20 Latin Music Stars Hopefuls @ Telemundo’s ‘Nuevas Voces de America’.

With its anticipated debut this past Sunday, February 13, “Nuevas Voces de America” (“New Voices of America”) is well on its way to identifying the next Latin superstar. 20 hopefuls were announced during the premiere of this new reality show produced by Latin music mogul Emilio Estefan, which airs on Telemundo every Sunday at 8 p.m. (7/c).

The finalists are ten men and ten women, ranging from the ages of 18 to 32 and come from California, Texas, New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and Florida. They will vie for the final grand prize, which consists of a $250,000 recording contract with Universal Music Latino.

Last night’s premiere kicked off with a highlight of the auditions taken from a pool of thousands during the national search that took the show to L.A., NY, Miami, San Antonio and Puerto Rico. The 20 participants were then given the good news, some received a special message from Emilio himself, others were even more surprised when he showed up at their doorstep.

With packed bags and a sense of excitement, they arrived in Miami, to congregate at the famous Casa Casuarina (previously the Versace mansion) to meet Emilio Estefan face to face, and then headed over to Crescent Moon Studios to take a peak inside the high-tech facilities where each one of them will be putting their talent to the test. But before the show was over, they received the tough news: five will be eliminated during the first round.

Following are the “Nuevas Voces de America” Finalists:

Cesar Bernardo Ríos 24 years old. Born in L.A., California. Resides in Mexico, D.F. Crystal de la Cruz 19 years old. Born in Oxnard, California, where she lives. Vanessa del Fierro 23 years old. Born in San Antonio, Texas, where she resides. Claudia López 24 years old. Born in Del Rio, Texas. Resides in San Antonio. Gerardo Arturo López, Jr. 22 years old. Born in Eagle Pass, Texas, where he resides. Michael Muenchow 18 years old. Born in San Antonio, Texas, where he resides. Natalie Mainegra 18 years old. Born in Paterson, New Jersey. Resides in Demarest, NJ. William Jiménez 20 years old. Born in Santiago, Dominican Republic. Resides in Manhattan, NY. Carmen Lidia Rodríguez 26 years old. Born in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Resides in The Bronx, NY. Gerardo Williams 32 years old. Born in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic. Resides in The Bronx, NY. Gustavo Jurabe 28 years old. Born in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. Resides in Lares, P.R. Zurisaddai Jurabe 21 years old. Born in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. Resides in Toa Baja, P.R. Mariela Matos 20 years old. Born in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, where she resides. Oscar Rivera 27 years old. Born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, where he resides. Alma Yahveh Carloz 20 years old. Born in Pachuca, Mexico. Resides in San Diego, California. José Pedro Cervantes 20 years old. Born in Chula Vista, California. Resides in Tijuana, Baja California. Daniel Muñoz 22 years old. Born in Jalisco, Mexico. Resides in L.A., California. Karina Vázquez 23 years old. Born in Loma Linda, California. Resides in Ontario, California. Cindy Díaz 19 years old. Born in Miami, Florida. Resides in Hialeah, Florida. Fabian Alonso 29 years old. Born in Habana, Cuba. Resides in Miami, Florida.

All contestants will be trained under the watchful eye of Emilio Estefan, the renowned producer who has helped launch the careers of many Latin mega stars like Thalía, Ricky Martin, Shakira, Marc Anthony and Gloria Estefan. Emilio Estefan will be assisted by a team of experts in various areas of training, which include: Musical coaches and producers Ricardo & Alberto Gaitan; choreographer Anita Vivas, physical trainer Jose “Pepe” Rodriguez, and vocal coach Jackie Arredondo. This training is designed to transform every contestant into real stars. In addition, Estefan will create original tunes, taking into consideration individual voice ranges, to be interpreted by each finalist over the course of the show.

Judges include Mexican rock star Alejandra Guzman, Emilio Regueira, lead singer of rock band “Los Rabanes,” and David Naranjo, a marketing and media executive who has worked on the careers of such known artists as Gloria Estefan, Marc Anthony, Julio Iglesias and Alejandro Fernandez. Other celebrity judges will also participate. “Nuevas Voces de America” is hosted by 2003 Miss Universe Amelia Vega. Co-hosting with Amelia is Spanish TV personality Poncho de Anda.