I first wrote about the Filipino-made series Maria Clara at Ibarra last month to highlight the important lessons which are relevant to Women’s Month. You may read it here. Maria Clara at Ibarra (MCI) is a fantasy series based on the novels of Dr. Jose Rizal (Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo) set during the Spanish Period in the Philippines.

Today, April 14, 2023, I’m happy to share that this series can now be watched on Netflix in the Philippines. All the episodes are also available already for watching unlike when it was first shown on Philippine TV wherein you need to wait for the next episode. This series has been popular in the past months when it was piloted by GMA Network. Since then, the series has gained more fans, supporters, praise, and recognition.

It won Best Primetime Drama Series and Culturally Relevant TV Series in the 2023 Platinum Stallion National Media Awards. It won Best TV Series in the 7th GEMS Awards 2023. It won Best Educational Program in the Gawad Banyuhay 2022, Pop TV Youth Educational Program of the Year in the PPOP Awards 2022, and Most Outstanding Teleserye in The 5th Gawad Lasallianeta. The series’ Director, Zig Dulay, also won as Best TV Director of the Year at the Gawad Dangal Filipino Awards 2022.

I really liked the series and I felt a bit sad when I finished watching it. Thus, when I heard the news last month that it will be shown on Netflix this April, I was excited. I plan to watch it again with my eldest child who is now in junior high school. I was pleased to know that it can be watched with subtitles. This could help him understand some of the words he isn’t familiar with.

My hope is that like many of Maria Clara at Ibarra’s viewers, my eldest child would be moved to read our Nationa Hero’s novels with enthusiasm and that he will grow to become more nationalistic.

Now, let me enumerate my reasons for giving this series a thumbs up and why I am recommending this.

1. Beautiful Costumes & Cinematography – I loved the costumes of the characters, the setting, the locations chosen, and the use of CGI or computer-generated imagery to enhance the chosen structures and locations. All of these help transport the audience back in time (to the time of the Spanish occupation of the Philippines) and into the novel by Dr. Jose Rizal. It’s obvious that the production did not scrimp on these things because they really paid attention even to the little details. I learned that they searched far and wide for people who will help them recreate the attire of people during this era.
2. Engaging & Gripping Plot – Although I already studied and knew what the story was about because this was part of our high school curriculum, the writers were able to craft the plot in such a way that there is always an element of suspense and surprise that will make you look forward to the next episode. It was difficult not to keep on watching one episode after another because of how they planned the plot. I, honestly, slept late many nights while binge-watching this series on GMA’s website. But when I watch this with my eldest, I will savor each episode with him and discuss each one after so that we could mine the lessons from every episode. There is so much to discuss and learn for both kids and adults.
3. Good Acting – Many of the actors and actresses did a good job in the roles they were given. Most notable for me were the lead actor, Dennis Trillo, who played Crisostomo Ibarra and Simoun, and lead actress, Barbie Forteza, who was the modern-day Maria Clara. No wonder, they won awards for their respective roles in the series, together with some of their co-actors. Among those who also won awards were Juancho Triviño (who played Padre Salvi), Andrea Torres (who played Sisa), and David Licauco (who played Fidel). Julie Anne San Jose and Rocco Nacino got nominations for their respective roles, too. It’s obvious that the actors and actresses did a lot of preparation before taking on their roles. Otherwise, they would not be able to deliver their lines well (in Spanish and Filipino) and give justice to the characters in the novel. The novel itself is full of drama. But the actors and actresses made the issues prevalent during the Spanish time move, compel and challenge the viewers to do something after watching. That’s how powerful their acting as a group has been.

I hope that this history-based fantasy series would inspire more people not just to study our history but that more shows and movies of this caliber, relevance, and kind would be made. The Filipino audience deserves and needs this kind of show, meaningful, inspiring, and something we could be proud of.