Louro José


Louro José is a parrot puppet played by former stage manager Tom Veiga. Louro participates, along with TV presenter Ana Maria Braga, on Mais Você, a show which airs from Monday through Friday on Rede Globo.
The parrot is more than simply a supporting character: he serves as the comic relief of the program, using his witty humour and telling jokes every now and then to lighten the mood, and even purposefully disagreeing with Ana Maria Braga to provoke her. His voice is shrill, mimicking a real parrot.

History

Rede Record

Tom Veiga was a studio manager and executive producer of the program "" at Rede Record, which was presented by Ana Maria Braga. Before working on the show, he worked as a courier and as an ambulance driver, as well as helping organize events.
Veiga met Ana Maria Braga around the year 1995. He organized artisan craft fairs that Ana Maria Braga would publicize in her show, "Note e Anote". After being invited to join the team, Veiga became a stage assistant.
In March 1997, while Ana Maria Braga was stuck in traffic with her then husband, Carlos Madrulha, she told him she "needed a puppet to make a smoother transition", given that Note e Anote aired right after a children's show. She and Madrulha discussed possibilities and eventually settled on a parrot, as it is one of the few animals that can talk. The choice for the name was inspired by a real parrot owned by Ana Maria Braga, also called "Louro José". The name is a tribute to her father, Natale Giuseppe "José" Maffeis.
On March 6, Louro José would star on national television. Many people were tried for the role of puppeteer, but no one seemed to fit the part well. Seeing a then 23-year-old Tom Veiga playing with the puppet, Ana Maria Braga temporarily put him in the role.
In the first months, Veiga worked as both a stage assistant and puppeteer. When he was made effective as the parrot, he celebrated, saying: "my life has changed completely".

Legal issues

In September 1997, about 6 months after the creation of the puppet, Rede Record attempted to trademark the "Louro José" brand. However, predicting the puppet's success, Ana Maria Braga had already registered the brand.
The company hired to make the puppet, Display Set, as well as Disney, both also attempted to trademark the Louro José brand – with Disney claiming the puppet was plagiarism, a copy of José Carioca. Like Rede Record, they were both unsuccessful and Ana Maria Braga's trademark was upheld.

Rede Globo

In 1999, Ana Maria and Louro José were hired by Globo, becoming a part of the Cem Modos team, the same from the TV Colosso show.
A year later, an episode of Mais Você aired with a video clip retconning Louro José's "birth". In it, Ana Mariga Braga is shown breaking open a giant egg with a hammer, to the sound of a baby crying in the background. From inside the egg comes out Louro José, yelling "Mommy!".
In May 2012, Tom Veiga renewed his contract with Rede Globo for another 4 years, laying to rest rumors that Louro José would stop participating on Mais Você.
According to Outro Canal, in 2015 Tom Veiga was promoted to assistant director.

In other media

Louro José is such a popular character that he has appeared in other shows from Rede Globo:
YearShowChapter / Episode
2003Children's show "O sumiço de Emília", aired on September 3, 2003
Louro João, Louro José's brother, also appears in this episode
2009Teen's show MalhaçãoEpisode aired on October 1, 2009
2011Teen's show MalhaçãoSeason 1, episode 55
2011TV series A Mulher InvisívelSeason 2, episode 3
2012TV series Louco por ElasPilot episode
2012Soap opera Cheias de CharmeEpisodes 44 and 45
2019Soap opera A Dona do PedaçoChapter aired on October 30, 2019

Merchandise

A number of Louro José merchandise have been released over the years, including toys, mugs, joke books, phone cases, various flavors of chewing gum and even bird food. One example of those is a talking replica of Louro José, released in 2008 as a kid's toy.

Trivia