Tobacco leaves

You may think that tobacco would be useful for just only smoking. This morning in our hotel, I saw that the tables are made out of tobacco leaves and covered in resin. Everything here by the manufacturing plants smells quite strongly of tobacco leaf. It is overpowering. Souza Cruz and Philip Morris seem to carry steady reins over the city with hundreds of signs from clocks, to street signs, to city gates, welcome signs, street maps, city emblems such as these german dolls since the town was founded by German immigrants, tobacco advertisements to a quasi walmart with wedding registeries from the tobacco growers association. You would never think that German would be useful in Brazil but between my pseudo Portuguese and German I was able to understand the farmers reasonably well. It is uncanny. I will continue more later but sleep awaits me. Beijos

Welcome to Marlboro County

Tomorrow we are going to the real Marlboro county, that is the area where they grow tobacco. It is a bit creepy in that I feel the tobacco company influence here. Our Brazilian contact was telling me the other hotel she had been to here in Sta. Cruz had industry spies in it. We are in a smallish town and the tobacco industry has sponsered some street signs. In the capital of the region, Porto Alegre I saw a lot of tobacco ads at the kiosk, from hollywood, a brand advertising an indigenous/aboriginee boomerang as part of the ad to hilton, cigarettes. There are even flavored ones as well. I'm not sure of what to expect. There was a storm on the way here with tons of lightening and thunder making us wonder if big tobacco is coming after us again, as in Uruguay we had a quasi hurricane with winds over 120 miles per hour knocking out 2000 trees and killing over 8 people. It took out 10 radio atennaes cancelling my radio appearance in montevideo. The smoking is having a wicked way at my voice so I am going to try to rest up before more days of passive smoking.