By Shirley Farmer 
In a fascinating interview with “TV Guia”, a magazine celebrating its 45th anniversary, Manuel Luis Gocha, 69, finally opens his heart to say what he thinks about Cristina Ferreira, partner and friend at TVI for a year. A long time ago. “I helped her thrive” or “If I hadn’t caught her, she would be where she is now, because she is ambitious.” Now, read an excerpt from the TVI presenter's conversation with This Week's Magazine.
Was it Manuel who made Cristina a star or was she the one who revived him?
both of them. The raw material has always been there: Christina has the desire to do TV differently, to give aesthetic appeal to themes that have already been repeated over and over again. We worked as a couple for the first time… I wasn't dead, but I was probably older than I am today. I rejuvenated and deconstructed myself with it. You have encouraged Christina and helped her thrive.
The hike was brutal.
The formula worked because it was Saloya, and not in any pejorative sense, the girl who comes from a more humble background, from Malvera, full of dreams and the will to win, and who then goes on to eat porridge on a man's head. A man who had a stylish and elegant madness.
If Manuel hadn't caught her…
[Volta a interromper] He will get there. She's ambitious. There is nothing negative about ambition, as long as you don't run over anyone. in [Universidade] Independently, where I was teaching, she said to me, “One day, I will work with you.” And so it was two years later. About four years later, he told me, over breakfast, in the TVI bar: “One day, I will rule this house.” Today she is a director.
How do you see your journey?
It's an amazing journey, from someone who never lost focus, knew what he wanted to do, had well-defined goals and achieved them.
However, has it lost or not lost part of its audience?
He lost it when he returned to TVI, but got it back.
Why did you lose?
She lost naturally.. What is the secret of Christina's overwhelming success? When he appears next to me, on Você na TV!, he embraces a wide market, not represented by presenters like Catarina Furtado or Bárbara Guimarães, who are elegant and of the A and B categories. They are another perfect and wonderful product. Having had fun, she became a girl of the people, a granddaughter of her grandmothers. We have done unimaginable things [risos]. We had an audience watching a porn video…
When Christina went to SIC, the station became the audience leader.
Right on day one. And I was alone for four months… I said to TVI's then program director, Bruno Santos: 'Be careful, this will change everything.'
it is him?
She was sure that wasn't the case, but people went with her. We did not win again.
And the truth. But she returned to TVI and her popularity declined.
People didn't understand.
And when he went to SIC, do you understand?
When she went to SIC, she said she didn't feel very appreciated at TVI and that people understood the change: she wasn't doing well, and she was looking for better. As for the return in a contract for fulfillment, from the point of view of the shareholder and the owner, people did not understand.
Hasn't Christina's attitude changed? He's changed, it's normal. She was always a strong presenter, and upon her return, stepping in as director and contributor, perhaps did not position herself in the best way, conveying her message.
give me an example.
Du. When she was interviewed on the program “Jornal das 8”, Pedro Pinto asked her when “Cristina's Day” started and she replied: “It starts when Cristina wants it.” This kind of positioning could have caused surprise among the loyal public.
Did you tell him that to his face?
So why did I tell you on the show, live? It was one of the hardest conversations I've ever had with anyone. But, mind you, I don't know if she should have said what she said. It was said, it is said. It is her journey, her path, her attitudes. This is my view from the outside as a friend. We had a candid conversation on my show, you know, two days after the first “Christina Talks.” I understood that there were questions to be asked, about his position specifically, and about his court, for example, of which I am not a part.
Will Christina's court stand up to her?
I asked him, “Do people around you tell you when you're wrong? They tell you don't go this way, go that direction?” The conversation was so frank and surprising, that some people thought it was just that. Arrange it. has not been. I knew that as a friend, I could ask these questions and that she would be able to answer them. Christina doesn't get in the way. That hour-long conversation reflected what I thought of as a friend. One friend calls the other to reason.
Manel always talks about being a “friend”, but they don't have a relationship outside of TVI, do they?
But is this necessary? I'm a friend of Christina's. We exchanged letters and talked on the phone. I think she is my friend.
Believes?
Because I don't ask these questions that way.
You are the one who measures your words well. Say “I think” and not “I am sure.”
I measure… No, because I can love someone so much and he doesn't love me so much. I can't love someone and they love me.
Does Manel love Christina more than Christina loves Manel?
How to measure this? We have many declarations of love that we declare to each other through our chat channels. She sends me beautiful sentences, she writes well, and I also send her beautiful sentences. I love Christina, because my memory is gone.
Is it more collusion than friendship?
No, in my case it's friendship. And it's friendship because if Cristina is in distress and needs me, I'm there. Pretty sure.
Can you tell him a secret?
Christina knows about my life as much as Roy does [Oliveira, o marido] He will know. She says she knows me better than my mother. I don't get upset if Christina is my friend and I'm her friend, because I like to feel what I feel, especially like. Do I need to go to your house? no.