The Rutbreakers: The Xuxa Conundrum

Sometimes memories can play morph things that you think you saw a long time ago when actually they weren't true at all. And other times, things are real and they are much deeper than you initially think when you look into them. This is one of those.

In the early 90s, my love of game shows was apparent, even at a young age. There were the grownup games (J!, WoF, TPiR, Supermarket Sweep etc.) and there were the games for kids my age (DD, Legends.., Guts etc.). But one fleeting memory stayed with me.

It was of a show that I saw on cable featuring a female host with a weird name having kids playing Double Dare-esque challenges for fun. It was very fleeting and yet it was so out there at it stuck in my mind.

Well the reason it was so clear was because this show did exist. It (and the host) was called Xuxa (pronounced Shoo-sha). It only lasted one season in 1993 and it featured exactly what I said along with special guests and songs.

Usually that would be the end of the story, but instead reading up on it uncovered a much bigger story.

While the girl and the show were not successful in the United States; in her native land of Brazil it was a much different story. This lady is/was, for lack of a better word, a goddess of children.Her epithet was "Queen of The Short Ones". This show was a major hit and her merchandising of it and her persona made her one of the richest people in the country. And she was treated with Beatles-like status. She had guards protecting her in public. In an interview, she even said that young fans would sleep outside her house.

In 1991 she became the first Brazilian to appear on the Forbes Richest People list at #37. And she started to spread her empire to Argentina and even to Europe to tape shows for Portuguese and Spanish audiences. She had a known relationship with Pele, John F. Kennedy Jr., and even Michael Jackson was rumored to want to marry her.

Now usually child stars or idols don't usually age well or make a lasting impact outside of that shot. Xuxa has defied that. She is still touring at age 56 wearing wacky costumes and she is worth an estimated 400 million dollars. I have always believed that being an idol to children is one of the best kinds of fame because the power of nostalgia can keep you in fond memories of fans for years to come. Not only does she have that in spades, but she profits from it very nicely.

To wrap this up, I want to show you her show from Brazil. She is essentially a cross between Madonna and Pee-Wee Herman and her show is part Double Dare, part American Bandstand with a set reminiscent of a Sid and Marty Krofft show. But the children who appear on her show are infectious with her energy, and even not being able to understand what the heck she is saying, you can see the hold she has over them. It just goes to show how  many stories are laid in deep when you dig enough.