Novela el Pantanal

The novela el Pantanal aired in Brazil from March to December 1990. The telenovela fell into a very specific genre of telenovela that is less frequently used: the ecological or environmental telenovela. The title Pantanal refers to a region of Brazil: the largest freshwater wetland in the world.

Juma Marrua could shape shift into a jaguar.

The purpose of environmental telenovelas is to provide educational resources, public awareness and improve public knowledge of environmental issues. In the novela el Pantanal, the audience found the storyline set against the backdrop of lush and vibrant wetlands. Unlike other Brazilian telenovelas, el Pantanal was not filmed inside a studio, but on location and in open areas. The provocative and unusual setting served only to whet the appetite; it was the introduction of frontal nudity to Brazilian television that made this series stands out in local ratings.

The Pantanal region features lush vegetation and dense animal life. The eco-system is considered among the densest in the world. So many different species make their home in the Pantanal, that it is the perfect setting for the Juma Marruá, a jaguar who can become a woman and the female protagonist who falls in love with Jovenito, the urban boy who comes back to the Pantanal to reconnect with his roots and his family.

El Pantanal is not the first drama to use supernatural elements. In the United States, the daytime soap operas Passions and Days of Our Lives both featured supernatural storylines. In the 1960s and later in the remake during the 1990s, Dark Shadows also featured supernatural tales with shape shifters, vampires and witches. In 2008, HBO produced True Blood, a series based on the Sookie Stackhouse novels that embrace many elements of supernatural soap operas and settings

Despite the supernatural elements in el Pantanal, it is the environmental message that made this telenovela stands out. Actress Cristiana Oliveira became an overnight sensation for her portrayal of Jurma. The telenovela is held up as a representative of what dredging the Paraguay River would do the region and activists seek to preserve the wetlands rather than dig them out for commercial shipping.

Writer Berdito Ruy Barbosa created the rich world of Pantanal. Born in 1931 in Brazil, Barbosa’s written seven other series since Pantanal’s 216 episodes aired in 1990 including:

• "Sinhá Moça"
• "Mad Maria"
• "Cabocla"
• "Esperança"
• "Terra Nostra"
• "Rei do Gado, O"
• "Renascer"

The youngest of nine children, Oliveira was an unknown when she won the casting in Pantanal. In 1992, she posed for the Brazilian version of Playboy. Following her debut in Pantanal, Oliveira’s stardom climbed. In Brazil, the actress is a household name. Since 1990, she’s made multiple programs and telenovelas including:

• Faça Sua História
• Casos e Acasos
• Sete Pecados
• Amazônia, de Galvez a Chico Mendes
• A Diarista
• Malhação
• Kubanacan
• O Olhar da Serpente
• O Clone
• Porto dos Milagres
• Vila Madalena
• Corpo Dourado
• Salsa e Merengue
• Quatro por Quatro
• Memorial de Maria Moura
• De Corpo e Alma
• Amazônia - Parte II
• Amazônia

Want to learn more about the Pantanal region of Brazil? Check out these great sources:

• Pantanal South Americas Wetland Jewel
• The Pantanal: Understanding and Preserving the World's Largest Wetland

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