Brazil TV Hit: Whip-Cracking Good -- Nation Can't Mask Its Ardor For Dominatrix
RIO DE JANEIRO - Without her mask, Suzana Alves has the kind of fresh-faced good looks that might land her a soap commercial in the United States.
With the mask, plus stiletto heels, garter belt, black corset and riding crop, she becomes "Tiazinha" - "Auntie" in Portuguese - Brazil's hottest TV attraction and sex symbol of the moment.
Tiazinha is everywhere these days. She did a bump and grind in a sizzling TV promo for Carnival, and she guest-starred on a popular kiddie show, where the hostess and the entire audience wore masks in her honor.
At newsstands, her curvaceous figure adorns the cover of everything from fitness magazines to scandal sheets. In Rio, shop owners say Tiazinha masks were the top-selling Carnival item.
A legion of fans tune in to the TV variety show "H" to see Tiazinha, in dominatrix regalia, rip patches of leg hair from young men when they fail to answer quiz questions correctly - and whip them lightly if their hands stray too close.
"Maybe it's the economic crisis. Brazil has chosen a sex symbol who demands a little sacrifice," ventures Roberto da Matta, a Brazilian anthropologist who teaches at Notre Dame University.
Brazil's embattled economy got a shot in the arm Monday when a revised loan deal with the International Monetary Fund was announced to help Latin America's largest economy pull back from the brink of an Asian-style meltdown.
Luciano Huck, the 27-year-old host of "H" and Tiazinha's creator, has a different theory. "It's the mask - she being very beautiful but not revealing her identity," he says.
"Light sadomasochism is always at the back of people's minds," Huck adds. "Not that people like to hit, but the idea of a dominating woman. I think this plays a little with people's subconscious."
Alves, a 20-year-old journalism student and occasional model, sees Tiazinha as a positive influence.
"I think Tiazinha is very good for women," she says. "A lot of women are embarrassed to do stuff like this and so their husbands start looking for another woman."
Still, it took some persuading from producers before Alves accepted the role. "I told them I wouldn't get into those clothes unless I could wear a mask," she says. Although overt sensuality is nothing new in Brazil, the dominatrix aspect is novelty.
Huck thinks the show's wholesome atmosphere keeps the tone light. "H" has the improvised feel of an open-house birthday party.
Huck and his co-host, Suzana Werner, the girlfriend of soccer star Ronaldo, banter alongside a DJ, live bands and an assortment of games and activities that keep the mostly female, under-25 audience bopping for an hour and a half.
The highlight is Tiazinha, who waxes the legs of male contestants and rips off patches of hair as "punishment" for wrong answers in a quiz segment.
In a variation called "In bed with Tiazinha," young men must remove an article of clothing for every wrong answer. For each correct reply, Tiazinha takes something off. Tiazinha strips down to her bra and panties and male contestants to their underpants.
Once a week, she also dispenses advice to adolescents about sex. But mostly she just swivels her hips - which she also does at night clubs on weekends for up to $2,800 a show.