Thalía and Itatí Cantoral Hanging Out 30 Years Later Is Getting Us in Our ’María La del Barrio” Feels
Who else can remember rushing home from school to eat cut-up fruit and watch deliciously-dramatic, best telenovela ever “María la del Barrio”? While we thought we knew the Thalía-led show like the back of our hands, there’s one recent detail we’re shook about: famous antagonists María and Soraya are actually best friends in real life.
Thalía’s character María went through struggle after struggle all in the name of her star-crossed love for Luis Fernando— and the Mexican novela was high-key the most dramatic show we ever watched. Filled with fake-positive pregnancy tests, a makeover that makes “The Princess Diaries” pale in comparison, and ice-cold revenge (mua ha ha), the novela still lives rent-free in our minds.
It’s no secret actresses Thalía and Itatí Cantoral played antagonists on the show, with poor María struggling against Cantoral’s evil character Soraya, who tricks Luis Fernando into marriage and sets off a shock-filled tailspin.
The 90-episode show takes viewers on a wild ride through their enemy lines, with Soraya faking a pregnancy to force Luis Fernando into marrying her, plotting to poison and kill María, and eventually falling from an apartment window— only to come back from her presumed death more than a decade later. We never said “María la del Barrio” was for the weak at heart!
Still, it seems like the actresses deserve an Oscar for their hateful performances — because they actually adore each other in real life. As reported by Telemundo, Thalía and Cantoral remained close friends well after the show’s 1996 wrap date, just recently taking the time to meet up in New York City and record a TikTok video.
Thalía posted a TikTok video of the two telenovela stars having fun in what seems to be like a bar or restaurant, singing along to Thalía’s latest song “Psycho B**ch.” The “Marimar” celeb starts off lip-syncing to the lyrics: “Oops I warned you, I’m a bit unpredictable,” passing the camera over to Cantoral, who continues: “Sort of psycho b**ch.” We’re just wondering — did Thalía write this track with Soraya in mind?
By the end of the video, Cantoral playfully “chokes” Thalía and the two friends laugh, seemingly poking fun at their famous characters’ hate for each other. But it’s clear there’s zero hate in real life: in fact, Thalía reposted the clip on her Instagram page, captioning it with, “When two PSYCHO B**CHES team up… be careful! 🧨🧨🧨.”
Meanwhile, Cantoral posted a photo of their BFF date on her own Instagram page, and was a bit more sentimental with her caption. She wrote, “My beautiful friend, my comadre of the soul ❤️Thank you for this magical afternoon 🧙♀️🌹@thalia.”
Ring the alarms because we need a “María la del Barrio” reboot stat!
