América (TV series)
Encyclopedia
América is a Brazil
ian 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 it will run for approximately one year. http://msnlatino.telemundo.com/novelas/America/. The network is airing the series from Monday to Friday in the daytime. Unlike most of its soap operas, the network is not broadcasting English subtitles as closed captions on CC3.
cowboy
.
, 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:
, 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:
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
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
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.
organizations criticized the telenovela because rodeo was favorably exposed in the story. http://www.forumnacional.com.br/odeiorodeio_manifestacao.htm 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 http://www.canoinhas.net/noticias/6080-amucachegaaofimcomoumsucessodeaudiuia.pdf, though that was not attributed to a boycott eventually.
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian telenovela
Telenovela
A telenovela is a limited-run serial dramatic programming popular in Latin American, Portuguese, and Spanish television programming. The word combines tele, short for televisión or televisão , and novela, a Spanish or Portuguese word for "novel"...
that was originally broadcast in 2005 by Rede Globo
Rede Globo
Rede Globo , or simply Globo, is a Brazilian television network, launched by media mogul Roberto Marinho on April 26, 1965. It is owned by media conglomerate Organizações Globo, being by far the largest of its holdings...
. The telenovela focused on the life of an illegal immigrant to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the lives of those she left behind in Brazil. It stars Deborah Secco
Deborah Secco
Deborah Fialho Secco is a Brazilian actress.- Television Series :- Films :-Magazine covers:* Uma Magazine, in February 2007....
and Murilo Benício
Murilo Benício
Murilo Benício Ribeiro is a Brazilian actor, best known for his film roles in Woman On Top with Penélope Cruz and Amores Possíveis which won the Jury Award for Latin American Cinema at the Sundance Film Festival, and his television roles in O Clone and América.- Career :Benicio's television roles...
. It was written by Glória Perez
Glória Perez
Glória Maria Ferrante Perez is a Brazilian television telenovela writer born in Rio Branco, Acre, Brazil. Glória Perez wrote the telenovelas O Clone and Caminho das Índias. Her only daughter, Daniella Perez, was a famous actress and was killed while acting in her mother's telenovela De Corpo e...
and directed by Jayme Monjardim
Jayme Monjardim
Jayme Monjardim Matarazzo is a Brazilian TV and film director. He is the only child of André Matarazzo Filho and Maysa Matarazzo....
and Marcos Schechtman.
In 2009, Telemundo
Telemundo
Telemundo is an American television network that broadcasts in Spanish. The network is the second-largest Spanish-language content producer in the world, and the second-largest Spanish-language network in the United States, behind Univision....
began airing a Spanish-dubbed version of this series and it will run for approximately one year. http://msnlatino.telemundo.com/novelas/America/. The network is airing the series from Monday to Friday in the daytime. Unlike most of its soap operas, the network is not broadcasting 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 rodeoRodeo
Rodeo is a competitive sport which arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain, Mexico, and later the United States, Canada, South America and Australia. It was based on the skills required of the working vaqueros and later, cowboys, in what today is the western United States,...
cowboy
Cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
.
Subplots
América has several secondary plots around a variety of compelling characters. These, for the most part, take place in four locales: Vila IsabelVila Isabel
Vila Isabel is a neighbourhood in the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil....
, a middle-class neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
; Boiadeiros, a fictional town in West São Paulo
São Paulo (state)
São Paulo is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. Named after Saint Paul, São Paulo has the largest population, industrial complex, and economic production in the country. It is the richest state in Brazil...
; 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 Creuza (a lustful woman who pretended to be shy and virginal).
- 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 authoress 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 social life around rodeos in Brazil. Rodeo is a traditional North AmericaNorth AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n sport with influences from the history of MexicanMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian vaqueros or vaqueiros (cowboyCowboyA cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
s) and AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
cowboyCowboyA cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
s.
Music
Unlike most Brazilian soap operas, América featured different styles of music for each milieu. Vila Isabel had only traditional sambaSamba
Samba is a Brazilian dance and musical genre originating in Bahia and with its roots in Brazil and Africa via the West African slave trade and African religious traditions. It is recognized around the world as a symbol of Brazil and the Brazilian Carnival...
, other parts of Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
included Brazilian pop and funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
, 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
Ivete Sangalo
Ivete Maria Dias de Sangalo is a Latin Grammy Award-winning Brazilian Axé and MPB singer, songwriter, and occasional actress and television show host...
02. Até Pensei - Nana Caymmi
Nana Caymmi
Nana Caymmi is a Brazilian singer.Caymmi was born in Rio de Janeiro, the daughter of Dorival Caymmi and Stella Maris. Her first appearance on record was on her father's album Acalanto. She married Venezuelan doctor Gilberto Aponte Paoli and moved there in 1959. She and her husband divorced in...
03. A Volta - Roberto Carlos
Roberto Carlos (singer)
Roberto Carlos Braga is a Grammy Award-winning Brazilian singer and composer, who has achieved a great deal of success and recognition in his 50 year career, also known as King of Latin Music....
04. Pra Rua Me Levar - Ana Carolina
Ana Carolina
Ana Carolina Sousa is a Brazilian singer, composer, and musician.-Career:Carolina has a contralto vocal range. Her musical influence comes from the crib, her grandmother used to sing on the radio, and her great aunt and uncle played percussion, piano, cello, and violin...
05. Feitiço da Vila - Martinho da Vila
Martinho da Vila
Martinho da Vila is a Brazilian samba musician...
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
Milton Nascimento
-Biography:Nascimento's mother was the maid Maria Nascimento. As a baby, Milton Nascimento was adopted by his mother's former employers: the couple Josino Brito Campos, a banker employee, mathematics teacher and electronic technician; and Lília Silva Campos, a music teacher and choir singer...
16. Eu Sei que Vou te Amar - Caetano Veloso
Caetano Veloso
Caetano Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso , better known as Caetano Veloso, is a Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist. Veloso first became known for his participation in the Brazilian musical movement Tropicalismo which encompassed theatre, poetry and music in the 1960s,...
- Disco 2
01. Regresa a mi - Il Divo
Il Divo
Il Divo is a multinational operatic pop vocal group created by music manager, executive, and reality TV star Simon Cowell. Formed in the United Kingdom, they are also signed to Cowell's record label, Syco Music...
02. Don't - Shania Twain
Shania Twain
Shania Twain, OC is a Canadian country pop singer-songwriter. Her album The Woman in Me , brought her fame and her 1997 album Come On Over, became the best-selling album of all time by a female musician in any genre, and the best-selling country album of all time. It has sold over 40 million...
03. Home
Home
A home is a place of residence or refuge. When it refers to a building, it is usually a place in which an individual or a family can rest and store personal property. Most modern-day households contain sanitary facilities and a means of preparing food. Animals have their own homes as well, either...
- Michael Bublé
Michael Bublé
Michael Steven Bublé is a Canadian singer. He has won several awards, including three Grammy Awards and multiple Juno Awards. His first album reached the top ten in Canada and the UK. He found worldwide commercial success with his 2005 album It's Time, and his 2007 album Call Me Irresponsible was...
04. Abrazame Así - Tamara
Tamara
Tamara may refer to:People:* Tamara * Saint Tamar of Georgia, Queen of Georgia Films and stage plays:* Tamara , an American horror film* Tamara , a Hungarian film...
05. Amore e Música - Russell Watson
Russell Watson
Russell Watson is an English tenor who has released singles and albums of both operatic-style and pop songs. The self-styled "People's Tenor" had been singing since he was a child, and became known after performing at a working men's club...
06. The Look of Love
The Look of Love (1967 song)
"The Look of Love" is a popular song composed by Burt Bacharach and Hal David and sung by Dusty Springfield, which appeared in the 1967 spoof James Bond film Casino Royale.-Songwriters:...
- Diana Krall
Diana Krall
Diana Jean Krall, OC, OBC is a Canadian jazz pianist and singer, known for her contralto vocals. She has sold more than 6 million albums in the US and over 15 million worldwide; altogether, she has sold more albums than any other female jazz artist during the 1990s and 2000s...
07. Summertime
Summertime (song)
"Summertime" is an aria composed by George Gershwin for the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess. The lyrics are by DuBose Heyward, the author of the novel Porgy on which the opera was based, although the song is also co-credited to Ira Gershwin by ASCAP....
- Michael Bolton
Michael Bolton
Michael Bolton is an American singer and songwriter. Bolton originally performed in the hard rock and heavy metal genres from the mid 1970s to the mid 1980s, both on his early solo albums and those recorded as the frontman of the band Blackjack...
08. A Horse with no Name - America
America (band)
America is an English-American folk rock band that originally included members Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell and Dan Peek. The three members were barely out of their teens when they became a musical sensation during 1972, scoring #1 hits and winning a Grammy for best new musical artist...
09. Redneck Woman
Redneck Woman
"Redneck Woman" is the debut single of American country music artist Gretchen Wilson. Released in 2004, the single served as the lead-off to her multi-platinum debut album Here for the Party. The song was also Wilson's only number one single on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks...
- Gretchen Wilson
Gretchen Wilson
Gretchen Frances Wilson is an American country music artist. She made her debut in 2004 with the Grammy Award-winning single "Redneck Woman," a number-one hit on the Billboard country charts. The song served as the lead-off single of her debut album, Here for the Party...
10. Pieces of Me
Pieces of Me
"Pieces of Me" is a song by American pop/rock singer Ashlee Simpson and the first single from her début album, Autobiography. The song, which was co-written by Simpson, Kara DioGuardi and John Shanks , is a blend of pop and rock with lyrics about finding comfort and happiness in a relationship with...
- Ashlee Simpson
Ashlee Simpson
Ashlee Nicole Simpson is an American singer and actress. In 2004, she rose to prominence with the success of her number-one debut album Autobiography and the reality series, The Ashlee Simpson Show. In October 2005, following a North American concert tour and a film appearance, Simpson released...
11. Por un Beso - Gloria Estefan
Gloria Estefan
Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García de Estefan; known professionally as Gloria Estefan is a Cuban-born American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known as the "Queen Of Latin Pop", she is in the top 100 best selling music artists with over 100 million albums sold worldwide, 31.5 million of those...
12. Cancion Mixteca - Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan
13. Besame Mucho
Bésame Mucho
"Bésame Mucho" is a Spanish language song written in 1940 by Mexican songwriter Consuelo Velázquez.-Inspiration:According to Velázquez herself, she wrote this song even though she had never been kissed yet at the time, and kissing as she heard was considered a sin.She was inspired by the piano...
- Maysa
14. Wind Shaking the Trees - Darwing James Band
15. Lon Long Away - Jesse Johnson
Jesse Johnson
Jesse Johnson is the name of:* Jesse Johnson , American politician, filmmaker, actor, 2008 presidential candidate* Jesse Johnson , American musician, lead guitarist of The Time...
17. Can't Get Over - Kasino
Kasino
Kasino is a eurodance group from Brazil. Conceived to be only a studio project, Kasino gained sudden inclusion of the first single "Can't Get Over" in a scene of América, a Brazilian telenovela. Quickly the music became a phenomenon in Brazil. In one month of existence, the group gained communities...
18. Breath - O2
19. Little Girl - Lucas Babin
Lucas Babin
Lucas Edwin Babin is an American film and television actor. He speaks Portuguese fluently and has a twin sister named Kirsten. Born in Beaumont, Texas, Lucas attended high school in Woodville TX, where his father was the town mayor. He then moved to California to live with his brother Leif...
20. Take Me Home, Country Roads
Take Me Home, Country Roads
"Take Me Home, Country Roads" is a song written by John Denver, Taffy Nivert, and Bill Danoff and initially recorded by John Denver. It was included on his 1971 breakout album Poems, Prayers and Promises; the single went to #2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100...
- Happening
Happening
A happening is a performance, event or situation meant to be considered art, usually as performance art. Happenings take place anywhere , are often multi-disciplinary, with a nonlinear narrative and the active participation of the audience...
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 gayGay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
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
Gay community
The gay community, or LGBT community, is a loosely defined grouping of LGBT and LGBT-supportive people, organizations and subcultures, united by a common culture and civil rights movements. These communities generally celebrate pride, diversity, individuality, and sexuality...
in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. However, Rede Globo
Rede Globo
Rede Globo , or simply Globo, is a Brazilian television network, launched by media mogul Roberto Marinho on April 26, 1965. It is owned by media conglomerate Organizações Globo, being by far the largest of its holdings...
, 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 rightsAnimal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
organizations criticized the telenovela because rodeo was favorably exposed in the story. http://www.forumnacional.com.br/odeiorodeio_manifestacao.htm 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 http://www.canoinhas.net/noticias/6080-amucachegaaofimcomoumsucessodeaudiuia.pdf, 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