Maria la del Barrio (Philippine TV series)

Maria la del Barrio
Genre Drama, Romance
Created by Inés Rodena
Written by Dexter Hemedez
Jimuel dela Cruz
Jerome Co
Directed by Rory B. Quintos
Richard V. Somes
Don Cuaresma
Starring Erich Gonzales
Enchong Dee
Opening theme Pagbigyang Muli by Erik Santos
Country of origin Philippines
Original language(s) Filipino, English
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 145
Production
Executive producer(s) Sackey Prince Pendatun
Marjorie Lachica
Editor(s) Joy Buenaventura
Ayen del Carmen
Dennis Salgado
Cinematography Neil Daza
McCoy Ternate
Running time 30-45 minutes
Production company(s) Televisa (Mexico)
Star Creatives Group, Inc.
Broadcast
Original channel ABS-CBN
Picture format NTSC (480i)
Original run August 15, 2011 – March 2, 2012
Chronology
Related shows María la del Barrio (Mexico)
External links
Website

Maria la del Barrio (lit. Maria of the Neighborhood) is a Philippine remake of the Mexican telenovela of the same title, starring Erich Gonzales and Enchong Dee. The series was aired on ABS-CBN and worldwide on TFC from August 15, 2011 to March 2, 2012, replacing Mula Sa Puso.[1]

Synopsis

Maria Hernandez is a charcoal maker who dreams of making furniture in her own shop, much like her mother Sandra, who died years ago in a fire leaving Maria orphaned. Maria grows up with Sandra's bestfriend Casilda in barrio Munting Ilog. When Casilda falls ill, Maria is forced to seek help from Father Honorio for added work. This leads her to meet Fernando de la Vega, the owner of Amore Design, one of the country’s top furniture companies. Fernando takes Maria to work for his family as a maid.

Unknown yet to Maria, Fernando was the former love of her mother Sandra. And that Fernando's wife Victoria, is Sandra’s former friend and partner. Sandra and Victoria founded Amore designs, but Victoria double-crossed Sandra taking both her boyfriend and ownership of Amore. But before the fire, Sandra had bequeathed her shares to Maria, making Maria owner of 50% of Amore Designs.

Working for the De la Vegas leads Maria to meet, for the second time, Luis de la Vega, the eldest of the De la Vega children. Among those children are Vanessa and Vladimir. Maria had met and admired Luis before, seeing his work in Viscera, a small furniture shop. But Luis pays to her no mind. Worse, Luis, having had problems with his father Fernando, begins to suspect Maria to be Fernando's mistress. This through the suspicions of Soraya, his friend who is secretly in love with him. Luis makes Maria fall in love with him, with the intention of hurting Maria and making her leave.

Furthermore, he falls in love with Maria. And Maria, despite the pain, cannot help herself from loving Luis. But their love is put to the test by several trials. Such as, Soraya's attempt to break Luis apart from Maria, Sandra's comeback to ruin Victoria's life, lies that caused Maria's insanity which leads her into her wealthy transformation, and Sabrina who will do her best for her to keep Maria's daughter, Andrea. But an unfortunate disease will finally cause Soraya's life. Could this be Soraya's time to pay her sins to Maria?

Cast and characters

Main cast

Supporting cast

Extended cast

Guest cast

Special participation

Production

Production started on February 2011. The series was initially part of ABS-CBN's line-up of afternoon dramas, Kapamilya Gold, together with other television series; Nasaan Ka Elisa?, Mula Sa Puso, and Hiyas.[2] However, teasers were released in July 2011, which stated that the show was to air on primetime. The series premiered on August 15, 2011 on Primetime Bida.

Adaptation

Main article: María la del Barrio

María la del Barrio, originally aired on Televisa in 1995. It was the third telenovela in the trilogy of Maria, that starred Thalia. The show first aired in the Philippines through the RPN in 1996, dubbed in Filipino. After GMA Network's successful adaptations of Thalia's Marimar and Rosalinda, ABS-CBN decided to remake María la del Barrio.

Postponement, Reshoots and Recasts

There were speculations that the production had to reshoot several scenes because the network was not convinced with the outcome of the already-shot episodes. In addition, several characters were recast, including a lengthy casting process for the role of Vladimir de la Vega. Inno Martin was originally cast to play the role of Vladimir, but after several failed recastings, the role eventually ended up being played by Arron Villaflor. The role was first offered to Enrique Gil. However, Gil had to decline due to conflicting working schedules.[3] Inno Martin's scenes as Vladimir prior to his replacement appeared in the show's first set of promos. When the show started production for the soon-to-be reshot episodes covering the first few months of the show, Martin was sacked with AJ Perez tapped to take-over the now-vacant role .[4] But after Perez' untimely passing, Villaflor was brought in to take over the role of Vladimir.[5] It finally premiered on August 15, 2011.

Reception

Ratings

After the winning 26.0% finale rating of previous timeslot occupant Mula Sa Puso, Maria la del Barrio maintained the network's hold on the 6pm slot. The series debuted in fifth place with a 22.5% rating.[6] The series aired its last episode on March 2 and earned fifth place in the ratings, garnering 20% of viewers.[7]

Critical reception

On a review done by the Philippine Entertainment Portal, they quoted that "Erich looks tailor-made for the role; with her natural ability to summon naïve, childlike qualities with relative ease." They also stated that the scenes between the two lead actors provided the "'kilig' factor commonly sought by local viewers." The review concluded, "Erich has a wonderful opportunity to embrace the character as her own without having to live in the shadow of her famous Mexican predecessor."[8]

Awards

Year Award-Giving Body Category Recipient Result
2012 GMMSF Box-Office Entertainment Awards Most Popular Loveteam in Movies and Television[9] Enchong Dee and Erich Gonzales Won

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.abs-cbn.com/Feature/Article/10063/-Maria-La-Del-Barrio-heats-up-the-rainy-season.aspx
  2. ↑ Nasaan Ka Elisa and Maria la del Barrio lead stars will grace March 13 episode of ASAP Rocks retrieved March 11, 2011 via PEP.ph
  3. ↑ Enrique Gil says it's his time to be given lead roles
  4. ↑ http://www.pep.ph/news/29209/AJ-Perez-remained-a-true-and-loyal-friend-till-the-end
  5. ↑ http://www.pep.ph/news/30416/Aaron-Villaflor-admits-he-ignored-Erich-Gonzales-when-they-were-both-finalists-in-a-star-search
  6. ↑ Maria la del Barrio debuts strongly on August 12, 2011 via www.pep.ph
  7. ↑ http://www.pep.ph/guide/tns/9938/kantar-media-tns-national-household-ratings-march-2-4-walang-hanggan-keeps-lead-in-weekday-primetime-sarah-g-live-claims-top-spot-in-sunday-primetime
  8. ↑ PEP REVIEW: Erich Gonzales seems a perfect fit for the title role of Maria la del Barrio retrieved on August 18, 2011 via www.pep.ph
  9. ↑ "Vice Ganda named Phenomenal Box-Office Star; Derek Ramsay is Box-Office King while Anne Curtis and Cristine Reyes share Box-Office Queen title". Pep.ph. Retrieved 2014-05-20.

External links