The renowned writer and soap opera author Benedito Ruy Barbosa passed away this Tuesday morning (7), aged 95, in the city of São Paulo. His death was attributed to complications arising from chronic renal failure (CRF), information confirmed by a medical bulletin issued by HCor (Hospital do Coração), where the playwright was receiving treatment.

Chronic renal failure is characterized by the gradual and irreversible deterioration of the functional capacity of the kidneys. Benedito Ruy Barbosa had been facing this illness for three years, registering frequent hospitalizations due to persistent urinary infections, a common condition in patients with this condition.

The progression of CRF prevents the kidneys from performing their filtering function, resulting in the accumulation of toxic substances in the body. Signs of the disease’s progression include excessive tiredness, edema in the lower limbs, feelings of nausea, changes in urinary patterns, as well as anemia and high blood pressure.

According to data from the Ministry of Health, the evolution of chronic kidney disease often develops without presenting noticeable symptoms in its initial stages, which often leads to a late diagnosis of the condition.

The kidneys play a vital role in bodily functioning, being responsible for filtering blood and removing toxins. The health agency emphasizes that chronic kidney disease is a silent condition, with no clear symptoms, and has shown a worrying increase in global prevalence, associated with high mortality rates and considerable costs for health systems.

The writer had been hospitalized in January of this year, at the age of 94, and was later discharged. At that time, his hospitalization was also linked to a urinary infection combined with existing chronic kidney failure.

The trajectory of Benedito Ruy Barbosa in Brazilian dramaturgy

Benedito Ruy Barbosa consolidated his fame with a vast repertoire of highly successful soap operas, including “Rei do Gado”, “Terra Nostra”, “Pantanal” and “Renascer”, all produced and shown by TV Globo.

In his last years, although Ruy Barbosa had moved away from his screenwriting activity, his artistic heritage was continued by his daughters Edmara and Edilene Barbosa, and also by his grandson Bruno Luperi, who continue to work in the field of screenwriting.

Born on April 17, 1931, in Gália, in the interior of São Paulo, the playwright was the firstborn of five brothers. His childhood was spent in a region of coffee plantations, in the city of Vera Cruz, neighboring Gaul, where he lived with communities of Japanese and Italian immigrants. This experience and the rural setting were portrayed in detail in “O Rei do Gado”, his 1996 soap opera, which took place on coffee farms.

Otávio Barbosa, Benedito’s father, was the founder and director of the periodical “A Voz de Vera Cruz” until his premature death, at the age of 29, in 1942. This tragic event profoundly changed the life of the future author, who, while still a child, found himself needing to look for work to help his mother, Aurora Medeiros Barbosa. He got a position as a bookkeeper assistant at the Antônio Perez commercial company.

In search of more promising opportunities, Benedito Ruy Barbosa made the decision to move alone to the capital of São Paulo. There, he balanced night studies with day work in one of the offices of the Antônio Perez firm.

Later, he managed to reunite his family in São Paulo, establishing a residence in the Bom Retiro neighborhood. To supplement the family budget, he worked as a vegetable seller at markets and a cleaner at a banking institution.

The challenges and professional beginnings of Benedito Ruy Barbosa

Due to his accounting knowledge, he obtained a position at the Bank of Boston. However, he chose to leave this position to work in an office belonging to the commercial Antônio Perez, located in Maringá, Paraná. It was in this period and place that he found the inspiration to conceive his first novel, entitled “Fogo Frio”.

In 1959, upon an invitation from Oduvaldo Viana Filho, the narrative of “Fogo Frio” was adapted for the theater. Ruy Barbosa explained the origin of the title to the Memória Globo project: “Cold fire is because the frost burns the plantation. In 1952, a big frost happened that decimated the coffee plantations of Maringá, Marialva and Mandaguari. It was a disaster. I, first, was ecstatic to see the beauty of all that greenery covered with a white sheet. When the sun got hot, it burned all the coffee. They had to eradicate those coffee plantations.”

The legacy of soap operas that marked generations

Benedito Ruy Barbosa’s first television productions appeared in the 1960s, including the soap operas “Somos Todos Irmãos” and “O Anjo e o Vagabundo”, both from 1966 and broadcast on the then TV Tupi.

He joined TV Globo in 1971, the year he signed “Meu Pedacinho de Chão”. The work reflected his childhood memories in rural environments. During the period of the Brazilian military dictatorship, Barbosa faced government censorship, with his plot suffering cuts, although he managed to negotiate the permanence of certain passages.

The first highly successful contract with the Rio broadcaster, however, was only signed in 1976. At that time, he began his prolific television career with the soap opera “O Feijão e o Sonho”, shown at 6pm. He then achieved success with “À Sombra dos Laranjais” (1977) and “Cabocla” (1979).

The list of other works by Benedito Ruy Barbosa includes “Paraíso” (1982), “Voltei pra Você” (1983), “De Quina pra Lua” (1985), “Sinhá Moça” (1986), “Vida Nova” (1988), in addition to the hits “O Rei do Gado” (1996) and “Terra Nostra” (1999).

The author also collaborated with TV Bandeirantes, where he was responsible for the soap opera “Os Imigrantes” (1981). On TV Globo, his last original production was “Velho Chico”, shown in 2016 and set in the São Francisco River region.

In addition to the rural universe, Benedito Ruy Barbosa demonstrated a particular affection for narratives involving immigrants, elements present in works such as “O Rei do Gado” and “Vida Nova”. The appreciation of novels was another striking characteristic of his work. “First of all, a soap opera needs to have a great love story,” he declared, referring to the characters Matteo and Giuliana, from “Terra Nostra”.

Before dedicating himself exclusively to authoring soap operas, Benedito Ruy Barbosa had professional experience as a reporter and reviewer in prestigious newspapers, such as “O Estado de S. Paulo” and “Última Hora”. His career also included stints at Gazeta Esportiva and a period as an advertising writer at the Radial Propaganda agency.

The renowned works that gained new versions

The success of Benedito Ruy Barbosa’s soap operas was such that several of them were re-recorded by TV Globo. The first to receive a new version was “Cabocla”, in 2004, followed by “Paraíso”, which had its adaptation in 2009.

The famous soap opera “Pantanal”, originally shown on Rede Manchete in 1990, received a remake in 2022. This new production featured actors from the original version, such as Marcos Palmeira, and its adaptation was the work of the author’s grandson, Bruno Luperi.

Finally, “Renascer”, another classic by the author, was also re-released in 2024, again under the direction of Luperi and with the presence of Marcos Palmeira in one of the central characters.