SENTRO RIZAL SAN FRANCISCO HOSTS SPECIAL WATCH PARTY OF HIT GMA TV SERIES “MARIA CLARA AT IBARRA”
SAN FRANCISCO, USA – The December rains did not deter Filipino Americans in the San Francisco Bay Area to join the GMA Pinoy TV watch party of the groundbreaking fantasy portal TV series “Maria Clara at Ibarra,” based on the novel “Noli Me Tángere” by Philippine national hero Dr. Jose P. Rizal, on 3 December 2022.
Held at the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco’s Sentro Rizal, the hub for Philippine culture and the arts in the Bay Area, the special watch party was part of the Consulate’s commemoration this December of the 126th anniversary of Rizal’s martyrdom, and was held simultaneously with similar screenings in Los Angeles and New York City.
Grade schoolchildren from the Filipino Education Center (FEC) Galing Bata Bilingual Program at Bessie Carmichael School in San Francisco are among those who attended the special watch party, wearing their best Filipiniana attire.
“Maria Clara at Ibarra” Creative Consultant Suzette Doctolero, Head Writer J-mee Katanyag, and stars Barbie Forteza (Klay), Dennis Trillo (Crisostomo Ibarra), Julie Anne San Jose (Maria Clara), Rocco Nacino (Elias) and Juancho Triviño (Padre Salvi) virtually took part in the special watch party.
Apart from the 40-minute screening of some of the trending scenes of “Maria Clara at Ibarra,” the special watch party featured a mini Filipiniana fashion participated in by the audience from Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco, and a talkback with the cast and crew of the show.
During the talkback, San Francisco Entertainment Commissioner and Filipino American Arts Exposition President Al Perez asked why GMA created “Maria Clara at Ibarra” only now. In response, Creative Consultant Doctolero said that the show follows a tradition in GMA of producing historical and cultural drama series for primetime TV, citing programs such as “Amaya,” “Indio,” “Sahaya,” and “Legal Wives.”
In an interview during the talkback, Vice Consul Adrian Baccay said that the special watch party of “Maria Clara at Ibarra” has allowed Filipinos and Filipino Americans, especially those who were born and raised in the U.S., to reconnect to the history, culture and heritage of their homeland.
“Maria Clara At Ibarra,” which premiered on GMA Channel 7 in the Philippines in October 2022, follows the story of Maria Clara “Klay” Infantes, a nursing student from “generation Z” who gets transported into the setting of “Noli Me Tángere” and meets the novel’s characters such as Maria Clara, Crisostomo Ibarra, Padre Damaso, and Sisa. END
