América (telenovela)
| América | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Drama, romance, telenovela |
| Created by | Glória Perez |
| Directed by |
Jayme Monjardim Marcos Schechtman |
| Starring |
Murilo Benício Deborah Secco Eliane Giardini Caco Ciocler Gabriela Duarte Edson Celulari Camila Morgado Christiane Torloni Marcelo Novaes |
| Theme music composer |
Soy loco por ti America Ivete Sangalo |
| Country of origin |
Brazil United States |
| Original language(s) | Portuguese |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 203 |
| Production | |
| Location(s) |
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil New York City, USA |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 50 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | Rede Globo |
| Audio format | Stereophonic sound |
| Original release | March 14, 2005 - November 5, 2005 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Senhora do Destino |
| Followed by | Belíssima |
| External links | |
| Website | |
América is a Brazilian-American telenovela that was originally broadcast in 2005 by Rede Globo. The telenovela focused on the life of an illegal immigrant to the United States and the lives of those she left behind in Brazil. It stars Deborah Secco and Murilo Benício. It was written by Glória Perez and directed by Jayme Monjardim and Marcos Schechtman.
In 2009, Telemundo began airing a Spanish-dubbed version of this series and ran for approximately one year. . The network aired the series from Monday to Friday in the daytime. Unlike most of its soap operas, the network didn't broadcast English subtitles as closed captions on CC3.
Main plot
Sol and Tião are born to different social backgrounds --- she to a poor suburban family in Rio, and him to an even poorer family who raised cattle in West São Paulo State. They eventually meet, due to unlikely circumstances, but part again, as she has set as her ultimate priority to reach the United States or bust. While she comes to the U.S. to live as an illegal immigrant, he remains in Brazil and, despite many trials and tribulations, he becomes a successful rodeo cowboy.
Subplots
América has several secondary plots about a variety of compelling characters. These, for the most part, take place in four locales: Vila Isabel, a middle-class neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro; Boiadeiros, a fictional town in West São Paulo; the home of a rich family in Rio; and Miami. Various characters from each subplots often meet each other due to character linkages within the story.
The main subplots were:
- A love triangle involving Feitosa, a man who worked with pets, his girlfriend Islene (who happened to have a blind daughter from a previous relationship) and Creusa (a virginal woman who turned out to be too lustful).
- The problems and achievements of a blind man, Jatobá, trying to live with his disability in a country with no infrastructure for the visually impaired. He is engaged to a non-blind woman.
- The mischievous Alex and Djanira, smugglers and "coyotes".
- The love life of Glauco, a 50-year-old businessman married to a kleptomaniac woman that strives for a divorce in order to marry her lover (but he later leaves both for a 19-year-old girl).
- The complicated relationship between a middle-class American professor, Edward Talbot, and his rich girlfriend, May, who does social work at a ghetto school in Miami. Due to fan demand, the author of the soap opera changed its ending so Edward ends up marrying the main character, Sol.
- The lives of several illegal immigrants living in a boarding house in Miami kept by a Mexican woman, with Brazilian roots, named Consuelo.
- The thriving Brazil rodeo culture. Rodeo is a traditional sport in many countries in the Americas, with influences from the history of Mexican and Brazilian vaqueros or vaqueiros (cowboys) and American cowboys.
Cast
| Actor | Character |
|---|---|
| Murilo Benício | Sebastião da Silva Higino "Tião" |
| Deborah Secco | Marisol de Oliveira "Sol" |
| Eliane Giardini | Viúva Neuta |
| Edson Celulari | Glauco Simões Lopes Prado |
| Christiane Torloni | Haydée Pamplona Lopes Prado |
| Mariana Ximenes | Raíssa |
| Caco Ciocler | Edward Talbot "Ed" |
| Camila Morgado | Miss May |
| Gabriela Duarte | Simone Garcia Menezes Higino |
| Thiago Lacerda | Alexander Camargo "Alex" |
| Cláudia Jimenez | Consuelo |
| Nívea Maria | Maria José Higino |
| Paulo Goulart | Mariano de Oliveira |
| Jandira Martini | Odaleia de Oliveira |
| Humberto Martins | Laerte Villa Nova |
| Daniela Escobar | Irene Villa Nova |
| Matheus Nachtergaele | Carreirinha |
| Marcos Frota | Pedro Jatobá |
| Totia Meireles | Vera Tupã do Nascimento |
| Francisco Cuoco | José da Silva Higino |
| Marcelo Novaes | Genivaldo da Silva Higino |
| Cléo Pires | Lurdinha |
| Cissa Guimarães | Nina |
| Betty Faria | Djanira Pimenta |
| Luís Melo | Ramiro |
| Bruno Gagliasso | Roberto Sinval Villa Nova Júnior |
| Roberto Bomfim | Jota Abdalla |
| Chico Diaz | Acácio da Silva Higino |
| Neuza Borges | Diva |
| Regina Maria Dourado | Graça |
| Juliana Paes | Creusa |
| Lúcia Veríssimo | Gil Madureira |
| Eva Todor | Miss Jane |
| Bete Mendes | Fátima |
| Reginaldo Faria | Adalberto |
| Murilo Rosa | Dinho |
| Victor Fasano | James |
| Floriano Peixoto | Tony |
| Simone Spoladore | Heloísa |
| Rodrigo Faro | Neto |
| José Dumont | Carlos Manuel de Andrade "Bóia" |
| Samara Felippo | Maria Odete "Detinha" |
| Eri Johnson | Waldomiro |
| Ailton Graça | Feitosa |
| Raul Gazolla | Helinho |
| Guilherme Karan | Geraldito |
| Rosi Campos | Mercedes |
| Walter Breda | Gomes |
| Paula Burlamaqui | Islene |
| Fernanda Paes Leme | Rosário |
| Juliana Knust | Inesita |
| Anderson Müller | Ariovaldo |
| Sílvia Buarque | Maria Elis |
| Paula Pereira | Déia |
| Cynthia Falabella | Cidinha |
| Rodrigo Hilbert | Murilinho |
| Viviane Victorette | Jú |
| Marcelo Brou | Stallone |
| Franciely Freduzeski | Conchita |
| Christiana Kalache | Maria Isabel "Bebela" |
| Carolina Macieira | Penha |
| Duda Nagle | Radar |
| Luíza Valdetaro | Manu |
| Solange Couto | Dalva |
| Erom Cordeiro | Zeca |
| Lucas Babin | Nick |
| Camila Rodrigues | Mariana de Oliveira |
| Cris Vianna | Drica |
| Marisol Ribeiro | Kerry Villa Nova |
| Cacau Mello | Rose |
| Bruna Marquezine | Maria Flor |
| Mussunzinho | Farinha |
| Maria Mariana Azevedo | Sol (child) |
| Brunno Abrahão | Tião (child) |
| Matheus Costa | Rick |
Music
Unlike most Brazilian soap operas, América featured different styles of music for each milieu. Vila Isabel had only traditional samba, other parts of Rio de Janeiro included Brazilian pop and funk, São Paulo was scored with Brazilian country music and Miami, with a mix of American pop and Latin music. 6549+ The songs used in América are:
- Disco 1
01. Soy Loco por Ti America - Ivete Sangalo
02. Até Pensei - Nana Caymmi
03. A Volta - Roberto Carlos
04. Pra Rua Me Levar - Ana Carolina
05. Feitiço da Vila - Martinho da Vila
06. Nervos de Aço - Leonardo
07. Mágoa de Boiadeiro - Lourenço & Lourival
08. Os Amantes - Daniel
09. Girassóis Azuis II - George Israel
10. Vida de Viajante - Lenine
11. She's a Carioca ( Ela é Carioca ) - Celso Fonseca
12. Você - Marina Elali
13. Um Matuto em New York - Roberto Trevisan
14. Sinfonia dos Sonhos - Marcus Viana
15. Órfãos do Paraíso - Milton Nascimento
16. Eu Sei que Vou te Amar - Caetano Veloso
- Disco 2
01. Regresa a mi - Il Divo
02. Don't - Shania Twain
03. Home - Michael Bublé
04. Abrazame Así - Tamara
05. Amore e Música - Russell Watson
06. The Look of Love - Diana Krall
07. Summertime - Michael Bolton
08. A Horse with no Name - America
09. Redneck Woman - Gretchen Wilson
10. Pieces of Me - Ashlee Simpson
11. Por un Beso - Gloria Estefan
12. Cancion Mixteca - Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan
13. Besame Mucho - Maysa
14. Wind Shaking the Trees - Darwing James Band
15. Lon Long Away - Jesse Johnson
17. Can't Get Over - Kasino
18. Breath - O2
19. Little Girl - Lucas Babin
20. Take Me Home, Country Roads - Happening
Gay Kiss Controversy
While being cited as a pop culture phenomenon previously, the soap opera received greater exposure in the media after a long-running (2005) storyline between two gay characters included a scene in which they share a kiss. The scene was scheduled to be air in the final episode, which created much anticipation from the gay community in Brazil. However, Rede Globo, the soap opera's production company, elected not to run the scene, much to the surprise of the writers, fans and actors involved. The event led to a number of protests for equal rights, condemning Globo for their actions.
Criticism of the Positive Portrayal of Rodeo
Brazilian animal rights organizations criticized the telenovela because rodeo was favorably exposed in the story. Several non-large-scale protests happened in several cities and activists tried to exort a nationwide boycott campaign against the series. Coincidentally, The series faced a decline of its audience , though that was not attributed to a boycott eventually.
External links
- Sitio de "América"
- Blog de Telenovelas Brasileiras
- Video Blog de la novela "América" en español
- Telenovela-World Bi-lingual Forum
Sources
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