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With the huge success of the fantasy-portal series Maria Clara at Ibarra, series head writer Suzette Doctolero revealed that she actually used some of the basic concepts of Encantadia, another fantasy series on GMA, on the newer one.

Maria Clara at Ibarra tells the story of Klay (Barbie Forteza) who was transported to the world of "Noli Me Tangere" written by Dr. Jose Rizal. There, he meets various characters of the novel such as Crisostomo Ibarra (Dennis Trillo), Maria Clara (Julie Anne San Jose), Padre Damaso (Tirso Cruz III), and Padre Salvi (Juancho Trivino) among others.

In an interview on “The Howie Severino Podcast,” Suzette said that she used a simple narrative to develop the concept of the series using the same one she used in the creation of Encantadia.

“Kung paano ginawa yung Encantadia na mayroong isang bata na nasa modern world, na nasa mundo ng mga tao na nakarating sa mundo ng Encantadia. It's the same with Noli and Fili sa MCAI (Maria Clara at Ibarra),” Suzette said.

She added that Klay's character will be the representative of the viewers by telling the story of the two novels "Noli Me Tangere" and "El Filibusterismo," which the series is based on, from her own perspective.

Additionally, Suzette revealed in the interview that when they were conceptualizing the series, many people commented on how deep the stories of the novels are for the new generation.

In response, Suzette recalled saying, “Tingnan natin, gawan natin ng paraan kung paano siya ma-i-introduce sa soap opera, ma-a-adapt sa soap opera na masasakyan ng masa, ng manonood, at mabibigyan siya ng bagong bihis.”

“At dahil siya ay ginawa, yung character ni Klay, na kwela at matapang na babae, nagkakaroon ng lightness,” she said.

TAKE A LOOK AT THE LIFE OF THE CAST OF ENCANTADIA AFTER THE SERIES: