Popular Mexican reality show ends with audience voting for transgender with 18 million votes

After 71 days of intense competition, the first season of Mexico’s most popular reality show 'La Casa de los Famosos México' came to an end earlier this month, marking 30-year old transgender woman Wendy Guevara as the winner.

Guevara’s victory comes after handedly defeating 13 other competitors, earning the transgender the grand prize of four million of pesos ($236,000 U.S. dollars.)

Guevara won with 18 million votes, defeating Nicola Porcella in second place, Poncho De Nigris in third place and Sergio Mayer in fourth place in a total vote count of nearly 40.5 million for just one week.

The Mexican social media influencer quickly rose to popularity, becoming the first transgender to win a Mexican reality show. The upset sent shockwaves through Mexican news since the country has been known to encounter a high level of violence toward individuals identifying themselves as transgender.

Several parts of Mexico City were even closed to show Guevara support, a fact featured in the program, even when the influencer was almost voted off the show. Viewers followed her ups and down dramas closely, taking a keen interest in her relationship with actress Nicola Porcella.

Guevara was born in 1993 as Luis Carmen Guevara Venegas. He came from a humble family that made footwear and faced bullying from those who discriminated against him because of her sexual orientation, according to interviews she has given in the past.

A huge fan of the 2001 Mexican soap opera “Amiga y Rivales,” he was inspired to adopt a new identity based on actress Angélica Vale’s character, Wendy Nayeli.

In 2017, Guevara became a household name after filming a video, 'Las Perdidas' in which he and his friend were taken out by some men for drinks, and instead abandoned on a hill.

Desperate to find their way home, Guevara and the friend videoed themselves asking strangers for help. After the video went viral, the two won an award that same year from the MTV Millennial Awards (MIAW).

His outspoken opinions about the trans world has played a significant role in his rise as an acclaimed Mexican influencer. Although Guevara has assumed a female identity and name, he says he does not consider himself a woman, but rather a “transsexual girl.”

“I've always said I don't consider myself a woman,” Guevara said in a past interview. “In my opinion, a woman is the biological woman who can give birth to a baby, that's what a woman is.”

One of Mexico’s most popular influencers, Guevara has built a successful a career on social networks, and also markets various beauty-related businesses.

“La Casa de los Famosos” success has been hard earned and climbed to the top of Mexico’s television charts.

The reality show has a production team that includes over 300 people, and social networks have played a significant role in promoting the show to the mobile screen.

The show has been known to cast both younger and older stars from different parts of celebrity life, an ingredient partially responsible for a level of success that Mexican television had not experienced in decades. 

Mexican television viewing took a downturn with the increased use of mobile technology and streaming platforms.

The popularity of “La Casa de los Famosos” however drew many collective audiences, drawing Mexican friends and families to watch together in front of television sets, ultimately breaking records for participation and ratings as it captured the attention of the entire country.