Cidadão Brasileiro is a 213-chapter Brazilian telenovela produced and aired by Record between March 13 and November 20, 2006, which replaced the news slot and was replaced by Vidas Opostas. It was written by Lauro César Muniz with the collaboration of Rosane Lima and Dora Castellar, and directed by Flávio Colatrello Jr, Fábio Junqueira, João Camargo, Ivan Zettel and Henrique Martins. It was the 4th telenovela aired by Record since 2004. It is also responsible for inaugurating the second telenovela slot on the channel, airing simultaneously with Prova de Amor. After premiering at 8:30 pm, Cidadão Brasileiro was transferred to 10 pm in the third month.
The title of the telenovela is a reference to the protagonist Antônio Maciel, an "ambiguous hero who oscillates between his professional dream and the temptation of easy money", according to Muniz. Journalist Marcelo Marthe from Veja magazine identified the conflict between honesty and corruption in Antônio. Both the ambiguity of the characters and the absence of most of the typical clichés of the genre are the main characteristics of the plot, which had its script highly praised by the press.
It features Gabriel Braga Nunes, Lucélia Santos, Paloma Duarte, Carla Regina, Floriano Peixoto, Luíza Tomé, Tuca Andrada and Leonardo Brício in the lead roles.
Background At Globo, Lauro César Muniz was responsible for very successful telenovelas, such as Escalada, Roda de Fogo and O Salvador da Pátria. However, after Zazá aired in 1997, only two of his works were produced: the miniseries Chiquinha Gonzaga and Aquarela do Brasil, in 1999 and 2000 respectively. Since then, every synopsis he presented to Globo's Teledramaturgy Department was rejected or shelved, as the company wanted to "make soap operas along Mexican lines in order to export more". Globo also tried to offer Muniz the production of A Imperatriz do Café, whose rights had been acquired by actress Regina Duarte. However, in April 2005, he was attracted by Record's proposal, which included greater freedom to produce his projects. When he was hired, he submitted three synopses: two contemporary plots and a reinterpretation of a previous production he had written.
Production
With Cidadão Brasileiro, Record inaugurated a second national telenovela slot, after Prova de Amor proved successful. Elements of three telenovelas written by Lauro César Muniz (Escalada, O Casarão and Quarenta Anos Depois) are represented in Cidadão Brasileiro. According to him, the aim is to "rescue" the ideals disseminated in the 1970s, when "the truly Brazilian telenovela" was implemented. Although they share similar themes, in Cidadão Brasileiro, Muniz sought to "have the same concern for inserting the character into a political and social universe". The protagonist's name is a combination of the characters Antônio Dias (Tarcísio Meira in Escalada) and João Maciel (Paulo Gracindo in O Casarão).
Muniz's father's life served as the basis for the telenovela's plot, just as in Escalada. In the first phase, Antônio gets rich from cotton production and becomes the owner of the movie theater, until he loses everything, just as Muniz's father did.
Casting The role of Fausta was initially offered to actress Sônia Braga, who showed interest in the character but did not reach an agreement with Record. Later, it was offered to Bruna Lombardi, whose hiring was described as "practically a done deal." Hiring proposals, both for actors and members of the technical team, were kept secret to avoid inflating the market. The first actor to be officially announced as part of the cast was Gabriel Braga Nunes, in October 2005. By the end of the following month, Tuca Andrada, Paloma Duarte and Francisca Queiroz were hired. At the end of the year, Lucélia Santos was confirmed for the role of Fausta. The hiring of Floriano Peixoto, who would play Atílio, the main rival of the protagonist in the plot, was confirmed on January 8, 2006, a few days before filming began.
Hiring the technical team caused considerable difficulty for the production. Both Jayme Monjardim and Ignácio Coqueiro were invited to take over the direction of the telenovela, but Flávio Colatrello eventually won the role.
Scenic city At the time, Record already had RecNov, a studio for the production of telenovelas. However, the structure was not completely defined. In 2005, the site, which was only capable of filming one production, was already busy filming Prova de Amor, and the renovations would not be completed in time to start filming the new production, planned for October. Consequently, a 10,000-square-meter plot of land was rented to become a fictional construction site to portray the building of Brasília. The outdoor scenes were shot in a scenic city built in Bragança Paulista to represent a fictionalized version of the municipality of Guará, and the studio scenes at Record's headquarters in São Paulo.
Recordings Filming began in January 2006. Two months into the telenovela, director Flávio Colatrello Jr. left Cidadão Brasileiro due to a conflict of ideas with the broadcaster and with Muniz, who said:Cidadão Brasileiro has an exceptional cast. It deserves everyone's affection, from those who write and those who direct. Unfortunately, until recently, the number of chapters was small because of the March rains and excessive locations. There was an absurd loss of quality in the direction. I've reduced the number of locations and we've made more progress. Therefore, we expect a result more in line with the quality of our squad. Before Colatrello's departure, conflicts were reported for different reasons, such as the lighting used, his behavior during filming and the method that would be used to age the characters during the second phase of the production. After his resignation, João Camargo was invited to join the directing team, and Fábio Junqueira and Ivan Zettel had their duties increased. Later, Camargo was reassigned to the production team of the telenovela Alta Estação and replaced by actor and director Henrique Martins.
The death of the character Eleni, played by Maytê Piragibe, was recorded to match the start of filming for the substitute telenovela, Vidas Opostas, in which she would play the protagonist. The last chapter of Cidadão Brasileiro aired on November 20, with the replacement premiering the following day. The telenovela was the last work of actor Jece Valadão, who died a few days after the end of the show.
Storyline Cidadão Brasileiro tells the story of a man from his youth in the 1950s to his old age at the beginning of the 21st century. Born in 1928, the protagonist Antônio Maciel (Gabriel Braga Nunes) is a determined man on a difficult journey of social progress, with his professional achievements and failures and his conflicts in love, which involve three women of opposite temperaments and social levels. There are two phases: the first describes Antônio's professional beginnings in Guará and in the construction of Brasilia, covering the 1950s and 1960s, and the second addresses the period of the military dictatorship in the 1970s. In an epilogue, set in 2006, the elderly Antônio revisits his career.
First phase: Rise The plot begins when Antônio Maciel, an agricultural salesman, is robbed by Fausta (Lucélia Santos), a woman who seduces him and takes all the money he had received and was supposed to give to his boss. Unemployed and in debt, Antônio chases Fausta until he reaches the town of Guará, in the interior of São Paulo. She plans to run a scam on Atílio (Floriano Peixoto), the city's main landowner and political leader, posing as a representative of the federal government who will help him in his election campaign. Antônio, aware of Fausta's profiteering nature, takes revenge and uses her to achieve a rapid rise in the city. Soon he stands out, makes good relationships and meets two women: Carolina (Carla Regina), a simple farm girl, and Luíza (Paloma Duarte), a sophisticated and well-educated girl from São Paulo.
In Guará, Antônio also meets Homero (Tuca Andrada), a serious journalist, owner of the newspaper Voz da Liberdade and of firm progressive convictions, who, initially a member of the Communist Party, begins to confront the other party members because he disagrees with certain positions. Antônio and Atílio become rivals. Antônio focuses on cotton production in Guará and the investment proves successful. After becoming rich, he buys and refurbishes the city's cinema, where some of the greatest artists perform. Antônio is elected mayor, beating Atílio. However, the fall in cotton prices destabilizes Antônio financially. He loses everything and is forced to leave the city.
Married to Carolina, he leaves for São Paulo to restart. Luíza was unable to face the difficulties and left him to marry Camilo (Taumaturgo Ferreira), a stable businessman. In the mid-1950s, Brasilia begins to be built and Antônio goes to the Central Plateau to participate in the project, working for Edouard Girard (Gilbert Stein), owner of the construction company Obradec. Antônio becomes more distant from Carolina and, while their marriage fails, he achieves a more stable financial position.
Second phase: 1968 onwards Once Brasília is inaugurated, Antônio returns to São Paulo and meets Fausta, spouse of a millionaire on the verge of death. Fausta introduces him to Otávio (Luís Carlos Miéle) and Manuela Gama (Françoise Forton). After Otávio's death, Fausta convinces Manuela to hand over the management of the business to Antônio. He acquires the power, but loses his freedom as he becomes manipulated by Fausta. Years after their affair, Antônio decides to win Luiza back. Homero gets involved in politics again and runs for federal office. Marcelo (Bruno Ferrari) and Tereza's relationship ends after Eleni (Maytê Piragibe) dies. Tereza (Luiza Tomé) gets involved in the fight against the military dictatorship, becomes a militant and takes part in the Angolan War of Independence, fighting for the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola, where she dies. Marcelo, after the relationship ends, continues his career as a lawyer.
Epilogue: 2006 In the last chapter, Antônio, at the age of 80, lives in Guará with Luiza and reviews his life. He bought the construction company Obradec, became rich and bought the land where he lived in Guará: Fazenda do Casarão, which belonged to Luísa's family, and Fazenda das Águas, which belonged to Carolina's father. Luiza's daughter, Dóris (Thaís Sima), starts studying in São Paulo and gets closer to her mother. While Fausta ends up alone and bankrupt, Atílio, despite also facing financial problems, manages to resume his marriage after moving from Guará to São Paulo and selling his properties to Antônio.
Cast