I’ve got something to confess: The previous 20 episodes were all leading to this. No, seriously – When Adam first approached me about the idea for this podcast, the first show to jump into my head was Xuxa. To me, it perfectly encapsulated the spirit of what we’re trying to do here. Because none of y’all were dedicated viewers of Xuxa, but you definitely ran across it while channel surfing, and it may have elicited your very first “WTF?!” reaction.
Maria da Graςa Meneghel, professionally known as “Xuxa”, is probably Brazil’s wealthiest citizen. Yup, she has even more money than the doctor down there who developed that Butt Lift. She’s so wealthy that it’d probably be more appropriate to call her a “mogul”. That didn’t all happen overnight, though. That took decades and decades of work. She first gained prominence as a fashion model, who would go on to have an affair with soccer superstar Pelé. In the early 80s, however, she began her foray into children’s television, and never looked back. During that period, however, you hadn’t “made it” until you were successful in America, so she accepted a proposal from Mary Tyler Moore’s MTM Enterprises, who’d been in a bidding war with Canadian production company DiC Entertainment for the rights. What resulted was Xuxa, a 1993 daily syndicated variety show that was nothing like you’d ever seen on American television at that point. It was like Michael Jackson and Lisa Frank had a baby, and that baby’s soul was placed in the body of a foreign go-go dancer. While the show was targeted to kids 6-11, it was my fellow 12 and 13 year olds who truly enjoyed the “magic” of Xuxa. Her English was broken, her catchphrases (“Drop the chicken!”) were nonsensical, and the competitions seemed to have no rules but, boy, was she pretty!
This isn’t the first time Xuxa has graced this here website, as a post I wrote over a decade ago is still a steady performer – mainly with Brazilians in my comments section saying “Xuxa did not NEED to make it in America!” Sure, Jan. That’s why no one remembers her show… But Adam and I do, and we’re here to talk about it! Check it out here, or wherever you find your podcasts!
