''Poder Paralelo'' () is a Brazilian

telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar Drama (film and television), drama genres around the w ...

produced by

Rede Record Record (stylized in uppercase; ), formerly known as Rede Record and RecordTV, is a Brazilian free-to-air television network. It is currently the second largest commercial TV station in Brazil, and the 28th largest in the 2012 world ranking. In ...

that premiered on April 14, 2009 and ended on March 10, 2010. Written by Lauro César Muniz and directed by Ignácio Coqueiro, it will portray a corruption scheme involving an

Italian-Brazilian Italian Brazilians (, ) are Brazilians of full or partial Italian descent, whose ancestors were Italians who emigrated to Brazil during the Italian diaspora, or more recent Italian-born people who've settled in Brazil. Italian Brazilians are th ...

family. Prior to Record's official announcement, the media was referring to the telenovela by its working title ''Vendetta''. It ran for one season.

Plot

The telenovela focuses on Tony Castellamare, a Brazilian citizen of Italian origin living in

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

. He maintains the image of a merchant exporter, but is actually the leader of the

Sicilian Mafia The Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra (, ; "our thing"), also referred to as simply Mafia, is a secret society, criminal society and criminal organization originating on the island of Sicily and dates back to the mid-19th century. Emerging as a form of ...

. After an attack aimed at him kills his wife Marina and their twin daughters, Tony returns to

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

seeking revenge, at the same time he is investigated by the uncorruptible

federal police A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for law enforcement within a specific jurisdiction through the employment and deployment of law enforcement officers and their resources. The most common type of law enforcement ...

officer Teolônio "Téo" Meira.

Inspiration

''Poder Paralelo'' is based on ''Honra ou Vendetta'', the only novel by sports journalist and cuisine author Sílvio Lancelotti, originally published in 2001. The plot, however, had to be readapted, since the book contained only five major female characters. According to Muniz, Téo is based on the federal police officer Protógenes Queiroz, responsible for the investigation and arrest of banker Daniel Dantas, accused of

money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...

and convicted for attempting to

bribe Bribery is the corrupt solicitation, payment, or acceptance of a private favor (a bribe) in exchange for official action. The purpose of a bribe is to influence the actions of the recipient, a person in charge of an official duty, to act contrar ...

a federal police officer. Mattos, Laura
"Polícia Federal 'estrela' nova novela da Record"
''

Folha de S. Paulo ''Folha de S.Paulo'' (sometimes spelled ''Folha de São Paulo''), also known as simply ''Folha'' (, ''Sheet''), is a Brazilian daily newspaper founded in 1921 under the name ''Folha da Noite'' and published in São Paulo by the Folha da Manhã co ...

'' (link via

Observatório da Imprensa ''Observatório da Imprensa'' ( Portuguese for ''Press Observer'') is a Brazilian website, and also television and radio programs, which focuses on the analysis of the current state of the mass media in the country. History ''Observatório da I ...

). August 10, 2008. Accessed April 13, 2009.

Editing controversy

The head of Rede Record vetoed Muniz from writing scenes featuring thighs, breasts, buttocks and coarse language. This caused a controversy in Brazil, as well as accusations of

hypocrisy Hypocrisy is the practice of feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not. The word "hypocrisy" entered the English language ''c.'' 1200 with the meaning "the sin of pretending to virtue or goodness". Today, "hypocrisy" ofte ...

from the head of the network, once violent scenes, featuring as even as

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...

, remained untouched.

Main cast

Gabriel Braga Nunes Gabriel Braga Nunes (born February 7, 1972) is a Brazilian actor, best known for his work in telenovelas, specially '' Essas Mulheres'', '' Cidadão Brasileiro'', '' Caminhos do Coração'' and '' Poder Paralelo''. He also stars in '' Insensato C ...

- Tony Castellamare *Tuca Andrada - Telônio "Téo" Meira *Paloma Duarte - Fernanda Lira *

Marcelo Serrado Marcelo Magalhães Serrado (born 10 February 1967) is a Brazilian actor. Biography Marcelo began his career at CAL (Casa de Arte das Laranjeiras) in 1985. He made his television debut in 1987 in the telenovela ''Corpo Santo'' of TV Manchet ...

- Bruno Vilar *

Petrônio Gontijo Petrônio Gontijo de Alvarenga (born July 5, 1968) is a Brazilian actor.Adriana Garambone Adriana Garambone Guerra (born 4 July 1970) is a Brazilian actress and former model. She became well-known when she performed on the telenovela ''Salsa e Merengue'' (1996). In 2005, she signed with RecordTV and gained further fame for her role as ...

- Maura Vilar *Gracindo Júnior - Don Caló Castellamare *Lu Grimaldi - Mamma Freda Castellamare *Karen Junqueira - Giana "Gigi" Castellamare *Paulo Gorgulho - José Santana *

Maria Ribeiro Maria do Amaral Ribeiro (born 9 November 1975) is a Brazilian actress, screenwriter and film director. Biography She worked in soap operas such as '' A Escrava Isaura'', playing the beautiful Malvina, and also ''Luz do Sol'', playing Zoé. ...

- Marília *Cecil Thiré - Armando *Márcio Kieling - Alberto *Fernanda Nobre - Luísa *Guilherme Boury - Pedro *

Patrícia França Patrícia França Monteiro de Oliveira (September 28, 1971, Recife, Brazil) is a Brazilian actress. Biography She began her career in theater as a child and won awards, including the play ''A Ver Estrelas''. Her first job was in the national h ...

- Nina Santana *Bete Coelho - Vânia *

André Bankoff André Ricardo Bankoff (born July 20, 1978) is a Brazilian actor. Career Bankoff appeared in the miniseries ''Mad Maria'' and the soap opera ''Bang Bang (telenovela), Bang Bang'', both in Rede Globo. In ''Bicho do Mato'' (2006), he played Jub ...

- André Campos *Miguel Thiré - Douglas (Dog) * Luma Costa - Bebel *Castrinho - Leonel Pavão *Nicola Siri - Paulo Garzia *

Antônio Abujamra Antônio Abujamra (; 15 September 1932 – 28 April 2015) was a Brazilian theatre and television director and actor. Having majored in journalism and philosophy at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul in 1957, he started a ...

- Marco Iago

Soundtrack

Soundtrack is the song "Bellissimo Cosí" by

Laura Pausini Laura Pausini (; born 16 May 1974) is an Italian Pop music, pop singer. She rose to fame in 1993, winning the newcomer artists' section of the Sanremo Music Festival 1993, 43rd Sanremo Music Festival with the song "La solitudine", which becam ...

References

External links

''Poder Paralelo'' official website''Poder Paralelo'' at Rede Record Press Room website
{{Rede Record telenovelas 2009 telenovelas 2009 Brazilian television series debuts 2010 Brazilian television series endings RecordTV telenovelas Television series about organized crime Portuguese-language telenovelas Works about organized crime in Brazil