Brazil: People of the Plantations

Almost 1/2 the area of South America lies within the Republic of Brazil, a nation larger than the United States here superimposed. Brazil's territory may be divided into three areas: the Amazon Basin, source of rubber, cocoa, and nuts. The Northeast, yielding tobacco, sugar, and cotton. And the central and southern coastal uplands, where there are coffee, livestock, and minerals. There industry and commerce. Key cities of this last and richest area are Rio de Janeiro, the capital, and São Paulo and Santos, the great coffee centers. Of these, Rio de Janeiro is greatest in size and importance. It is here in this resort city, in this great commercial and cultural capital, that many wealthy Brazilians have their homes and perhaps their private airplanes, such as the one seen landing here. The pilot is Senhor Azevedo, wealthy plantation owner, whose family originally received their land from the King of Portugal over 300 years ago. After giving instructions to his mechanics, Senhor Azevedo enters his car for the drive home. The road to to the Azevedo townhouse lies along a wide boulevard beside the waterfront. Down a main traffic artery passing through the business district with its busy centers of commercial and financial activity. And finally, out to a residential section. Senhor Azevedo's study is not far from the scene of business activity, but today he receives a call from his agent in Santos. Hello. I keep following Azevedo. From his agent, Senhor Azevedo learns that new financial arrangements are being made for handling the produce of his plantation, the Fazenda Francisco. Pictures of the Fazenda adorn the walls of Senhor Azevedo's study. But, he seldom visits the plantation itself. Located some 600 miles inland from Rio de Janeiro, the Azevedo plantation comprises well over 40,000 acres of highland terrain. Only about half of the vast acreage is under cultivation. The Fazenda is a large-scale community having many and varied functions. The raising of coffee, however, dominates the scene. Representative of the workers in the coffee groves are the Silvas, a Portuguese family. Here, father Pedro and Chiquita are arriving for their day's work. It is the harvest season and the gathering of the ripe coffee berries goes on day after day from dawn to dusk. In the work of harvesting, there are three major steps. Here, father Silva takes over the first task, the actual stripping of the berries from the heavily laden branches. As they are stripped off, the berries are allowed to drop to the ground, later to be raked into piles. This task falls to Pedro, who moves along the rows in the wake of his father. In the raking process, twigs and leaves are gathered up along with the coffee berries. And therefore, sifting is necessary to sort out the berries themselves. Chiquita handles this phase of the work, repeatedly tossing the berries into the air over a sifting screen. Even [clears throat] then, much of the waste material must be removed by hand. Chiquita, Pedro, and father have been at work 3 hours when, at the Silva home, Paulo, the oldest boy, sets out for the school with his young brother Zequinha. Paulo has a horse to ride since he is an errand boy. Zequinha is fortunate, too. For usually, only the children of foremen and managers of the Fazenda have the privilege of going to school. The others must work. In the Silva kitchen, >> [clears throat] >> mother prepares to leave with the midmorning meal, which she will take to the members of her family who are working in the coffee groves. Meanwhile, not only the Silvas, but numerous others are hard at work. Among them are immigrants from northern Europe, immigrants from southern Europe, mestizos among them, negros among them, mulattos among them, symbols all of the mixture of peoples in this dominantly Portuguese country. And now, as mother Silva arrives with a meal for her family, one of the foremen of the plantation gives the signal for the morning rest period. Rest from work, a smoke perhaps, a drink of water, or, as with the Silvas, a meal of bread, beans, and coffee. Father turns to the water cask, while Chiquita idly plays with her dog, and mother drinks hot coffee. Nearby, another mother tends her baby. Thus, the rest period passes for the various families of pickers. Meanwhile, Zequinha's class is having a lesson outdoors. The teacher urges everyone to study hard for the coming examinations. In the afternoon, Paulo, continuing his work of running errands, calls at the office of the Fazenda manager. Here, he receives a message which he must deliver to the sugarcane weigh-in shed. So extensive is the plantation that Paulo must travel a considerable distance to reach the cane growing section. Part of the journey leads across a street lined with the homes of plantation foremen. In the cane fields, as in the coffee groves, there is a wide variety of workers. Here, too, there are tasks for women and children, as well as men. Sugarcane, once Brazil's basic crop, is again becoming highly important, partly to prevent too great a dependence on coffee, the leading commodity of today. As Paulo passes through the field on his errand, he pauses for a refreshing taste of the nourishing sugarcane before proceeding. At the weigh-in shed, a long line of wagons is formed, each awaiting its turn on the scales. It is to the foreman of the weigh-in shed that Paulo must deliver his message regarding the handling of the day's harvest of sugarcane. Thus, sugarcane bulks large in Fazenda operations, but coffee remains the basic crop. Still working the late afternoon, Chiquita fills a sack with sifting coffee berries. This is but one of many filled in the course of the long day. The work of harvest goes on continuously for several months. As the sacks are filled, they're carried to a donkey cart used for collecting the harvest of the fields. To this harvest, Orientals may also contribute, still another of Brazil's varied peoples. From the groves, the sacks of berries are transported to central stations where they are emptied. From this point, the berries continue their journey by way of a water trough. Steadily, the harvest flows toward the drying platform. Here, hand trucks are used to carry the berries to the drying area, where they are spread out in the warm sun. This is one of many stages of processing which the berries undergo after leaving the groves. At the day's close, tarpaulins are placed over the piles of coffee. For many of the Fazenda population, the Wednesday evening church service offers a change from the monotonous workaday routine. Here, the Silvas are among those who have gathered for devotions. The service over, all return home to rest before another day's labors. During the harvest season, boats line the wharves of Santos to take on the cargoes of coffee that have been shipped in from the plantations. In a never-ending stream, sacks of coffee pour into the underground conveyor systems which lead out to the ships. Or again, this may be the work of stevedores feeding a steady supply of sacks to the great loading cranes. Cranes as steadily at work as the pickers in the fields. Out of Brazil, coffee for the nations. Coffee grown and harvested by the people of Brazil's plantations for the people of the world.