Codie Cabral of San Diego Wins Si TV's Model Latina Miami

Codie Cabral of San Diego Wins Si TV's Model Latina Miami

Competition Opens Door to Career Opportunities in Media, Modeling, Advertising, Music and More

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- For Codie Cabral, the road to fame started in the unlikeliest of places: her father's firehouse.

Si TV, the first television network dedicated to inspiring and entertaining American Latinos in English, last night crowned Cabral, a resident of the San Diego suburb of Murrieta, as the winner of the network's popular series, Model Latina (www.sitv.com/modellatina).

Cabral, 21, outlasted 15 stunning, fiercely determined finalists from numerous hometowns across the country to win the coveted title. The original, 13-week series premiered Aug. 2 and culminated last night with Cabral's selection as the contestant who best exemplified the inner strength, beauty and intellect to be this year's Model Latina. Miami's super-hot South Beach was home to this year's series.

"I was speechless," Cabral said after the finale. "No words could explain the feeling I had, accomplishing my goal of being Model Latina. I remember flashing back to all the things I had to fight through to get here. There is no better feeling than the one you get when your dreams are coming true. It's great that Si TV is out there as a vehicle to encourage Latinos to pursue their dreams and know that anything is possible, not only via Model Latina but in so many other ways as well."

Cabral's dreams of a modeling and acting career had taken a bit of a detour, as she was on her way to a culinary career when she heard about the Model Latina competition from her father. He and his firefighting colleagues watched season one of the series last year at the firehouse, and he told his daughter about the show. She decided to give it a shot.

"I had tried modeling for a while but I just didn't seem to be getting anywhere with it, so I went to culinary arts school for a year since I love cooking," Cabral said. "When I heard about the Model Latina auditions, I decided to try to pursue my dream one more time."

She knew that last year's Model Latina winner, New Yorker Jessica Caban, parlayed her success on the show into a contract with L'Oreal, featured roles in music videos, magazine fashion spreads, a television commercial, a lead role in a sitcom ("Trevino") and many other projects.

Cabral hopes to use Model Latina as a launching pad as well.

"I thought that just being on the show would open doors for me, but winning the competition takes the possibilities to a whole new level," Cabral said.

Immediate benefits going to Cabral include a $10,000 prize, a modeling contract with top talent agency Q Management, the opportunity to become a Si TV hosthttp://www.latina.com/ and much more.

"The modeling contract is huge and I'm sure will lead to some great jobs," Cabral stated after the show.

But, more than that, Cabral said that winning Model Latina already has changed her.

"It makes me even more proud of being a Latina woman," she said. "I want to be a mentor, letting Latina women everywhere know that no matter what obstacles stand in the way, if you take a chance and work hard enough, if you want it bad enough, it will come true. The show also enabled me meet beautiful and powerful women that will remain my friends for a lifetime. I took in all the advice that I was given and am applying it to my everyday life as well as my career in modeling."

While Model Latina featured gorgeous contestants, the reality series put a twist on typical model competition shows by emphasizing the distinctive beauty of what it means to be Latina. The call was open to Latinas ages 18-26 who could demonstrate that they have the brains, beauty and style required to be the Model Latina. The series differs from other modeling reality shows because it recognizes that the winner will be a spokesperson for the Latino community. Accordingly, the contestants were judged on their verbal and written skills, confidence, public speaking abilities and overall capability to assume this prominent role.

Maria Perez-Brown, Senior Vice President, Programming for Si TV and an executive producer on Model Latina Miami, said that Cabral was a great choice as this year's honoree.

"Codie epitomizes the young, ambitious modern Latina who lives with a foot in two cultures," Perez-Brown said. "She is very proud of her Mexican heritage and comes from a tight-knit and supportive family. Codie also understands her responsibilities as an 'ambassador' of the Latino culture because there are so few Latinas in the world of fashion, whether as models or as businesswomen. Codie also reflects the Si TV audience, which consists of the educated, sophisticated young American Latinos who live and work in the American culture while embracing their Latino roots."

Casting sessions for Model Latina Miami were held in New York, Miami, Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco, where hundreds of potential contestants appeared at each location. Judging the on-air competition were TV personality Jai Rodriguez, celebrity stylist Jorge Ramon, actress/supermodel Jennifer Gimenez and Q Management's Jeffrey Kolsrud. Expert guest judges representing the fashion and entertainment industry also appeared throughout the run of the series. Designers Anel Verna and Nicole Sainz, Miami real estate guru (and former Apprentice star) Katrina Campins and actor Alfonso "Poncho" de Anda were among the diverse judges lending their expertise to the core panel to help find the newest Model Latina.

About Si TV

Si TV is America's first media company to reach the millions of 18-34-year-old Latinos who prefer their content in English and seek it across all platforms - including linear television, the internet, video-on-demand and wireless devices. Si TV offers authentic, relevant content and a 70% original programming slate that ranges from outrageous comedy to music, independent movies, lifestyle and talk. The network is available nationwide on Dish Network, and in more than 200 cities and communities across America, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Detroit, Denver, San Antonio and Las Vegas. Si TV's cable and telco affiliates include AT&T, Comcast, Cox, Insight, Qwest, Time Warner Cable and Verizon, among others. For more information about Si TV, please visit www.sitv.com.

Source: Si TV

CONTACT: Mark Braff, Braff Communications LLC, +1-201-612-0707,
mbraff@braffcommunications.com, for Si TV

Web Site: http://www.sitv.com/

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