Xica da Silva

Based on a true story, this series is a gem within its kind. The slave that becomes queen by capturing the heart of the most powerful man in the village.

In the diamond mining town of Tijuco in Brazil, the diamond commender--appointed by the king of Portugal--is the ultimate authority. Having grown up in the relative security of his house, the young and beautiful Xica da Silva finds her world threatened when he decides to sell her to a whorehouse in town, refusing to recognize that a black slave girl could be his daughter. In a desperate bid to save herself, Xica steals the diamonds collected by the diamond commender for the king, intending to use them to escape. The king's army arrives to collect the diamonds the very next day, however, and when the loot turns up missing, the diamond commender is led away in chains, his family dispossessed and thrown out in the street with only the clothes on their backs. Martin, the diamond commender's son, swears vengeance. Xica and the other slaves, however, are sold at auction, and Xica ends up in the home of the Sergeant Major, an old man who bought her solely to slake his lust. To the town of Tijuco, however, comes the new diamond commender, the elegant and ruthless Joao Fernandes. Immediately struck by Xica's beauty, he manipulates the Sergeant Major into selling her to him. And thus begins a love story, filled with danger, intrigue and passion, between a willful nobleman and a crafty slave girl who rises to one day become queen.

The series is filled with rich details of the era's beliefs, superstitions, politics, fashion, etc. etc. And it really manages to captivate your attention for every minute. At times funny with a sarcastic and dark humor, full of suspense and unexpected twists. "Xica da Silva" is definitely a must. I wish I could buy the whole series on DVD.

This show is a great history story. It's has everything from slavery,the way they were treated, religion, the ways Jews were sent into hiding,the inquisition, the belief in the Orisha the African gods, the way women were treated,including the daughters. Even down to homosexuality. The way the characters are intertwined and that Violante, that character saddens me. She is so desperate to be loved that she destroys everyone around her.I am so glad they decided to re-release it to t.v. again. Although I would love to see the unedited version. Xica has become my Heroine. I look up to the way she uses her power to help all who seek it. I love all the characters and have found that they can relate to many people now in this century. I look forward to my Xica every night. It would be great to dub it in English so the Americans can love her too.

The setting is interesting, the wardrobe perfect, the story compelling and the cast brilliant (though I think the director, while not bad, could certainly do better.) A specially great performance by the actress playing Violante(?) and the actor playing José María. I wish I knew their names, because they're very talented. This story has some characters that are quite complex. I read it is based on the actual life of a slave named Xica da Silva. I was amazed at finding this kind of complexity where I thought I would only find two-dimensional characters. The story is always surprising me with totally unexpected plot twists and realism. It's got humor and drama and soul, and I really like the theme song idea for each character. This is one of those things you really don't know how it's going to end. Right now I hope the end is still a long time away. I'm really going to miss it when it's gone. Kudos to everyone involved.

One of the best brazilians soap operas of all time Uma das melhores telenovelas brasileiras da história

Telemundo should definitely consider making a DVD collection of the novela Xica! I know tons of people including myself who would like to be able to purchase the novela Xica! It is a very entertaining novela which is set in Brazil. The costumes worn by the actors are beautiful and the town in which the novela takes place is beautiful. Xica contains a lot of history of that time period. I wish Telemundo would televise it again even if it was a 2 in the morning. I would highly recommend watching Xica if it is ever shown again on Telemundo. I've e-mailed Telemundo a million times already to show the novela again but my pleas have fallen on deaf ears. The only cautionary statement about Xica is that it occasionally contains some harsh scenes therefore I would recommend that children under 14 do not watch Xica. Overall Xica merits a 10 out of 10!