Nuestra Belleza Latina 2008 is the second season of Nuestra Belleza Latina, which premiered in February 2008 on Univision. Auditions were once again held in five major U.S. cities (Los Angeles; Houston; Miami; Chicago; and New York City) and in San Juan, Puerto Rico. During the audition process, 75 young women were given passes to the semifinals in Miami, Florida. The elimination process was quick, with 15 women leaving the first week, 40 in the second week, and finally, on March 28, 2008, eight women were eliminated leaving the 12 finalists who moved into a Miami mansion, where they lived for the rest of the competition.
Each week, viewers had the chance to vote for their favorite finalists. The three contestants with the fewest votes each week were in danger of being eliminated, with two being saved, one by her fellow finalists and the other by the judges. Melissa Marty, who represented Puerto Rico, won the competition, while Emeraude Toubia, who represented Mexico and Lebanon, placed second.
Changes There were some major changes to the series in the second season; two of the judging panel, Carlos Calderon and Alicia Machado, left the show. Their replacements were beauty queen/model Lupita Jones and actor/model Julián Gil. Osmel Sousa maintained the role of head judge, and was tougher when he chose the girls throughout auditions.
Alejandra Espinoza became a correspondent for the series, interviewing the contestants backstage. The show was moved from Tuesdays to Fridays, airing at 10pm/9c.
Judges Osmel Sousa Lupita Jones Julián Gil
Elimination chart + Contestants Chart Top 12 Winner 1st Runner-Up Safe Won the challenge of the week Bottom 3 Bottom 2 Eliminated Stage: Finals Finale Week: 4/4 4/11 4/18 4/25 5/2 5/9 5/16 Place Contestant Result 1 Melissa Marty Safe Safe Bottom 2 Safe Safe Safe Winner 2 Emeraude Toubia Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Runner-Up 3 Dayami Padron Safe Bottom 3 Safe Bottom 2 Bottom 2 Safe 3rd Place 4 Zoila Ceballos Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe 4th Place 5 Leticia Castro Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Bottom 2 5th Place 6 Manuela Arbeláez Safe Bottom 2 Bottom 3 Bottom 3 Bottom 3 Bottom 3 6th Place 7 Natalia Rivera Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe 7th Place 8 Genesis Seguias Bottom 2 Safe Safe Safe 8th Place 9 Aideliz Hidalgo Safe Safe Safe 9th Place 10 Dayanira Varela Bottom 3 Safe 10th Place 11 Leana Astorga Safe 11th Place 12 Jannet Manzanarez 12th Place
Countries represented CPW Country Position Year Previously Won 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Puerto Rico 2nd 5th 1st 6th 2nd 5th Winner 2008 Mexico 7th 2nd 6th 1st 1st 1st 2nd 2007— Cuba 3rd 1st 4th 5th 5th 4th 3rd None— Dominican Republic 1st 3rd 3rd 2nd 3rd 2nd 4th None— Colombia 6th 6th 5th 4th 4th 3rd 5th None— Venezuela 5th 4th 2nd 3rd 6th None— Nicaragua 4th 7th None Eliminated First Place CPW: Countries Previously Won : Countries Previously Won
Contestants Rank Contestant Country Representing Winner Melissa Marty Runner-Up Emeraude Toubia 3rd Place Dayami Padron 4th Place Zoila Ceballos 5th Place Leticia Castro 6th Place Manuela Arbeláez 7th Place Natalia Rivera 8th Place Genesis Seguias 9th Place Aideliz Hidalgo 10th Place Dayanira Varela 11th Place Leana Astorga 12th Place Jannet Manzanarez
Episodes
Episode 1: "Castings LA, Miami & Houston" Original Air Date: February 29, 2008 The best of the auditions held in Los Angeles, Miami and Houston.
The Guest Judges: Judge Audition location Carmen Jara Los Angeles Lupita Jones Miami Raul Brindis Houston
The following contestants were chosen: Contestant Audition location Dayanira Varela Los Angeles Leticia Castro Dayami Padron Miami Genesis Seguias Emeraude Toubia Houston
Episode 2: "Castings NY, Chicago and Puerto Rico" Original Air Date: March 7, 2008 The best of the auditions held in New York, Chicago and Puerto Rico.
The Guest Judges: Judge Audition location Lupita Jones Chicago Julian Gil Puerto Rico Cynthia Olavarria Kika Roca New York City
The following contestants were chosen: Contestant Audition location Zoila Ceballos New York City Manuela Arbeláez Leana Astorga Janet Manzanarez Chicago Melissa Marty Puerto Rico Natalia Rivera Aideliz Hidalgo
Episode 3: "Second Round in Miami" Original Air Date: March 14, 2008 The 75 selected girls go to Miami. They receive classes and hit the runway for the first time. The judges eliminate 15 of them.
Episode 4: "Weather Prompter" Original Air Date: March 21, 2008 The third round of eliminations. The 60 remaining girls face a new challenge: they have to be the "weather girl". Just 20 of them make the cut.
Episode 5: "Talent Showcase" Original Air Date: March 28, 2008 All the selected girls go to Miami. The judges evaluate them on stage and pick 20 semifinalists that have a talent to show onstage; but only the 12 of them named as finalists have the chance to perform in front of a live audience. The television audience gets to vote for the first time.
The Final 12: Contestant Country Representing Melissa Marty Puerto Rico Emeraude Toubia Mexico/Lebanon Dayami Padron Cuba Zoila Ceballos Dominican Republic Leticia Castro Mexico Manuela Arbeláez Colombia Natalia Rivera Puerto Rico Genesis Seguias Venezuela Aideliz Hidalgo Puerto Rico Dayanira Varela Mexico Leana Astroga Nicaragua Jannet Manzanarez Mexico
Episode 6: "Extreme Runway" Original Air Date: April 4, 2008 The 12 finalists move to the "Mansion of the Beauty", where they start their physical training. They also have to face their first challenge: walk through a 10-inch-wide runway, wearing a tight dress, over a pool. At the end of the show, Jannete Manzanares is eliminated.
Episode 7: "Mr. Frog's Soap Opera" Original Air Date: April 11, 2008 The 11 remaining girls have to face the challenge of the week: after receiving an acting class from a soap opera star, they play a princess role in a fairy tale scene, where towards the end they must kiss a frog. At the end of the show, Leana Astorga is eliminated.
Episode 8: "Sabado Gigante Model" Original Air Date: April 18, 2008 The 10 remaining girls visit the studio of one of the longest running variety shows on television, Sabado Gigante. Their challenge is to act as models, saying the lines of an imaginary cereal's ad. At the end of the show, Dayanira Varela is eliminated.
Episode 9: "Underwater Photoshoot" Original Air Date: April 25, 2008 The 9 remaining finalists face the challenge of the week: doing an underwater photoshoot with stars' photographer Raul Higuera, in the house pool, holding their breath. The winner gets to meet Colombian singer Juanes at one of his concerts. At the end of the show, Aideliz Hidalgo is eliminated.
Episode 10: "Shampoo Audition" Original Air Date: May 2, 2008 The 8 remaining finalists receive a visit from singer-songwriter Jeremias at the house. The challenge of the week is an audition for a shampoo TV ad in front of real clients. Genesis Seguias, the winner, receives $10,000 in cash but, at the end of the show, she is eliminated based on the audience votes.
Episode 11: "Memory Game" Original Air Date: May 9, 2008 The 7 remaining girls go to a department store where they take a look at a mannequin for 10 seconds and have to mimic its clothes in less than 10 minutes. Later, live on the show, they have to model their outfits with style. Melissa Marty is the winner of the $10,000 cash prize. At the end of the show, Natalia Rivera is eliminated.
Episode 12: "The Big Finale 2008" Original Air Date: May 16, 2008 The results show. For the second year, the people have voted for their favorite. The 6 remaining contestants receive a final evaluation by the judges before they get to know their position. At the end of the show, Melissa Marty is crowned "Nuestra Belleza Latina 2008".
Episode 13: "El Destape 2008" Original Air Date: May 25, 2008 The best of this year's series. Deleted and extended scenes, backstage cameras, behind the scenes footage, interviews with the six finalists, the judges and the coaches.
Call-Out Order + Giselle's Call-Out Order Order Episodes Top 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 (Finale) Top 2 1 Melissa Emeraude Dayami Melissa Melissa Emeraude Emeraude Melissa Emeraude Emeraude Emeraude Melissa 2 Emeraude Zoila Emeraude Emeraude Emeraude Natalia Melissa Emeraude Zoila Dayami Melissa Emeraude 3 Dayami Natalia Melissa Natalia Natalia Leticia Zoila Leticia Melissa Melissa Dayami 4 Zoila Melissa Zoila Genesis Zoila Melissa Manuela Zoila Dayami Zoila 5 Leticia Dayami Natalia Zoila Leticia Zoila Leticia Dayami Leticia 6 Manuela Dayanira Genesis Aideliz Genesis Manuela Dayami Manuela 7 Natalia Leana Leticia Melissa Manuela Dayami Natalia 8 Genesis Aideliz Aideliz Dayami Dayami Genesis 9 Aideliz Genesis Dayanira Manuela Aideliz 10 Dayanira Leticia Manuela Dayanira 11 Leana Manuela Leana 12 Janet Janet
The contestant won the challenge of the week The contestant was eliminated The contestant won the challenge of the week, but was eliminated The contestant became the runner-up The contestant won the competition
Contestants notes Melissa Marty competed in Miss Puerto Rico Universe 2008 where she landed a position in the Top 13. Aideliz Hidalgo competed in Miss Universe Puerto Rico 2010, where she placed as 2nd Runner-up. She former Miss Puerto Rico International 2010 and semifinalist in Miss International 2010. Natalia Rivera competed in Miss Puerto Rico Teen 2006, where she won the title. Dayanira Varela competed in Nuestra Belleza México 2006 representing Zacatecas. Zoila Ceballos competed in Protagonistas First Season but was voted off in top 36.
External links Nuestra Belleza Latina, Univision.com