When Leôncio comes back, he's still obsessed with Isaura and offers her a choice: either to become his mistress, or to go to a plantation, where she'll cut sugar cane 14 hours a day. Leôncio, pretending to be in mourning, goes on a travel, but not before condemning Isaura to regular slave work, in spite of the fact that his friends, including Malvina's brother Enrique, all believe he set her free. Santa witnesses this, but is threatened by Francisco. Later Malvina discovers Tobias in the mill and frees him, but before they could exit the mill, Leôncio and Francisco – who believe it's Isaura in the mill with Tobias – close the doors and set the mill on fire.
Isaura is now free and preparing for her wedding, but Leôncio kidnaps Tobias and keeps him in an abandoned mill, planning to kill him, and he burns the document that granted Isaura's freedom. Leôncio doesn't agree but Dona Carmen, the Comendador's new wife steals the emancipation document and gives it to him. Tobias learns that Isaura is a slave, and offers to buy and marry her. Dona Ester dies, her last wish is that the Comendador manumits Isaura, which he promises but then he doesn't keep his promise and doesn't give the signed document to Isaura.
Her maidservant Santa is happy because now she can be close to her beloved André. Malvina doesn't know how evil Leôncio is, and she marries him. Also, Miguel, the overseer at Tobias's plantation confesses to Isaura that he is her father.Īlmeida arrives and introduces Leôncio to Malvina, the daughter of a friend of his. Later Tobias meets Isaura who is taking a walk, and they fall in love, but Tobias doesn't know she is a slave. Tobias and Leôncio start to hate each other when Tobias witnesses Leôncio's cruel treatment of a sick slave. Dona Ester, Leôncio and Isaura soon move to the Almeidas' countryside residence in Campos, where we meet new characters: Francisco the cruel overseer who led the plantation in its owner's absence, André, the newly bought slave who incites Francisco's hatred by his dignity and bravery, and neighbour plantation owners Dona Alba and her children Tobias and Thais. He takes a liking to Isaura and tries to seduce her but she resists. Another person who hates her is the black slave Rosa, who detests the privileged life Isaura leads.Īt the beginning of the story Leôncio, the Comendador's son arrives home from Paris where he attended university but did not acquire a degree as he was more interested in debauchery. However, her master, the Comendador, is not particularly fond of Isaura and forbids Dona Ester from letting her dine with them like a family member. Almost everyone likes her, especially Januaria, the cook, who is a mother figure to her. She is educated and beautiful but very modest. Dona Ester raised her as her own daughter. Isaura, a mixed-race slave, lives in the house of Comendador Almeida and his wife Dona Ester in Rio de Janeiro. The story is set in Brazil in the 1860s, 20 years before the emancipation of slaves. It was also the first show broadcast dubbed into Galician when Galician-language channel TVG was launched in 1985. Escrava Isaura is one of the only foreign-language telenovelas aired in the United Kingdom, being broadcast on Channel 4 in 1987 as Isaura the Slave Girl. It was the first soap opera aired in the Soviet Union in 1988–1989 (reduced to 15 hour-long episodes) and in Poland in 1985.
It was among the earliest foreign television series allowed to air in China, and the first with a foreign actress playing the main character. It was a major hit in South America, the Eastern Bloc, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Africa, Indonesia, and the People's Republic of China. It was adapted by Gilberto Braga and directed by Herval Rossano and Milton Gonçalves, running 100 episodes.Įscrava Isaura became one of the most popular telenovelas in the world, being broadcast in over 80 countries. It starred Lucélia Santos in the titular role and Rubens de Falco as slave owner Leôncio Almeida, the main antagonist.
Based on the 1865 novel of the same name by 19th century abolitionist writer Bernardo Guimarães, it tells the story of the struggles of Isaura, a mixed-race slave, to find happiness during the Brazilian Empire. Escrava IsauraĮscrava Isaura ( Isaura: Slave Girl) is a 1976 Brazilian telenovela produced by Rede Globo, originally broadcast between Octoand Februat 6 p.m. For other uses, see A Escrava Isaura (disambiguation).