Summaries

Synopsis

The idealistic and brave Isabel (Camila Pitanga) is the maid of a French lady who taught her the European language and manners, and was raised by her father, the former slave Afonso (Milton Gonçalves). In a samba gathering, she meets Zé Maria (Lazaro Ramos), a hard-working man who hides a secret: he is a capoeira player, an illegal martial art he hopes to see recognized. Laura (Marjorie Estiano) is the daughter of former coffee barons Assunção (Werner Schünemann) and Constância (Patrícia Pillar), but luxury and wealth does not impress her. Having her degree in Education, she finds fulfillment in teaching. Her mother is resistant to her revolutionary ways and puts all hope in Lauras engagement to Edgar (Thiago Fragoso) as a means to ascend socially. Edgar is an upstanding man who has studied in Portugal to take over the business of his father, the cunning Senator Bonifácio (Cássio Gabus Mendes).

Fate brings these two women together at church: Laura is uncertain about her future with Edgar, and Isabel overflows with happiness waiting for Zé Maria. However, the capoeira player, willing to prevent an unfair action of the local police, gets involved in a fight that leads him to prison instead of the altar. Isabel´s pain brings her closer to Laura, who is anguished by the imminent arrival of a groom she practically doesn´t know and does not wish to marry, not knowing Edgar feels the same way. Left alone and with no where to go, Isabel moves with her father to the humble neighborhood Morro da Providência, the first favela of Rio, and is forced to live with the mischievousness of the envious Berenice (Sheron Menezzes), who will do anything to prevent her reunion with Zé Maria. Meanwhile, Laura and Edgar, fall madly in love, contrary to all expectations of an arranged marriage. Still weakened by the thought of been abandoned, Isabel is seduced by the bohemian Albertinho (Rafael Cardoso), Laura´s brother, who becomes fascinated by Isabel.

However, the romance is interrupted by the autocratic Constância. After leaving jail, Zé Maria finds Isabel pregnant with Albertinhos child and breaks up with her. The situation worsens when Constância discovers the pregnancy. To avoid scandals, she separates the child from his mother with the help of Berenice. Suffering with the supposed death of her son and Zé Maria´s absence, Isabel decides to accept the invitation from a famous dancer and travels to Paris. Laura is blindsided when she finds out about a daughter of Edgar´s from a brief relationship he had in Portugal. She files for divorce and, with the disapproval of her mother, moves away to avoid embarrassment.

Six years later, the two friends return to Rio. Now a renowned dancer in Paris, Isabel discovers that her son is alive, while Laura, a divorced woman, devotes herself to teaching. Love holds good surprises: Zé Maria and Isabel, and Laura and Edgar, realize the difficulties have failed to destroy their feelings. Side by Side tells the story of two women ahead of their time, at a moment of great political and social transformations. With detailed scenography of old Rio, influenced by the Belle Époque, the telenovela puts different worlds side by side: luxury and simplicity; progress and prejudice.