Some people around the world might have Mexican soap operas as a reference. However, do you have any idea how big and important Brazilian soap operas are in my country?
Last Friday, we had the end of one of the most popular soap operas in the history of TV entertainment, Avenida Brasil. Some Brazilians skipped Friday happy hour with friends to rush home, others went to bars that had a big TV screen on to follow the last episode. There were more spectators glued to TV screens than in many of our soccer finals.
In Brazil, we have the 6 o’clock teleonovela, the 7 o’clock, the 8 o’clock, and nowadays event the 11 pm TV show, not to count one for teens at 5:00 pm – Malhação (work out in English) that has been going on for years. Some Brazilians will watch most of them, others, will choose their favorite and religiously watch it for eight months.
Are those soap operas a unanimity? Not at all! Millions of Brazilians follow the stories portrayed in the TV, they comment in Social Media sites, debate with their friends over the last episodes they’ve watched. They even recorded it when they have unmissable appointments. On the other hand, there are others who ridicule this so-typical Brazilian habit and the stories that allure so many people.
Like it or not, it is undeniable the power that Brazilian telenovelas have during our dinner time. In my house, for example, it is when all the family gets together in the living room and sit, have fun, talk about it.
Why it is such a big hit with people from all ages and social status? The storyline, the reality it portrays, the social topics related to Brazilian society, or if it is a distant context from one’s life, it is, at least, a hope for change, for a different life, or just mere and plain entertainment time. I guess that’s why it is such a huge aspect of our culture.
Avenida Brasil has been a trending topic that has extrapolated our national borders and has been depicted by the most important news centers in the world, including BBC, Forbes and The Guardian! Even our President, Dilma Roussef, changed her schedule because of the soap opera. Believe it or not!
BBC: Groundbreaking soap opera grips Brazil
Forbes: Brazilian Telenovela ‘Avenida Brasil’ Makes Billions By Mirroring Its Viewers’ Lives
The Guardian: Avenida Brasil clash forces president to cancel rally
Avenida Brasil Videos: http://tvg.globo.com/novelas/avenida-brasil/videos/
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We’ve always watched Brazilian telenovelas, albeit dubbed in Spanish.
I remember the whole family getting together to watch Dona Beija (a fantastic show)! The last one I watched was O rei do gado (El rey del ganado in Spanish). It was excellent too.
Oh, that must be funny, Ana, Brazilian telenovelas dubbed in Spanish!
A friend of mine, who is Argentinean, mentioned the same two soap operas. They were big in Brazil.
OMG! I just loved Avenida Brasil! 😀 I have seen like 4 or 5 Brazilian soap operas already! The first one I saw was “India”, which was then shown in Costa Rica in Spanish and the name was changed to “Una historia de amor” (A Love History).
One of my favorite ones was “Viver a Vida”; it had such a great message and I loved listening to people’s real-life stories at the end of each episode. “Avenida Brasil” was wonderful and I believe many people identified with it because it was pretty intense and it showed such a variety of social issues!
I never missed an episode, and sometimes I even stayed awake until 1 am so I could see it because I had missed it at 8 pm! lol
Ooops! “A Love Story”! 😉 I always watch them in Portuguese, but “India” was shown in our national channel some time later. I loved it because I learned a lot about the Indian culture, and I hope to learn a lot about Turkey with the new one: “Salve Jorge”! 🙂
Turkish soap operas are very popular as well, in Turkey and I think in other Middle Eastern countries too. There are lots of them, filmed in different locations around Turkey. Apparently they have inspired a wave of ‘soap opera tourism’ – people from the Gulf and other parts of the Middle East who visit Turkey to go and see the place where their favourite soap opera is filmed.