Theater of the Mind

Hello Americans

12 episodes · 1942–1943 · CBS · Historical

Orson Welles's portraits of Latin America and the Caribbean, made for CBS in the wartime Good Neighbor spirit after his trip to Brazil.

Episodes

Tap a title to play it on Radio Days.

Brazil November 15, 1942 · CBS · 29 min
The first show of Orson Welles's tour of Latin America, just back from Rio: an imaginary trip to Brazil, with sambas and Carmen Miranda.
The Andes November 22, 1942 · CBS · 29 min
Portraits of Pizarro the conqueror and the liberators Simón Bolívar and José de San Martín.
The Islands November 29, 1942 · CBS · 28 min
Haiti's Emperor Christophe and Toussaint Louverture.
The Alphabet of the Islands, A to C December 6, 1942 · CBS · 29 min
Welles begins an alphabet of the Caribbean islands, and doesn't get past C.
The Alphabet of the Islands, C to S December 13, 1942 · CBS · 29 min
The Caribbean alphabet continues from C to S, which stands for slavery.
The Alphabet of the Islands, S to the End December 20, 1942 · CBS · 29 min
The alphabet concludes with the story of slavery in the Caribbean, leading to Christophe and Toussaint Louverture.
The Bad-Will Ambassador December 27, 1942 · CBS · 29 min
A rude American traveling south of the border meets a strange 'American' at Christmastime.

Ritmos de las Americas January 3, 1943 · CBS · 29 min
A program of music from the Americas. Welles is ill and does not appear, and Sir Lancelot sings a calypso about Pearl Harbor.
Mexico January 10, 1943 · CBS · 29 min
Cortés and Montezuma, Benito Juárez, Emiliano Zapata and other stories of Mexico.
Feed the World January 17, 1943 · CBS · 26 min
Food in the Americas, and how the hemisphere can help feed a hungry world.
Romantic Rhythms of the Americas January 24, 1943 · 29 min
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs lists the same title on this date.
Bolivar's Idea January 31, 1943 · CBS · 29 min
The last show: an old spoon leads Welles to ask what Pan-Americanism means.