U.S. casting for Azteca America´s La Academia Kids close with a celebration

The nation-wide U.S. casting call for La Academia Kids of Azteca America drew to a close with a giant celebration. Hundreds of youngsters demonstrated their performing talent, hoping to qualify for the final phase of the audition process for the program that shows the world the future stars of music and television. La Academia Kids is the children’s version of La Academia. The charismatic Ingrid Coronado returns as host for the second season, joined by Mariana Torres and Carlos Arenas. The first American city to host auditions was San Antonio, followed by Dallas, two places that welcomed hundreds of young people eager to demonstrate their singing and acting abilities. Auditions next moved to Phoenix and Tucson, where more young hopefuls were chosen to participate in the final casting that took place this weekend in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Local talent performed alongside the best from the other host cities. Verónica del Castillo, host of Al Extremo, and Poncho de Anda, host of Venga la Alegría, served as talent judges alongside Rodolfo Jiménez, Mayte Prida, and Said García Solís. Also present at the casting calls across the United States were several established music stars.