Other stories posted here reminded me of the maquina that ran the electricity in my section of the sertão in the town of Nossa Senhora da Gloria, Sergipe ---referred to by all as simply 'Gloria.'

Ze, the man that ran the maquina, was of the same political party as the mayor, perhaps a relative. I understand that for several years before I arrived, while the opposition political party was in power, Ze refused to run the generator. Once his candidate was put into office, the town had electricity again from 6 - 10 pm. At 9:45, the lights flicked off for a few seconds as a warning that the lights would go off in 15 minutes, allowing us to head home while the street lights were still on. On special occasions and for holiday parties, the maquina might run until midnight, later for Carnaval.

In anticipation of the coming of full time electricity from ENERGIPE, most households had a brand new refrigerator in which people stored items they wanted to keep away from mice or roaches until they could be used for their intended purposes.

Many people had purchased several refrigerators. They knew that putting money in the bank was useless, as the interest rate was much lower than the inflation rate. Yet, after sitting for a year or so, a never-used appliance could be sold for two or three times the purchase price, less than someone would have to pay for a new refrigerator at inflated prices, but much more than the owner had originally paid.

We had a movie theatre that showed old American films on a 16 mm projector on Friday and Saturday nights. Once a student who spoke English rather well, told me he couldn't understand anything in those American films. I told him that I couldn't either. The sound on the projector was so garbled, I couldn't understand one word in English. Most Glorianos couldn't read the subtitles, so the owner of the cinema allowed a few ginasio students in free so they could read the subtitles outloud for the rest of the crowd. The place was so hot, stuffy, & uncomfortable (the hard seats were not made for long-legged Americans)  ---and at first I couldn't read the subtitles fast enough nor understand the students who were scattered throughout the theatre yelling out the dialogue ---that I found myself making excuses not to attend the films. I admit I was not disappointed when the cinema had to be closed after the balcony caved in one night --- luckily after everyone had left.  I thought, perhaps, after the renovations, the owner would purchase a new projector, but he did not.

There were no electric meters in the homes. And I don't think people had any electrical outlets until the full-time electricity arrived. They just had one light bulb hanging from the ceiling in each room and were charged by the number of light bulbs they had.

I don't know where the generator was in the town, but I don't ever remember hearing it run ---perhaps it was just outside of the town. What I do remember is that once the lights went off each night, and there were only dim kerosene lanterns to compete with the heavens, one could see millions of stars in the southern-hemisphere sky. The only other place I can remember seeing so many stars was at Yosemite National Park at Mirror Lake.

I lived with another PCV (Brunie Chavez of CA) in a house without electricity. About a year after my arrival, full-time electricity arrived, although our landlord did not install it in our home.  About 6 months before I headed home, I moved into a house with electricity. I then had one light bulb hanging from the ceiling in each room and with a few outlets scattered throughout the house, I could use the travel iron I had kept in my footlocker for the previous 18 months.  In addition, a Volunteer who had returned to the U.S. and lived within a few hours of me at home, had loaned me his radio and I was able to listen to Voice of America.  I still had a temperamental kerosene-powered refrigerator, but I asked the owner of the pensão if I could use her freezer compartment ---no one knew what to do with a freezer, so most were left empty.  I purchased fresh green beans and other vegetables in the capital city (vegetables no one ever saw in Gloria), blanched them and put them in plastic bags to store in the freezer. I could also store meat there and ice cubes made from boiled/filtered water.

Within weeks, two televisions arrived in the town ---at a bar and at the bank manager's home. The reception was terrible. Although we were far from Venezuela, there was interference from a TV station there that seemed to overlap Brazilian broadcasts with garbled Spanish.  Of course, even with terrible reception, the bar became the most popular place in town, and the bank manager had people hanging outside his windows if the TV was on. The bank manager and his wife were quiet, private people, so I don't think they liked the attention, but they were kind and did not deny the neighbors the opportunity to view the TV.

In the film "Bye, Bye Brazil" a small traveling Carnival troupe arrives in towns where the mayor has hooked up a TV for the town's entertainment, drawing everyone away from the Carnival.  In 1969, Gloria still had a small circus that arrived once a year and it drew big crowds. For one who grew up with the Sealtest Big Top on TV every Saturday, it was a miserable disappointment, but for Brazilians who had never seen much TV, it was the highlight of the year.

I haven't been back to Gloria, but I am guessing nearly every home has a TV. I bet fewer people gather at the cinema on the weekends or sit in the praça watching the movemento. And probably one cannot see as many stars in those beautiful southern skies.

As my husband often points out, technology gives us power, but it doesn't make us happy.

Carol Peiffer