How pyrotechnic wizards orchestrate the Macy’s 4th of July fireworks
It’s difficult for Gary Souza to return to your garden variety bottlerockets and sparklers after a day at work. “Over the years, people always say, ‘Oh you work in the fireworks business! You must have all kinds of fireworks in your backyard.’ It’s kind of the last thing we want to do,” he tells Popular Science. It’s somewhat ironic but understandable, since the Souza family name is synonymous with pyrotechnic wizardry. Their company Pyro Spectaculars dates back to the early 1900s, when Manuel de Sousa immigrated to San Francisco from the Azores. There, he started building his own fireworks for local Portuguese community festivals, while teaching his family the trade secrets. Armed with the patriarch’s own pyrotechnic “cookbook,” ensuing generations of the Souza family (now with a “z”) have since expanded the business into one of the world’s leading firework show organizers. Every year, Pyro Spectaculars now oversees hundreds of performances for...