Simplemente María

Simplemente María (Simply María) is a Peruvian telenovela. It ran from 1969 to 1970. It starred Saby Kamalich as a woman who goes from a struggling single mother trying to improve herself to being a married fashion designer. The show is cited as increasing interest in sewing and adult literacy. Saby Kamalich would be presented with a gold sewing machine by the Singer Corporation as the show increased their sales in Peru.

Other characters included Esteban (Braulio Castillo), who began as her teacher and ended the series as her husband after a long relationship, while Ricardo Blume played both the man who seduced her and the son the relationship produced. The show was seen as an encouragement for upward mobility. It also dealt with issues of class and ethnicity. It has been said that it was "maybe the most popular television program of all time in Peru," and it also had fans in the rest of Latin America.

The fictional wedding that took place at a small church in Lima in a 1969 episode became one of the most important and controversial events that year, with over 12,000 fans being present at the church and its surroundings.

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