Xuxa

I was working on something late one night and left the TV going for a little distraction. The night eventually gave way to the dawn and as the sun was just appearing over the hills, so too did a li'l show appear on my 13 inch TV screen. A program I had never heard of starring a tall, bleached blonde south American girl who called herself simply, "Xuxa". Boy, am I lucky I didn't have a remote to turn that channel because the more I watched this unbelievable show, the more hilarious it got.

The twenty-something Xuxa had hosted a similar version of this kid show for Brazillian TV and some wizard in syndication (Mary Tyler Moore's company was the program's unlikely distributor) bought it for broadcast in north America. The first thing that jumps out at any casual reader of her bio is the fact that Xuxa once posed for Playboy magazine. Certainly a surprising credit to find on the resume of a host of a kiddie show.

Anyways, each episode would begin with a replica of the Earth literally opening up like a cracked egg shell to reveal Xuxa. Some times dressed in hot pants or a miniskirt, Xuxa would walk down a runway to be greeted by throngs of children cheering in celebration of her arrival. Joining Xuxa were four young girls also dressed in hot pants and drum majorette uniforms. These barely legal looking teens would assist Xuxa in organizing games and contests with the kids in the studio. This majorette posse's other purpose was to keep an eye out for kids who didn't seem deliriously happy enough to see Xuxa. Any kid who appeared to be just standing there was instantly engaged by one of the girls who would urge the youngster to cheer more enthusiastically, or more energetically wave their sparkly "XUXA" banner (no doubt provided to them by the show).

The regular cast included two men made up to look like a teddie bear and a jaguar. Jammie the jaguar man, complete with long tail, was especially creepy looking but he sure was good at doing back flips during the opening number.

Every show featured a competition for some of the in-studio assemblage of children. The games usually had to do with making a mess of the place using silly string or eating pies, etc. When the game was over, Xuxa would assure the defeated ones, "it's OK, you get prize, too". One of the funniest things about "Xuxa" was the star's less than commanding grasp of the English language. For example her penchant for referring to the U.S.A. as the united "estates." It was so obvious how much she struggled with it that they often sang a song that included the lyrics "I'm trying my best...to speak in English". The opening theme song was comprised mostly of,

"Hello! Hello! Hello!

Hello! Hello! Hello!

It's Time For Xuxa And her Friends!"

During one particularly memorable number the children had been supplied with bags of confetti and were supposed to throw it in the air while the host sang. Well, you know kids, so as Xuxa walked about singing her song, the little fans were throwing confetti not just into the air, but directly at Xuxa. As I laughed till I just about bled, one closeup revealed Xuxa in this blizzard of paper spitting chunks of wet confetti out of her mouth.

At the end of the show, Xuxa would apply lipstick to her mouth and then choose one child to kiss on the cheek leaving ruby red, non-smearing evidence that the kid had found favour in Xuxa's eyes. Little wonder when she'd announce it was time to give someone her kiss that the boys who were closest to puberty would buzz around her imploring "pick me, Xuxa! Pick me!"

Xuxa would usually go to commercial with the promise, "we'll be back with more things just for you!", but unfortunately after that single, shining season, I never did see Xuxa come back with more things. I guess a show like this was too unintentionally funny to last any longer than it did. I have no idea what kids of the day thought of "Xuxa", but if you were an adult at that time, you were witness to one of the most bizarrely entertaining programs in the history of television.

I saw this show and it was fantastic!! So many kids loved it, even today they have fond memories. It was tons of fun to watch, The songs were catchy and fun to dance. Xuxa was very nice to the kids and her staff was very attentive and kind with the kids. If anyone ever had any complaint about clothing or the fact that Xuxa had once been in playboy, they simply were living on a different planet of Salem puritanism circa 1628, since the show was so innocent and candid. It seems you have to do a show not for the kids but for the adults, so they are not disturbed and no one harbors any impure thoughts..LOL, how silly and pathetic. Kids don't pay attention to stuff like this, they were having fun and they were being taught positive lessons, since Xuxa had a message of acceptance and kindness towards each other, without treating them like amorphous,brainless beings, like some kiddie shows do. the fact that she was learning the language.. Don't you think is a reflection of the Real America? After all, all kids have classmates who are also learning the language, from anywhere in the world, and we adults, don't we encounter everyday someone learning the language? Like we should do as well, by learning a foreign language as to enrich our lives. Unless of course your ideal is a place were we are brainless enough as to not be able to understand anything other than Aunt Sarah speaking in her old-fashioned strand of good old Ämerican English, whatever that means...

South American superstar Xuxa tried to get into the US market with this english version of her hit show in Brazil and Argentina. The set was one of the most colorful I've ever seen on a kid tv show and the kids would play games against each other in "Double Dare" type fashion. She recieved a lot of controversy in the US because in her early years she posed for playboy and the tight clothes she would wear. Because of her trouble pronouncing english and low ratings the show lasted only 2 years (75 episodes), but was very entertaining when on tv

I always find it interesting to see how an International celebrity that is known all over the world tries to break the American market. I've seen this show a few times when I was younger, on the Family Channel(pre-ABC Family) almost 15 years ago. From what I do remember, I liked the show a lot. My mom was the one that told me who Xuxa was, we watched the Spanish channel a lot. Xuxa found great success in her native Brazil, then the Spanish speaking market, in the English speaking market hmmm..... I remember them playing games, singing English versions of her famous songs ("tindolele" is a great song) ETC. She had success all over the world with this format, except in the USA. The show was pretty good, I just think its not the type of Children's Programming our country was used to. In Latin America, a lot of the kids shows are similar to this one. I recently went on Youtube and watched a few of the clips available, and I thought it was pretty good. I wish she'd try again with bringing a show to the USA, I probably shouldn't get my hopes up. Good show, just a little different than what we were used to watching.

judging by what kids shows are on these days, I think we could all benefit from a show like this.

Xuxa was a Latin children's show host who had a successful show in Brazil, so they decided to try to make an American version. The show would start out with kids chanting her name and holding flags from around the world. There would be an explosion and a globe will open from which she would emerge. She would then go into her signature song (all of the songs she sang sounded like they were just translated from their original form, rather than making up new ones). There would also be games that kids would play for prizes. Xuxa also made it educational with her Ask Xuxa segment. Special guests would pop up as well. There were many problems that plagued this show: Xuxa looked annoyed by some of the kids, her English wasn't too hot, and she had posed nude in the past (That was the ultimate double whammy that ended her career in the States). The show only lasted one season, and reruns were shown on the Family Channel. They even marketed Xuxa stuff to kids like dolls, shoes and games. She never caught on (rumor has it MGM wants her to try again). I thought she was okay and the show had some kind of cheese quality. Where else could you find a sexy woman wearing hotpants, men dressed up as scary looking pandas, and demonic toy solders LOL?