Erich Gonzales Excited on Playing Maria la del Barrio

With the August 15 TV premiere of the Philippine remake of the hit Mexican drama Maria La Del Barrio, Erich Gonzales admitted she was very excited about finally seeing how one of her biggest projects turns out. “Lahat ng hirap, pagod at puyat namin worth it naman and masayang-masaya kami sa naging outcome. Sana talaga suportahan ng mga tao ang Maria La del Barrio. Talagang pinaghirapan namin lahat yun,” she said.

In the series, Erich plays the role of Maria Fernandez, a naïve yet strong-willed girl who dreams of finally meeting her Prince Charming after leading a happy yet poverty-stricken life. Playing the role of Erich’s love interest on the show is Enchong Dee, who has been Erich’s perennial onscreen partner. As revealed in the teaser trailer shown to the media during the event, Erich and Enchong had a lot of kissing scenes in the series, a noticeable change from their past projects together. But Erich is quick to say that the show is not going to be all out provocative. “Hindi siya yung sexy na bastusin. Iba siya. Funny rin ito at may comedy din kaming dalawa dito. Siyempre hindi rin naman papayagan ng ABS-CBN at ng management na gumawa ng something na hindi naman kapala-palabas,” she said.

The 20-year-old actress admitted that she and Enchong already filmed a somewhat intimate scene for the series. “Doon kasi nasa trailer yung scene na yun na parang pumatong siya sa akin tapos parang mahihila yung damit ko. Nasa highway kami nun sa Tagaytay. Andami-daming mga sasakyan dun pero masaya ako dahil kumportable ako kay Enchong tapos si Direk Rory B. Quintos din tinanong din niya ako kung okay na ganun,” she explained.

The pretty morena also admitted that she and Enchong have become so close to the point that she is comfortable doing any kind of scenes with him already. “With Enchong wala po talagang hesitation, walang awkwardness, wala pong ganun. Basta with Enchong kasi, madami na kaming projects na napagsamahan and sa bawat project na iyon, mas lalo lang naming nakikilala ang isa’t isa. Talagang nag-go-grow kami and wala ng kahit anong inhibitions. Hindi siya nag-te-take advantage. Napaka-gentleman niya. Perfect gentleman. Basta napaka-maalaga ni Enchong. Hindi siya nambabastos,” she shared during the Maria La Del Barrio presscon held last July 27 at the Dolphy theater inside the ABS-CBN compound.

Erich also revealed the agreement she and Enchong had when they were first paired together as a love team. “We made a promise talaga na hindi kami ma-i-in love sa isa’t isa and tutuparin namin yung promise na yun. Dahil mahirap magtrabaho na may involved na boyfriend-girlfriend, ganyan. So happy naman kami at okay naman kami sa trabaho,” she admitted. But the Maria La Del Barrio star did admit that there is still the possibility of them ending up together off-screen as well. “Napaka-lovable naman ni Enchong. In this project, naging sobrang close kami. Hindi lang kami ni Enchong pero lahat talaga sa show kasi sabay-sabay kaming kumakain, ganun,” she said.

Source: www.push.com.ph