Netflix's 'Invisible City': Meet the Brazilian monsters, from humanoid crocodile Cuco to wish-granting Saci
Television has long played with the idea of ‘What if these folklores were real?’ and though it is now a well-worn trope, Netflix’s newest Brazilian web series ‘Invisible City’ is set to change the way you think about mythical creatures.
Let the kids sit this one out because it’s definitely not a series for children, or the faint hearted. The indicative rating is ‘16 years or older’, and the series is set to thrill and chill with stories of terrifying beasts patrolling swamps and rivers, protecting them from over-fishing and farming.
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Starring Marco Pigossi, Alessandra Negrini and Julia Conrad, ‘Invisible City’, directed by director Carlos Saldanha of ‘Rio’ and ‘Ice Age’ fame, is an ode to these truly mythical Brazilian stories. Here is a list of fictitious beings you might encounter while viewing.
Cuco: a humanoid crocodile
One of the best known Brazilian legends is that of the Cuca, an ugly old woman who appears in the form of a humanoid crocodile and robs disobedient children. The creature sleeps only once every seven years, an element which parents often use to scare children who don’t want to go to sleep, saying that the cuca will get them if they don’t go to bed.
The Cuca comes from the Galician myth of the Coca or the Cucuy, a male monstrous being which was brought to Brazil where it adopted a female version. The word in Portuguese means "the crown of the head" or "the highest place". Quite frighteningly, in Tupi (a Brazilian indigenous language), cuca means to swallow something with a single gulp. A rhyme about the creature goes: "Duérmete niño, duérmete ya...Que viene el Coco y te comerá" (Sleep child, sleep now...Else Coco comes and will eat you.) The fourth episode of the series is titled ‘Cuca will come after you’, and well… we can’t wait!
Saci: Red-capped prankster
The Saci-pererê is a devious, one-legged mulatto boy who wears a magical red pointed cap and grants a wish to anyone who can get a hold of it. The Saci is constantly smoking a pipe. Every dust devil is said to contain the incorrigible prankster inside. Depending on the region, the creature’s identity varies from being plain mischievous, or sadistically evil.
The creature can disappear and reappear at will and enjoys causing (minor) harm for fun. His chief mischiefs include interfering with domestic work, like burning the beans and souring the milk, stealing children’s toys and cursing chicken eggs to prevent them from hatching. This legend is a useful tell at sleepovers, because if a kernel of popcorn fails to pop, it is because a Saci has cursed it.
Iara: Singing mermaid
An Iara is the Brazilian equivalent of a mermaid. Her name means mãe das águas (mother of the water bodies) in Tupi, and is described as either a nymph, siren or mermaid living in the rivers of the Amazon Basin, depending on which region of Brazil the story is told. Iara, with her deadly beauty and copper-coloured skin, sings an enchanting song to lure men into the water. Lucky for Iara, any man would leave everything to go live with her once they are under her spell.
According to the oral tradition of Brazilian folklore, Iara was a once a beautiful, young woman, the pride of her indigenous tribe, who stirred up the envy of her two brothers. When they decided to kill her, she killed them in self-defence instead, incurring the wrath of her father who didn’t wait to listen to her tale and had her drowned in the river.
Tapire-iauara: a foul-smelling abomination
A tapir, a mammal native to the forests of tropical Central and South America and Southeast Asia is known to be meek and gentle. The tapir nymph however, is neither of these things.
The piglike creature is about the size of a cow, with floppy ears as well as characteristics of a jaguar. The slow-moving water or mangrove swamps of Brazil and Venezuela is where it usually hunts its prey, chomping on pretty much everything from capybara rodents to caimans, and the odd fisherman. The Tapire-iauara’s stench is so overpowering it can make you faint, kill you, or force your shadow – and thus, your soul – flee from your body.
Curupira: Guardian of the forest
A short, red-haired boy with backward feet, the Curupira is a demon who inhabits the forests, creating illusions and producing a high-pitched whistle to scare and drive victims to madness.
The creature preys on poachers and hunters, and is a guardian of the forest, who uses his special feet to create footprints that confuse hunters. So next time you get lost in the forest, blame the Curupira, and make sure you’re not having venison for dinner.
