‘Maria Clara  at Ibarra’ marks milestone achievements in its first 2 weeks

CEBU, Philippines — GMA Entertainment Group’s newest primetime masterpiece “Maria Clara at Ibarra” is undeniably making headlines since its premiere last October 3. The historical portal fantasy series not only topped the rating charts but is also included in Twitter’s list of top trending topics in its first two weeks.

“Maria Clara at Ibarra” defeated its rival show “Darna”, which only managed to get a combined average people rating of 7.2 percent from Oct. 3 to 7 (TV5, A2Z, Kapamilya Channel, and Cinemo). Furthermore, Darna only posted a 6.9 percent combined average people rating from Oct. 10 to 14.

Netizens could not help but admire the educational yet entertaining story of “Maria Clara at Ibarra”, which is bannered by 2016 Fantasporto International Best Actress and Kapuso Primetime Princess Barbie Forteza as Klay, singer-actress-musician Julie Anne San Jose as Maria Clara, and Kapuso Drama King Dennis Trillo as Ibarra. It tackles not only the rich history of the Philippines, but also some of the most crucial issues in the society.

“They discussed education, labor, misogyny, and ethnocentrism in a span of three episodes. GMA is brave enough to tackle feminism in the recent episode of MCI. This only manifests that they are taking our free TV experience into a more realistic point of view,” a netizen tweeted.

Another netizen commended Dennis’ portrayal of the iconic role of Crisostomo Ibarra, “Super deserve! Wala nang ibang magfi-fit sa character na ito kung hindi si Sir Dennis. Another ‘Best Actor’ award in the future! Ang husay gumanap from head to toe, dama talaga ang vibe ni Ibarra.”

The program also depicts more relatable problems as seen with the character of Klay who came from a broken family and had to grow up with an abusive stepfather. Barbie is earning rave reviews for her outstanding portrayal as the Gen Z Maria Clara.

“This is the series that I am waiting for. It talks about real human struggles. Barbie’s story is very realistic and her lines were so on point. Grabe ‘yung batuhan nila ng lines ng prof niya and ‘yung between sa kanila ng nanay niya. She deserves an award for this,” another netizen remarked.

Viewers were also impressed with the show’s opening scene where Maria Clara was about to jump off the roof of a church. It was indeed a surprising start as Julie Anne delivered her strong, powerful, and emotional lines, both in Filipino and Spanish.

Fans and netizens also stay tuned on social media for snippets and replays of the series. In fact, it has already accumulated 130 million views and counting on TikTok, while thousands of people watch its livestream on GMA Network’s YouTube account every night. The first six episodes also received over 1 million views each on GMA Network’s Facebook page, another milestone for the GMA primetime series.

Even movie junkies, K-Drama enthusiasts, and some teachers and elementary students are hooked on the hit program. According to the movie review blog ‘Maganda Ba Movie,’ “May magaling na cinematography yung serye na ito. Buhay na buhay ang camera work and movements kaya hindi boring panoorin ang bawat eksena. Kapanapanabik na subaybayan ang mga pagbabago na maaaring mangyari (kung meron man) sa istorya ng aklat ni Dr. Jose Rizal.”

One netizen also praised how the production team paid attention to the smallest details of Dr. Jose Rizal’s novels. “Fonda Francesca de Lala Ary is a famous hotel during the Spanish period in the Philippines. Dr. Jose Rizal may have stayed in this hotel during his stay in Manila as a student and he mentioned this place in Noli Me Tangere.” The said hotel can be seen in the show where Ibarra stayed after his sojourn in Europe.

A video of Grade 3 students watching the show during recess went viral. Teacher Charlaine Alyssa Sese shared this wonderful moment. “Pinagbigyan ko po silang manood kasi may mga batang walang TV sa bahay. Although wala pa silang Noli Me Tangere, kahit papano nagkaka-idea na sila sa Noli. Ang dami nila tanong about sa past. Nakakatuwa lang kasi seryoso silang nanonood talagang interested sila kaya vinideo ko.”