Nuestra Belleza Latina 2008

Nuestra Belleza Latina 2008 was the second season of Nuestra Belleza Latina (Our Latin Beauty) which premiered on February 2008. Auditions were once again held in five major US cities (Los Angeles, California; Houston, Texas; Miami, Florida; Chicago, Illinois; and New York City, New York) and in San Juan, Puerto Rico. During the audition process, 75 young women were given passes to the semi-finals in Miami, Florida. The elimination process was quick, with 15 women leaving the first week, 40 on the second week, and finally, on March 28, 2008, 8 women were eliminated leaving the 12 finalists who will be moving into a Miami mansion where they will be living together for the rest of the competition. Each week, viewers will have a chance to vote for their favorite finalists. The three women with the least number of votes will then be in danger of being eliminated. However, two of the women in the bottom three will have the chance of being saved, one by her fellow finalists, and the other by the judges.

Melissa Marty, a contestant representing Puerto Rico, won the competition.

Changes

There were some major changes to this Season, two of the judging panel, Carlos Calderon and Alicia Machado left the show. The replacement were, Beauty queen and Model Lupita Jones and Model/Actor Julian Gil. Osmel Sousa was still the main Judge, and was tougher when he chose the girls in the Auditions. Alejandra Espinoza became a correspondent in the show, she went backstage and had a one-on-one with the girls. The show was moved from Tuesday night to Fridays at 10pm/9c.

Judges

• Osmel Sousa
• Lupita Jones
• Julian Gil

Elimination chart

Countries Being Represented

CPW	Country	Position							Year Previously Won
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Y	Puerto Rico	2nd	5th	1st	6th	2nd	5th	Winner	2008
Y	Mexico	7th	2nd	6th	1st	1st	1st	2nd	2007
—	Cuba	3rd	1st	4th	5th	5th	4th	3rd	None
—	Rep. Dominicana	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
• Y: Countries Previously won

Contestants

Contestants

Rank	Contestant	Country Representing
Winner	Melissa Marty	Puerto Rico
2nd Place	Emeraude Toubia	Mexico/ Lebanon
3rd Place	Dayami Padron	Cuba
4th Place	Zoila Ceballos	Dominican Republic
5th Place	Leticia Castro	Mexico
6th Place	Manuela Arbeláez	Colombia
7th Place	Natalia Rivera	Puerto Rico
8th Place	Genesis Seguias	Venezuela
9th Place	Aideliz Hidalgo	Puerto Rico
10th Place	Dayanira Varela	Mexico
11th Place	Leana Astorga	Nicaragua
12th Place	Jannet Manzanarez	Mexico

Episodes

Season 2, Episode 1: Castings LA, Miami & Houston

The best of the auditions held in Los Angeles, Miami and Houston. Original Air Date—29 February 2008

The Guest Judges were:

The following contestants were chosen:

Season 2, Episode 2: Castings NY, Chicago and Puerto Rico

The best of season 2 auditions held in New York, Chicago and Puerto Rico. Original Air Date—7 March 2008

The Guest Judges were:

The following contestants were chosen:

Season 2, Episode 3: Second Round in Miami

Original Air Date—14 March 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.

Season 2, Episode 4: Weather Prompter

Original Air Date—21 March 2008 The third round of eliminations. The 60 remaining girs face a new challenge: they have to be the "weather girl". Just 20 of them make the cut.

Season 2, Episode 5: Talent Showcase

Original Air Date—28 March 2008 All the selected girls go to Miami. The judges evaluate them on stage and pick The 20 semi-finalists have a talent to show onstage, but only the 12 of them named as finalists have the change to perform in front of a live audience. At then end, the people at home gets to vote for the first time.

The Final 12 are Chosen:

Season 2, Episode 6: Extreme Runway

Original Air Date—4 April 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-inches-wide runway, wearing a tight dress, over a pool. At the end of the show, Jannete Manzanares is eliminated.

Season 2, Episode 7: Mr. Frog's Soap Opera

Original Air Date—11 April 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.

Season 2, Episode 8: Sabado gigante model

Original Air Date—18 April 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.

Season 2, Episode 9: Underwater Photoshoot

Original Air Date—25 April 2008 The 9 remaining finalists face the challenge of the week: Doing an underwater photo shoot 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.

Season 2, Episode 10: Shampoo Audition

Original Air Date—2 May 2008 The 8 remaining finalists receive the visit of 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.

Season 2, Episode 11: Memory Game

Original Air Date—9 May 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.

Season 2, Episode 12: The Big Finale 2008

Original Air Date—16 May 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 as "Nuestra Belleza Latina 2008".

Winner:Melissa Marty

Season 2, Episode 13: El destape 2008

Original Air Date—25 May 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.

Orden de llamados

     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