Makapiling Kang Muli

Makapiling Kang Muli
File:Makapilingkangmulititlecard.jpg
Genre	Action Romance-drama,
Created by	GMA Entertainment TV Group
Developed by	Des Garbes - Severino
Written by	Rona Sales Jules Katanyag John Kenneth de Leon
Directed by	Ricky Davao
Creative director	Jun Lana
Starring	Richard Gutierrez Mark Anthony Fernandez Carla Abellana Sarah Lahbati
Theme music composer	Ogie Alcasid
Opening theme	"Hanggang Ngayon" sung by Kyla & Mark Bautista
Composer	Ogie Alcasid
Country of origin	Philippines
Original languages	Filipino, Tagalog, English, Spanish
No. of episodes	70 episodes
Production
Executive producer	Michele R. Borja
Producer	Lilybeth G. Rasonable
Production locations	Laguna, Philippines Batangas, Philippines Ilocos, Philippines
Cinematography	Joe Tutanes
Camera setup	Multiple-camera setup
Running time	30-45 minutes
Original release
Network	GMA Network
Release	June 4 (2012-06-04) – September 7, 2012 (2012-09-07)

Makapiling Kang Muli or Together Again (international title) is Filipino drama series created and written by Des Garbes Severino, under the direction of Ricky Davao and produced by GMA Network. The series premiered on June 4, 2012 replacing Legacy on GMA Telebabad block and June 6, 2012 worldwide via GMA Pinoy TV.

This series (which original title was Rancho Paradiso and later changed to Makapiling Kang Muli or To Be With You Again in English) features Richard Gutierrez in the lead character, Carla Abellana, Mark Anthony Fernandez and Sarah Lahbati with veteran actors Phillip Salvador and Gloria Romero.

The series is also one of the three new primetime shows of the network for the second quarter of 2012, along with Luna Blanca and One True Love.

The series is set in the fictional ranch called Rancho Paradiso and follows the lives of Martin Caballero (Gutierrez), Leilani Angeles (Abellana), Louie Valencia (Fernandez) and Graciela Montes (Lahbati), the four main characters of the story, which lives tangled by love, greed and deception. The story also unravels the grey areas of power, justice and love.

The series ended on September 7, 2012, it ran for fourteen weeks with a total of seventy episodes. Starting August 27, 2014 GMA Life TV airs its English-dubbed version worldwide.

Synopsis

Mara is the only daughter of the wealthy Soledad Silvestre, owner of one of the biggest ranches in the country, the Rancho Paradiso. Mara's good personality and stunning beauty is a sight to behold in the whole Paradiso, as men fall head over heels in love with her. But regardless of her countless suitors, she gives her heart to Emilio, a humble ranch worker. As expected, Soledad opposes their romance and even plan drastic schemes which eventually bring Emilio to the brink of death.

In order to keep Emilio safe and alive, Mara, with a heavy heart, succumbed to her evil mother's wishes; she abandoned the man she loves and married the arrogant Roman Valencia. Mara and Roman's hell-like marriage, however, bears a son they named Louie.

Years later, Mara and Emilio's paths cross again, and the undeniable love and yearn for each other spark. In spite of having a family of her own, Mara decides to follow her heart's desire and continues her illicit affair with Emilio. After some time, Roman discovers Mara’s infidelity and he directly gets involved in the death of his wife’s other man.

While Mara is left wallowing in grief, her woes are aggravated further when she finds out that she is pregnant with Emilio's child. She secretly manages to give birth to a beautiful baby boy. And to protect her son from the wrath of Roman and Soledad, she sacrifices motherhood and entrusts the poor baby to the care of Florentino, an old ranch worker and is considered as her second father. On the other hand, Florentino promises to raise the baby as his own grandson and gives him the name Martin.

Martin grows up to be a brave and God-fearing child. Due to an unexpected turn of events, Martin ends up working in Rancho Paradiso. There, he comes across with new people that will change the path of his life. He meets Mara, for whom he will feel an unexplainable closeness, unaware that a deeper bond may actually exists between them; Louie Valencia, Roman and Mara's son, the sole heir of Rancho Paradiso, a cruel man that will later prove to be his biggest foe; and then there is Leilani Angeles, the daughter of Atty. Serafin Angeles, the ranch's resident lawyer.

A special friendship blossoms between Martin and Leilani which eventually becomes a secret love for one another. Destiny plays a trick on them when a tragic accident happens at Rancho Paradiso, which causes the death of a number of people including Leilani's father. Leilani puts the blame on Martin's shoulder and she leaves the ranch to forget the miserable experience that happened to her family. Martin, on the other hand, feels the pain of his one true love, leaving.

During his hardest times, he meets Graciela Montes, Louie's girlfriend, and a secret love affair starts to flourish between them. Eventually, Martin realizes that it's not right for him to fall for his boss's girl, so he decides to avoid Graciela. Martin's gesture of avoiding her becomes noticeable. He's doing it because he doesn't want to appear as a relationship-wrecker and he doesn't want other people to have the wrong impression about Graciela. But upon seeing Louie treating Graciela as an object of lust and desire, pushing Martin to pursue her and to run away with her. Louie, out of anger, devised ways to sabotage Martin and Graciela's new found bliss. He gets Martin arrested for a fabricated crime. Martin is eventually convicted and is sentenced to serve a long time in prison. Here he meets Wesley, son of a famous crime lord, Amadeo Perez, who eventually helps them escape from prison. After saving their lives [in two different circumstances] and proving himself a valuable ally, Martin, became part of the syndicate that Amadeo runs. Returning the favor, Amadeo, helps him to exact revenge to those people who made his life miserable.

This sets the tone for a lifetime of vengeance and retribution as the strive for power, justice, money and love bind these characters to each other's lives.

Cast and characters

Main cast

• Martín Caballero-De La Rosa-Silvestre – the main protagonist; initially played by Miguel Tanfelix and Lance Lucido as the young version of the character, and later by Richard Gutierrez as the grown up Martin. His identity is shrouded in mystery and his life becomes a confusing maze of inexplicable, deception, jealousy and danger. He is the love child of Mara Valencia, daughter of Señora Soledad Silvestre, owner of Rancho Paradiso, to a ranch lowly worker Emilio dela Rosa, her one true love. Separated from his mother at an early age, Martin grew up in poverty with Florentino, a ranch worker who happily raises him as his own grandson. Fate eventually brings Martin back at Rancho Paradiso. Here he meets the beautiful and down-to-earth Leilani Angeles, daughter of a lawyer; and Louie Valencia, the arrogant son of Roman and Mara Valencia, who unknown to Martin is his half-brother, and will later prove to be his biggest adversary. As days pass, Martin and Leilani begin to realize that their hearts are beating for each other. But their flourishing romance and blissful moments cut short when tragedy strikes and torn them apart. Although this leaves Martin devastated and embittered he continues to love Leilani deep within. During his grief, he finds solace in Graciela, Louie's agonizing girlfriend. His good looks and gentleman disposition eventually captivated Graciela’sheart. This further propels Louie’s antagonism towards Martin. With Louie's devious schemes, Martin finds himself behind bars. Inside the jail, he will meet Wesley Perez, son of the infamous syndicate Lord, Amadeo Perez. This marks the beginning of Martin's fight for justice in clearing up his name and avenges those people who made his life miserable. In the end, he discover that Mara was his real mother, and accepted his mother, but he was shot by Louie, but survived, and follow by the break up with Graciela, he was finally be with Leilani.
• Leilani Angeles – the lady protagonist; initially played by Anna Danielle Vicente as young version of the character, and later by Carla Abellana as the grown up Leilani. She is the daughter of Nelia and Atty. Serafin Angeles, Rancho Paradiso's resident lawyer. Leilani is a law student who idolizes her father very much and wants to be as great as him. Leilani and Martín Caballero are best of friends since their childhood days. They grew up together and shared lots of happy memories. Until they discovered that they are in love with each other. However, the death of Leilani's father, following the murderous conspiracy planned by the evil Roman Valencia, causes Leilani and Martin to parted ways. The former, together with her mother and younger brother, Keiffer, go to Manila to start anew. But she vows to return in Rancho Paradiso to fight for justice for her father's death and take her sweet revenge towards the ruthless rancheros no matter what. In the end, she and Martin were finally be together.
• Luisito "Louie" Valencia – one of the three main antagonists of the series; initially played by Ronald de Santos, and later by Mark Anthony Fernandez as the adult version of the character. Born with the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth, Louie grows up to be as arrogant and selfish as his father Román Valencia. He is a spoiled brat who will do the utmost to obtain whatever and whoever he desires. He is also a womanizer who treats the many women in his life as mere objects and possessions. He has a girlfriend named Graciela Montes, a poor nursing student from Manila. Although Graciela is aware of Louie's infidelity, she goes along with it, because she can't handle Louie onto his neck, aside from the fact that Louie is the one supporting her financially. Things become complicated when Graciela falls in love with Martin. This aggravates Louie's hatred towards the latter and plots evil schemes to destroy him, not knowing that they are half-siblings. In the end of the series, he was shot and killed by his mother, to protect Martin from him.
• Graciela Montes - the lady protagonist; the character played by Sarah Lahbati. The seductive and ambitious, Graciela is a daughter of a prostitute who strives hard to finish her studies and takes her life out from miserable state. She is the girlfriend of the arrogant Louie Valencia, who also supporting her financially. She loves Louie, as well as, she sees him as a "good catch" or the one who will give her the convenient life she always wanted. But everything's change when she meets the handsome and good-natured, Martin Caballero and eventually falls in love with him. And so begins the dangerous game that will force Graciela to choose her destiny. In the end, Martin broke up with her, causing her to leave the place.
• Señora Soledad Vda. de Silvestre-Caballero – one of the three main antagonists in the series; played by the Queen of Philippine Cinema, Gloria Romero. Soledad is the ruthless, arrogant, power-hungry and over-domineering matriarch of Rancho Paradiso, touted as one of the biggest ranches in the country. She knows nothing but money. For her, money is the compass that ruled her life, but it also made her the great victim of deception, pain and sufferings. She has a daughter named Mara, who is also a hapless victim of her assertive and controlling nature. When Soledad discovered her daughter's relationship with a ranch lowly worker, she immediately interfered and arranged Mara to marry Roman, a man who comes from a well-off family. She doesn't really care about her daughter's (or even other people's) feelings. For her, in every decision, it is necessary to use the brain over the heart. Later in the end of the series, she kills Roman in order to protect her daughter and grandson, and accepted Martin as her grandson, and told him that, she and her mother wanted to protect him from Roman, and then finally she's marries Florentino, her one and only true love.
• Mara Silvestre-Valencia – initially played by actress Jennylyn Mercado as the younger version of the character, and later by versatile actress Rio Locsin. Mara is the one and only daughter of Señora Soledad Silvestre, the famous Rancho Paradiso matriarch. She lives a plentiful life, but she is under the power of her domineering mother. She described herself as a living puppet—designed and manipulated. Soledad plans for her future, even to the point of deciding the man she should marry. When Mara falls in love for the first time with Emilio dela Rosa, her whole world changes. Emilio's love and presence give colour to her dull existence. Despite the extreme difference in their lifestyles, they managed to keep their affair strong but hidden from anyone. But their world shattered when Señora Soledad discovered their secret relationship. She intervenes and manages to separate the lovers. She plots schemes which eventually forced Mara to marry Roman Valencia. Mara and Roman's "loveless" marriage bears a baby boy they named as Luisito or Louie. Mara pretends to be happy and tries to endure her hell-like marriage for the sake of her child. Years later... Mara and Emilio cross paths and the magic of true love sparks once again between them. In spite of having her own family, Mara will follow her heart and will continue her illicit affair with Emilio... a forbidden affair that eventually sends the latter to his own demise. Plot thickens when Mara finds out that she is pregnant with Emilio's child. In order to protect her baby from the wrath of both Roman and Soledad, she secretly manages to give birth to a beautiful baby boy and entrust the child to the care of Florentino, a ranch worker, whom she also considered as her second father. In the end, she lost her two children Lynley and Louie, leaving Martin (her favorite child, since her true love was Emillo) as her only child.
• Amadeo Perez – portrayed by award-winning actor Phillip Salvador. One of the main characters of the series; Amadeo is a vengeful and iron-fisted leader of a crime syndicate. But beyond his background and terrifying personality, lie a kind-hearted person. He has a son named Wesley Perez, but he is disappointed with him, as he is meek and mild and not fit to be his successor as the head of the syndicate. However, he becomes more attached to Martin Caballero, who he helped escape from prison with his son. Amadeo will train Martin to be like him. He will help Martin to fight back and avenge against the Valencias, the people who made his life a hell. He was killed by FBI force by the order of Roman.
• Román Valencia – one of the three main antagonists in the series; played by real-life father and son, Gabby Eigenmann and Mark Gil, as the younger and older version of the character, respectively. Roman is a corrupt and unscrupulous man from a wealthy clan. Trapped in an arranged marriage with Mara Silvestre, this was a big favor, indeed, on his part because he is madly, deeply in love with the sole heiress of Rancho Paradiso. Although he knows Mara doesn't love him the way he does, his wealth, power and broad influence forcefully took Mara to become his wife, of course, with the big help of his equally greedy mother-in-law, Soledad Silvestre. Since then, Roman became the over-all in charge of Rancho Paradiso. His greediness drives him to engage in illegal logging activities, which eventually caused landslide and flash floods in huge areas of Paradiso, and sends the ranch in big controversy. Atty. Serafin Angeles, the ranch's resident lawyer and somewhat a close friend of Silvestre-Valencia family, is bothered by his conscience and decides to resign. Feared that their illegal activities will be expose, Roman and Soledad conspire to murder Atty. Angeles. He was finally killed Soledad in order to protect her daughter and grandson from him.
• Florentino "Tino" Caballero – the character played by veteran actor Robert Arevalo. He is Martin Caballero's loving and caring adoptive grandfather, and in some point, served as the key to his real identity. Florentino is a kind-hearted man. Although he lacks education and lives all of his life in poverty, he always has positive outlook in life and immense capacity to love. During his early days, Tino falls in love with the sweet then, Soledad. They became lovers. But because of Soledad's huge ambitions to become rich and powerful, she left him and married a wealthy Haciendero. Although devastated, Florentino reserves his heart for Soledad and chose to love her from afar, and finally they were both married together in the end of the series.
• Javier Lagdameo – the character played by TJ Trinidad. Javier is a kind and handsome doctor that Leilani Angeles met by chance in Manila. He finds Leilani's straight forward nature as a unique trait of a woman and he falls quickly in love with her. He decides to pursue her but Leilani, on the other hand, is irritated and felt harassed by Javier. Leilani told him that she has no time for love and relationships and her focus is on her dreams of becoming a great lawyer and avenge the people responsible for her father's death. But Javier's persistence and kind character eventually touches Leilani and little by little, she opens her heart for the lad. In the end, he left Lelani and leaves the country.
• George Aravena – the character that adds colour and humor to the story is played by the comedian John Lapus. George is the cousin and confidante of Martín Caballero. Although he works at Rancho Paradiso as a cowboy, in reality, his image is far from the usual cowboy with brute and macho personality, because George is very gay! He also served as an adviser and conscience to Martin.
• Wesley Perez – the one and only son of Amadeo Perez; the character is played by Dominic Roco. Grooming to become his father's successor as the leader of the syndicate, but he also turned out to be his father's biggest disappointment. He is meek and weak-willed and he does not fit for the position. He will meet Martin Caballero inside the jail and instantly become allies. Amadeo will take his son, as well as, Martin out of the prison. Martin will become part of the syndicate that Amadeo runs and later proves himself as its biggest asset. Amadeo will train Martin to be his successor. But this will fuel jealousy on the part of Wesley. He was killed by Louie, causing his father to revenge on them for his death.
• Lynley Valencia – played by teen actress, Janine Gutierrez; Lynley is the youngest and the only daughter of Roman and Mara Valencia whose sweet disposition endears her to everyone at Rancho Paradiso. Just like her mother, Lynley grew up to a beautiful young lady with a good and jolly heart and passion for life. She treats everyone with respect and kindness. She is close to Martin Caballero and treated him as her older brother, not knowing that they are really blood related. Along with Keiffer, she was killed by her own brother Louie.
• Keiffer Angeles - played by teen actor Benedict Campos; Keiffer is the youngest brother of Leilani Angeles. Together, the sibling will plot revenge towards the Silvestre-Valencia, the people they believe responsible for their father's death. Along with Lynley, he was killed by Louie. His death caused Martin to break up with Graciela, to be with Leilani.

Recurring cast

The series featured fourteen main characters with many other characters recurring throughout its run.

• Jestoni Alarcon as Serafín Angeles - Leilani and Keifer's Father.
• Lani Mercado as Nelia Angeles - Leilani and Keifer's Mother.
• James Blanco as Emilio dela Rosa - Mara's lover and the biological father of Martin.
• Dex Quindoza as Buboy - Emilio's friend and confidante.
• Carmen Soriano as Claring Perez - the kindly mother of Amadeo.
• Lito Legaspi as Paradiso's corrupt governor.
• Bearwin Meily as Dexter - One of Amadeo's right hand men.
• Rita Avila as Olivia - The Priority of her daughter Vanessa.
• Yassi Pressman as Vanessa - She is went to Schools and Graduating of Macmac.
• Rocco Nacino as Ferdinand - He is the friend of Martin Caballero and Leilani
• Rocky Gutierrez as Brando - One of Amadeo's right hand men.
• Ramon Christopher as Bartolome - One of the two loyal minions of the Silvestre-Valencias.
• Bela Padilla as Amber - One thing is Leilani and Boyfriend Kiefer.
• Paolo Paraiso as Bodjie - One of the two loyal minions of the Silvestre-Valencias.
• Vaness del Moral as Salve
• Rosemarie Sarita - the kind-hearted mother of George and sister to Florentino, Anita.
• Carmi Martin as Helga
• Princess Snell as Monina
• Lester Llansang as Hans
• Andrew Schimmer as Kyle Dancel - Monina's rapist.
• Marc Justine Alvarez as Macmac - the adoptive grandchild of Florentino.
• Sheree as Ara - the cunning servant in Rancho Paradiso.
• Mike Lloren as Rodriguez - the town's chief captain.
• Robert Ortega as Durano - the corrupt policeman.

Production

The producer of the show hires the veteran and award-winning actor/director, Ricky Davao to handle the series. This television series is also Davao's second primetime directorial project under GMA Network. Prior to this series, Davao has been megged a string of shows in quick succession: Grazilda [as second unit director] (2010), Sisid (2011), Kung Aagawin Mo Ang Langit (2011) and Kokak (2011). Davao is confident that the series can establish supremacy on primetime television as it boasts quality in terms of story and performance. He further stated:

"We're very proud of our work in this project. This is not a typical soap opera. The twists and turns in the plot and the character presentation will be enough to glue televiewers till the end. Everyone gave his best."

— 

Casting

The series' producer cast two of the network's primetime royalties, Richard Gutierrez and Carla Abellana as Martin Caballero and Leilani Angeles, respectively, the two main protagonists of the series. The former expresses his gratitude on doing this project. For him, this drama is one of the biggest milestones in his career and a "something new" for him [the actor is associated with his top-rated fantasy-adventure series like Mulawin, Sugo, Captain Barbell, Lupin, Kamandag and Zorro] and for the audience. According to Gutierrez, the entire casts prepared hard for this project and even underwent trainings and workshops before shooting the series. On the other hand, Abellana expresses excitement as she embarks on a major project after renewing her contract with her mother network and working with Gutierrez [for the very first time] and some of the most respected stars in the industry. She also differentiate herself to her character, stated that... her character's personality was a far cry from her own. It made it more difficult for her to flesh out the persona of a woman who fights back and snaps in anger when wronged, because those aren't knee-jerk reactions for her in real life. However, she work hard to portray the role, as she doesn't want to embarrass her co-stars.

Meanwhile, veteran and award-winning actress, Gloria Romero plays the main villainess, Señora Soledad Silvestre. It is her first time to do an "anti-hero" role, and said that the role is very different from her goody-good role in the successful and highly rated drama series Munting Heredera, whom she recently completed. She stated... "When they gave me the role as Senyora Soledad, I immediately liked it! It is far from other roles I did in my past television series. I said, yes [to them] quickly! It is a huge challenge for me. I love these kind of roles", she added.

Comedian John Lapus plays support to Gutierrez, which he doesn't really mind even after recently receiving his second Actor of the Year award from the Guillermo Mendoza Scholarship Foundation [2012]. He further stated:

"I really don't mind playing a supporting role especially if the actor I am supporting is Richard. I feel so blessed to be working with him this time. I'm very excited, too, because aside from the usual comedy that I do in the past series I was in, my character in Makapiling Kang Muli has a major role in the development of the story's plot and the resolution of one of its main conflicts. Richard is a very generous actor and I am truly motivated in every scene that we do together."

— 

On director Ricky Davao, it is his first time to direct most of the lead stars of the series except for Sarah Lahbati, whom he previously handled in the afternoon drama-fantasy series, Kokak. Here, however, Lahbati is portraying someone totally different from her shy-girl screen persona. She's now playing an assertive seductress who tries to steal Gutierrez's character away from his leading lady [Abellana]. Davao added... "The good thing about Sarah is that she knows what she wants. And she works hard."

On his strategy in handling big stars like Gutierrez and Abellana, the director said that he just talk to them and get to know their likes, dislikes, fears, limitations, strengths and weaknesses as actors. He further stated that he is impressed by Abellana's growth as an actress. He worked with her as co-star in the afternoon soap Kung Aagawin Mo Ang Langit. "She has matured a lot from her first soap, Rosalinda", he added.

Filming

The series is set on the sweeping acres of a rustic ranch fictionally called "Rancho Paradiso", but which in reality is a huge hacienda in Calatagan, Batangas owned by the prominent Zobel clan, as well as, the well-trained polo horses are owned by the Zobels. The main protagonist of the series, Richard Gutierrez explained the production's choice of location, said that... "Our story revolves around supposedly one of the biggest ranches in the Philippines. And I guess this baluarte of the Zobels is one of the biggest haciendas we have, so it's a perfect match". The production started taping on May 7, 2012 with the series' creator, Des Garbes Severino, who also served as the head writer, creative director, Jun Lana, Michele Borja as the executive producer of the show, and Lilybeth Rasonable headed as the over-all in charge of the production.

Music

The song "Hanggang Ngayon" (lit. Until Now) is used as the series' theme song. It was written and composed by award-winning singer/songwriter Ogie Alcasid, re-arranged by Edward Mitra for the show, and interpreted by Mark Bautista and Kyla. The song's lyrics tell of a person confessing his/her unrequited love for his/her past flame and wishing for another chance of love.

The show uses three versions of the song: the duet version, the male solo and the female solo [both done in acoustic style] versions, also performed by Mark and Kyla.

Originally sung by Ogie Alcasid and Regine Velasquez and first used as soundtrack of the 2002 romantic flick Ikaw Lamang, Hanggan Ngayon (lit. Still You, Until Now) which starred Velasquez opposite Richard Gomez. The said film was directed by Yam Laranas and produced and released by VIVA Films.

The song is also part of Alcasid's Greatest Hits album and Velasquez’s silver anniversary album, entitled Regine, Duets Silver Series, released on 2005 and 2006 respectively, by VIVA Records. On 2007, GMA Network used the Alcasid-Velasquez version of the song as the theme for Korean series, Love Story in Harvard.

Reception

Although the series gathered a modest 24% rating during its premiere telecast [according to AGB Neilsen Mega Manila Household rating, June 4, 2012] and failed to beat its counterpart program in ABS-CBN, Makapiling Kang Muli started to gain strength in ratings game on its 40th episode [July 27, 2012, AGB Neilsen Household rating] where it gathered 26% ratings, tied with its strict competition, Walang Hanggan. The show's winning streak continues as it became the number 1 most-watched primetime television series, both in Mega Manila and NUTAM [dated August 3, 2012], on its 45th episode, where it gathered 26.5% rating, beating its counterpart show with 25.7% rating.

The show also received positive reviews both from viewers and critics. Blog writer, Nestor Silvestre complimented the series on its high production value and the ensemble's acting. "The scenes in the Jailhouse with Richard were also beyond my expectations, they effortlessly pulled off fight scenes, dangerous motorcycle stunts, bombings and blasting and most especially the camera shots really gave me the feeling that I was like in a movie house watching a legit action movie"...he stated.

See also

• List of programs broadcast by GMA Network
• List of telenovelas of GMA Network
• Ngayon at Kailanman
• Valiente (1995-1997)
• Villa Quintana

External links

• GMA Network official website
• GMA Network Official Facebook Page
• Makapiling Kang Muli on Facebook Official Fan Page