El Salvador in the OTI Festival
El Salvador and its OTI member station Telecorporación Salvadoreña (TCS) debuted in the OTI Festival in 1974 in Acapulco with many of their Central American neighbours. The first Salvadorean performer in the song contest was Félix Lopez with his song "Todo será de nosotros" (Everything will be ours), which placed 10th with three points in a tie with México, Honduras and the Netherlands Antilles. Since then, the country took part in every edition of the festival till the last edition which was held again in Acapulco.
| El Salvador | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member station | Telecorporación Salvadoreña (TCS) |
| National selection events | Internal selection |
| Participation summary | |
| Appearances | 25 |
| First appearance | 1974 |
| Best result | 6th in 1977 |
| Worst result | Last in 1975 |
| Nul points | in 1975 |
| External links | |
| Telecorporación Salvadoreña website | |
History
El Salvador was one of the least successful participants in the OTI Festival. In 1975 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, one year after their debut, the Central American country finished last with zero points in a tie with Bolivia.
In Madrid in 1977 TCS achieved sixth place for El Salvador with Ana Marcela D'Antonio with her song "Enseñame a vivir" (Teach me how to live) which was acclaimed by the juries and the press. This was the first an only time when the Salvadorean delegation reached the top ten places in the contest.
Although El Salvador never managed to win the festival, it achieved a significant result with Álvaro Torres who took part in the festival in Santiago with his song "Gracias" (Thank you) in 1978. Even though he ended second to last, tied with Colombia, his career took off thanks to his performance in the OTI Festival.
Contestants
| Year | Artist | Song | Place | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Marinella Arrué | Soñador (Dreamer) | ||
| 1998 | Julio Roberto Hernández | Año 2000 (The year 2000) | ||
| 1997 | Rafael Alfaro | Cantándole a la vida
(Singing to life) |
||
| 1996 | Juan Manuel Bolaños | Con alguien más
(With someone else) |
||
| 1995 | Matices | Ven aquí conmigo
(Come here with me) |
||
| 1994 | Claudia Basagoitia | Tú, sólo tú (You, only you) | ||
| 1993 | Roberto Salamanca | Ella (She) | ||
| 1992 | María Gabriela | Ruego (I pray) | ||
| 1991 | Rosa María Aguilar | Esta noche no (Not tonight) | ||
| 1990 | Walter Artiga | Todavía el amor perdona
(Love still forgives) |
||
| 1989 | Gerardo Parker | Quisiera (I would like) | ||
| 1988 | Walter Artiga | No está bien (It's not good) | ||
| 1987 | Iliana Posas | Nadie más que tú
(No none else than you) |
||
| 1986 | Jaime Turich | Pensalo dos veces, Martín
(Think it twice, Martín) |
||
| 1985 | Oscar Alejandro | Vendedor de canciones
(Song seller) |
||
| 1984 | Carlos Hernandez | Soy (I am) | ||
| 1983 | Ernesto Guerra | Del principio al final
(From the start to the end) |
||
| 1982 | Félix López | Con un cuento en el bolsillo
(With a tale in the pocket) |
11 | 14 |
| 1981 | Eduardo Fuentes | El latinoamericano
(The Latin American) |
12 | 11 |
| 1980 | Ricardo Alfaro | El séptimo día (The seventh day) | 19 | 4 |
| 1979 | Andrés Valencia | Niño, mi lindo niño
(Child, my beautiful child) |
14 | 10 |
| 1978 | Álvaro Torres | Gracias (Thank you) | 16 | 1 |
| 1977 | Ana Marcela D'Antonio | Enséñame a vivir
(Teach me how to live) |
6 | 3 |
| 1976 | Walter Salvador Bautista | Tú que no mueres en la muerte
(You, who doesn't die in the death) |
15 | 1 |
| 1975 | Eduardo Fuentes | Trataré de olvidarte
(I will try to forget you) |
17 | 0 |
| 1974 | Félix López | Todo será de nosotros
(Everything will be ours) |
10 | 3 |