Produced and aired from 1997 to 2001 by SBT, in association with Telefe, the show starred Brazilian actresses Flávia Monteiro as Carolina "Carol" Correia, Fernanda Souza as Mili, and Débora Falabella, as Estrela, being the last two's careers debut.

On 19 September 2012, SBT announced a new version of Chiquititas, which premiered on 15 July 2013, following the good ratings obtained by the 2012 remake of Carrusel.

Soon after Gabriela had a child, her father José Ricardo Almeida Campos kidnapped his granddaughter because, as a very conservative man, he could not accept the idea that his daughter became involved with an employee.

Initially considered a "delinquent" by Carmem, he then becomes the first male infant upheld by the place, awakening Cris and Vivi's feelings.

Ernestina becomes tired of being pranked by the girls and is replaced by Matilde, her stricter (and darker) identical twin sister that won't tolerate their banters, as Carmem, the orphanage director, greedily manages to own the Manor where Raio de Luz is localized to herself.

In the factory, Carol meets Junior, Ricardo's oldest son, an economist that lived in London and is back to São Paulo due to work.

His daughter, Gabriela, became mentally affected since she believes she had a stillbirth child, actually a lie her father told her right after Mili was born.

Meanwhile, is a new beginning in Carol's life, since she was named the orphanage director by Ricardo himself, right before he died in a car crash in the previous season.

Maria uncovers a mysterious Phantom of the Opera-like figure living inside the hidden areas of the manor, a man named Miguel.

As some of the original chiquititas finally find their parents and leave the manor, new children are later welcomed, increasing the family inside Raio de Luz.

In its initially creepy insides, they'll meet Helena, the house's governess, a baleful and mean-spirited woman who keeps her granddaughter Lúcia locked in a windowless bedroom, in order to "protect" her.

One of the orphans, mischievous boy Neco, soon discovers Lúcia and became her friend for life, showing her the world and gradually making her part of their family, against Elena's will.

An unscrupulous man named Felipe Mendes Ayala demonstrates interest to orphan Maria, to whom Carolina became maternally attached, and they will fight in court for her custody.

Marian is a troubled orphan; Bel resides in the Harmony Alley and is the best friend of Lila and Janu, a girl who is uncertain between Mosca and André.

Gabriela returns sane to São Paulo, she and Mili reapproximate, and they become closer each day with Carmem following them closely, trying to keep them from knowing the secret and their true ties.

Mosca develops a stronger relationship with Lila, the girl next door, and Fran discovers her origins as an heiress of a huge fortune before she quits it due to her relatives' ambition.

In the fourth season's final episodes, some of the children are transferred to another institution in Rio de Janeiro, and Carolina makes a travel to promote the orphanage's activities, leaving the youngsters under the care of Alfredo the Chef and Estrela.

Helena, the main antagonist of this season, is a fugitive from the police after her criminal acts, and as the Manor became her property, it is sold on auction.

The council intends to send the children to different places, and since the group of orphans don't want to be torn apart, Estrela remembers of her grandfather's house in a small town near to São Paulo.

Fran meets Rodrigo, a charming but crafty boy, and Yuri, a more loveable orphan and the first welcomed in this new Raio de Luz.

The children become desolated after assuming that Carol supposedly died in an airplane crash, but she later reappears from the skies, falling right on Rian and Cora's wedding cake with her balloon (just as Ana did in the original version).

Carol's arrival makes Cora even more enraged, as her plans to send the orphans to a reformatory are ruined, as well as her greed over Rian's wealth.

[2] In 2001, SBT was airing other soap operas directed for children, such as El diario de Daniela, which were providing higher ratings than Chiquititas at that time.

In 1998 (Season Two), produced Roberto Monteiro hired screenwriter Caio de Andrade to translate and adapt the Argentine series.

[5][6] The songs were translated and adapted to Brazilian Portuguese by Caion Gadia,[7] and differently from the original version, most of the actors dubbed the voices of professional singers in their themes.

The exceptions were Flávia Monteiro, Gésio Amadeu, Omar Calicchio, Magali Biff and Débora Olivieri, from the adult cast.

In and in 1999, over 15.000 people in São Paulo, 10,000 in Rio de Janeiro and 6,000 in Recife attended the auditions for the show's third season, breaking the record for the biggest casting ever (as a comparison castings for Ídolos, the Brazilian version of American Idol, are attended by 2,000 people in each state and 4,000 in São Paulo).

The show catapulted the careers of several cast members, such as Carla Diaz, Fernanda Souza, Stephany Brito, Bruno Gagliasso and Débora Falabella.

In 2011, Diaz portrayed Márcia in Rebelde Brasil, the Brazilian version for the series of same name created by Cris Morena.

In September 19, SBT announced on its official website that a new production of Chiquititas for 2013,[10] in order to maintain the positive ratings obtained by Carrossel, also directed for younger viewers.