When Thalia arrived in the Philippines in August 1996, the media frenzy caused by the Mexican superstar's visit was surpassed only by Pope John Paul II's visit a year earlier in 1995.
The darling of the Filipino people invaded local television via her Mexican telenovelas that made Thalia a household name. RPN-9 made a killing when it made the move to dub foreign shows into Tagalized programs that sparked a revolution in the boob tube. Marimar paved the way for more foreign shows to capture the Philippine market.
On the downside, the Mexican telenovela craze also became a butt of jokes. Remember the badly dubbed episodes wherein the voice-over didn't match the character's lines? Or the spoof on Sergio Santibañez with his chest hair peeking out of his shirt?
Despite these shortcomings, Filipinos fell in love with the oppressed characters played by the sensual Thalia in her telenovelas. But did you know that the sexy actress was actually tomboyish while growing up? Thalia, whose real name is Adriana Thalia Sodi Miranda, preferred playing sports with boys and being outdoors. She turned feminine when she enrolled in a dance school and took training in classical ballet.
Thalia grew up to become a pop singer for the group Timbiriche and she worked her way up from playing bit roles in soap operas to becoming the queen of telenovelas.
A producer named Valentin Pimstein approached Thalia sometime in the ‘90s and asked her to do a trilogy of soap operas with the lead characters all named Maria. The first one, Maria Mercedes, came out in 1992 and immediately broke all ratings records. Two years later, Thalia did Marimar, and once again it topped TV ratings lists. The last installment, Maria la del Barrio, established her as an international superstar. From then on, Thalia's name became synonymous with Mexico in more than 120 countries worldwide.
Here is PEP's refresher course on Thalia's most memorable Mexicanovelas. Be forewarned though, there are spoilers ahead.
Maria Mercedes (1992). In the first installment of the famed "Maria" trilogy, Thalia performed with her sister, Laura Zapata, who was cast in the TV series as Malvina del Olmo. Maria Mercedes is a professional street urchin and lottery ticket vendor who struggles to raise her ungrateful siblings. Abandoned by their mother, she and her siblings suffer from the neglect of their drunkard father.
Maria Mercedes is spotted by Santiago del Olmo, a wealthy man who lives in a posh village in Mexico City. The dying man leaves his house and fortune to the street urchin instead of giving his his materialistic sister-in-law, Malvina, an inheritance. Santiago concocts a plan to marry Maria but the young girl falls in love with Malvina's son Jose Luis, who happens to be impotent.
A marriage proposal, a grandiose wedding, a last will and testament, and a conniving plan by a crazed Malvina are the elements that turn the lives of everyone in the del Olmo household upside down.
Marimar (1994). Who can forget the seaside beauty Marimar and her story of sweet revenge? Marimar is a poor girl who lives by the sea with her grandparents. When she is caught red-handed while trying to steal produce from Hacienda Ibañez, the young master Sergio Santibañez (Eduardo Capetillo) defends Marimar. He is attracted to her sweet, innocent look despite her untidiness.
To spite his father Renato, his young stepmother and ex-girlfriend Angelica, Sergio marries the "dirty girl from the beach." When he leaves to earn money for the two of them, Angelica frames Marimar and tells the police that she stole a bracelet from her. While Marimar serves time in jail, Angelica orders a servant to burn down Marimar's seaside hut, killing the helpless grandparents. As a final blow, Angelica forges Sergio's handwriting in a letter to Marimar, ostensibly declaring that he never loved her and now demands a divorce. Marimar vows to exact revenge on Sergio, his father, and Angelica.
A pregnant Marimar relocates to Mexico City where she becomes the maid of a wealthy older man, Gustavo Aldama. She begins studying and receiving lessons on how to be a refined lady. She assumes the identity of "Bella Aldama" and later discovers that she is actually Gustavo's heir.
Marimar crosses paths again with Sergio and his family, leading her to plot the downfall of her enemies. She manages to bankrupt Sergio's father and humiliate his stepmother Angelica, leaving them virtually homeless, while Marimar becomes the proud owner of all her adversary's properties. Sergio divorces Marimar while Angelica dies in a horrible car accident.
In order to keep his finances afloat, Sergio marries a rich woman named Innocencia. She develops a brain tumor and agrees to divorce Sergio, leaving him free to remarry his great love, Marimar.
