Three City Gems

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 66, 19 March 1938, Page 3 (Supplement)

Three City Gems

By ... E. R. Yarham

BEAUTY and WEALTH of SOUTH AMERICAN CAPITALS

'THE story of the rise of some 1 of the great cities of South America is one of the romances of the New World. Little more than a century ago some of them dreamed in splendid isolation as far-flung outposts of the old Spanish colonial empire, or stagnated on the edges of the vast pampas as ramshackle cattla towns with unpaved and narrow streets. There are others whose very sites were unreclaimed tropic swamps, surrounded by primeval forest. No gT?atcr contrasts can be imagined than are afforded by the Continent's three largest and most famous capitals: Rio de Janeiro, city of light and flowers, the dream city of the southern ■world, and whose claim to be the world's loveliest citj, so it is held, cannot be seriously challenged; Buenos Aires, "Manchester of South America," magnificcDtly alluring and enormously wealthy, the largest city in the Southern Hemisphere, still rapidly outstripping all others; and last of all the beautiful old 6pa nish colonial city of Santiago, every square foot of it soaked in history, and over which the mighty Andes brood eentinel. You Thrill to Rio It has been said that it is almost an •ffcnce to discuss "Rio" in any other terms but those of poetry. Even the most hardened sea-voyager experiences a thrill when after being surrounded by seemingly boundless leagues of ocean, his vessel takes the mile-wide channel between the huge cone of the Pao d'Asucar or the Sugar Loaf, on the left, and the frowning rock of Pico on the east. Before him lies the magnificent bay, rich with tropical colours, in which all the navies of the world could swing, studded with jade-green islands, and surrounded by a rampart of forest-clad mountains of fantastic shape.

Here long granite spurs of the Serra do Mar thrust themselves forward to the water's edge. Rio, with its millinn and a half souls, lies along the curving western shore of the bay, and on the narrow tongues of land which jut into the blue waters. Some of the spurs project into the very plain on which the city stands, forming picturesque valleys within it. Many of the residential quarters follow these little dales, thick with foliage, clinging to their bright, steep slopes.

During the present century the capital has been nearly entirely rebuilt at enormous cost. Many buildings of the colonial period remain, but a large part of the crowded area of the original city lhas been swept away to make room for the magnificent new streets driven straight through its heart. One of the mo«t cherished of Rio's possessions Ms tie Avenida Beira-Mar, a boulevard with few rivals in the world .

It stretches for 20 miles around the curving shores of the bay, and every mile of its tree-shaded length unfolds new enchanting views, and gardens and parks, gay with all manner of blossom, are always in sight.

Even the busiest quarters of the city are handsome and imposing. Leaving the docks one comes upon the Avenida Rio Brancho, without doubt the finest thoroughfare in the Western Hemisphere and perhaps in the world. Lined with royal palms a.nd adorned with mosaic pavements, some of the most distinguished public and private buildings in the capital are situated here. There are the National Library, the Senate Chamber and the National Theatre, which cost over £2,000,000 less than 40 years ago. The avenue cuts across what ie perhaps the most historic of all the city's arteries, the Rua do Ouvidor, which has been termed a Southern Bond Street. One has written of it as "the most crowded, the most light-hearted, indiscreet, gossiping, spendthrift, vain, intriguing, polyglot and encylopaedic of all the streets of the city." Leaving the capital of Brazil, and travelling south, we come to the amazing city of Buenos Ayres. Just over half a century ago, when King George V., then Duke of York, was on his famous world tour in the Bacchante, the ship dropped anchor in the muddy waters of the Rio de la Plata, on whose banks stood a straggling cattle town, with uncared-for streets, and few buildings of public pretensions. In the 50 years separating the visits of father and son a miracle occurred. For when the Duke of Windsor opened the British Empire Trade Exhibition a few years ago, he saw before him the wonder city of the New World, and the third largest on the American continent. City of Pleasure Its population has increased ten-fold and with nearly 2,250,000 people is the greatest city in the southern hemisphere. Unbounded wealth pours into it as a result of its vast commerce, and only New York exceeds it in volume of trade. "8.A.," as everybody calls it, is rich, smart and expensive. For its business methods and skyscrapers it goes to the United States, and to Paris for its fashions, books and amusements. Unlike some Spanish-American cities its people are not all pleasure seeking, for B.A. believes in combining amusement and business. No other city of the New World can rival its mushroom growth. Where only a few years ago were the flat lands that seemed to stretch interminably, her suburbs have encroached, and now a forest of docks and elevators linns the river front which, within man's memory, was unreclaimed marsh land. The reason is that the vast pampas have become one of the great granaries of the world, more than 200,000,000 acres yielding grain and alfalfa without the aid of irrigation or fertilisers. Four-fifths of Argentina's frozen meat, grain, wool and live stock pass through the docks of Buenos Ayres.

The approach to this great city is not impressive to the on-coming traveller, although the waters of the mighty Rio de la Plata stain the Atlantic for many miles outside its mouth with coppery silt. Yet this river has brought wealth and prosperity to the people of the plains and seaports, laying down fertile sediment for their benefit. Ihe most notable new street, and the pride of the city, is the Avenida de Mayo, about a mile and a half in length, flanked by handsome buildings of nearly uniform height, and terminating in the Plaza del Congreso. This noble avenue, 120 ft wide, has its straightness relieved by a double row of lights and by borders of trees. Magnificent shops and restaurants line its length. The Palace of Congress with its marble dome is fit home for a Government, and the square forms the background of one of the noblest vistas that any city in the world can 6how. One of the most influential bodies in the Argentine capital is the British colony, for in and around the city live about 30,000 British folk. They have their own clubs and national celebra-

Prose Cannot Describe Rio

most progressive towns of the southern world, with growing industries, and a population of 700,000 —its figures have doubled in 30 years. Yet, important as Santiago is commercially, it is far more venerated as the historic national home of the people. Probably the most famous spot is the great rock of Santa Lucia, which rises steeply in the heart of the city to a height of 400 feet. Formerly it was a natural fortress, but was crowned with formidable defences which turned it into a nearly impregnable citadel. Now these have been replaced by statu"? and balconies, and the hill "has been turned into a pleasure ground with winding walks, from which magnificent panoramas of the city and the Andean peaks are seen.

tions, and indeed to the lover of sport and the open air the life is a delightful one, for the climate invites outdoor recreation. There are cricket, football, swimming and yacht racing, and literally every game which a Briton takes with him wherever he goes. After all there is something very English in the city, for outside the Retiro Station stands the British Clock Tower, presented to the Argentine people. There is a eolidness about it typical of the British nation, and it stands as a symbol of the long friendship between the two nations. Last of all we turn to on® of the most historic cities in South America, beautiful Santiago, the capital of Chilo. Scarcely 20 years ago it took five weeks to reach it, but now, thanks to the genius of British engineers, it is possible to complete the journey in less than 20 days, using the marvellous Transandine Railway, which pierces the Andes by means of the Uspallata Tunnel. To-day, as the capital of the enlightened republic of Chile, it is one of the

Santiago has many imposing public buildings, one of the outstanding being the Congress House, with its rows of massive columns and beautiful gardens, looking out on to the great Plaza, which is the centre of the city. Near at hand is the official residence of the President, and the palace of the archbishop. nother noted structure is the National Library, which boasts over 10,000 volumes. Its array of educational buildings is anique, for it has two universities, the date of the founding of the State University going back as far as 1743. It has an observatory, a medical school, a school of agriculture, the national observatory of music and other of a like nature.

In A Mushroom Metropoi

When The Great Potter Spilt Some Clay