Musical Madness

Music is a distinguishing component of a telenovela that always sticks with the audience years after its prime time. A telenovela’s theme song is an audible icon, and the music within the episodes craft the series into what it truly is. Incredibly, music relays passion from shot to shot, and also reveals cultural contexts of the show. In the telenovela Avenida Brasil, the music is critical to its production. The show has a medley of English, Spanish, and Portuguese songs that all play into the drama of every scene. Each character has their own song that furthers their individual personality profile. For example Carminha, the villain of Avenida Brasil, has a menacing song that plays whenever she is on scene or about to be. This song creates tension because the audience knows that when her anthem plays, Carminha is coming to wreak havoc. Music provides foreshadowing frequently in this telenovela. Flashbacks in this telenovela even have their own song as well, and this incites nostalgia that helps tell the story. Interestingly enough, Adele’s “Set Fire to the Rain” is the theme for the main protagonist couple, Nina and Jorginho, in the show. This is quite contrasting to the rest of the show because a lot of the music is very Brazilian in nature. Nonetheless, this is yet another example of mini theme songs within the Avenida Brasil. These songs together make the show more distinctive and outstanding. Next time you find yourself watching a television show or movie, take note of how the music shapes the scene.