Xica's mother Maria is portrayed by Zezé Motta, who starred as the title character in Xica da Silva (1976).
The episode including first Taís Araújo's nude scenes was broadcast only three days after she turned 18 and filmed when she was 17. She refused to film an anal sex scene and complained about the erotic overtones of the series, claiming that the real Chica da Silva was known for her "intelligence, not her curves". Adriane Galisteu was also publicly uncomfortable with her amount of nude scenes.
In an interview for Piauí magazine, Taís Araújo reported that she felt uncomfortable with the way her character was sexualized. She was 17 years old at the time filming started. "I was invisible in Barra da Tijuca, I hadn't even had my first kiss", she said. Araújo credits Walter Avacini's behavior as traumatic, statting that he crossed the line on more than one occasion. "Avancini was great. Much of what I know about commitment and discipline I learned from him. But he was extremely abusive ", said Araujo who even thought about giving up the plot on the second day of filming. According to Taís, the director said that she was "the biggest disappointment of his life", and even apologizing, the tension between them continued, as he believed that the behavior extracted a "more visceral" performance from the artist. The actress reports that one of the worst moments was when she turned 18, and Avancini decided to sell nude photos of the actress behind the scenes of the soap opera. "Nobody forced me to take these photos, but of course I gave in to pressure there," she revealed.
Guilherme Piva actually replaced Marco Polo which quit the role Zé Maria (who is gay) after filming the very first episodes. Piva originally played one of the village's "dragons" (soldiers).
The opening sequence caused controversy among Brazilian Catholics as it depicts Xica placed instead of the Virgin Mary of the Immaculate Conception, with puttos attempting to undress her. A new opening sequence was made when the series was rerun by SBT in 2005 featuring a new song, Jorge Ben Jor's theme which is also part of Xica da Silva (1976).