Flávia Bonato

Malhação is a Brazilian television series for the teenage audience. The soap started in 1995, and was set in a fictional Gym Club called Malhação on Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro. Through the years the location varied slightly. Although the name of the soap remains the same, it is now set in the Múltipla Escolha High School.

Four stories intertwine, revolving around moral dilemmas of life in society. A secret unites student Alice and mega-businessman Raul Pelegrini, who are major ideological opponents.

A traffic accident causes four women's destinies to intertwine. In the series, the four enter a pact of revenge against the men who hit them and caused them to suffer. Auxiliadora struggled to help her husband Alcebíades prosper, but when he leaves her for a younger woman, is thrown out of the house. The shy Tatiana was engaged to Fortunato, who failed to show up at their wedding. The Babalu hurricane caught mechanic Raí in bed with another woman. Abigail, a preppy psychologist who is struggling in a failing marriage, decides superficially to continue it but revolts against her husband, Gustavo, who humiliates her in public at a congress. Gustavo has custody of Ângela, a girl who longs to know her true father, Bruno. Her mother died in the childbirth, traumatizing him.

The story begins in 1951 in Kubanacan, a small Caribbean island country known as a"banana republic", both for its prime export and its economic problems. After the death of the current president, General Carlos Camacho imposes a coup d'état and establishes a dictatorial regime. In addition, the new ruler marries the wife of her predecessor, Mercedes, first lady loved by the people for her help to the poor and with whom she had an affair for years. In the village of Santiago, a mysterious man falls from the sky during a storm with a chest shot, being saved by the fishermen and cared for by Marisol. Without memory, Esteban falls in love with the girl and disputes his heart with her husband, Enrico, who leaves and lets his ex-wife live with the new love, who takes over her two children. Seven years later, in 1958, Marisol meets Camacho, who convinces her to leave and live as his mistress, claiming she would never get out of poverty in the village.

Helena is an independendent woman with strong emotions. More than a dedicated mother, she is also a friend to her daughter. Her daughter is experiencing difficulties in her marriage with Marcelo because of his renewed interest in a formoe girlfriend. Marcelo‘s mother deslikes Helena and would like nothing better to see her son‘s marriage destroyed. Helena starts her life over again when she falls in love at first sight with Atilio, whom she marries. Although of poor health, her daughter wants to have a baby, believing that by fulfiling her husband‘s dream, she can save her marriage. As fate would have it, mother and daughter fall pregnant at the same time, each giving birth to a boy.

1943, World War II. The northeastern coast of Brazil is an strategic region for the Allies. Giancarlo, an Italian immigrant married to a Brazilian woman, lives nearby the Parnamirin Field, the largest military base built by the USA outside of their territory. In this new base, Brazilian recruits who speak English suddenly find themselves reaching privileged positions.