Catalina Mercedes "Katty" López Samán (born February 27, 1983 in Guayaquil

Guayaquil

Guayaquil , officially Santiago de Guayaquil , is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador,with about 2.3 million inhabitants in the city and nearly 3.1 million in the metropolitan area, as well as that nation's main port...

) is an Ecuador

Ecuador

Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...

ian beauty pageant contestant who won Miss Ecuador 2006

Miss Ecuador 2006

The Miss Ecuador 2006 was on March 16, 2006. There were 16 candidates for the national title. The Miss Ecuador 2006 will represent Ecuador at Miss Universe 2006. The Miss World Ecuador would enter Miss World 2006. The Miss Internacional Ecuador would enter Miss International 2006...

. She competed in the third season of the Univision

Univision

Univision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest audience of Spanish language television viewers according to Nielsen ratings. Randy Falco, COO, has been in charge of the company since the departure of Univision Communications president and CEO Joe Uva...

 reality series Nuestra Belleza Latina

Nuestra Belleza Latina 2009

Nuestra Belleza Latina 2009 is the third season of Nuestra Belleza Latina premiered on March 2009. Auditions were once again held in five major US cities and in San Juan, Puerto Rico...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and came in third place.

Early life

Her mother died eight months after her birth, leaving her to be raised by her uncle Raul and aunt María Luisa. López considers them her parents and says, "they are the motivation of my life and the cornerstone of my philosophy." She has four siblings: Raúl, Luigi, Mariuxi and Juanito.

Miss Ecuador 2006

López represented her home province

Provinces of Ecuador

Ecuador is divided into 24 provinces . The provinces of Ecuador and their capitals are:1 Population as per the census carried out on 2001-11-25In addition, there are three areas within Ecuador that are non-delimited...

 of Guayas

Guayas Province

Guayas is a coastal province in Ecuador. It is bordered to the west by Manabí, Santa Elena, and the Pacific Ocean ; to the east by Los Ríos, Bolívar, Chimborazo, Cañar, and Azuay; to the north by Los Ríos and Bolívar; and to the south by El Oro and the Pacific Ocean.With a population of over 3...

 in the 2006 Miss Ecuador

Miss Ecuador 2006

The Miss Ecuador 2006 was on March 16, 2006. There were 16 candidates for the national title. The Miss Ecuador 2006 will represent Ecuador at Miss Universe 2006. The Miss World Ecuador would enter Miss World 2006. The Miss Internacional Ecuador would enter Miss International 2006...

 pageant and won the title on March 16, 2006.

Nuestra Belleza Latina 2009

López auditioned in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 for the Nuestra Belleza Latina

Nuestra Belleza Latina 2009

Nuestra Belleza Latina 2009 is the third season of Nuestra Belleza Latina premiered on March 2009. Auditions were once again held in five major US cities and in San Juan, Puerto Rico...

 series and was among the twelve to participate in the Miami

Miami, Florida

Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...

-based competition. She finished second runner-up.