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''María la del Barrio'' ( Lit: ''Maria From the Hood''/English title: ''Humble Maria'') 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
Angelli Nesma Medina Angelli Nesma Medina (born in Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the ...
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 ...
in 1995. The series is a remake of ''
Los ricos también lloran ''Los ricos también lloran'' ("The Rich Also Cry") is a popular telenovela produced in Mexico in 1979, starring Verónica Castro, Rogelio Guerra and Rocío Banquells. Castro also sang the theme ''Aprendí a Llorar'' ("I learned to cry"), a so ...
''. ''María la del Barrio'' is considered one of the world's most popular and successful shows ever, having been broadcast in over 180 countries. It is the last part of the ''Trilogía de las Marías''. The series stars
Thalía Ariadna Thalía Sodi Miranda (; born 26 August 1971), known mononymously as Thalía, is a Mexican singer, songwriter and actress. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Latin Pop", she is considered one of the most ...
and
Fernando Colunga Fernando Colunga Olivares (; born 3 March 1966) is a Mexican actor known for his work in Mexican telenovelas. Colunga gained international fame for playing Luis Fernando de la Vega in the Mexican soap opera '' Maria la del Barrio''. He is also ...
as protagonists, while
Itatí Cantoral Itatí Guadalupe Cantoral Zucchi (born May 13, 1975) is a Mexican actress, singer, dancer, and producer. She is best known for her roles as Soraya Montenegro in ''María la del Barrio'' (1995) and Alejandra Álvarez del Castillo Fernández "La ...
starred as main antagonist. The soap opera was referenced in the 2023 movie ''Blue'' ''Beetle'' with the opening theme making a brief appearance in the movie.


Plot

María Hernández, a humble and uneducated dreamer, lives with her godmother Casilda on the outskirts of Mexico City and works as a picker of recyclable materials in a landfill. On María's 15th birthday, her godmother dies and asks Father Honorio to find a place for María to work and live. María is welcomed by Fernando De la Vega, a wealthy and influential businessman, who teaches her manners and treats her as family. However, his wife Victoria and maid Carlota despise María upon meeting her. Luis Fernando, the eldest son of the De la Vega family, is dumped by his girlfriend Brenda and vows to avoid emotional involvement with women, choosing instead to toy with them. He initially engages with María for this purpose but ends up falling in love with her. Soraya Montenegro, Victoria's boastful and proud niece, is in love with Luis Fernando and wants to marry him. She despises María and calls her "marginal." María gradually earns the friendship and trust of the mansion's residents and staff, including Victoria, who changes her attitude, Lupe the housekeeper, and the younger De la Vega children, Vladimir and Vanessa. Soraya exploits a drunk Luis Fernando, takes him to bed, and presents a fake pregnancy test, forcing him to marry her despite his love for María. To forget Luis Fernando, María dates Vladimir and takes etiquette classes from Doña Caro, hired by Don Fernando. Luis Fernando matures, stops drinking, and starts working at his father's company. He becomes suspicious of Soraya's pregnancy, and she then claims to have had a miscarriage. Soraya moves into the De la Vega mansion with her nanny, Calixta, who has cared for her since childhood. Soraya frequently fights with María and wants to kill her. Calixta, who is a healer, helps Soraya by putting poisonous weeds in María's water, causing María to fall ill and be hospitalized. María discovers the cause of her illness. Calixta reveals to Soraya that she is her real mother, leading Soraya to angrily kick her out of the mansion. Soraya's lover, Osvaldo, learns of the evil plan and threatens to expose her unless she pays him. In a violent altercation, Soraya tries to kill Osvaldo but ends up falling from a window and is presumed dead. Meanwhile, Luis Fernando and María plan to marry, but a jealous Vladimir decides not to attend the wedding. During their marriage, Luis Fernando suspects María and his brother Vladimir are lovers. When Vladimir visits the mansion to apologize for missing the wedding, Luis Fernando sees them embracing, leading to a misunderstanding and distancing himself from both. The De la Vega family temporarily moves to Spain, leaving María alone. She becomes pregnant and finds support from Lupe, the housekeeper. During her pregnancy, she suffers from bipolar disorder and fever. Just before giving birth, Luis Fernando files for divorce, prompting María to leave the mansion. She gives birth to a son, Fernando, in a hospital and, mentally unbalanced, wanders the streets with him. She unintentionally gives the baby to a woman named Agripina. Luis Fernando finds María in a mental hospital and is told their son died. He adopts a baby girl named María de los Ángeles ("Tita"), Veronica's biological daughter. María searches for her lost son, leaving Tita with Luis Fernando daily. Meanwhile, Lupe hires her deceitful goddaughter Penélope to care for Tita. Penélope falls in love with Luis Fernando, and they become lovers. María discovers the affair, fires Penélope, and files for divorce. Luis Fernando apologizes, and María forgives him. Fifteen years later, Fernando (Nando), now a lottery vendor, tries to steal money from María's house to buy medicine for his mother, Agripina, who is hospitalized. He is caught by María and Luis Fernando. Despite Nando's explanation, Luis Fernando takes him to the police. María convinces her husband to let Nando go. Later, María visits the hospital, recognizes Agripina, and learns she doesn't remember her. Concerned for Nando, María offers him a job at her house. María supports her son Nando while hiding the truth about their relationship. Tita, now fifteen, mistakenly believes Nando is her mother's lover and tries to expose them. Penélope and her husband, José María "Papacito," who live in the same apartment as Nando, blackmail María by threatening to reveal Tita's adoption and the false affair unless they are paid. Finally, tired of Tita's misconceptions, María reveals to her that Nando is her lost son. After María reveals to Nando that he is her son, he moves in with the De la Vega family. Luis Fernando, unaware of Nando's true identity, believes María brought her lover into their home and attempts to kill him. As he fires his gun, María screams that Nando is their son, leading to a reconciliation with her husband and reuniting Nando with his father. Penélope and José María are subsequently arrested for their crimes. Soraya recovers from her accident and lives in Houston, Texas. She marries billionaire Oscar Montalbán, murders him, and inherits his wealth while caring for his disabled daughter, Alicia. Soraya returns to Mexico seeking revenge on María and the De la Vega family. She initially shows remorse to gain their trust, then seduces Nando, negatively influencing him and turning him against his parents. Nando starts visiting Soraya's mansion, just to get drunk and serve as a sexual object, and eventually meets Alicia and her governess Esperanza, who advise him to stop coming and go home. María suspects Soraya is using Nando. Nando catches Soraya kissing a man named Aldo and leaves her. Soraya becomes depressed, realizing her former lover is now in love with Alicia, and forbids Alicia from seeing him. Soraya arranges a party to reconcile with Nando. During the party, she has a psychotic episode, beats Alicia, hits Esperanza against the wall, and nearly stabs Nando to death with scissors. Alicia is saved by Aldo, and Nando is hospitalized. Both Esperanza and Nando are both left fighting for their lives. María reports Soraya, but she pretends to be innocent. Seeking revenge, Soraya encounters her mother, Calixta, who is now a poor beggar. When Calixta tries to approach her, Soraya pushes her, causing Calixta to hit her head and die. Nando is initially accused of the crime, but María takes the blame and is imprisoned in a women's jail, where she meets with Penélope and someone she never knew before named Gracia. While in prison, María is humiliated and assaulted by inmates and a guard named Rosenda. After Rosenda is fired for assaulting Gracia, a fire breaks out in the prison. María saves Penélope but disappears in the flames and is presumed dead. Penélope, grateful for María's help, decides to change her life after being released. Days later, Dr. Daniel Ordóñez finds María wandering the streets with no memory and takes her in, where she becomes a nanny for his two children. Cecilia, in love with Daniel, confronts María. When Daniel discovers Cecilia was poisoning his daughter to frame María, he throws Cecilia out of the house. After María has worked for weeks in Daniel's home, the prison director informs him that María is alive and possibly suffering from memory loss. Nando and his father eagerly search for María in the streets but are interrupted when Agripina has a heart attack and is taken to the hospital, where they reunite with María. Meanwhile, Soraya, wanted for the murders of Oscar Montalbán and Dr. Mejia, flees from the police. She encounters María and devises a plan to kill her. Disguised as a nurse, Soraya claims to be a friend of the De la Vega family and tells María that Tita is ill, luring her to her cabin. Esperanza and Alicia observe this and contact the De la Vega family. Agripina survives her heart attack. In the cabin, Soraya pushes María against a fireplace wall during a fight. When María awakens, she remembers everything, and a tearful Soraya confesses her crimes, going completely insane. With a pistol in hand, Soraya throws petrol around the cabin. Meanwhile, Soraya's maid reveals her location, and Luis Fernando and the police head to the cabin. Soraya, preferring death over returning to jail, throws a lit match on the ground, setting the cabin on fire. Luis Fernando saves María from the burning cabin, and although María attempts to save Soraya, she is trapped in the flames and burns to death. Two months later, Luis Fernando and María celebrate a new, happy life with their children. Gracia, María's friend from prison, now works as a nanny to Daniel's children. Urbano and Fellipa get together, and Agripina marries Veracruz. Nando dates Alicia, who undergoes surgery and is able to walk, and Tita dates Aldo. María reveals she is pregnant again.


Cast


Extended cast


Awards and nominations


International airing


Philippines

''María la del Barrio'' aired on RPN from October 21, 1996 to July 4, 1997 replacing the rerun of '' Marimar''. The series moved to GMA Network from December 9, 2002 to June 14, 2003 replacing the rerun of ''Marimar'' as well. It reran on One Screen from April 5 to December 17, 2021 and TV5 from July 31 of the same year to January 8, 2022.


Remake

In 2011
ABS-CBN ABS-CBN is a leading Philippine media and content company. It serves as the flagship media brand of ABS-CBN Corporation, a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation. Once the country's largest free-to-air television network, ABS-CBN has since ...
announced that
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 ...
had given them the permit to do a Philippine version of the series. The Philippine remake stars
Erich Gonzales Erika Chryselle Gonzales Gancayco-Lorenzo (born September 20, 1990), better known by her stage name Erich Gonzales (; ), is a Filipino actress. She is a contract artist of ABS-CBN's Star Magic. She started her showbiz career at the age of 14, a ...
as the titular character with
Enchong Dee Ernest Lorenzo "Enchong" Velasquez Dee (, born November 5, 1988) is a Filipino people, Filipino actor, comedian, model, host, swimmer, triathlete, duathlete and writer. Dee is a contract artist of ABS-CBN Corporation, ABS-CBN's Star Magic. ...
as her leading man. Alicia and Nandito were not included in the Philippine remake.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maria la del Barrio 1995 telenovelas 1995 Mexican television series debuts 1996 Mexican television series endings Spanish-language telenovelas Television shows set in Mexico City Television shows set in Paris Television shows set in Brasília Television shows set in Madrid Television shows set in Houston Televisa telenovelas