Controversy arose after the judges eliminated Yuridia , the clear favorite to win , because she did not appear in Concert 8 . Several sources of the Mexican media and some shows , especially from Televisa , claimed the producers planned the whole thing to improve ratings for the show . Bad rumors about the Desafío also arose when Jolette , controversial former '' Academia '' participant , claimed Cynthia , attractive '' Desafío '' participant , was being supported by one of the producers , who prevented her elimination from the competition . ( Cynthia was eliminated before the final round , she was not one of the final six contestants . Cynthia organized a concert to benefit the families of miners killed in an accident in Coahuila . Many of the top contestants of '' Desafío de Estrellas '' participated , and Cynthia was able to donate ten thousand pesos each to every family who lost a loved one in the disaster . ) < ! -- Unsourced image removed : Throughout 25 concerts , the first one airing on January 8 , 2006 , 32 contestants ( being Yuridia the favorite ) competed to become one of the 6 finalists who would compete for a grand prize of three million peson ( 300,000 dollars ) . In these concerts , three participants were chosen three times as the '' best singer of the night '' , '' ' Adrián ' '' , '' ' Aranza ' '' , and '' ' Erasmo Catarino ' '' . Also , six participants were chosen for a major concert in '' The Metropolitan '' , an important auditorium in Mexico City : '' ' Erasmo Catarino ' '' , '' ' Cynthia ' '' , '' ' Estrella ' '' , '' ' Miguel Ángel ' '' , '' ' Aranza ' '' and '' ' Raúl '' '
miners killed in an accident in Coahuila
Pasta de Conchos mine disaster
Desafio de Estrellas