THE GUARDIAN: Gay characters feature in latest nightly telenovela, and activists urge show to have first on-screen embrace
Love triangles, broken hearts and a reality TV star, accompanied by an upbeat samba soundtrack. It could only be one of Brazil's nightly telenovela soaps, the latest of which debuted last week. But Insensato Coração, or Foolish Heart, is set to break the mould by featuring at least six gay characters.
"We are going to take on a contemporary and pertinent issue," Ricardo Linhares, one of the show's creators told Brazil's R7 news website. He said he hoped the soap would help "combat prejudice and promote acceptance".
Most Brazilian cities have prominent gay communities but homophobia and violence persist. According to the Grupo Gay da Bahia, 198 gay people were murdered in Brazil in 2009, up from a figure of 122 two years earlier. >>> Tom Phililips in Rio de Janeiro | Monday, January 24, 2011
