Francisco Cuoco was a key player in consolidating the success of Globo - and soap operas

Actor Francisco Cuoco, who died this Thursday, the 19th , at the age of 91, was one of the key figures in the consolidation of Globo, in the 1970s, as a national broadcaster and audience champion. Alongside colleagues such as Tarcísio Meira, Glória Menezes, Regina Duarte and Beth Faria, he won over the public by becoming a soap opera heartthrob, a program that became a national passion.

It was a surefire move by Globo, aware of people's admiration for radio soap operas - all they had to do was keep scripts with ups and downs and, most importantly, give a body to those voices. But the mix only worked out mainly thanks to the rare talent of Janete Clair, the greatest Brazilian television drama.

She knew how to capture viewers' attention for more than 300 episodes, but she had a cast capable of creating that enchantment. And Cuoco was one of her main agents.

He wasn't an excellent actor - he didn't have, for example, the sophistication of Lima Duarte. But Janete knew that Cuoco had the ideal profile of the common man, the one with whom the vast majority could easily identify.

Thus, he created the character Carlão, the taxi driver from Pecado Capital (1975-76) who discovers a suitcase full of money left by robbers in his vehicle. Seduced by the possibility of getting rich easily, which could attract the attention of his beloved Lucinha (Beth Faria), he does not return the money. The audience liked those who fought for love, no matter the means.

Even though he committed a crime, Carlão gained the public's support thanks to the profile created by Janete based on Cuoco's artistic qualities. Carlão only had to die in the last chapter because Brazilian society still did not believe that crime paid off.

Another successful partnership between Janete and Cuoco was The Astro (1977). The actor plays Herculano Quintanilha, a scoundrel who makes a good living as a fake illusionist - he ends the soap opera as an advisor to a dictatorial country in Central America.

Once again, Janete makes use of a friendly scoundrel whose charisma could only exist thanks to Francisco Cuoco's mannerisms.

Seen today, her scenes seem somewhat exaggerated, almost caricatured. But in the 1970s, amid the economic miracle propagated by the military government, the public was fascinated by characters who, even if crooked and wrong, were all too human. And Cuoco reigned supreme.