Novelas, Novelinhas, Novelões: The Evolution of the (Tele)Novela in Brazil Cacilda M. Rêgo The University of Kansas crego@ku.edu Abstract This paper traces the evolution of the novela in both radio and television forms, and shows how the Brazilian telenovela, while remaining faithful to the traditions of the genre, has modernized itself, in both thematic and aesthetic terms. Part of the success of this strategy rests on the concerned intention of novela writers and producers to create a new form of dramatic expression aimed at a wide audience both at home and abroad. Although not confining its discussions to the Globo novelas, this paper also shows that the Brazilian novela stand for Globo novela, which is widely seen around the world. Every evening, from Monday to Saturday, millions of Brazilians tune in their television sets to watch novelas[i] — the centerpiece of Globo network’s prime time hours, and reputedly the most popular television programs in Brazil. But while novelas have enjoyed massive popularity since the 1960s, the novela is not a genre specific to Brazilian television or, as is sometimes thought, “a Globo and even a Brazilian invention” (Dalevi, 2000, p. 3). Without the pretense of exhausting the topic in this brief essay, I would like to look at the evolution of the novela in Brazil, where it first appeared in the medium of television in 1951. Titled Sua vida me pertence (Your Life Belongs to Me), it caused great commotion among contemporary viewers by featuring the first kiss on Brazilian television (Borelli, 2000, p.139). This first novela and many more that followed were influenced by the (radio)novela (serialized radio melodrama), which was hugely popular in Brazil during the 1940s (Federico, 1982; Belli, 1980). Despite the fact that novelas were produced by Brazilian television throughout the 1950s one may occasionally read that “the history of the telenovela began in 1963” with 2-5499 Ocupado (Line 2-5499 Is Busy), the first novela broadcast daily by TV Excelsior (Mattelart & Mattelart, 1990, p. 14). Such an account is based on the fact that the novela, as originally conceived, has little to do with the modern serialized television dramas which have become part of the collective fantasy life of the Brazilian masses since 1963, when the videotape recorder began to be regularly used in the country by the existing networks—namely, TV Tupi, TV Excelsior, TV Rio, TV Record, and TV Paulista. No doubt, more rapidly and pervasively than any other television genre, the novela has “dramatically” changed and evolved since the first images of Sua vida me pertence were aired by TV Tupi on December 21, 1951. The rise of TV Globo in the 1970s, along with significant technological advances in the medium itself, considerably contributed to the development of the novela as an art form with unique Brazilian characteristics. Today Brazilian television is best known for its (bigger and better) novelas—avowedly the most politically and aesthetically sophisticated programs produced in Latin America (Nogueira, 2002; Daniel Filho, 2001; Costa, 2000; Hamburger, 2000, 1998; Porto, 1998; Mazziotti, 1996). Although not concerned specifically with the Globo novelas, this essay will provide an opportunity to recount their history by way of looking at how the serialized novela migrated from radio to television in the 1950s, having thereafter become the pillar of the industry. For this purpose, this essay will look back at the first novelas, both in their radio and television forms, and later discuss the several variations of the genre within television itself. The novela as an evolving genre An understanding of the novela must begin with the recognition that it is the result of a process of evolution. Its roots date back to the 18th-century English novel and the 19th-century French feuilleton (serialized fiction)—a literary genre highly regarded by contemporary newspaper readers. The feuilleton (Port: folhetim) crossed the Atlantic (in translation) circa 1836, finding an avid readership in Brazil and other Latin American countries. The enthusiasm for the genre is amply demonstrated by the fact that by 1838 works by prestigious writers like José de Alencar began to appear in this form in major Brazilian