''María Isabel'' () is a Mexican

telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar Drama (film and television), drama genres around the w ...

produced by Carla Estrada for

Televisa Grupo Televisa, S.A.B., simply known as Televisa, is a Mexican telecommunications and broadcasting company. A major Latin American mass media corporation, it often presents itself as the largest producer of Spanish-language content. In April ...

. It aired on Canal de las Estrellas from August 4, 1997 to February 6, 1998. ''María Isabel'', is one of the few telenovelas that focuses on the life of an indigenous female protagonist and her community. The story was written by Yolanda Vargas Dulché and adapted by

René Muñoz René Muñoz (February 19, 1938 – May 11, 2000) was a Cuban actor and screenwriter of telenovelas and the cinema of Mexico. He is most remembered for his role in the Spanish film ''Fray Escoba''. Biography He was born in Havana, Cuba but ...

. The series stars Adela Noriega, Fernando Carrillo, Lorena Herrera and Rafael Rojas.

Plot

María Isabel is a beautiful, kind-hearted young woman of indigenous descent, faced with the responsibility of raising Rosa Isela, the orphaned daughter of her only true friend who has died. She finds employment at the home of Ricardo Mendiola, a wealthy widower, and his young daughter, Gloria. Ricardo's kindness and decency cause Maria Isabel to fall in love with him, though she keeps it a secret for many years. Gloria, however, influences Rosa Isela to feel ashamed of her "Indian" mother; the ungrateful child abandons Maria Isabel to live with her wealthy grandfather, without even a word of thanks. At last Ricardo, realizing that he is in love with her, asks Maria Isabel to be his wife. But their bliss is short-lived, and the couple will have many challenges ahead before they can find the happiness they have struggled all their lives to achieve.

Cast

* Adela Noriega as María Isabel Sanchez * Fernando Carrillo as Ricardo Mendiola Zúñiga * Lorena Herrera as Lucrecia Fontaner Hernández * Rafael Rojas as Rigoberto *Jorge Vargas as Don Félix Pereyra * Patricia Reyes Spíndola as Manuela Rojas López * Lilia Aragón as Rosaura Méndez Larrea *

Mónica Miguel Mónica Miguel (born Gloria Chávez Miguel; 13 March 1936 – 12 August 2020) was a Mexican actress, director, and singer. Career Passionate about the arts and especially the theater, she would attend the occasional stage plays that came to Te ...

as Chona *

José Carlos Ruiz José Carlos Ruiz (born 17 November 1936) is a Mexican film and television actor. He starred in telenovelas such as '' María Isabel'', '' Soñadoras'', '' Mariana de la noche'', '' Sortilegio'', '' Soy tu dueña'', '' Un refugio para el amor' ...

as Pedro *Alejandro Aragón as Leobardo Rangel * Raúl Araiza as Andrés * Emoé de la Parra as Déborah Serrano *Juan Felipe Preciado as Rómulo Altamirano *Rodrigo Vidal as Gilberto * Roberto Ballesteros as Armando Noguera * Jorge Salinas as Rubén *Polo Ortín as Ministerio Vilchis *Guillermo Aguilar as Dr. Rivas *Isabel Martínez "La Tarabilla" as Chole *Javier Herranz as José Luis *Angelina Peláez as Micaela * Ilse as Graciela Pereyra *Charlie as Nicolás * Susana González as Elisa de Mendiola * Valentino Lanús as Antonio Altamirano * Sabine Moussier as Mireya Serrano *Omar Alexander as Anselmo *Ángeles Balvanera as Panchita *Eduardo Benfato as Filiberto *Paty Bolaños as Abundia de Altamirano *

Marcelo Buquet Héctor Marcelo Buquet Corleto (born October 4, 1963 in Montevideo, Uruguay) is a Uruguayan actor and former model. Biography At the age of 18 Buquet joined a theater company in his native Uruguay called ''El Galpón del Uruguay'' where he partic ...

as Cristóbal *Julio Monterde as Dr. Carmona *Fátima Torre as María Isabel (child) *Naydelin Navarrete as Graciela Pereyra (child)/Rosa Isela (10 years old) *Ximena Sariñana as Rosa Isela (13 years old) *Paola Otero as Gloria Mendiola * Violeta Isfel as Gloria Mendiola (10 years old) *Andrea Lagunes as Gloria Mediola (6 years old) *Natalia Juárez as Rosa Isela (baby) * Ana Luisa Peluffo as Iris *Enrique Rojo as Andrés *Bertha Moss as Eugenia *

Yadhira Carrillo Yadhira Carrillo Villalobos (born May 12, 1973) is a Mexican actress, model and beauty queen. Early career Yadhira Carrillo was chosen Nuestra Belleza Aguascalientes in 1994, the state qualifier for the national Nuestra Belleza México, to det ...

as Josefina * Sergio Basañez as Gabriel *

Abraham Ramos Abraham Ramos (born 13 February 1974 in Mexico City) is a Mexican actor who has appeared in many ''telenovelas'' and television series. Career Abraham is the youngest of the four siblings. His first role was in Retrato de familia, a telenove ...

as Ramón *Aurora Clavel as Amargura * Guillermo Rivas as Father Salvador *Patricia Martínez as Matilde *Tania Vázquez as Sonia *Carlos López Estrada as Pedrito * Magda Guzmán as Director *Andrea Torre as Gloria's friend *

Ernesto Laguardia Ernesto Laguardia (; born October 5, 1959) is a Mexican actor known for his performances in Mexican telenovelas. Biography Laguardia was born in Mexico City and modeled in elementary school. His work eventually led him to temporary contracts wi ...

as Luis Torres

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
''María Isabel''
at

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...

*
María Isabel
' at univision.com (in Spanish) {{Carla Estrada 1997 telenovelas Female characters in comics Mexican comics adapted into films Mexican comics titles 1997 Mexican television series debuts 1998 Mexican television series endings Spanish-language telenovelas Television shows set in Mexico City Televisa telenovelas Television shows based on Mexican comics