Mira Quien Baila (in English, Look Who’s Dancing) is a competitive dancing show on the Spanish television network Univision that just finished its ninth season. The new season was an “All Star” version, where each contestant was a randomly chosen cast member from another Univision show, and contestants chose  charities to donate their winnings to. This year’s four finalists were Roberto Hernandez from ‘Enamorándonos,’ La Bronca from ‘El Free-Guey con La Bronca,’ Chef Yisus from ‘Despierta America,’ and Aleyda Ortiz from ‘Nuestra Belleza Latina.’

The last night kicked off with a flashy opening performance that included  all of the finalists, as well as judge Dayanara Torres. For the first hour of the show, there were mini competitions between the contestants. Each finalist had to choose a dance to mimic from another contestant, and the judges would decide who did it better. Ortiz decided to perform Lindsay Casinelli, a previous contestant’s dance to ‘Entre Tu Cuerpo Y El Mio’ by Milly Quezada, since Ortiz had dedicated this song to her husband. The judging panel, composed of Torres, as well as Casper Smart and Patricia Manterola, decided that Ortiz had done the dance better. Next up was Hernandez,  who chose to perform Chef Yisus’ dance to ‘Buleria’ by David Bisbel. The judges concurred that Chef Yisus did it better. A dance performed by the choreographers promoted the new DreamWorks movie ‘Spirit Untamed.’ 

La Bronca decided to challenge herself by deciding to do Casinelli’s dance to the Britney Spears hit ‘Baby Hit Me One More Time.’ In the end, the judges called it a tie. Finally, Chef Yisus copied Victor Gonzalez, another former contestant’s dance of ‘Quisas Quizas Quizas’ by Andrea Bocelli. The judges agreed that Yisus did it better. Show hosts Borja and Chiquis joined in on the fun and danced a little merengue.

Things got serious in the second and final hour of  Mira Quien Baila. Daddy Yankee came to perform his newest hit song ‘Problema.’ “Daddy Yankee’s performance of ‘Problema’ was my favorite moment of the season. It really got the energy for the show up and running,” Zahwah Achall ‘23 said. 

Once Daddy Yankee finished entrancing us with his singing, Hernandez took the floor, delivering a sweet speech about how he always had two left feet and no one could get him to dance, and that Mira Quien Baila allowed him to connect with people more. Doing the show made him feel like a winner because the main person he wanted to impress, his wife, was incredibly proud of him. For his final dance, Roberto performed ‘Rico Vacilon’ by Rosendo Ruiz. Before exiting the stage, Roberto shared some advice and said that “no one should be afraid of failing, but afraid of not trying.” 

La Bronca was up next. La Bronca danced samba to ‘Para No Verte Más’ by La Mosca. Casper commented on how La Bronca’s personality is always big and exciting and that her spins were better; the only thing she had to work on was timing. Paty compared La Bronca to a tornado, since they both mark their presence and said that now, she dances with confidence. Dayanara said that the way La Bronca presents herself inspires her and that everyone can tell La Bronca is having fun with the dance. “I enjoyed La Bronca’s dance, because it seemed very fun and enthusiastic,” Isha Ray ’23 said, when asked what her favorite dance was. 

Chef Yisus entered the dance floor with confidence that came from being a finalist on the show. He noticed that dancing and cooking had many similarities. Chef Yisus believes that Mira Quien Baila saved him and his family in a way, because he began dancing when he had just lost his mother who wanted to see him dance. Yisus danced the tango to ‘El Choclo.’  Paty told him that she admired his work and talent for dancing. She said that she felt as if every time he danced, she felt like she was seeing his mom there with him. Dayanara said that Chef Yisus was bringing them masterpieces with each dance that he did, and she can feel his passion every time. Casper commented on Chef Yisus’ chemistry with his partner and how in sync they were and that the tech in this dance was hard, and that he should be proud of himself because he knows that Chef’s mom is proud of him. Chef Yisus said that dancing on this show turned one of the most difficult moments in his life into a fun one. “I thought that Chef Yisus was going to win because his dance was minimalistic, without too much going on in the background, which really let you soak in his talent,” said William Fernando ’23, having been entranced by Chef Yisus’ dance moves.

Finally it was Aleyda’s turn to dance. Aleyda’s dance to ‘Malo’ was about domestic violence and hit close to home for her because of her own personal experience with an abusive partner. Dayanara expressed that she was proud of  Aleyda for doing this to help put smiles on peoples faces and that Aleyda is a warrior for all she’s been through. Casper then critiqued Aleyda on her posture, since it sometimes got wobbly, but overall her timing was great, and the connection that she had to the dance was intense, making it powerful. Paty loves the passion that Aleyda puts into everything that she does, but argued that she needs more emotion because dance is not just technical skills. Many viewers were moved by Aleyda’s performance on promoting awareness on domestic violence. “My favorite finalist is Aleyda because her dancing was very strong and had a good message behind it,” said Isha Ray ’23.

The results are now in! In fourth place came La Bronca who was given $5,000 for the Charla Charity, a charity dedicated to ending the water crisis and providing clean water. In third place came Roberto Hernandez, who was given $5,000 for the Amhiga Hispana Foundation, whose main goal is to empower Spanish-speaking women. In second place, Aleyda Ortiz was able to donate $10,000 for Hogar Ruth, a domestic violence shelter that provides victims with support. Finally in first place, Chef Yisus  donated $30,000 for Amigos for Kids, a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing child abuse and neglect. Now it is fair to say that not everyone is always happy with the judges’ selection. But were the judges correct? “I definitely agree with the judges, because I enjoyed Chef Yisus’s dance the most. He was the focal point and had calm music. Plus, he was the main focus,” Fernando said, explaining why he thought Chef Yisus is the rightful winner. 

“Yes, the judges were spot on with their comments,”Achall said, who also agreed with the judges’ decision. “For the most part, I’d say it’s a fair decision. Yisus showed a lot of character in his dancing, but I also felt like Aleyda Ortiz also deserved to win. I thought that she danced very well in her dances, and she was very elegant and expressive in many of her dances, such as with ‘Entre Tu Cuerpo y El Mio,’” said Correa, regarding why he is sort of in the middle with the judges’ decisions on the winner. “I think that the judges made a good choice, but I liked La Bronca and Aleyda’s dances more,” Ray said. Many viewers agreed with this sentiment, as Aleyda’s dancing had more meaning, while La Bronca had more energy and vibrance in her dances. 

With that, the curtain dropped on the ninth season of Mira Quien Baila All Stars. This year’s season was very entertaining since it was comprised of people whom the audience was so used to seeing in talk shows and on the news. It really shed a new light on the people we see on Univision and helped us get to know the contestants a little more. This All Stars edition allowed all of the contestants to express their feelings and emotions in a way that the audience was not used to seeing before. And the most important thing is that everyone had fun!

To watch Mira Quién Baila Univision All Stars (subscription required), click HERE. 

“I thought that Chef Yisus was going to win because his dance was minimalistic, without too much going on in the background, which really let you soak in his talent,” said William Fernando ’23.