Published 24/05/2025 11:03
On the nights of the 1980s, many Chinese families gathered in silence in front of television, eager for watching the Brazilian soap opera Slave Isaura. The production was one of the first foreign series to be exhibited in China after the reform and opening policy, triggering a true national fever. The protagonist Isaura, though oppressed, never ceased to resist. His perseverance deeply sensitized the Chinese audience, and Isaura’s interpreter, Brazilian actress Lucélia Santos, became a known name across the country.
“I received 300 million votes from the Chinese people directly through a television magazine in 1985, called Golden Eagle Award, and was probably the first western artist to enter China in such a honoree way. It was all very exciting, seeing how a whole population fell in love with the soap opera and Isaura,” he recalls.
In 1985, Lucélia Santos was elected best foreign actress with the Golden Eagle Award in China
At that time, most Chinese families had no phone yet. Thousands of viewers voted through television specialized magazines, giving honor to a young actress across the world. “I accepted and was very moved and traveled alone because it was a time when there were no professional structures with advisors and accompanying I was very brave,” recalls Santos.
During her first visit to China, the actress went through cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Suzhou. The rich culture and history of the country delighted it deeply. She thought it would be just a brief trip to a foreign country, but ended up getting involved with the cause of sino-Brazilian friendship.
Over the course of almost 40 years, Lucélia Santos has traveled numerous times between the two countries, promoting cultural exchange. In 1992, he collaborated with Sichuan’s television to film the documentary The Beautiful Brazil, which presented to the Chinese the tropical forest, the samba dancers and the indigenous villages of Brazil.
Later, he led a Brazilian team to film the mutation point – China today, a work that caused great repercussion among the Brazilian public. Santos also actively strives in film cooperation between Brazil and China, personally participating from financing, through the script to filming.
“This made the cultural friendship between the peoples and since then I believe that everything only expanded and grew but that moment was crucial. Really important it was there that it all began,” he says.
In recent years, elements of Chinese culture such as cooking, traditional medicine, Tai Chi and Beijing Opera have been gaining popularity in Brazil, while Chinese are increasingly familiar with samba, carnival and Brazilian literature.
“I am emphatic in saying that culture is the most fundamental element in relationships between peoples and it is culture that opens all the doors so that then people can talk about commercial and economic interests. Culture has and must always be ahead as a portal of understanding and friendship between us,” he says.
For her, a new “Isaura” no longer needs to be an oppressed slave, but it can be a young woman recording short videos at the Beijing or Sao Paulo subway stations, or a Brazilian student in love with Chinese culture.
More than 40 years later, many Chinese still remember the delicate and certain Isaura. For its part, Lucélia Santos maintains a special affection for China: “I’ve always been available at this level of exchange and cooperation. I always worked in this direction, but why can’t I keep working?” He concludes.
Source: People’s Diary online
Source: vermelho.org.br
