“Pssica,” a series on child prostitution that is causing a stir in Brazil
Released online on August 20, 2025, the Brazilian miniseries follows the intertwined destinies of several characters—including a teenage victim of sex trafficking—in the Amazon River mouth region. “Pssica” is a ratings success and shines a spotlight on this public issue, according to the country's press.
From its very title, Pssica reveals its regional roots. As noted by major Brazilian newspapers, such as O Estado de S. Paulo , it is an expression from the northern state of Pará, “which means ‘curse’ or ‘bad luck’. In fact, it is a series of curses that will bring together the lives of the three protagonists of Pssica ,” the miniseries available on Netflix since August 20. Critic Beatriz Amendola, in the newspaper nicknamed Estadão, introduces these characters with intertwined destinies: “Janalice (Domithila Cattete), a kidnapped teenager and victim of sex trafficking; Mariangel (Marleyda Soto), a woman who wants to avenge the death of her husband and son; and Preá (Lucas Galvino), a young delinquent belonging to a group nicknamed the ‘water rats’.”
This last point is another specificity of the region, that of the mouth of the Amazon, the city of Belém and especially the island of Marajó: the arms of the river are much more than waterways, they are roads in their own right. From the first episode, we see relay stores on stilts, Janalice takes a school river transport, and the armed gang steals the cargo of a boat.
More generally, the local newspaper Diário do Pará agrees with the comments
Courrier International
