Simplemente Maria (Simply Maria) is the name of several telenovelas with the Peruvian version being among the earliest and among the most popular. It ran from 1969 to 1971. It starred Saby Kamalich playing a woman who goes from a struggling single mother trying to improve herself to being a married fashion designer. The show is cited as increasing interest in sewing and adult literacy. Saby Kamalich would be presented a gold sewing machine by the Singer Corporation as the show increased their sales in Peru.[1]
Other characters included Esteban (Braulio Castillo) who began as her teacher and ended the series as her husband after a long relationship while Ricardo Blume played both the man who seduced her and the son the relationship produced. The show was seen as an encouragement for upward mobility. It also dealt with issues of class and ethnicity. It has been said that it was "maybe the most popular television program of all time in Peru" and it also had fans in the rest of Latin America.[2]