Maria Clara at Ibarra

Casting

On July 8, 2022, it was announced that Barbie Forteza, Dennis Trillo, and Julie Anne San Jose were cast in an upcoming historical portal fantasy drama based on José Rizal's novels.^[125] The rest of the supporting cast was announced on August 3, which was followed by the first teaser on September 13.^[126][127]

On January 16, 2023, the cast for the new characters in the El filibusterismo arc was announced, which included Khalil Ramos, Pauline Mendoza, Kim de Leon and Julia Pascual.^[128][129]

Costumes

Over 200 costumes were created for the series, including the pañuelo and traje de mestiza.^[133] The costumes were designed by Janra Raroque, Roko Arceo and Mikaella Borinaga. According to Raroque, seventy percent of the series' preparation went into researching for the production design, which was supervised by Gino Gonzales, the author of the book Fashionable Filipinas. During the initial costume concept designing, they focused on historical accuracy, avoiding neon colors and traveling to Lumban and Bulacan to find piña fabric manufacturers and designers respectively. Due to the rarity of expert Filipino costume designers in pre-colonial and Spanish period costumes, the stylists faced difficulties in searching for those in menswear clothes and jewelries. The character Elias's kattukong or tabungaw was crafted by Ilocano hatter Teofilo Garcia; they also had to find craftsmen specializing in gold tamburin and repoussé.^[134]

Each cast member had to wear multiple layers of clothing for their costumes - Trillo had to wear at least three layers. San Jose wore hair extensions to keep her hair styled up. The folds on Forteza's costumes change depending on the year, from the late 1860s to the early 1870s. San Jose and Forteza also learned the art of Abaniko for the series.^[133]

Ratings

According to AGB Nielsen Philippines' Nationwide Urban Television Audience Measurement People in television homes, the pilot episode of Maria Clara & Ibarra earned a 15.1% rating.^[135] The final episode scored a 14.3% rating.^[136]

Critical response

The cast has also received good reviews for their acting, including Juancho Triviño.^[137] Triviño would later receive his first acting award nomination for his role at the 3rd Annual TAG Awards Chicago.^[138] Journalist Ricky Gallardo commended Barbie Forteza, who plays the main protagonist Klay, for evolving from "a dollish young star to a delightfully divine actress", regarding her as the brightest star of the season.^[139] Andrea Torres, who plays Sisa, received positive reception for her depiction of the character during a six-minute scene of her descent into insanity.^[140] Dennis Trillo, the actor for one of the show's main character and Noli Me Tangere's main protagonist Crisostomo Ibarra, was also applauded for his delivery of the character's speech on patriotism in the series' seventieth episode.^[141]

Historian Xiao Chua stated the series' adaptation of Rizal's works despite some departure from the original novels, commending the addition of Klay as a character that "gives excitement."^[142] In a column for The Manila Times, he also described Torres's portrayal of Sisa as a performance that "made [him] cry so much" and "[feel] her pain and her love, [which] is what the founders of the nation felt reading Rizal for the first time."^[143]

Since its release, there has been a growing interest in the Noli Me Tángere and El filibusterismo novels among Filipino teachers and students.^[144][145]

Due to its success, the series was extended for more episodes, airing its final episode from February 17 to February 24, 2023.^[146]