La Academia
Presented by	Alan Tacher Rafael Araneda Mónica Garza Ingrid Coronado Bibi Gaytán Fernando Del Solar Adal Ramones Cynthia Rodríguez Yahir Vanessa Claudio Jaime Camil
Country of origin	Mexico
Original language	Spanish
No. of seasons	14
Production
Executive producers	Giorgio Aresu (2002–2005) Eva Borja (2006–2008) Magda Rodriguez (2009–2011) Juan Navarrete (2011) Roberto Romagnoli (2012–2014) Ángel Aponte (2018–2022)
Running time	Varies between 2 hours and 3 hours
Production company	TV Azteca
Original release
Network	Azteca Uno
Release	30 June 2002 (2002-06-30) – present

La Academia (The Academy) is a Mexicanreality musical talent television series shown onTV Azteca, that premiered in June 2002 and is currently in its thirteenth installment. Although the show itself is not affiliated with theEndemol franchise, which includes the "Star Academy" shows, it does share the competition format of many of the variants of the global franchise.

Over the first seasons, the show was a reliable dominator of its time-slot, which was shown by its triumph overTelevisa'sOperación Triunfo Mexico, in several countries including Chile, Peru and Venezuela. The rival show was only produced for one season, and was in fact the official Endemol entry in Mexico. The last seasons ofLa Academia had declining ratings, being aired against the Mexican version ofThe Voice, produced by Televisa, and it eventually ceased production in 2012. However, in 2018, Azteca rebooted the franchise and it aired a new generation ofLa Academia which received positive reviews from critics and saw an impressive increase in total viewership.

The show has been franchised to other countries: Azerbaijan (Akademiya), Malaysia (Akademi Fantasia), Indonesia (Akademi Fantasi Indosiar), United States (La Academia USA), Paraguay (La Academia Paraguay), Singapore (Sunsilk Academy Fantasia), Thailand (TrueAcademy Fantasia), Central America (La Academia Centroamérica) and Greece (House of Fame).

Each year, 14–49 people are selected to live together in a house isolated from the rest of the world, spending their days taking classes insinging,dancing,acting, and related fields, each preparing one or two songs for a 3-hour concert which they give each Sunday evening for TV viewers and a live studio audience. Each week, one of the contestants is eliminated based on the number of votes each one receives, until 4 to 10 students become the finalists and compete for the top prize. Viewers can vote by telephone, text or online.Camino a la Fama aired during weekday afternoons, but it was cancelled afterThe Ninth Generation. This show taped what the students' lives within theLa Academia house. It also demonstrated the singing, dancing, and acting classes.^{[citation needed]}

The longest serving judge has been Arturo López Gavito with ten seasons on the panel, followed by Lolita Cortés five seasons as judge plus two as the academy's director. Óscar Sarquiz, Chacho Gaytán and Horacio Villalobos remain in third place, having been part of the judging panel three seasons each.^{[citation needed]}

Whereas for hosts, Alan Tacher and Rafael Araneda both were part of the show for four seasons each, with Ingrid Coronado hosting three seasons. Judge and host Yahir, and two-time host Cynthia Rodríguez are two of the academy's students who have been part of the panel.^{[citation needed]}

La Academia began on 7 July 2002. Fourteen were selected to be part ofThe First Generation, and Alan Tacher was selected to host. TheNational Auditorium inMexico City served as the setting for the final concert, where the winner received aCoca-Cola touring contract, a worldwide trip, a brand newChevrolet TrailBlazer and the top prize:MX$2.5 million and a recording contract.^{[citation needed]}

Miguel Ángel, Myriam, Nadia, Víctor and Yahir reached the finale held on 1 December 2002.Myriam Montemayor Cruz was declared the winner ofLa Academia.^{[citation needed]}

The Second Generation was presented at the final concert ofThe First Generation on 1 December 2002. Once again, theNational Auditorium inMexico City served as the setting for the final concert, where the winner received the top prize ofMX$2.5 million and a recording contract.

Freddi, Manuel, Marco, Rosalía and Érika reached the finale held on 30 March 2003.Érika Alcocer Luna was declared the second winner ofLa Academia.

A year after the end ofThe Second Generation,The Third Generation, with far more production than before, began on 13 March 2004. TheTeotihuacan Hall inAcapulco served as the setting for the final concert, where the winner received a brand new car and a larger top prize ofMX$3 million and a recording contract.

This Season was the first to had a permanent judging panel.

Dulce, Melissa, César,Lety Lopez, Carlos and Israel reached the finale held on 4 July 2004.Carlos Rivera Guerra was declared the third winner ofLa Academia.

Almost a year after the start ofThe Third Generation,The Fourth Generation began on 27 February 2005. TheMonterrey Arena inMonterrey served as the setting for the final concert, where the winner received the newly raised top prize ofMX$3.5 million and a recording contract.

The Fourth Season was highly controversial, with conflicts between contestant Jolette Hernández and members of the judge panel as the main source of controversy. The final results were also controversial, as frontrunner Yuridia placed second at the grand finale.

Yuridia, Adrian, Cynthia, Erasmo, Edgar and Silvia reached the finale held on 3 July 2005. Yuridia Gaxiola Flores was declared the fourth winner ofLa Academia.

The Light Generation began on 9 July 2006, where the fewest contestants, four, became finalists. Theboardwalk of the Port of Veracruz inVeracruz served as the setting for the final, and first open-air, concert, where the winner received the top prize ofMX$3 million and a recording contract.

This was the first season hosted by a female with Monica Garza.

Colette, Renata, Samuel and Marbella reached the finale held on 17 December 2006.Samuel Castelli Marini was declared the fifth winner ofLa Academia.

The Last Generation began on 31 August 2008. TheVíctor Manuel Reyna Stadium inTuxtla Gutiérrez,Chiapas served as the setting for the final concert, where the winner received the top prize ofMX$3 million, a recording contract and the newLa Academia Trophy.

Perla, María Fernada, Fabiola, Luis Armando and Valeria reached the finale held on 12 December 2008.María Fernanda Alvo Díaz was declared the sixth winner ofLa Academia.

Later Maria Fernanda, Valeria, Perla, Jackie, Fatima and Alex formed a girl group called G6; Fabiola Rodas won the third season of Desafio de Estrelas a year later.

The New Generation was renewed due to the popular demand^{[citation needed]} and led by the most outspoken critic, Lolita Cortés, beginning on 4 October 2009. This season featured 36 contestants, and seven, became finalists. TheVíctor Manuel Reyna Stadium inTuxtla Gutiérrez,Chiapas once again served as the setting for the final concert, where the winner received the lowest top prize ofMX$1 million and a recording contract.

Agustín, Oscar, Fabiola, Sebastián, Menny, Giovanna and Napoleón reached the finale held on 20 December 2009.Giovanna Nicole Paz was declared the seventh winner ofLa Academia.

*Jesús Antonio Guerrero Cruz is Daniel Solís's real birth name and 46 was his real age when he was expelled.

Bicentennial Generation was the name given to this season in honor of the 200 years of Mexican independence. It began on 12 September 2010, featuring 49 contestants, and 10 finalists, marking an all-time high for the series. TheVíctor Manuel Reyna Stadium inTuxtla Gutiérrez,Chiapas, served as the setting for the finale for a third time. For the first time ever, two winners were announced: one was chosen by the panel of critics as well as Lolita Cortés andLa Academia teachers, winning the International Prize ofUS$20,000; the other was chosen by the viewers, winningLa Academia: Bicentenario andMX$1 million.

Luis, Eri, Gerardo, Esmeralda, Carolina, Johnny, Daniel, Edgar, Paolo and Edu reached the finale held on 19 December 2010.Esmeralda Ugalde Mota was declared the eighth winner ofLa Academia. Paolo Ragone won the first and only International Prize.

* Winner of the International Prize

La Academia 2011 premiered on 21 August 2011,^[17] and it was the first reality show to be aired in 3D. It featured 35 contestants. The season was led by Eduardo Capetillo, and hosted by his wife Bibi Gaytán accompanied by Rafael Araneda. During the middle of the competition, on 26 October, Eduardo Capetillo announced to the contestants that Magda Rodriguez was no longer the producer (she was fired due to low ratings). Juan Navarrete became the new producer. At the end of the 11th. Concert, Eduardo Capetillo announced that he would look for new contestants to join the competition. On the 12th. and 13th. Concert, 6 new contestants (Cecilia, Dianela, Héctor, Valeria, Alfonso, Gaby) were brought to the competition. After involvingLa Academia on a personal matter, Eduardo Capetillo and Bibi Gaytán were fired on 7 December 2011, 2 weeks before the finale. It was announced Julio Preciado would take his place as principal for the remaining weeks of the competition and Ingrid Coronado will return to host the semifinal and finale. The finale was held on 18 December, once again inVíctor Manuel Reyna Stadium inTuxtla Gutiérrez,Chiapas. The winner receivedMX$500,000 in addition to the cash prize accumulated over the course of the competition and a recording contract.

Emanuel, Cecilia, Gustavo, Ronald, Gil, Yanilen, Erick, Hancer, Pablo & Carmen reached the finale.Erick Sandoval was declared the ninth winner ofLa Academia.

* The specific rank wasn't revealed, but the contestants are listed in order of elimination

The Decade Generation premiered on 26 August 2012, celebrating the tenth anniversary ofLa Academia.^[18][19][20] Fernando De Solar and his wife Ingrid Coronado were introduced as the new hosts ofLa Academia. On August, 16, it was confirmed that the four judges will be Marta Sánchez, Julio Preciado, Cruz Martínez andFirst Generation's fourth place, Yahir. Chacho Gaytán, serve as the Principal of this generation. In this season, the contestants were no longer isolated as they could use the social media to keep in touch with fans and family. On September, 16, the winner ofThe First Generation, Myriam, joined the judges panel. The finale was held on December, 16, inTuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas. The Polyforum Chiapas, served for the first time as the setting of the final concert. The winner received a Recording Contract andMX$1,000,000.

Alexis, Chucho, Manuel, Rubí, Santana & Selene reached the finale.Alexis Montoya was declared the tenth winner ofLa Academia.