MarÃÂa la del Barrio (Lit: Maria From the Hood/English title: Humble Maria) is a 1995 Mexican television drama series broadcast by Canal de Las Estrellas. The series is based on 1979 Mexican drama series Los ricos también lloran. Directed by Beatriz Sheridan and Marta Luna, it stars ThalÃÂa, Fernando Colunga and ItatàCantoral. It aired from August 14, 1995 to April 26, 1996, replacing Si Dios me quita la vida and was replaced by La antorcha encendida.
It is considered the last of the unofficial TrilogÃÂa de las MarÃÂas of telenovelas starring ThalÃÂa (after MarÃÂa Mercedes and Marimar). MarÃÂa la del Barrio is considered one of the world's most popular and successful shows ever, having been broadcast in over 180 countries.
MarÃÂa 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 MarÃÂa's 15th birthday, her godmother dies and asks Father Honorio to find a place for MarÃÂa to work and live. MarÃÂa 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 MarÃÂa 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 MarÃÂa 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 MarÃÂa and calls her "marginal."
MarÃÂa 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 MarÃÂa. To forget Luis Fernando, MarÃÂa 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 MarÃÂa and wants to kill her. Calixta, who is a healer, helps Soraya by putting poisonous weeds in MarÃÂa's water, causing MarÃÂa to fall ill and be hospitalized. MarÃÂa 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 MarÃÂa plan to marry, but a jealous Vladimir decides not to attend the wedding.
During their marriage, Luis Fernando suspects MarÃÂa 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 MarÃÂa 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 MarÃÂa 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 MarÃÂa in a mental hospital and is told their son died. He adopts a baby girl named MarÃÂa de los ÃÂngeles ("Tita"), Veronica's biological daughter. MarÃÂa 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. MarÃÂa discovers the affair, fires Penélope, and files for divorce. Luis Fernando apologizes, and MarÃÂa forgives him.
Fifteen years later, Fernando (Nando), now a lottery vendor, tries to steal money from MarÃÂa's house to buy medicine for his mother, Agripina, who is hospitalized. He is caught by MarÃÂa and Luis Fernando. Despite Nando's explanation, Luis Fernando takes him to the police. MarÃÂa convinces her husband to let Nando go. Later, MarÃÂa visits the hospital, recognizes Agripina, and learns she doesn't remember her. Concerned for Nando, MarÃÂa offers him a job at her house.
MarÃÂa 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 MarÃÂa "Papacito," who live in the same apartment as Nando, blackmail MarÃÂa by threatening to reveal Tita's adoption and the false affair unless they are paid. Finally, tired of Tita's misconceptions, MarÃÂa reveals to her that Nando is her lost son.
After MarÃÂa 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 MarÃÂa brought her lover into their home and attempts to kill him. As he fires his gun, MarÃÂa screams that Nando is their son, leading to a reconciliation with her husband and reuniting Nando with his father. Penélope and José MarÃÂa 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 MarÃÂa 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. MarÃÂa 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. MarÃÂa 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 MarÃÂa 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, MarÃÂa 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. MarÃÂa saves Penélope but disappears in the flames and is presumed dead. Penélope, grateful for MarÃÂa's help, decides to change her life after being released. Days later, Dr. Daniel Ordóñez finds MarÃÂa 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 MarÃÂa. When Daniel discovers Cecilia was poisoning his daughter to frame MarÃÂa, he throws Cecilia out of the house. After MarÃÂa has worked for weeks in Daniel's home, the prison director informs him that MarÃÂa is alive and possibly suffering from memory loss.
Nando and his father eagerly search for MarÃÂa in the streets but are interrupted when Agripina has a heart attack and is taken to the hospital, where they reunite with MarÃÂa. Meanwhile, Soraya, wanted for the murders of Oscar Montalbán and Dr. Mejia, flees from the police. She encounters MarÃÂa 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 MarÃÂa 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 MarÃÂa against a fireplace wall during a fight. When MarÃÂa 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 MarÃÂa from the burning cabin, and although MarÃÂa attempts to save Soraya, she is trapped in the flames and burns to death. Two months later, Luis Fernando and MarÃÂa celebrate a new, happy life with their children. Gracia, MarÃÂa's friend from prison, now works as a nanny to Daniel's children. Urbano and Felipa get together, and Agripina marries Veracruz. Nando dates Alicia, who undergoes surgery and is able to walk, and Tita dates Aldo. MarÃÂa reveals she is pregnant again.
MarÃÂa la del Barrio aired on RPN from October 21, 1996 to July 4, 1997 replacing Marimar. The series moved to GMA Network from December 9, 2002 to June 14, 2003, replacing Marimar and was replaced by Rosalinda, One Screen from April 5 to December 17, 2021 and TV5 from July 31, 2021 to January 8, 2022, replacing MarÃÂa Mercedes and was replaced by the rerun of Marimar. It aired its rerun on TV5 from May 30 to October 13, 2022, replacing the rerun of Marimar and was replaced by the rerun of Ang Panday.
In 2011 ABS-CBN announced that Televisa had given them the permit to do a Philippine version of the series. The Philippine remake stars Erich Gonzales as the titular character with Enchong Dee as her leading man. Alicia and Nandito were not included in the Philippine remake.
The soap opera was referenced in the 2023 movie Blue Beetle with the opening theme making a brief appearance in the movie.