Best-loved Thalia telenovelas

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. The pioneer show Marimar paved the way for more foreign shows to be introduced in the Philippine market.

On the downside, Mexican telenovela craze also became a butt of jokes for others. Remember the badly dubbed episodes wherein the voices don’t exactly match the character’s lines? Or how about the spoof of TV characters such as Sergio Santibañez with his chest hair peeking out from 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 a tomboy while growing up? Thalia, whose real name is Adriana Thalia Sodi Miranda, preferred playing sports with boys and being outdoors. She became more feminine when she enrolled in a school to be trained in classical ballet. (more…)

13 comments September 27, 2007