Fresh Icons

Thanks to the lowest common denominator factor even the less gifted
new Brazilian idols are being enthusiastically accepted by all segments of the population.

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For years the world of entertainment and TV in particular has given Brazil the idols it
thirsts for. And Brazilians have not been let down lately. There is an abundance of new
faces ready to be today’s heroes. They are all young, pretty and well packaged. They are
people like songstress Ivete Sangalo, who made Bahia state axé music a must-hear rhythm
in the richer South; Alexandre Pires, the crooner of the Só pra Contrariar, a pagode
(a samba style) band, the bestseller musical phenomenon with three million CDs
sold—-a record in the Brazilian recording industry—; and child actress Fernanda
Souza, who plays Mili in Chiquititas, a big-hit soap opera among the kids. In other times
they might be snubbed and considered not sophisticated enough to be consumed by the
elites. Thanks to a democratization and leveling of tastes though the new idols popularity
reaches all segments of the population.

The list of the emerging new stars also include the funk duo Claudinho & Buchecha
from Rio and the samba group É o Tchan!, which made blonde Carla Perez and brunette
Scheila Carvalho, both dancers, sex symbols and role models for kids and teens. Thanks to
this new generation of entertainers 80% of the CDs sold today in Brazil are from national
artists. On TV, mondo cane show hosts Márcia Goldschmidt on SBT and Ratinho on
Record, both with a huge following are helping to define the national taste.

Another TV hero contributing to maintain the dumb blonde stereotype is 24-year-old Carioca
(from Rio) Danielle Winits, star of Globo TV novela (soap opera) Corpo Dourado
(Golden Body), In the soap Winits plays Alicinha, a model worried that she is getting to
old for her career. Danielle is also in Cabaret, a play being shown in São Paulo.
Winits’s agenda is full and her star is rising. She will be Brazilian’s Playboy cover girl
in August and in October people will be able to see her in José Zaragoza’s movie Até
Que a Vida Nos Separe (Until Life Do Us Apart). She has patented her name and soon all
sorts of products bearing her DW trademark should start cropping up.

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