Brazil: Darkness in Rio

Rio de Janeiro, city of delights; By day there is no water, At night there are no lights. —Carnival song, 1955

For a month now, the most glamorous city under the Southern Cross has been dining by candlelight, but hardly from choice. Rio has been plunged into its most serious power shortage since 1904, when a company eventually taken over by the Canadian-owned Brazilian Traction, Light & Power Co. brought the city its first electricity and enlightened Brazilian parents began naming their sons Edison—still a favorite first name in Brazil.

Twilight...

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