Seeing Mexican actress-singer Thalia interacting with P-pop group BINI backstage at the Billboard Women in Music 2026 stirred nostalgia amongFilipinos.
Thalia, known as the “Queen of Telenovelas,” rose to fame through hit telenovelas like “Maria Mercedes,” “Marimar,” “Rosalinda” and “Maria la del Barrio” which aired in the Philippines in the ’90s.
Although the members of BINI were too young to have watched her shows, the encounter still drew reactions from Filipinos, especially longtime fans of her Filipino-dubbed telenovelas.
According to Billboard, Thalía told the group: “I have so many beautiful memories of your country!”
She also greeted the members with the Filipino phrase, “Mabuhay!”
@billboard “I have so many beautiful memories of your country” —@Thalia to @BINI PH backstage at #BBWomenInMusic ♬ original sound – billboard
The interaction has garnered 59,100 likes, 1,253 shares, 3,417 bookmarks, and over 600 comments from online users, including Filipinos.
“Iconic Marimar is so loved by the Filipinos… Thank you for loving the Philippines back… BINI and Thalia collab,” a TikTok user said.
“MARIMAR LITERALLY RESHAPED PHILIPPINE TELEVISION!! LITERALLY. NETWORKS HAD TO RESTRUCTURE THEIR PROGRAMMING,” another commented.
“Wow, how lucky, BINI… na-meet na nila si Rosario, Marimar,” one wrote.
“Haha! Nakaka-miss sila ni Fernando Jose… am I right?” another Pinoy commented.
“For sure, Bini’s moms are happiest persons seeing their kids meeting one of the Mexican idols [who dominated] Philippines teleseries during ’90s. Still [remembered] Thalia during our HS [high school] days, rushing to go home on time just to watch Marimar,” another said.
Thalia also shared a video with BINI, with “Marimar” as the background music.
“From Hollywood Mabuhay!@BINI PH Should we do a remix of Mari Mar together? What do my Filipino fans think? Nandito ako!” she wrote.
BINI responded, saying they would be honored to collaborate with Thalia.
“A collab with you? That would be a dream come true 🥹💗 Already blushing just thinking about it. ¡Muchas gracias for being so warm and lovely!” BINI replied.
@thalia From Hollywood Mabuhay!@BINI PH ♬ Marimar – Thalia
BINI was honored with the Global Force Award at the Billboard Women in Music 2026 event at the Hollywood Palladium on Wednesday, April 29.
Meanwhile, Thalía received the Icon Award at the same event.
The Mexican pop icon rose to fame in the ’90s through her telenovelas, which became widely popular on Philippine television.
She is also known for performing the theme song of “Marimar,” which served as its official soundtrack.
Thalía later built a successful music career, selling over 25 million records worldwide. She is considered one of the best-selling Latin artists of all time and is dubbed the “Queen of Latin Pop.”
