Telenovela "María, la del Barrio" is considered one of the most popular and successful shows, having been broadcasted in over 180 countries. Starring Mexican singer and actress Thalía and actor Fernando Colunga, it followed the life of María Hernández, a 15-year-old scavenger and her struggles to find love.
According to Latin Gossip, a "María, la del Barrio" remake is on the way and the race to find the new "María" has started. The two biggest candidates to follow Thalía's footsteps are former RBD star Maite Perroni and telenovela "La Tempestad" actress Ximena Navarrete.
Perroni recently released her first solo album "Eclipse de Luna" which combines different sounds and styles, including bachata, pop and vallenato. "What I want is to be able to approach different countries of the Latino community, who are part of our essence and culture," said the 30-year-old singer, during an interview with Viva, Nación.com reported.
Perroni released her first single, the bachata-flavored "Tu y Yo," via her Google+ page. Thousands of followers from Greece, Slovenia, Poland, Chile, Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia and many other countries were the first to know of the song's release. "Eclipse de Luna's" first single was a chart success.
The actress confessed it hasn't been hard for her to start her solo career since it was one of her many dreams. "I've been planning this for three years. I was working quietly, while I was shooting telenovelas, waiting for the right moment to start my music career. Now I'm fully committed to my album, I'm happy to do so," said Perroni, according to Nación.com.
Back in February, former Miss Universe 2010, Ximena Navarrete, was cast as the protagonist of "La Tempestad," beating actresses like Sandra Echeverria, Silvia Navarro, Myriam Abreu, Angelique Boyer and even co-star William Levy's girlfriend, Elizabeth Gutierrez.
Since then, rumors of Navarrete and Levy having an affair were spread by the website of TV network Univision. Since the two actors have a relationship in the soap, they perform many love scenes together. According to Basta!, they may have transferred their on-set romance to reality. Rumors indicated that during "La Tempestad" shooting, both Navarrete and Levy were affectionate to each other, even when it wasn't on the script.