(Isaura: Slave Girl) is a 1976 Brazilian
telenovela
A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...
produced by
TV Globo
TV Globo (, "Globe TV", or simply Globo), formerly known as Rede Globo, is a Brazilian free-to-air television network, launched by media proprietor Roberto Marinho on 26 April 1965. It is owned by media conglomerate Grupo Globo. The TV station ...
, originally broadcast between October 11, 1976 and February 5, 1977. Based on the 1865
novel of the same name by 19th century
abolitionist
Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people.
The British ...
writer
Bernardo Guimarães
Bernardo Joaquim da Silva Guimarães (; August 15, 1825 – March 10, 1884) was a Brazilian poet and novelist. He is the author of the famous romances '' A Escrava Isaura'' and '' O Seminarista''. He also introduced to Brazilian poetry the ''verso ...
, it tells the story of the struggles of Isaura, a mixed-race
slave
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
, to find happiness during the
Brazilian Empire
The Empire of Brazil was a 19th-century state that broadly comprised the territories which form modern Brazil and (until 1828) Uruguay. Its government was a representative parliamentary constitutional monarchy under the rule of Emperors Dom Pe ...
. It starred
Lucélia Santos
Maria Lucélia dos Santos (born May 20, 1957) is a Brazilian actress, director and producer. She received international acclaim for her leading role in the 1976 Rede Globo telenovela '' Isaura, The Slave Girl'', broadcast in over 80 countries. in the titular role and
Rubens de Falco
Rubens de Falco da Costa (October 19, 1931 – August 22, 2008) was a Brazilian actor best known for his work in telenovelas, specifically his portrayal as a slave owner in the 1976 telenovela, '' Escrava Isaura'' (''The Slave Isaura'') and the 1 ...
as slave owner Leôncio Almeida, the main antagonist.
It was adapted by
Gilberto Braga
Gilberto Tumscitz Braga (November 1, 1945 – October 26, 2021) was a Brazilian screenwriter.
Biography
Braga was born in Rio de Janeiro, on November 1, 1945. He studied at the Instituto de Educação and the Colégio Pedro II. He studied at t ...
and directed by
Herval Rossano
Herval Abreu Pais (April 23, 1935 – May 8, 2007), better known by his stage name Herval Rossano, was a Brazilian TV actor and director from Campos dos Goytacazes. He directed both Escrava Isaura (1976 telenovela), the original 1976 version and ...
and
Milton Gonçalves
Milton Gonçalves (; 9 December 1933 – 30 May 2022) was a Brazilian actor and television director, who was one of the most famous black actors in Brazil, having collaborated twice with acclaimed director Héctor Babenco. One notable role with ...
, running 100 episodes.
Plot
![Casa particular de Teresa (Vedado, Havano) 04](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Casa_particular_de_Teresa_%28Vedado%2C_Havano%29_04.jpg)
The story is set in Brazil in the 1860s, 20 years before the emancipation of slaves. Isaura, a mixed-race slave, lives in the house of Comendador Almeida and his wife Dona Ester in
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
. Dona Ester raised her as her own daughter. She is educated and beautiful but very modest. Almost everyone likes her, especially Januaria, the cook, who is a mother figure to her. However, her master, the Comendador, is not particularly fond of Isaura and forbids Dona Ester from letting her dine with them like a family member. Another person who hates her is the black slave Rosa, who detests the privileged life Isaura leads.
At the beginning of the story Leôncio, the Comendador's son arrives home from Paris where he attended university but did not acquire a degree as he was more interested in debauchery. He takes a liking to Isaura and tries to seduce her but she resists. Dona Ester, Leôncio and Isaura soon move to the Almeidas' countryside residence in
Campos, where we meet new characters: Francisco the cruel overseer who led the plantation in its owner's absence, André, the newly bought slave who incites Francisco's hatred by his dignity and bravery, and neighbour plantation owners Dona Alba and her children Tobias and Thais. Tobias and Leôncio start to hate each other when Tobias witnesses Leôncio's cruel treatment of a sick slave. Later Tobias meets Isaura who is taking a walk, and they fall in love, but Tobias doesn't know she is a slave. Also, Miguel, the overseer at Tobias's plantation confesses to Isaura that he is her father.
Almeida arrives and introduces Leôncio to Malvina, the daughter of a friend of his. Malvina doesn't know how evil Leôncio is, and she marries him. She is very kind to Isaura. Her maidservant Santa is happy because now she can be close to her beloved André. Dona Ester dies, her last wish is that the Comendador manumits Isaura, which he promises but then he doesn't keep his promise and doesn't give the signed document to Isaura. Tobias learns that Isaura is a slave, and offers to buy and marry her. Leôncio doesn't agree but Dona Carmen, the Comendador's new wife steals the emancipation document and gives it to him. Isaura is now free and preparing for her wedding, but Leôncio kidnaps Tobias and keeps him in an abandoned mill, planning to kill him, and he burns the document that granted Isaura's freedom. Later Malvina discovers Tobias in the mill and frees him, but before they could exit the mill, Leôncio and Francisco – who believe it's Isaura in the mill with Tobias – close the doors and set the mill on fire. Santa witnesses this, but is threatened by Francisco. Leôncio, pretending to be in mourning, goes on a travel, but not before condemning Isaura to regular slave work, in spite of the fact that his friends, including Malvina's brother Enrique, all believe he set her free.
When Leôncio comes back, he's still obsessed with Isaura and offers her a choice: either to become his mistress, or to go to a plantation, where she'll cut sugar cane 14 hours a day. Isaura repeatedly refuses, and Leôncio orders her to be tied out and orders her to be whipped in the morning. When André learns about this he attacks Leôncio, so they tie him out too. Santa alerts Miguel who helps Isaura and André escape.
Isaura, Miguel, André and Santa are on the run, and Leôncio sends slave hunters after them. They settle down on Dona Carmen's estate in a small town in
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...
,
Barbacena
Barbacena is a municipality in the States of Brazil, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. As of 2020, the municipality had 138,204 inhabitants. The total area of the municipality is .
It is in the foothills of the Serra da Mantiqueira south of the ...
. Isaura, who now pretends to be a white lady named Dona Elvira, meets and falls in love with Don Álvaro, who is one of the richest men in Brazil. He is also very modern, and already set all his slaves free. But she knows she can't stay with him as they aren't safe in Brazil, Miguel already bought the ship tickets to the United States where slavery has been abolished three years previously. Before they would leave, Isaura agrees to attend a ball with Álvaro. Here a man called Martinho, who read Leôncio's newspaper ads about his runaway slaves, recognizes her and makes a scandal. Despite help from Álvaro and his lawyer friend, Leôncio manages to take Isaura, André and Santa home, and sends Miguel to prison. He promises Isaura that he will let Miguel be released from prison and sets her free if she marries a man of his choosing – Beltrao, the hunchbacked gardener, whom she doesn't love. Isaura accepts, to set her father free, and also because Rosa wrote a fake letter that makes her believe Álvaro forgot her and married. At the wedding before she marries Beltrao, Álvaro arrives, and reveals that in the past months he managed to pay all those to whom Leôncio owed money, and since the money he owed was way more than his whole property, Leôncio is destitute, and the house, the plantation and everything belongs to Álvaro now. While Leôncio is trying to run away, he meets the overseer Francisco, who has decided to reveal how Leôncio murdered Malvina and Tobias. After a fight with Álvaro, desperate Leôncio shoots himself, and Álvaro, the new master frees all the slaves and asks for Isaura's hand. Rosa tries to poison Isaura but accidentally drinks the poisoned drink herself.
Cast
![Rubens de Falco](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Rubens_de_Falco.jpg)
*
Lucélia Santos
Maria Lucélia dos Santos (born May 20, 1957) is a Brazilian actress, director and producer. She received international acclaim for her leading role in the 1976 Rede Globo telenovela '' Isaura, The Slave Girl'', broadcast in over 80 countries. as Isaura/Elvira the slave, main character.
*
Rubens de Falco
Rubens de Falco da Costa (October 19, 1931 – August 22, 2008) was a Brazilian actor best known for his work in telenovelas, specifically his portrayal as a slave owner in the 1976 telenovela, '' Escrava Isaura'' (''The Slave Isaura'') and the 1 ...
as Leôncio Corea de Almeida, Isaura's master.
* Edwin Luisi as Álvaro, Isaura's second beloved, finally her husband.
*
Léa Garcia
Léa Garcia (born March 11, 1933) is a Brazilian actress. She is known for her numerous television and film roles. Her breakout role was in the Oscar-winning ''Black Orpheus'', in which she portrayed Serafina, Eurydice's crazy cousin.
Television ...
as Rosa, a slave at the Almeidas who hates Isaura.
* Gilberto Martinho as Comendador Almeida, Leôncio's father. He leaves his countryside mansion and plantation to Leôncio after his marriage, and retires in Rio. At first hostile to Isaura but later becomes sympathetic to her as he witnesses his son's cruel treatment of her.
* Roberto Pirillo as Tobias, Isaura's first love, from the nearby Ibituba Plantation. Killed by Leôncio.
*
Norma Blum
Norma Blum (born 1939) is a television, theatre and film actress and television presenter. She also works as a motivational therapist, having published several books.
Early life
Norma de Lacerda Blum was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 11 Octob ...
as Malvina, Leôncio's wife, who is very kind to Isaura. She is accidentally killed by Leôncio.
*
Mário Cardoso
Mário Manuel Cardoso de Araújo (born 24 January 1950 in Lisbon) is a Portuguese actor who specializes in films and telenovelas as well in Brazilian Portuguese-language dubbing
Dubbing (re-recording and mixing) is a post-production process ...
as Henrique, Malvina's brother, who tries to help Isaura several times.
* Haroldo de Oliveira as André, a slave who is cruelly treated, and later runs away with Miguel and Isaura.
* Maria das Graças as Santa, Malvina's maidservant, later André's wife, runs away with him and Miguel and Isaura.
*
Isaac Bardavid
Isaac Bardavid (13 February 1931 – 1 February 2022) was a Brazilian actor of Jewish-Turkish origin.
Bardavid was considered one of the great names in Brazilian dubbing, having voiced characters such as Doctor Eggman, Wolverine, Freddy Krueger ...
as Francisco, the overseer of Leôncio's plantation. Cruel to slaves.
* Zeni Pereira as Januária, the cook. A friend of Isaura and Miguel, she convinced Miguel to reveal to Isaura that he is her father.
* Beatriz Lyra as Ester, Leôncio's mother. Isaura's godmother who raised her.
*
Átila Iório
Átila Iório (1 April 1921 – 10 December 2002) was a Brazilian actor. He appeared in 48 films and television shows between 1946 and 1997. He starred in the 1964 film ''Os Fuzis'', which won the Silver Bear, Silver Bear Extraordinary Jury Priz ...
as Miguel, the overseer at Ibituba Plantation, and Isaura's father.
* Elisa Fernandes as Taís, sister of Tobias. Later marries Henrique.
* Dary Reis as Conselheiro Fontoura, father of Malvina and Henrique. An old friend of the Comendador's.
* Ângela Leal as Carmen, the Comendador's second wife. Used to be an actress, and is despised by Leôncio.
* Ítalo Rossi as José Matoso, Leôncio's friend who is eager to marry off his sister Aninha, because until then he won't receive his inheritance which he needs because he's in debt.
* Francisco Dantas as Mr. Matoso, Aninha's uncle.
* Myrian Rios as Aninha Matoso, Leôncio's second wife.
* Carlos Duval as Beltrão, gardener, almost Isaura's husband.
* André Valli as Martinho, who betrayed Isaura.
*
Clarisse Abujamra
Clarisse Mattos Abujamra (born 3 April 1948) is a Brazilian actress, choreographer, and theatre director. She is most known for her roles in Chega da Saudade (2007), A Coleção Invisível (2012), and Como Nossos Pais (2018).
Her uncle was a ...
as Lúcia, a girl in
Barbacena
Barbacena is a municipality in the States of Brazil, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. As of 2020, the municipality had 138,204 inhabitants. The total area of the municipality is .
It is in the foothills of the Serra da Mantiqueira south of the ...
. Her parents wanted her to marry Álvaro and were angry at Isaura, but Lúcia married a doctor and was happy with him.
*
Henriette Morineau
Henriette Morineau (19081990) was a French Brazilian actress who spent most of her working life in Brazil. Concentrating primarily on the theatre, she also made films and appeared in two television soap operas.
Early life
Henriette Fernande Zo ...
as Madeleine Besançon, a famous French actress who stages
Racine
Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditio ...
's ''
Phoedra'' in Rio. Gets to know Isaura and asks her if she wants to escape from Brazil with her help.
Soundtrack
An
EP containing the original soundtrack of the telenovela was released in 1976 by
Som Livre
Som Livre (Portuguese for "''Free Sound''") is a Brazilian record company that was founded in 1969 in order to commercialize its soap opera soundtracks. It later expanded to recording studio albums.
Today, Som Livre is Brazil's largest domestic l ...
. It contained the following tracks:
# "Prisioneira" –
Elizeth Cardoso
Elizeth Moreira Cardoso (sometimes listed as Elisete Cardoso) (July 16, 1920 – May 7, 1990), was a singer and actress of great renown in Brazil.
Biography
Cardoso was born in Rio de Janeiro; her father was a serenader who played guitar, a ...
(Isaura's theme)
# "Amor Sem Medo" –
Francis Hime
Francis Hime (Rio de Janeiro, August 31, 1939) is a Brazilian composer, arranger, pianist and singer. He is the composer of the jazz standard ''Minha / All Mine'', recorded, among others, by Bill Evans, Tony Bennett and Eliane Elias
Eliane El ...
(Álvaro's theme)
# "Retirantes" –
Dorival Caymmi
Dorival Caymmi (; April 30, 1914 – August 16, 2008) was a Brazilian singer, songwriter, actor, and painter active for more than 70 years, beginning in 1933. He contributed to the birth of Brazil's bossa nova movement, and several of his samba ...
(opening theme)
# "Nanã" – Orquestra Som Livre
# "Banzo" –
Os Tincoãs
# "Mãe Preta" – Coral Som Livre
''Escrava Isaura'' around the world
achieved worldwide success, being broadcast in over 80 countries.
["Escrava Isaura (1976) – Trivia"](_blank)
at the IMDb. According to a research conducted by ''
Good Morning America
''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...
'', it is the most dubbed program in the history of world television.
[ Lucélia Santos article at the Portuguese version of Wikipedia.] It was a major hit in
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
, the
Eastern Bloc
The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...
,
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
,
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
,
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, countries in
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
, and the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
.
''Escrava Isaura'' is one of the only foreign-language telenovelas aired in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, being broadcast on
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
in 1987 as ''Isaura the Slave Girl''. It was also the first show broadcast dubbed into
Galician when Galician-language channel
TVG was launched in 1985.
It was the first
telenovela
A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...
broadcast in
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
under the title ("Fate of the slaves"). It was picked up by János Horvát, a
Magyar Televízió
Magyar Televízió (''Hungarian Television'') or MTV is a nationwide public television broadcasting organization in Hungary. Headquartered in Budapest, it is the oldest television broadcaster in Hungary and today airs five channels: M1 HD, M ...
executive, who started the telenovela craze with . According to an
urban legend
An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...
, Hungarian viewers collected money before the happy ending of the telenovela to free Isaura. Later Lucélia Santos visited the country. After the success of the series in Hungary, other communist countries also aired the show. In 1984, it became the most popular program in the history of
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
*Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
television, achieving an 81
share.
Since then, it was aired at least two other times in the country.
Lucélia Santos became the first non-
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
leading actress of a television show broadcast in the People's Republic of China.
It was the first
soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
aired in the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
in 1988–1989 (reduced to 15 hour-long episodes) and in
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
in 1985. The word (farm/
hacienda
An ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or ''finca''), similar to a Roman ''latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards), ...
) jokingly became a synonym for the small land plots used for
dacha
A dacha ( rus, дача, p=ˈdatɕə, a=ru-dacha.ogg) is a seasonal or year-round second home, often located in the exurbs of post-Soviet countries, including Russia. A cottage (, ') or shack serving as a family's main or only home, or an outbu ...
s. In the show, is used as a synonym for
plantation
A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
.
It was broadcast in communist Albania in the 1980s, many parts of the series put together. Izaura is a famous name among babies born at that time, and so are few more names from the cast. Small FIAT police vans were for a while called "Isaura", a reference to the slave-like treatment that awaited most of those that were unlucky enough to ever be dragged into one. A running joke was that
Tefta Cami, the minister of public instruction, went to the national TV station to see the last part of the series, in order to see it before the others.
was also first telenovela broadcast in the former
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...
. It was broadcast with unexpected success in
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
,
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
and
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
in 1988. Although the series has been extremely successful, the telenovela craze in former Yugoslavian countries did not continue until ten years later with ''
Kassandra'' in 1997.
It was also broadcast in
TVRI
TVRI (, Television of the Republic of Indonesia), legally ( Public Broadcasting Institution Television of the Republic of Indonesia) is a public television network and the oldest television network in Indonesia. Its national headquarters is i ...
in
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
around 1986.
The series was also the first telenovela broadcast in
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
, where it aired under the title (''Isaura'') dubbed to
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
in a summer of the 1980s at on
EPTV. It has been extremely successful in the country at that time, especially among women.
Criticism
The novela was criticised by the
Afro-Brazilian
Afro-Brazilians ( pt, afro-brasileiros; ) are Brazilians who have predominantly African ancestry (see "Black people#Brazil, preto"). Most members of another group of people, Pardo Brazilians, multiracial Brazilians or ''pardos'', may also have a ...
movement for the decision of director Herval Rossano to cast a white actress to play the leading role. Later in an interview, writer Gilberto Braga declared that he wished to cast
Louise Cardoso
Louise or Luise may refer to:
* Louise (given name)
Arts Songs
* "Louise" (Bonnie Tyler song), 2005
* "Louise" (The Human League song), 1984
* "Louise" (Jett Rebel song), 2013
* "Louise" (Maurice Chevalier song), 1929
*"Louise", by Clan of ...
to play Isaura, also a white actress. It was, however, one of the first telenovelas to feature a large black ensemble cast.
See also
*
List of films featuring slavery
Film has been the most influential medium in the presentation of the history of slavery to the general public. The American film industry has had a complex relationship with slavery, and until recent decades often avoided the topic. Films such a ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Escrava Isaura (1976 Tv Series)
Brazilian telenovelas
TV Globo telenovelas
1976 telenovelas
1976 Brazilian television series debuts
1977 Brazilian television series endings
Telenovelas by Gilberto Braga
Portuguese-language telenovelas
Television shows based on Brazilian novels
Television shows set in Rio de Janeiro (city)
Television series set in the 1860s