Agua Bendita

Agua Bendita (lit. Holy Water in Spanish) is a fantasy drama series on ABS-CBN in the Philippines starring Andi Eigenmann.^[1][2][3][4]

Plot

Prologue

Marcial and Mercedes came from Cebu City Hall for an interview and after 12 years comes to Amalia's house to visit. Amalia speaks to Mercedes. Criselda is looking for Padre Guido in Church. Baldo follow's. Solita and Ronaldo are ready to get married. Marcial and Mercedes Danger Baldo's Belt. Mercedes tells Marcial Wag Mo Ipakita Ang Picture Mo, Amalia slaps Mercedes you Will get married, Marcial and Mercedes are ready for the wedding and after 2 years, visit the fiesta. Marcial and Mercedes Cristi devotedly prayed for their own children.

Eventually, after five years of being married, she become pregnant. However, she was diagnosed with a heart defect, making her pregnancy risky. Worried, Marcial went to church praying for guidance. Eventually he met Criselda Barrameda who had an episode of epilepsy. Being a doctor, he brought her to his clinic.

Resting in the clinic, Criselda told Marcial of the tale of Father Guido, her uncle, who was a priest in her hometown. With his deep faith in God, he was able to perform miraculous healing. Despite of making it clear that the miracles came from God, people would not listen and instead began to worship him. Angered, Father Guido left the church, telling no one of his destination. It was speculated that he was staying in the mountains, where he finally found peace with God, although, from time to time, people claimed to have seen him in nearby towns. It was Father Guido whom Criselda sought for healing.

A few months later, while at the church, the Mercedes began to feel extremely thirsty. To satisfy her thirst, she ends up stealing the jar of agua bendita (holy water) and drinks from it. From then on, she starts to have an intense craving for stolen agua bendita. Furthermore, Marcial learned that Mercedes was carrying twins, one who inherited Mercedes' heart condition. Marcial prayed to God with his struggle to give in to his wife's desire for stolen agua bendita.

One day, a group of men rush a weakened old man into Marcial's clinic, who was later revealed to be Father Guido. Nearing the end of his life, he instructed Marcial to give the bottle of the miraculous agua bendita to Criselda. That night, Mercedes bled, almost having a miscarriage. With no other option, Marcial gave her Father Guido's agua bendita in order to save her and their babies. Marcial later dreamt of the late Father Guido, who told him that if he would not ask for Criselda's forgiveness, there will be consequence to his stealing. However, Marcial kept the incident from Criselda, hence the fate of one of daughters was sealed: Agua, the younger sister, was born in water form.

Chapter One

Fearing for the safety of Agua, Marcial decided to hide her away even from her own family, telling Mercedes that Agua is stillborn even though his assistant, Tonyang, is taking care of the baby. For a long time, only Marcial and Tonyang knew that Agua was still alive and was kept in a huge aquarium inside a hidden room in the Cristi's house.

In the meantime, Bendita, the twin sister of Agua and the daughter of the Marcial and Mercedes, was spoiled by her grandmother, Doña Amalia, the mother of Mercedes while Agua became humble and content while in Marcial's supervision. Eventually, the rest of the family knew of Agua's existence, causing fear to everyone but, eventually, Mercedes loved Agua. Bendita and Doña Amalia, however, hated Agua, usually punishing her by giving her hard chores. At one point, they left Agua alone and vulnerable in a park, intending to lose her. There Agua meet Tod, Criselda's crippled son, whom she unknowingly healed by her tears, allowing Tod to walk normally again. The boy then helped her to be reunited with her family.

After a few weeks, Criselda and Baldo, her husband, discovered Marcial's stealing of agua bendita, and they decided to take revenge on his family by kidnapping Bendita, mistaken her for Agua. After a series of events, the family travels to Manila to save Agua. Arriving there, Doña Amalia was forced to keep the family in her mansion. While there, Marcial meets Divina, whom fell in love with him; while Agua and Bendita met Ronnie, their friendly but naughty neighbor. Eventually, Marcial discovers Agua's healing abilities, and used it to cure patients. It received wide coverage, and the family had to move again by Doña Lisa's yacht. At the middle of the sea, Doña Amalia accidentally throws Agua overboard. The family thought she drowned, except for Marcial. Everyone was miserable, including Bendita, who showed worriness to her sister. Meanwhile, Criselda and Tot stayed at the Aguirre household as a maid to spy within the Cristis. At a nearby shore, Agua was kept by couple Ben and Rosy, who made Agua as their own daughter. After some time, they try to return Agua to his family, but learn that they already moved to the United States, where Mercedes meets his colleague Luisito, who in turn offers her a job. Bendita once again feels loneliness to her family, and the couple decides to have their marriage annulled.^[5]

Chapter Two

Ten years later, Bendita becomes a sassy teen who gets what she wants, while Agua becomes a rural girl who only wants to be reunited to her family. Meanwhile, left with the family Marcial is continuing his medical mission until Divina gets falling in love with him that caused Tonyang to spy Divina that's why Mercedes and her family went to Philippines and to arrange their divorce. While staying there, Agua made friends with Dolly, a dolphin, and Otep, her pet clownfish. During this time, a teenage Ronnie falls from his sailboat, causing his blindness, and is saved by Agua. The two became close friends, until Marcial's discovery of Agua. The family reunites, despite Marcial and Mercedes' divorce. After years in America and away from Agua, Bendita is not used to how Agua has lived. Soon enough, Bendita falls in love with Ronnie, who is still in love with Agua. Doña Amalia, on the other hand, struggles with her financial debts, and uses the wealth from the planned hotel of Solita, Ronnie's mother, for her own good. Meanwhile, Ronnie is reunited with Solita, and his blindness is treated. When he first saw Agua, he was shocked by her looks. This caused Agua to run away to a deserted island by herself.

In the island, Agua meets Paco (Tod), who immediately befriends her. After a while, Paco brings Agua to Criselda and Baldo, who are now working for Señor Lucas, a fake healer. The group uses Agua's healing powers to benefit themselves. Marcial discovers this, and again divorces with Mercedes.^[5]

Chapter Three

Through the help of Paco, Agua escapes. Meanwhile, Bendita injures Solita, causing a head trauma. Troubled by her dilemmas, she discovers the location of Padre Guido's spring, and drinks from it. The twins exchange appearances on different places; Agua turning normal at the seaport, while Bendita turns blue in the forest. Bendita tries to return to their household, but is kidnapped by Baldo, who thinks she's Agua. Agua, on the other hand, returns home. Due to her appearance as Bendita, no one believes her identity as Agua. This lead her to experience Bendita's life such as friendships, school, and other things which she hadn't had the chance to experience. Eventually, everyone believes her claims of identity, thanks to Rosy.

Meanwhile, Mercedes' relationship with Luisito ends. Solita discovers Doña Amalia's betrayal, and fires her from the company. Doña Amalia discovers the location of the true Bendita, and makes a truce with Criselda and Baldo in exchange of Bendita's life. The police catches the couple in act, leading to Baldo's escape and Criselda's imprisonment. Doña Amalia continues to hide Bendita in exchange for a truce with Luisito.

To learn Bendita's location, Mercedes agrees to be forcibly married to Luisito. Marcial tries to stop them, but Luisito had a change of heart and let Mercedes free.^[5]

Chapter Four

Solita files charges against Bendita, not knowing that Agua will actually take the blame. Ronnie helps her by faking a marriage contract, which will cause Solita to back off. The plan succeeds, and their relationship gets even stronger. Suddenly, Bendita arrives, and causes a stir in the community. Envious and mad at Agua, Bendita steals some agua bendita from Criselda, and uses it for herself to become a fake healer. After a series of events, Bendita was caught by Baldo, who traps her in a freezer.

That night, Agua celebrates her debut. The Cristis are waiting for Bendita's arrival, until suddenly, Doña Amalia's ice sculpture for Bendita arrives. Unknown to everyone, the ice sculpture was Bendita, who turned into solid ice. Later on, Paco and Agua discover what happened to Bendita, while Doña Amalia almost breaks Bendita's ice sculpture. Marcial, Ben, Ronnie, and Paco carry Bendita to the pool to melt the ice off her body. As Bendita continues to die, Agua finds a little amount of agua bendita, and drinks it to exchange with Bendita's appearance and to recover her healing abilities. Bendita melts from the ice, but as a punishment for her sins, she was still fluid-like, only brownish in color (Agua is also a fluid-like, but blue). Bendita blames Agua for what happened, and thus, making her sins worse. She began to experience vomiting, abdominal pain, nausea, and finally lung cancer and brain tumor. As Bendita continue to struggle with her sickness, the Cristi family begs for help to everyone they can, especially to Criselda and Baldo.^[5] They found some of Criselda and Baldo's agua bendita. Paco shoots her mom in the arm using a gun. They try to heal Bendita but it won't work. Then Agua heals Bendita and it worked. Before Marcial and Mercedes get married, Mercedes forgot her veil because Dona Amalia left it in the house. Dona Amalia orders Agua to get it and Agua agrees. Agua gets it and turns around seeing Ronnie. Agua rides her car but before, Baldo gets Agua and Baldo shots Mercedes using his gun. Mercedes is confined in the hospital. Baldo tells Agua to heal Criselda but she won't. That night, Padre Gido is in Agua's dream again. If she ever uses her tears to her mother then that will be the last tears. On the other hand, Bendita sees Dona Amalia speaking to Baldo in her phone. Dona Amalia goes somewhere and leaves her bag in the table. Bendita gets the phone and calls Baldo's number. She said that she will give the water in the spring to them and they will give Agua to her. Baldo agrees and meets up with Bendita. Bendita gives a fake water and runs with Agua when Baldo and Criselda recognize that it is fake. Agua and Bendita are in dead end in the river. So they jump in the river. Baldo jumps too and gets Bendita. Bendita tells Agua to go and she'll be all right because Mercedes needs Agua. Agua goes to the hospital and heals her mother. Then Dona Amalia makes her way to talk to Criselda and helps her escape by leaving a hair pin to unlock her handcuffs from the hospital bend. Meanwhile Baldo waits at the front of the hospital for Criselda but is seen by Marcial. Marcial chases Baldo and ends up fighting over the gun. While struggling the gun goes off and Baldo is shot by Marcial and Baldo dies. Paco goes to see his father's body in the hospital morgue and starts to feel anger. Criselda goes back to the hut and gets Bendita and brings her to Abo City Desert. While riding in the car, Bendita texts Marcial the license plate number and the police chase Criselda's car. Bendita is now left in the Abo City Desert while Ronnie, Agua, Paco go find Bendita in Abo City. Paco finds Bendita and they embrace. Paco and Ronnie talk while Agua and Bendita talk too. Bendita sees Marcial and hugs him. Then Agua goes to take revenge Amalia then she falls into water, as she cannot swim, Agua saves Doña Amalia's life. As Criselda shoots Agua, they both are in worry, as the boat explodes.

Epilogue

Then later, Criselda is sent to lifetime imprisonment for what she had committed many crimes, and she and Paco say a tearful goodbye to each other, showing that even after everything they have been through, they still have a bond as mother and son. Mercedes and Bendita visited Dona Amalia, who is now in a mental hospital losing her mind after the accident. Half of Dona Amalia's face was scarred due to the explosion. Agua got lost after the explosion, which later revealed that once again she is planning to hide from her family for what she thinks for the better good. However, Agua realizes that her family needs her and so she came back. Agua manages to reveal herself in public without getting scared of being judge by her form. Solita finally accepts Agua as her son's love. Agua still continues to heal patients privately for those who are in really great need. After all the suffering and extreme experiences, the Cristi family finally managed to live a normal and peaceful life.

Cast and characters

Main cast

• Andi Eigenmann / Xyriel Anne Manabat (young)

as Agua Cristi - Agua is the primary protagonist and was born with an unexplainable physical defect. In fear that she will suffer ridicule and persecution because of her appearance, her father hides her in a hidden place in their house. Her family has been moving around due to fears that people will take her away. It is later revealed that Agua can heal people with her tears in grief which she first used in helping Tod. At the end of the series, Agua now lives a normal and public life, engaged with Ronnie and the people are no longer afraid of her.

as Bendita Cristi - Bendita is the secondary protagonist but her actions are like an antagonist, as she is one of the obstacles in Agua's life. She is the physically normal one of the twins. Despite being normal, she grew up with a lot of insecurities towards her twin, Agua. Bendita has a spoiled and sassy personality. She feels that her parents are taking all their attention to Agua due to her disability, leaving her behind feeling jealous and unwanted. She grew up hating Agua and is very close to her grandmother. However, it got weaker as she learned it was her grandmother who kept her distanced with her father. Bendita has feelings for Ronnie and will try to do anything to win his heart. She also has some feelings for Paco. When she drank the miraculous agua bendita she was now the one with the disability that Agua had. She can't heal people, talk to sea animals and can't breathe in water because she does not have a sincere heart like Agua. At the end of the series, Paco and Bendita become engaged and she also finally learns to be humble and to love her twin sister.

• Matteo Guidicelli / Bugoy Cariño (Young) as Ronnie Aguirre - Ronnie is the Deuteragonist and the rich kid who became a good friend of Agua. He met Agua when they were young. Unfortunately, he got blind when he met Agua again when they were older. Without knowing Agua’s real identity, Ronnie learned to love her for her personality. His mother was a maid from a rich Italian family who got impregnated by the owner's son. To cover the shame, Ronnie's father left them leaving not a single penny and just with a house as he disappeared from their lives. Fortunately, Ronnie's grandfather is very pleased with his existence and thus, inheriting him and her mother his riches. Bendita on the other hand is trying her best to be close as possible with him. Torn between the twins, he seems to favor Agua over Bendita, due to Agua's kind and naive nature. Near the end of the series, Ronnie and Agua get engaged and his mother accepts his love for her.

• Jason Abalos / Maliksi Morales (young) as Paculdo "Paco" Barrameda - Paco is the Tritagonist and the poor boy who is the son of Criselda and Baldo and is often called "Tod" when he was young. He met the twins when he once saved their lives on separate occasions. He was tasked by his mother to bring her Agua in order to be freed from her disorder; with which he often works on different jobs which would lead him to the Cristis. Despite being only used by his mother, it seems he has developed pity for Agua as he carries on with the task. He helps Agua escape from his parents, but, because he's still concerned about her safety, he finds her (who is actually Bendita) and hides her in his friend's house. When he finds out she is really Bendita, he dislikes her at first because of her attitude, but as they spend more time with one another, he develops feelings for her more than Agua. Near the end of the series, Paco gives Bendita an engagement ring, and he asks her if they could be married when they get older, which Bendita happily says yes to.

Supporting cast

• Vina Morales as Mercedes Montenegro-Cristi - Mercedes took a long time to be impregnated and when had a chance she unfortunately caught an illness that may cause to end her life. This caused her to panic because it is possible that they have to choose either to save her life or the twins' life. However, she was miraculously cured when Marcial brought the mysterious agua bendita, but this came on an exchange where one of the children had an unexplainable disability, Agua. She also hated Luisito.

• John Estrada as Dr. Marcial Cristi - Mercedes' husband, he was poor yet Mercedes had fallen in love with him. Due to his status, Mercedes' mother Amalia have hated Marcial. Luckily, Marcial managed to finish a course of medicine and has managed to help his wife.

• Pilar Pilapil as Doña Amalia Montenegro - Mercedes' mother. She is very close to Bendita, but not to Agua who she mostly state as a 'freak'. She is often the reason of Agua's misfortune and hardships. Her evil attitude was even inherited by Bendita due to their closeness. She also doesn't like Marcial for her daughter, causing her to not talk with her daughter for a long time, that is until she got pregnant. After she was banned from her daughters presence, she spends her time stealing money from Solita. She serves as the secondary antagonist until the end of the series, where half of Dona Amalia's face was scarred due to the boat exploding accident and cause her to lose her mind in a mental hospital.

• Alessandra de Rossi as Divina Caguiat - a girl whose father is the late husband of Doña Amalia's sister. Since her father died, she had always been abused and shamed by the family. She had feelings toward Marcial and became evident when she intentionally kissed him on the lips. She is sometimes conspired by Doña Amalia to fulfill the Doña's goal of breaking Marcial's family bond; usually agreeing with the plan just to gain the upper hand towards Marcial's heart.

• Dimples Romana as Criselda Barrameda - Padre Guido's niece who was the supposed recipient of the miraculous agua bendita. Unfortunately, Marcial stole the Agua Bendita from her. Finding out that Marcial stole the agua bendita while she was helpless, she never stopped hunting down the family. Following them everywhere to get revenge causing her husband to be sent to jail was Arrested by the San Quintin Police. She is Paco's mother and has a disorder (specifically Epilepsy) which is the reason why Padre Gibo searched for the Agua Bendita. She serves as the primary antagonist until the end of the series, where Criselda is later arrested due to many crimes and the involvement of the Cristi family.

• Carlos Agassi as Baldo Barrameda† - Criselda's husband who is a gambler and a drunk. He tried to kidnap Agua to make money out of her healing abilities. He mistakenly kidnapped Bendita and was sent to jail. He is Tod's father. He was able to kidnap Agua when Paco brought her to Manila. He serves as the tertiary antagonist until the end of the series, where he was killed by Marcial Cristi. and before he died, he says; "We'll see each other in Hell!"

• Malou Crisologo as Tonyang/Muchacha - Agua's nanny. She always takes care of Agua and most of the time becomes her companion. Tonyang has been the family's maid/nanny for a long time and is one of Marcial trusted people. She and Marcial are the only two people who knew about Agua's disability when she was born.

• Jayson Gainza as Ben Ramirez - a fisherman who saved Agua after accidentally being dragged to the sea. He first hated Agua, but later accepted her, In Episode 43 He Was now Friend of Dr. Marcial Cristi of Agua.

• Malou de Guzman as Rosie Ramirez - Ben's wife who have helped Agua from danger. At first, she is so afraid from her but after being reminded by their lost daughter, she finally accepted her. They have taken care of Agua until she grows up, She was Now Friend Partnring of Dr. Marcial Cristi of His Own Daughter Agua into Cristi Family.

• Bing Loyzaga as Solita Aguirre - Ronnie's mother who is very consistent being in social life. She was once a maid on a rich Italian family. She got impregnated by one of the owner's son. The family didn't want anything to do with Ronnie, so they decided to just give the house on the village where Doña Amalia's house stands.

• Zaijian Jaranilla as the voice of Otep - Agua's fish (clownfish) friend who she attempted to steal in a pet store but then she got caught. Luckily, Marcial saw what Agua did and apologized to the saleslady and bought Otep for Agua. She freed him from an aquarium to the ocean. They have once met again when Agua accidentally got lost in the ocean.

• Zoren Legaspi as Luisito "Lui" Mondigo - Lisa's son who used to court Mercedes and was originally arranged to be with her. However, due to Mercedes' rebellion, she ended up marrying Marcial. When Mercedes and her family decided to migrate in America, he found a chance to caress Mercedes once again.

Minor Cast

• Pen Medina as Padre Guido† - The original owner of the miraculous agua bendita. He is Criselda's uncle and have asked Marcial to give the agua bendita to Criselda to cure her illness. Unfortunately, Marcial stole it and instead gave it to Mercedes. Due to circumstances, Padre Guido from time to time appears in Agua's dream to help her use the abilities she has gained from the agua bendita for the good. He also appears in Bendita's dream, where he tells her that she can't use Agua's abilities because she does not deserve such privileges.

• Neil Ryan Sese as Señor Lucas† - A fake healer who helped Criselda when they needed some money. Criselda acts as if she is being healed by Lucas to attract customers. When he discovered that it is Agua who is healing the sick people, he tried to help Agua escape, without success. Baldo accidentally killed Lucas during the process and threw his corpse in an abandoned lot where it is later found by the police.

• Lollie Mara as Donya Caridad Montenegro - Amalia's sister. She is Divina's cruel stepmother. Right after her husband died, she started to not care about Divina.

• Lyka Ugarte as Donya Lisa - Amalia's friend who owned the boat from what's supposed to bring the Cristi family to their hiding island. But sadly, Agua fell from the boat because Doña Amalia pushed her off and was never seen again. Lisa is also Luisito's mother.

• Miguel de Guzman as Tod's friend - When Tod was working on a vulcanizing shop, he had a fellow worker and a friend who is also a kid.

• Angel Sy as Bimpy - Daughter of the Water Theme Park Owner. She is first afraid of Agua, but then became her friend when Agua healed her, since she sits in a wheelchair.She oftenly calls Agua Ate Agua.

Komiks adaptation

Agua Bendita was a comic created by Rod Santiago^[6] in the 1980s. It was published by Liwayway Comics and adapted on television through the series, Komiks. Komiks first aired in 2006 and again during Holy Week 2007, with two-part episodes in Season 1 starring Shaina Magdayao as Agua/Bendita and Rayver Cruz as Ronnie.

Komiks version cast

• Shaina Magdayao as Agua/Bendita
• Rayver Cruz as Ronnie
• Jaclyn Jose as Celeste Cristi
• Raymond Bagatsing as Dr. Rodrigo Cristi
• Amy Perez as Solita
• Lou Veloso as Ben
• Beverly Salviejo as Rosy
• Mosang as Tonyang
• Joshua Dionisio as Young Ronnie
• Kathryn Bernardo as Young Agua/Bendita
• Ma.Vilma Damo as one of the Bangkeras

Ratings

Mega Manila Area TV Ratings (AGB Nielsen)

Agua Bendita premiered with a strong 31.8% Mega Manila household rating placing second behind its main competitor, GMA's Darna which posted a 33.9% household rating.^[7] The finale of Agua Bendita registered an impressive 18.8 Mega Manila people rating (different from household rating) ranking first for the night while its main competitor, Ilumina only posted an 11.3 people rating which settled for 7th place.^[8] GMA Network tops the Mega Manila ratings while ABS-CBN dominates the Philippine Nationwide TV ratings.

Philippine Nationwide TV Ratings (Kantar Media/TNS)

ABS-CBN's Agua Bendita premiered with an impressive 37.7% national household rating ranking first for the most-watched program of the day, easily beating its competitor, GMA Network's Darna which posted a 27.1% national household rating, taking 7th place.^[9] Agua Bendita's finale on ABS-CBN posted a whopping 44.9% National household rating clobbering its main competitor Ilumina which only managed to pull in a 19.3% National household rating. ABS-CBN easily dominated primetime.^[10]

Reception

Launch

Agua Bendita was launched as one of the ABS-CBN's offerings for the 60th Celebration of Filipino Soap Opera ("Ika-60 taon ng Pinoy Soap Opera"), during the ABS-CBN Trade Launch for the first quarter of 2010, entitled "Bagong Simula" (New Beginning).^[11]

Theme song

The show uses "Malayo Pa Ang Umaga" as its theme song, originally composed and sung by Rey Valera. The first version of the song is sung by Aria Clemente and the second version is sung by Vina Morales.

Lyrics

Malayo pa ang umaga, Kahit sa dilim

Naghihintay pa rin

Umaasang bukas ay may liwanang

Sa aking buhay umaga ko’y aking hinihintay.

Sadya kayang ang buhay sa mundo

Ay kay pait, walang kasing lupit

Kailan kaya ako’y ‘di na luluha?

At ang aking pangarap

Ay unti-unting matutupad.

Malayo pa ang umaga, ‘di matanaw ang pag-asa

Hanggang kailan matitiis ang paghihirap ko?

At sa dilim hinahanap

Ang pag-asa na walang landas

Kailan ba darating ang bukas para sa’kin?

Malayo pa ang umaga, ‘di matanaw ang pag-asa

Hanggang kailan matitiis ang paghihirap ko?

At sa dilim hinahanap

Ang pag-asa na walang landas

Kailan ba darating ang bukas para sa’kin?

Malayo pa ang umaga.

Awards

During the 32nd Catholic Mass Media Awards, the series won as the Best TV Drama Series/Program.^[12]

References

External links

• Andi Eigenmann Fan Site