Dismissed author provokes Globo to break a taboo in soap operas

‘When are we going to see a trans woman entrepreneur, super powerful, in a soap opera, descending on a terrace in Faria Lima by helicopter, kicking ass at business meetings… and protagonist?’, wrote Aguinaldo Silva on Twitter.

“When you write one, aren’t you a soap opera author?”, commented a follower. “I used to be, now I don’t know,” replied the playwright.

Silva’s provocation has the right target: Globo, where he worked for 40 years. Creator of unparalleled hits such as ‘Roque Santeiro’, ‘Tieta’ and ‘Senhora do Destino’, he did not have his contract renewed in 2020.

The channel has been casting more and more transgender actresses, however, none of them has been the protagonist of a soap opera or series so far.

In recent years, we have seen Gabriela Loran (Luana from ‘Cara e Coragem’), Marcella Maia (Death in ‘The More Life, the Better’), Glamor Garcia (Britney from ‘A Dona do Pedaço’), Maria Clara Spinelli ( Mira in ‘A Força do Querer’), among others.

A self-confessed homosexual and former militant of the cause (he edited the country’s first gay newspaper, ‘O Lampião’, in the 1970s), Aguinaldo wrote memorable LGBT roles in television drama.

One of them discussed the issue of transsexuality. In ‘Tieta’, from 1989, the late star Rogéria played Ninette, the protagonist’s faithful squire. She shocked the conservative Santana do Agreste by reacting to sexual harassment.

In the scene, Amintas (Roberto Bonfim) gropes her butt, who retaliates with a punch to the face. “Lady, are you crazy?”, complains the daring knocked out. “Nothing girl! My name is Valdemar”, says the blonde, to the astonishment of the villagers.

In another moment, Tieta (Betty Faria) is disappointed with the prejudiced speech of her nephew and lover, Ricardo (Cássio Gabus Mendes).

“Tieta, a man is a man, a woman is a woman. God created sex with a defined role, a function”, says the former seminarian. He suggests that Ninette should “correct” herself.

“Who does not fit this role, what do you think we should do? Drown in the sea?” asks Tieta, who had been expelled from the city decades ago for freely living her sexuality.

“Do you want everyone to be the same, to behave the same way?… Human beings were not created by decree”, insists the progressive millionaire. “You don’t admit that a person doesn’t live within the way you consider normal… Who are you to judge?”

In his last soap opera, ‘O Sétimo Guardião’, from 2018, Aguinaldo Silva put Nany People in the shoes of Marcos Paulo.

A transgender actress playing a trans scientist who decided to keep her given male name. Small revolution. The public liked the mocking character.

The author’s dismissal happened after the end of the telenovela, marked by legal problems and lower than expected ratings. A slip that would have been used by internal enemies to erase his successful course in the canal.

Based in Lisbon, where he writes his memoirs, Aguinaldo Silva reveals that he has a serial in his head starring a transsexual. “Divine Maria da Conceição! That’s the name of my trans character who kicks ass in Faria Lima.”

Globo doesn’t know what it’s missing.