Ray sent me a video about Sao Paulo from Travel Film Archive on Youtube, and there I discovered a treasure trove of videos made about Latin America (and countries around the world) from the 1930s to the 1970s. I discovered two videos about Rio and one about Southern Brazil, so I'm posting them here, as well as an overview of Latin America from Pan Am Airways, which includes footage of Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, the Dutch Caribbean, Trinidad, the Guyanas, and a long section on Brazil.
The American interpretation of Brazilian realities is worth a listen, since the films were an attempt to glorify and romanticize Brazil. (I found the racial democracy explanation in the first Rio video a bit odd, juxtaposed with another part of the video in which they talk about the "animals" at the market and show footage of small black children interspersed with footage of monkeys.) It is amazing to be able to see actual footage from the earlier videos in the 1930s, to see just how different (and in some cases, how similar) things were, back in the day.
Be sure to check out some of the other gems about Havana, La Paz, Argentina, and Iguacu Falls. Watch the other four Brazil videos after the jump.
Fascinating. Love the 'Flying Clipper Ships'.
Who knew that air travel would only go downhill from there,,,
Posted by: Neil | July 06, 2009 at 04:04 PM