Velho Chico (English title: Old River) is a Brazilian telenovela produced and broadcast by TV Globo that premiered on 14 March 2016, replacing A Regra do Jogo, and ended on 30 September 2016, being followed by A Lei do Amor.

Plot

Described by the director as a Shakespearian family saga, counting a history of love framed for social critics, the plot is initiated in the end of the year 1960, when Afrânio, son of a powerful Colonel Jacinto is obliged to return from Salvador for the fictitious Grotas de São Francisco, to assume the place of his father, who commanded the politics and the local economy. He develops a passion for Iolanda, but to oblige his mother, Encarnação, who still grieves the loss of her oldest son who died in waters of the São Francisco River, Afrânio leaves on a trip for the region to reaffirm alliances that his father kept. During his trip, Afrânio gets involved with Leonor, whose father compels them to marry. Leonor is received with disdain by Encarnação. In Encarnação's mind, Leonor's lower class status makes her an unsuitable wife for Encarnação's son. When Maria Tereza is born, Encarnação rubs on Leonor that she should have conceived a son.