Wellington Botelho

Saramandaia is a Brazilian telenovela originally written by Dias Gomes in 1976. It's considered remarkable because of the Magic Realism (used by the author to subtly criticize the Military Regime of the time) and had 160 chapters. The story centers on the name change that the city undergoes, promoted by the younger citizens and reviled by the older ones. It also focuses on the lives of the city's quirky residents.

Set in Rio de Janeiro, the main plot follows the romantic adventures of four young people: Sônia, Joyce, Paulo, and Carlos. The youngest, Joyce, was raised by her aunt and uncle, Flávia and Dario Rodrigues, following her mother's death and her father's disappearance. Dario and Flávia are Sônia's parents, and they raised both girls as sisters. The story becomes even more complicated with the arrival of Carlos, a young man of humble origins who falls for Joyce the moment he meets her. Joyce, however, does not reciprocate his advances and spurns his interest. Increasingly in love with Paulo, she even pretends to be blind after an accident—solely to remain close to the doctor—and proves willing to do whatever it takes to keep Sônia out of her way.

Madalena hopes Pedro will fulfill the promise he made 28 years ago, while political rivalry separates the two families. The arrival of the circus reveals secrets and stirs up the town.

Middle-class family reform their apartment, and the noise, the contact with the workers and strange occurrences turn what was supposed to be a trivial matter into a trip to hell.

Severino do Quixadá (Renato Aragão), a humble northeastern shepherd of goats, rescues Captain Virgulano or simply Captain (Nelson Xavier) and his band of cangaceiros of an ambush armed by the lieutenant Zé Bezerra (Jose Dumont), its eternal persecutor. Captain escapes taking with him the mysterious box that he removed from the interior of the assaulted train in the city of Cajarana. Seeking to escape the shooting, Severino ends up finding himself in the cangaceiros' camp, along with the mishap friends Mussum and Zacarias who, taking advantage of the confusion, fled the chain.