Xica
1976 film by Carlos Diegues
Xica (Portuguese: Xica da Silva) is a 1976 Brazilian comedy film directed and written by Carlos Diegues, based on the novel by João Felício dos Santos, which is a romanticized retelling of the true story of Chica da Silva, an 18th-century slave in Brazil, who attracts the attention of a powerful Portuguese land-owner and eventually rises into the Brazilian high society. The movie stars Zezé Motta, Walmor Chagas and José Wilker.
It was chosen as the Brazilian submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 49th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.
Plot
The film is based on the 1863 book Memórias do Distrito de Diamantina, written by João Felicio dos Santos (his nephew has a small role in the film as a Roman Catholic pastor). It is a romanticized retelling of the true story of Chica da Silva, an 18th-century African slave in the state of Minas Gerais, who attracts the attention of João Fernandes de Oliveira, a Portuguese sent by Lisbon with the Crown's exclusive contract for mining diamonds, and eventually becomes his lover, rises into power and into the Brazilian high society of the time. Moreover, João quickly lets the intendant and other authorities know that he can be bribed, and gets onto their corruption scheme. Eventually Lisbon hears of João's (and Xica's) excesses and sends an inspector. José, a political radical, is another main character, who provides Xica refuge.
Cast
Zezé Motta as Xica da Silva (based on Chica da Silva)
Walmor Chagas as João Fernandes
Altair Lima as Intendent
Elke Maravilha as Hortência
Stepan Nercessian as José
Rodolfo Arena as Sargeant
José Wilker as The Count of Valadares
Marcos Vinicius as Teodoro
João Felicio dos Santos as pastor
TV adaptation
In 1996, the now defunct TV station Rede Manchete successfully adapted the film plot to the telenovela format, directed by Walter Avancini, written by Walcyr Carrasco and starring Taís Araújo as the title character. This telenovela marked the first time an Afro-Brazilian actress played the lead role on a TV show.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Xica” is 1976 film by Carlos Diegues. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Xica, film and Carlos, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “1976 film by Carlos Diegues” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 27, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3563548. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1976, 1863 and 1996.
Rights, attribution and provenance may remain disputed even when a general reference summary presents a stable account. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Xica” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.