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Discover Maria Belen‘s Secret, Debuting Monday, January 14, at 3 PM
THE PRODUCERS OF THE SOAP HIT LUZ CLARITA REVOLUTIONIZE
THE WORLD OF SOAP OPERAS WITH A BRAND-NEW STORY
Miami, FL -- Starting Monday, January 14, 2002, at 3:00PM ET/2:00PM CT, Univision celebrates the start of a new year with an all-new soap opera. Afternoons light up with the sparkle of “MARÍA BELÉN”, a family drama produced by Mapat, the production company that shook the world of kids’ soaps by bringing us blockbusters like “Luz Clarita“, “El Niño que vino del Mar” and many other publicly-acclaimed daytime dramas. This time around, we are gripped by a refreshing and original soap opera, whose central theme is a story filled with romance, drama and intrigue, ingeniously combined with humor and children’s mischief.
Making her daytime debut as the leading star of “MARÍA BELÉN” is the charismatic six-year old Danna Paola, auditioning with dozens of other kids who have also received acting and on-camera training at Televisa’s Centro de Enseñanza Artística Infantil (CEAI). Along with the Rabanitos Verdes, a child pop act, Danna Paola also recorded the soap’s theme song, an original composition written by Rubén Zepeda.
Actors Nora Salinas and René Laván play the characters leading the soap’s main romantic storyline. Salinas is best-known for her work as Tía Pelucas in “Carita de Ángel”, and for incarnating the villain in three other shows: “Agujetas de Color de Rosa”, “Rosalinda” and “DKDA”. Her male counterpart is a Cuban-American actor that recently starred in “Azúcar Amarga”, the critically acclaimed feature film directed by León Ichaso. Laván has also played the leading hunk in the popular soap “Enamorada”, produced in Miami for Venevisión.
The villains in “MARIA BELEN”, who will antagonize Salinas and Laván’s characters, are masterfully played by Maya Mishalska and Harry Geithner. Mishalska is a popular actress who in this story plays a wicked and jealous woman, and Geithner, who in the soap production “Te Sigo Amando”, gave life to Lencho, the villain, has also worked in primetime TV as the host of “A Que No Te Atreves”, a popular contest show. Along with these talented stars, Mapat has gathered a cast of fine actors and actresses, among them, veterans Antonio Medellín, Xavier Marc, Mary Paz Banquells, Alejandra Barros, Marcela Paez, and with special appearances by René Casados and Alfredo Adames. As an interesting aside, Danna will be accompanied by Cristiane Aguinaga, daughter of the popular soccer player Alex Aguinaga, and a host of other child stars from Televisa’s CEAI, who were also selected for supporting roles in the production.
“MARIA BELEN” is the self-titled story of an adorable little girl (Danna Paola) whose adoptive parents die in a tragic accident and is left in the care of her ruthless and greedy uncle, Rogelio (Harry Geithner). In order to inherit their estate, the wicked uncle had secretly planned the demise of Alfonso, his half-brother, (Alfredo Adame) and Patricia, Alfonso’s wife (Mary Paz Banquells). Unexpectedly, María Belén survives the tragedy and becomes the sole beneficiary of the García Pineda fortune. To get rid of the girl, malicious Rogelio sends her away to a boarding school. As she is taken away, María Belén holds on tight to her most valuable possession, a small trunk belonging to her adoptive mother filled with papers and family pictures. In this trunk, the little girl keeps all her secrets and hopes… as well as the memories of the short time when she felt the loving warmth of her adoptive parents.
A few days after giving birth, María Belén’s biological mother, Alejandra (Patricia Ramírez), dies, while the little girl’s biological father, Pablo (René Laván), has left the country without knowing of her pregnancy. On his return, María Belén’s father, who has never stopped loving Alejandra, begins searching for her, but the sad news of her death cast a shadow on his life, and now, his only hope is to find his daughter alive. Unfortunately, his efforts are futile but his search takes him to Ana del Río (Nora Salinas), a psychotherapist who provides him with emotional support. Soon, their friendship evolves into a romantic relationship but Pablo feels he has no right to start a new life until he finds his daughter.
Meanwhile, María Belén faces a number of challenges at school, many of them at the cruel hands of the School Principal, Ursula (Maya Mishalska), a bitter spinster that earlier on had been rejected by Pablo and blames him for her life’s failures. When Ursula discovers Pablo is María Belén’s father, she directs all her resentment at the little girl. Yet, María Belén also experiences some happy moments with her new-found friends, including her classmates Socorro (Marijose Valverde) and Romina (Irina Wilkins); the old man Refugio (Antonio Medellín), who works at a nearby ranch; and the son of the ranch’s owner, Bruno, (Yurem Rojas), and a child that compensates for his loneliness by going in these amazing adventures that turn María Belén’s world upside down. The production of this soap opera was completed in five months and shot on location, in the town of Cuernavaca and Mexico City) and at Televisa San Ángel’s studios (Forum 11). This Monday, January 14, at 3:00PM ET/2:00PM CT, don’t miss the Season’s Premiere of “MARÍA BELÉN”. Only on Univision, el Hogar de las Estrellas.
Univision Communications Inc. (NYSE: UVN), the leading Spanish-language television broadcast company in the United States, reaches 95 percent of U.S. Hispanic households through its owned-and-operated stations, 32 broadcast affiliates and 1,164 cable affiliates nationwide. The company's operations include Univision Network, the most-watched Spanish-language television network in the U.S.; Univision Television Group, which owns and operates 15 full-power and 7 low-power television stations, including full-power stations in 11 of the top 15 U.S. Hispanic markets; Galavision, the country's leading Spanish-language cable network; Univision Online, the premier Internet company in the U.S. Hispanic market reaching 80% of the nation's Spanish-speaking online audience at www.univision.com; the Univision Music Group, which includes a 50% interest in leading Mexican music publishing and recording company Disa Records; and Telefutura Network, a new Spanish-language network scheduled to launch in January 2002. Univision is headquartered in Los Angeles, with network operations in Miami and television stations and sales offices in major cities throughout the United States.
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Cristina Plotkin
Univision Network
305-463-4610
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