Rincón de Luz (orphanage) facts for kids

Rincón de Luz is a make-believe orphanage and the main place where the Argentine TV show Chiquititas happens. It was the setting for the first four seasons and the last two. In Chiquititas Season Five, the story moved to a granary. Also, in Chiquititas Sin Fin, the children lived in a different home.

The name Rincón de Luz means "Corner Of Light." It's also the title of a spin-off TV series from Chiquititas, created by Cris Morena. She used this new title because of copyright issues with the old one. Before the show started, she said Chiquititas was "more than a title." The same name is used for the Chiquititas movie.

The main building is located at Pasaje del Sauce, 829, in Buenos Aires.

The Story of Rincón de Luz

How the Orphanage Began

The first Rincón de Luz orphanage was created by Ramiro Morán. He wanted to hide his new granddaughter, Mili, whose mother was very young. Mili grew up in the house with Saverio, the kind chef, and Ernestina, the strict janitor. Later, seven other real orphans joined them, forming a family led by Mili.

Belén, Saverio's goddaughter, often visited the orphans. She was studying to become a social worker. Emilia was the first person to manage the orphanage. But Carmen, Ramiro's ambitious sister, fired her. Carmen wanted to control Ramiro's money and own the house. Ginette, Ramiro's much younger fiancée, also wanted the house.

Ginette then took over as the orphanage manager. This stopped Belén from taking the job, even though Martín, Ramiro's son, had offered it to her. Ginette seemed nice at first, but one of the chiquititas, Jimena, showed her true colors. Ramiro then made Belén the new director of Rincón de Luz just before he passed away. Belén's new role changed the orphans' lives forever.

The Magical Corner of Light

After Carmen took over the first house, Belén and the orphans had to leave. But a mysterious man named Pedro Vega gave them a new home. This new house was a huge manor located at the corner of Pasaje del Sauce street. It became the new and improved Rincón de Luz.

The orphans soon found out that parts of the manor were magical. For example, "La Ventanita de Los Sueños" (The Magic Window) was in the attic, which was also Belén's bedroom. Through this window, the children could see their dreams and wishes come true. It was like a magic mirror where they could see their dreams by looking with one eye. The manor also had secret spots and even some tricky areas.

This new setting brought new kinds of stories. The sad, dramatic parts became less important. The show focused more on the children's adventures and feelings, with fewer adult characters.

Life in the Granary

Years after Belén's story ended, a girl named Maria found the "Book of Life," which Belén had written. Maria lived on the streets with other children. They later found a big, old granary where Joaquin, a lonely old man, lived. His only friend was a huge tree inside the granary. This granary became the children's new home. Following the stories in the Book, Maria named it Rincón de Luz.

A kind woman named Ana arrived in a hot air balloon. She slowly became like Belén to the orphans. Ana fell in love with Juan Maza, a widower who lived nearby with his seven children. Ana changed his life too.

After Ana and Juan got married and left for their honeymoon, Juan's angry ex-fiancée, Pía, burned down the granary. She sent the orphans (and some of Juan's children, plus her own daughter Tali) to a place called the Shadow orphanage. There, kids were treated very badly and forced to work. A shiny leaf fell into Maria's hands. Toya explained it meant the Tree was saying goodbye. Camila saw it as a message for the chiquititas to keep their hope. Pía died in the fire she started.

After escaping the Shadow house, the children learned that Ana and Juan had died in a plane crash. They were now orphans again and had no home.

Returning to the Corner

The remaining chiquititas were homeless and afraid of being sent back to the Shadow house. Maria held onto the Book of Life, believing it was time to find the original Rincón de Luz from the story. They followed a magic star and found the manor in the Corner. It was the same house from before, but its inside had changed.

The orphans found a wonderful place full of toys, dolls, and games. Through the Magic Window in the attic, they saw Belén herself in a vision. She told them they had found their Rincón de Luz. The manor also became a gateway to a magical world with elves and fairies. Maria even became friends with Tok the Elf. In the library, fairy tales came to life from their books.

The children later found old papers in a hidden office. They learned the house's owner, Rafael Sander, had changed it for his future son. Sadly, his pregnant wife died in a car crash, leaving Sander heartbroken. His loyal helper, Enzo, tried to kick the orphans out, saying it was now a private home. But the kids refused to leave, despite Sander's sadness.

Sander hid in the manor's secret spots, watching the children and a new young woman named Luz. Juanita discovered him. Luz became a new mother figure for the orphans and later the orphanage's director. She had to deal with Sander's anger and Paula's desire to own the house. Paula was Sander's deceased wife's identical twin sister, who had always loved him. In the end, Luz and Sander got married, and he gave the manor to Luz as a gift.

Later, a bad woman named Lidia took over the house when Luz and Rafael were away. She had the manor torn down, making the children very sad. But the manor magically rebuilt itself for them, as the spirit of Belén appeared in the sky.

Rincón de Luz in the Movie

In the Chiquititas movie, the orphanage was first called "Rincón de Niños Huerfanos" ("Corner for Orphans"). But it was renamed "Rincón de Luz" after Belén, Alejo, and the children moved in and became a family.

Other Versions of the Story

In the successful Brazilian version of Chiquititas, the orphanage is called Raio de Luz ("Light Gleam"). This version includes adventure and fantasy stories not seen in the original. For example, the children find a hidden treasure around the manor. The manor was supposedly destroyed at the end of Season Four. It was planned to return in future seasons, but the show was canceled.

Also, in the Brazilian version, the Tree inside the granary is a gateway to a magical underground world. This world is like Wonderland and is known as The Anthill. There, the orphans meet amazing creatures like talking ants and flowers. No one explains where this world came from, but Estrela tells the orphans the Tree was there long before she was born. The granary was built around the Tree to protect it.