Maceió's beaches are among the most pristine in the world, matched in their natural beauty only by the coral reefs just off Maceió's coast. But though her beauty was bought by providence, the riches of the Maceió elite were bought with the blood of slave labor and maintained to the modern day through entrenched patronage networks. Its civil infrastructure and public services are badly underdeveloped in comparison to other major ports of Northeastern Brazil. But for all the city's ills, genuine signs of hope appear just over the horizon. The recent discovery of oil deposits has resulted in a nascent energy sector, and as passenger air-travel becomes a practical reality, Americans seduced by tales of Maceió's Caribbean-esque landscape may one day flock to the beaches.