María Mercedes () is a Mexican telenovela produced by Valentín Pimstein for Televisa in 1992. It was the first of the "Marías" telenovela trilogy, being followed by Marimar and María la del Barrio. María Mercedes is remake on the telenovela Rina which in turn is based on the radionovela Enamorada by Inés Rodena.
Thalía and Arturo Peniche starred as protagonists, while Laura Zapata starred as main antagonist. Fernando Ciangherotti starred as special participation.
Plot
Maria Mercedes is a poor young woman who lives with her father and three siblings after being abandoned by her ambitious mother. Because of the lack of support from her perennially drunk father, she is forced to raise her brothers and sister on her own, working in the streets of Mexico City selling lottery tickets and juggling in a clown costume.
Santiago del Olmo is very sick and knows that he is dying. One morning when he is in the garden, he sees María selling lottery tickets in the street. He comes up with the idea to marry her just to upset his avaricious aunt Malvina after his death as a personal revenge. He gains Maria's trust and friendship, proposes to her, and she agrees.
When Santiago dies, María becomes the head of the family, making Malvina's ire burn stronger. According to Santiago's will, Malvina, her son Jorge Luis, and her daughter Digna must live there in his house with Maria if they want to inherit any of his fortune.
Since the murder of his wife on their wedding day, Jorge Luis has become a pessimistic young man, in contrast to his younger sister, Digna, who is a very religious and fearful woman, and who has never dated a man.
After María moves into the del Olmo household, she falls in love with Jorge Luis, who is weak and does not oppose his mother's will, always doing as she wants. Malvina makes it her life's mission to antagonize María. When she finds out that María loves her son, she pushes him to marry her in order to get the inheritance back.
She plans that after a few weeks Jorge Luis could make Maria give him control over the whole fortune and after that get divorced. Jorge Luis and María get married but they do not share a room nor do they live like a traditional married couple. Over time, Jorge Luis starts to develop a real and passionate love for María. Unfortunately María has another foe, Mistica, a sultry and selfish woman who used to be Jorge Luis' girlfriend, but then left him heartbroken in order to marry a wealthy older man, Sebastian Ordoñez. She realizes that she still loves Jorge Luis and is furious to learn that he is married and falling in love with Maria. She promises herself that she will get Jorge Luis back and starts to help Malvina get rid of María.
María then meets Maria Magnolia, a beautiful, rich, and sophisticated woman who is revealed to be her real mother. Maria Magnolia has now remarried and has another son, but she deeply regrets having left her family. She gains María's trust and starts to help her children, especially Guillermo who is in jail and is the only one who knows the truth about her.
Maria Magnolia's true identity remains a secret however for María and her other siblings, Rosario and Andres, and all the things she does for them have to be hidden from her new husband, Rodolfo (an architect who is Rosario's boss and is also a friend of Jorge Luis' family) and their son Gustavito (who is the youngest half-brother of Guillermo, Maria Mercedes, Rosario and Andres).
Maria Magnolia teaches María good manners and how to seduce her husband. Not long after, Sebastian Ordoñes throws a high class party where he gives a prize to Jorge Luis and then tries to seduce María. Jorge Luis, moved by jealousy and by the sight of the beautifully well-dressed María, finally starts to fall for her and sleeps with her. Soon María learns that she is pregnant.
After María's father passes away, she and Jorge Luis go on a vacation that goes terribly awry because of the intervention of both Mistica and a local lifeguard who hits on María. Jorge Luis impulsively makes up his mind because of this and asks María for a divorce as soon as they arrive in Mexico City.
However, Malvina has other plans. She tries to drive María crazy with the help of Cordelio, the butler, and puts her in an asylum. María manages to escape from the asylum and hides from the police in the house of Doña Filo, a good friend from her poverty-stricken days, until Jorge Luis asks the police not to pursue her any more.