Dec.6, 2008
Brazilians are wrapped up in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight saga. So far, the two first books – Twilight (Crepúsculo, pronounced kre-POOS-ku-lo) and New Moon (Lua Nova) have been published in Brazil, and they’re both best-sellers.
While Intrínseca, the Twilight publisher in Brazil, has an Eclipse countdown to the millisecond on the Crepúsculo website, fans also have to cope with the anxious wait for the Twilight movie, which will premiere in Brazil on Dec. 19.
If you're a teen going to Brazil soon and you'd like to see Twilight (again) with the local crowd, just make sure the movie theater you choose is showing the movie legendado (with subtitles), and not dublado (dubbed).
Brazil's top magazine for teenage girls – Capricho (pronounced ca-PREE-sho and meaning "Whim") featured Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson on the November cover, in a sensuous, sort of pre-bite pose. The mag website has a cool Twilight movie and movie set photo gallery.
Twilight Portuguese
What are some fave Twilight quotes in Portuguese? Well, see if you can identify the ones below (answers at the bottom of the page):
- "E então o leão se apaixona pelo cordeiro."
- "Se eu pudesse sonhar, eu sonharia com você. E eu não me envergonho disso."
- "Você é minha vida agora."
If you’re seriously curious about Twilight in Portuguese, enjoy Chapter 1 of Crepúsculo as a pdf file from Livraria Cultura.
Ryta Vinagre - an experienced professional - is the series translator in Brazil. According to Vivi from the Twilight Team (see interview below), although some fans didn't agree with a few of the terms the translator chose, "as a whole, the final result is good".
And what do Brazilian girls have to say about Robert Pattinson? Ele é fofo. (He's cute.) Ele é lindo. (He's gorgeous.)
Brazilian Twilight Fan Clubs
There are several Twilight communities in Brazil, including some on Google's Orkut, a popular social network.
To get the scoop on what's going on in the Twilight scene, I interviwed* Viviane, one of the creators of Twilight Team - the country's first official Twilight fan club.
(*Interview in Portuguese)
Crepúsculo and Lua Nova are best-sellers which appeal to a young readership. It's often said young Brazilians don't read enough. Why has Twilight captivated so many Brazilian readers?
Today we have a world of entertainment inside and outside our homes – games, interactive sites, and all kinds of technologies. It's easy to understand how such "busy" young people can't stop long enough to grow an interest in reading. Twilight has a magical allure that’s not restricted to a certain age. It's a story that touches from young to more mature people. Everyone has gone through a phase when they’re experiencing a life change, starting a new school or finding that first and great love. Twilight has adventure, humor, friendship and family values, all flowing very naturally. It's such a pleasure to read that it's hard to put the book down and go do something else.
In the US, a lot has been written about how Twilight appeals to girls. The Twilight Team Fan Club has over 770 registered members. Are many of those fans boys?
Just like in the US, most fans here in Brazil are teenage girls. Because Twilight is a love story, boys might be embarrassed about reading it, or even reject it, but still the number of male readers is growing. We’ve done book release events in some Brazilian cities, and we can tell.
Is the Twilight Team going to do something special for the premiere?
We'd like to have some pre-opening events, but unfortunately, Paris Filmes hasn't authorized any events before the premiere. Even so, we intend to do our part to close some rooms for the fans and have some prize draws. I hope it all works out. We're going to wear our website T-shirts, which we made specially for that.
As a fan, which movie theaters do you think will be the best for enjoying Twilight?
Well, as fans we want to enjoy the movie without hassles, so the movie theaters that offer rooms with numbered seats, like Cinemark, are the best option. Moviecom and UCI are good too.
How do you feel about dubbing for Twilight?
Dubbed copies are to be expected. Like with any other movie, we don’t think that will affect the overall allure of Twilight - there’s always someone who prefers to see the dubbed version.
Brazilian teens can be pretty interactive at the movie theater. What do you think Twilight screenings will be like?
It’s a fact that Brazilian fans tend to be very enthusiastic. And with Edward Cullen on the silver screen, I don't think it will be possible to curb all the euphoria. But there's always the hope that the movie's magic will hold us under such a spell that maybe we won't even have time to comment.
How are Brazilian fans dealing with the anxious wait for Eclipse?
That anxiety can be reduced thanks to non-official translations made by fans, available online. The more loyal fans can deal with the wait by visiting our site and meeting other fans.
In the meantime, Stephenie Meyer is asking everyone not to post Breaking Dawn spoilers. What's the spoiler situation in Brazil?
Like anywhere else in the world, there are all kinds of fans here: those who are considerate of others, the enthused kind who talks too much and those who don't care about others and spoil the surprise. Our site and most fan communities always have spoiler alerts, so we try to control what's said and where. But despite all the precautions, it's impossible to completely prevent fans from reading something they don't want to know.
Can English-speaking Twilight fans join the Twilight Team forum to exchange ideas and meet Brazilian fans? Do many people in the community speak English?
Our site was born at a time when the Twilight Saga wasn't the phenomenon it is today. Many people from our core fan base read the book when it hadn't been officially translated yet. As for our team, our English skills do allow us to partner up with sites from all over the world. So yes, people who speak English will meet lots of friendly and cool fans in our forum.
(Answers: 1. "And so the lion fell in love with the lamb."; 2. "If I could dream at all, it would be about you. And I'm not ashamed of it."; 3. "You are my life now.")
