"carbones"

Question

This is South American Spanish and I'm sure it's a local phrase. Here's the context:

De tanto mirar los carbones encendidos de los proyectores, los ojos se le habían vuelto amarillos y oblicuos

I figure it means lights/lightbulbs, does anyone recognise the terminology? Gracias

Wouldn't it be 'coals', as in 'coals in the fire'? - Jack-OBrien, Oct 3, 2010

How about the Italian "Pasta Carbonara" which came from the Coal miners who ate their pasta in the mine and bits of coal would fall into it, ground pepper is used now to indicate the coal reference. - ray76, Oct 3, 2010

Answer 1

"carbon arc lamps", used in old 35 mm. movie projectors. I did a google search on "carbones de proyectores".

You are brilliant!! - lagartijaverde, Oct 4, 2010

Answer 2

Thing is...

this is a reference to a projector in the cinema,

It's South American Spanish and I suspect it is a vernacular reference to light. I get the coal reference but wonder if that has evolved, linguistically, to reflect (no intended pun), contemporary light and is maybe a slang reference

My question is this: what significance does the word "carbones" have beyond the obvious "coal" significance? It appears to me to be a slang or perhaps common term that relates to light, in this case a film projector.

Has anyone come across this term?