Mulheres de Areia: Telenovela turns 30 and returns to the air. Remember the plot!

To celebrate 30 years of original broadcast, the telenovela “Mulheres de Areia” will win a new reprise on TV Globo. From the next 14th of June, the telenovela starring Gloria Piresin the roles of the twins Ruth and Raquel, will replace “Chocolate com Pimenta”, after “Jornal Hoje”.

The plot, which is available on Globoplay, is part of a select list of the greatest audience phenomena on national TV. The last chapter, aired on September 25, 1993, scored an incredible 50 points.

• The soap operas were shown in two versions, the first by the extinct TV Tupi, in 1973 and the second, by Globo, in 1993;
• The success was such that the plot was repeated twice more by Globo, in 1996 and 2011, and once by Canal Viva, in 2016;
• Predicted to premiere in June 1992, after Felicidade (1991), by Manuel Carlos the soap opera had to be postponed because of Gloria Pires;
• The actress was pregnant with Antonia, who was born in August of that year. In its place came “Despedida de Solteiro” (1992), by Walther Negrão;
• *The serial was only aired on February 1, 1993, with Gloria playing Ruth and Raquel.

Thirty years later, the rivalry between the twin sisters still inhabits the imagination of those who have seen the saga and whets the curiosity of those who “only heard about” the roles that marked the career of Gloria Pires.

Irene from “Terra e Paixão” gave life to the two sisters, in love with the same man, the businessman Marcos Assunção (Guilherme Fontes). Identical in appearance, but with completely different personalities, Ruth is truly in love with Marcos, while Raquel only thinks about conquering him to improve her life.

Here we list some reasons so that you don’t miss this soap opera by the nostalgic Ivanir Ribeiroin collaboration with Solange Castro Neves, directed by Carlos Magalhães and Ignácio Coqueiro, with general direction by Wolf Maya.

INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS

The soap opera was shown in Belgium, Canada, United States, Indonesia, Cameroon, Spain, Greece, Cuba, Argentina, Cuba, Korea, Venezuela, Turkey, Ivory Coast, Portugal and other countries, with enormous success.

In Russia, “Women of Sand” was named “Sekret Tropikanki”, which means “the secret of a tropical woman” in Russian. It was also known as “Tropikanka 2”, because the previous attraction was another global soap opera, “Tropicaliente”, there called “Tropikanka”.

As Russia’s TV is state-owned, the government is also responsible for controlling programming. Therefore, in 1996, the then president Boris Yeltsin used the popularity of the Brazilian serial and determined the exhibition of the three final chapters for the Sunday of voting. The Russian government wanted precisely to ensure that the population did not travel on the holiday and attend the polls. Yeltsin was re-elected.

PIONEER IN SOCIAL MERCHANDISING

With the denunciations that the text presented in favor of fishermen who were victims of commercial exploitation, a cooperative was created to claim their rights in Itanhaém.

Literacy was another aspect addressed. Alzira (Giovana Gold), in love with Tonho da Lua (Marcos Frota), was illiterate and, as an excuse to spend more time with her beloved, asked him to teach her how to read and write. Teacher Ruth decided to expand this benefit to fishermen who also wanted to learn.

At the time of the first version, in 1973, the Federal Government made a huge fuss on behalf of MOBRAL – Brazilian Literacy Movement -, which aimed to eradicate illiteracy in the country.

#SQN TECHNOLOGY

In the first version, Eva Wilma, who died in 2021, aged 87, played the twins. At the time, of course, there was no technology to show the sisters together in the same scene.

“When Ruth and Raquel had to face each other, the director recorded twice. First with one side of the camera covered. Then with the other. As the scenes piled up, we came to an agreement to make the job easier. We prioritized close-ups and double images”, she told Memória Globo. The actress also had a stunt double, when one of the twins was seen from the back.

I WON BUT I DON’T DESERVE IT

In 1974, when the Silvio Santos was still aired on Globo and the presenter already had exclusivity in broadcasting the Troféu Imprensa, in the award ceremony to the best in television from the previous year, Regina Duarteelected best actress for her work in “Carinhoso” thanked, but passed the trophy on to Eva Wilma in recognition of the brilliant performance of the actress in “Mulheres de Areia”.

BEST CAMPAIGN

The telenovela received the “Best Print Media Campaign” award in 1993, granted by the specialized British magazine “TV World” for the advertisement through which Rede Globo offered the production rights.

The award was received by Roberto Filippelli, Director of International Sales for Europe.