“Dancing with the Stars” has officially crowned the winner of Season 32. The season concluded on Tuesday night, with the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy being awarded to Xochitl Gomez And Val Chmerkovskiy.
The Season 32 finale kicked off with an opening number that included the season’s couples performing on the dance floor. The eliminated stars — including Barry Williams, Lily Pons, Mauricio Umansky, Harry Goski, Mira Sorvino and others — danced to Candy Staton’s “Young Hearts Run Free” alongside the finalists.
Season 31 champions Charli D’Amelio and Mark Ballas also returned to the stage to perform a routine to “Give It to Me Baby” by Rick James.
During the finale, each pair danced twice – a redemption dance, a reprise of one of their routines from earlier in the season, and a freestyle dance.
Gomez, 17, and her pro partner Chmerkovskiy paid tribute to the actress’ Mexican-American roots as part of their final dance routine. Their freestyle dance to “Que Calor” from Area 78 is set against a backdrop of candles leading up to makeshift “ofrenda” (or “offerings”) inspired by Day of the Dead altars.
“Acting is really huge for me… In Latin ballroom dancing, I really want to focus on the Latin part of it and make it as accurate as possible.” Gomez told “Good Morning America” after the finale. “I took Val to his first Día de los Muertos dinner, and that’s where he saw ofrenda, and he was inspired by that aesthetic and that look.”
Gomez is best known for her role as America Chavez in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. She has also appeared in the Netflix series “Gentefied” and “The Baby-Sitters Club.” She was included in Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list in 2022.
For more from NBC Latino, Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
