Most of the cigarettes are brought
in from st. Thomas where they
are purchased for ninety cents
per carton. Scotch and American
WHISTLES are dear and cost twelve
to sixteen dollars a fifth. Both
food and clothing are high and
the really nice apartments rent
from $175,00 to 10000 per month,
depending on size and location.
There is absolutely no color line
in Brazil except in the very high
est society.
Wages are lower in Rio than in
the United States but skilled labor
Is rare and very expensive, in
GLIDING trained domestic help. The
scale of wages has doubled since
1889 but the cost of living has
quadrupled or more which
means that fully one-half of the
people who live in this incredible
city have a sub-standard of living
and fully half of the latter are
very poor.
But Rio is very gay and doesn't