Chiquititas, also known as Chiquititas 1997 or Chiquititas Brasil, is the Brazilian version of the Argentine soap opera Chiquititas. Produced and aired from 28 July 1997 to 19 January 2001 by SBT, in association with Telefe, the show starred Brazilian actresses Flávia Monteiro as Carolina "Carol" Correia, Fernanda Souza as Mili, and Débora Falabella, as Estrela, being the last two's careers debut.
Based on the original version of same name created and produced by Cris Morena, the soap opera tells the story of a group of orphans that live in a manor, known as Raio de Luz, whose lives are touched and changed by Carol. Their experiences such as discovering first love, deceptions, loneliness and friendship, as well as adventures in fantasy, are depicted throughout the series. The narrative is enhanced by musical themes and videos. The Brazilian soap opera ran for five seasons until SBT's contract with Telefe ended in 2001.
On 19 September 2012, SBT announced a new version of Chiquititas, which premiered on 15 July 2013, following the good ratings obtained by the 2012 remake of Carrusel. Unlike Chiquititas Brasil, the new Chiquititas production is completely made in Brazil, and is the first without involvement of Cris Morena.
Story line Chiquititas Brasil received mild alterations from Chiquititas throughout its storyline.
Season One Soon after Gabriela had a child, her father José Ricardo Almeida Campos kidnapped his granddaughter because, as a very conservative man, he could not accept the idea that his daughter became involved with an employee. As his granddaughter Mili needs a place to live, he creates an orphanage named "Raio de Luz" ("Light Gleam", originally "Rincón de Luz", which means "Corner of Light"). Mili grew up in this Manor alongside other girls that later arrived. Her fellows are Bia, Ana, sisters Tati and Vivi, and Cris. As the years passed, the girls became a family. They are supervisioned by Ernestina, the rigorous and funny janitor of the orphanage, and Chico, the adorable Chef very beloved by the girls. Emilia is the director of the orphanage until Carmem, an ambitious woman who's also sister of José Ricardo, takes her off this position.
Soon, a new girl known as Pata is introduced. She initially does not get along with the other girls, but later is well accepted and becomes their friend, and particularly Mili's best friend. In this orphanage full of hopes and dreams, each of the chiquititas, guided by Mili, will live thousands of adventures full of love, friendship and fun. Pata later meets her half-brother, nicknamed Mosca. Initially considered a "delinquent" by Carmem, he then becomes the first male infant upheld by the place, awakening Cris and Vivi's feelings. Ernestina becomes tired of being pranked by the girls and is replaced by Matilde, her stricter (and darker) identical twin sister that won't tolerate their banters, as Carmem, the orphanage director, greedily manages to own the Manor where Raio de Luz is localized to herself.
The girls' lives will be touched and changed by Carolina, or Carol, a young woman that works in one of the Almeida's factories and studies for social working. Carol lives with her friend Clarita and her somewhat rascal brother Beto. They take care of Dani, a girl that recently lost her mother. In the factory, Carol meets Junior, Ricardo's oldest son, an economist that lived in London and is back to São Paulo due to work.
They'll fall in love with each other but José Ricardo, snobbish, will do anything to keep them apart. His daughter, Gabriela, became mentally affected since she believes she had a stillbirth child, actually a lie her father told her right after Mili was born. Her serious condition is softened by Mili herself, both unaware of their blood ties.
Season Two After Ricardo's tragic death, his sister Carmem is chosen to be in charge of his fortune. She manages to keep the secret Ricardo most wanted to protect: Mili's true origins. Meanwhile, is a new beginning in Carol's life, since she was named the orphanage director by Ricardo himself, right before he died in a car crash in the previous season. Junior left São Paulo once again, this time with Gabriela, seeking psychological treatment for her. Due to the distance, Carol brokes up with him as she meets a new man in her life, doctor Fernando Brausen. Brausen is Dani's physio after she suffered an accident in the manor and became seriously paralysed.
Carol also meets a girl abandoned in the streets, named Maria, who Carol upholds as her own daughter. Since the remaining girls start to interact with the newcomer boys, Mili discovers her first love when she meets Júlio. Maria later finds out that her favourite doll Laurinha is actually able to be alive itself.
Maria uncovers a mysterious Phantom of the Opera-like figure living inside the hidden areas of the manor, a man named Miguel. He's a friend of Fernando from the past, who Fernando thought was dead after an airplane crash. The man actually survived the accident, which had left a scar on his face. Also, Miguel believes that one of the resident chiquititas is his lost daughter, she possibly being Bia, Cris, or Mili. He helps Maria in the search for her mother, whom she lived with in the streets before being taken off by Carol and Clarita. Maria's background is later revealed by her mother, Esther, to Carol. Esther explains that, since she was infertile, her second husband became abusive and deposited his hatred onto the little girl. Maria was then forced to be abandoned by her mother. The repentant woman would later vainly get back to look for her daughter. Esther is once again reunited with Maria, saying goodbye to the little girl, as she dies due to her broken death.
Formerly alcoholic, the father of Vivi and Tati comes back to their lives as he's rehabilitated. Since Vivi would not come back, she says goodbye to the Manor and particularly to Mosca, who was her first love. Ana is adopted by a business executive and takes her best friend Fábio with her. As some of the original chiquititas finally find their parents and leave the manor, new children are later welcomed, increasing the family inside Raio de Luz.
Season Three - At the corner Carmem finally manages to close the orphanage. However, Carol and the youngsters receive the help of a mysterious man named Pedro Vega who donates his old mansion to them. The huge, beautiful manor is located at the corner of the Harmony Alley. In its initially creepy insides, they'll meet Helena, the house's governess, a baleful and mean-spirited woman who keeps her granddaughter Lúcia locked in a windowless bedroom, in order to "protect" her. In the neighbourhood, the youngsters make new friends. Their life starts to change since some of them are leaving their childhood behind and are starting to grow, as they experiment their first love and will realize the power of friendship. One of the orphans, mischievous boy Neco, soon discovers Lúcia and became her friend for life, showing her the world and gradually making her part of their family, against Elena's will. Mosca (the first male orphan welcomed by the orphanage) soon discovers he has a serious bone disease, and faces this particular obstacle in this season.
The relationship between Carol and Fernando will be torn apart thanks to Andréa, Fernando's former fiancée, and their son Diego. An unscrupulous man named Felipe Mendes Ayala demonstrates interest to orphan Maria, to whom Carolina became maternally attached, and they will fight in court for her custody.
Tati comes back to the Manor due to her non-adaptation to her family's conditions, also because she overly missed her friends. She experiments first love feelings with Tatu, one of the boys of the Harmony Alley, but their relationship does not work out. Fran and Samuca start being more than friends, but Marian and Bel interfere in their relationship. Marian is a troubled orphan; Bel resides in the Harmony Alley and is the best friend of Lila and Janu, a girl who is uncertain between Mosca and André. Lila also develops her feelings for Mosca, despite the disapproval of her mother.
Gabriela returns sane to São Paulo, she and Mili reapproximate, and they become closer each day with Carmem following them closely, trying to keep them from knowing the secret and their true ties. She joins forces to Marian, an orphan with bad intentions who's jealous of Mili, doing everything to hinder her life. Due to Marian's deeds, Mili ends up blind after an accident, and her place as Gabriela's real daughter and Luca's girlfriend is taken by Marian. But in the end, the truth will finally emerge. The youngsters will also explore secrets kept in the Manor involving mysteries, magic, fantasy, and a hidden treasure, also wanted by Carmem.
As in the original version, during this season the first Raio de Luz orphanage is closed and re-opened in a new manor. Also, some of the more heavy and melodramatic storylines were dropped. The show's most popular character Mili, the protagonist played by Fernanda Souza, says goodbye and goes to a new life with her mother.
Season Four After legal and personal fights with each other, Carolina and Felipe then fall in love. They dispute custody of Maria, the smallest among the orphans, as Felipe, under the new identity of Manoel, gets close to them and to the children in the Manor. Among new orphans introduced are Simão and Hannelore, newcomers from a reformatory after a presumed behavioral change. But this two will be very unpopular to the veterans due to their actions, also due to their affiliation to Elena. Mosca develops a stronger relationship with Lila, the girl next door, and Fran discovers her origins as an heiress of a huge fortune before she quits it due to her relatives' ambition. Later, she and her pals in the Manor reluctantly say goodbye to her love: the smart, adorable and former orphan Samuca, who was reunited with his father and is going to live with him. After her mother goes to psychological aid and his father is arrested for domestical violence, Bel moves to the Manor. During a tour, Tati gets lost in the forest, where she meets a fearless boy named Yago. She's rescued by Mosca and Manoel, and takes Yago with her to the manor. A young woman, Estrela, arrives in the house looking for work. At the day of their wedding, Carol and Manoel's romance is torn apart after she finds out the truth about his real identity.
In the fourth season's final episodes, some of the children are transferred to another institution in Rio de Janeiro, and Carolina makes a travel to promote the orphanage's activities, leaving the youngsters under the care of Alfredo the Chef and Estrela. The Book of Life is given by her to them, and the children says to Carol that she's "their shine", and that they'll be there waiting for her.
Tati leaves the show after four seasons as she is adopted alongside Yago. Helena, the main antagonist of this season, is a fugitive from the police after her criminal acts, and as the Manor became her property, it is sold on auction. The council intends to send the children to different places, and since the group of orphans don't want to be torn apart, Estrela remembers of her grandfather's house in a small town near to São Paulo. Mosca says emotionally says goodbye to Lila, as the orphans are forced to leave the Manor. They need to move faster, as tractors approach to knock their house down.
Season Five - Moving on