January 5, 2007

Addicted to Chocolate and Pepper?

No, this post has nothing to do with my wife's pregnancy cravings. So far, (and thankfully) she has had none.

This is about a Brazilian novela entitle Chocolate e Pimenta (Chocolate and Pepper).

Let me begin by saying that 99.999% of all Brazilian novelas are merely racy propaganda pieces for spiritism, homosexuality, adultery, and a host of other vices. Since my arrival in Brazil I have not wasted my time on a single episode of these tedious, mass-produced cess-pools.

Chocolate com Pimenta is different.

First, it is a novela de epoca. This means that it is set in a time other than modern days. In the case of this series, it is Brazil of the 1920's--a much more innocent period in this country's history.

In contrast to all other novelas, in this story marriages are honored, family values extolled, virtues upheld, and the responsibilities of fatherhood honored.

In a refreshing counterpoint to most entertainment today (in Brazil or the US) there are no homosexual overtones, even though there could be. One of the characters is a boy, who, through the deception of his mother, is being brought up as a girl. However, the conclusion that is reached is that boys are boys and girls are girls, no matter what kind of "conditioning" they may have undergone.

The main storyline (in these novelas there are always several) revolves around Ana Francisca, a young girl being raised by her rural relatives on a farm. Attending school in the city, she falls in love with Danilo, one of her classmates.

Danilo, the nephew of the mayor, falls in love with Ana Francisca. The mayor's wife is not at all happy with this development. Neither is she happy when she discovers that Ana Francisca is expecting Danilo's child. Pretending to be Ana's friend, she plots a way to humiliate her in front of everybody at a school ball. The result can be seen below.

Thinking Danilo had planned the humiliation--and desperate for the welfare of her unborn child--she finds solace in Ludovico, the aged bachelor owner of the chocolate factory--main source of income for the town of Ventura. Ludovico determines to marry her in order to "give a name" to her son in a society where there was still a stigma attached to illegitimacy. Ludovico and Ana marry, and move to his vacation home in Argentina.

Seven years later, with Ludovico gone and her son, Tonico, growing up, Ana returns to the city of Ventura in the dramatic scene that follows.

The town at first tries to flatter her, then, failing at that, the "powers that be" make various plans to destroy her. They virtually fall over themselves trying to get their hands on the chocolate factory. Things are complicated by Ana's relationship to Danilo, who still loves her but has no idea that Tonico is his son.

Finally the pillars of society wrest the factory from her hands--at which point Ana Francisca remembers a book given to her by Ludovico before his death. She opens it and finds it to be full of secret recipes for a special kind of chocolate mixed with pepper. Armed with this recipe she begins to compete with the factory.

In today's episode, Ana Francisa discovered that Danilo had nothing to do with her humiliation at the ball, and Danilo discovered that Tonico--whom he has always liked--is in fact his son. I almost cried.

A superb cast led by the fantastic Mariana Ximenes as Ana Francisca, accompanied by a sound track made up of Brazilian and American music from the 20's make this a refreshing oasis in the desert that is Brazilian TV.

In the US, this would probably be classified as a "dramedy", as there are quite a few light moments, such as the pie fight below:

I admit, I am addicted. I hear that admitting an addiction is the first step to recovery, but I do believe that I will only recover when it is over. I will be away for the next two weeks--but a friend has already agreed to tape it for me.

Interestingly enough, I found the international soundtrack (all the songs used in the novela that are not Brazilian) on Amazon.

If you listen (should the cd be available), you will hear such classics as "Baby Face", "In the Mood", and other 1920's hits.

Speaking of music, the opening sequence is quite catchy as well. Here it is:

Posted by Andrew on January 5, 2007 10:14 PM.