Puerto Rico in the OTI Festival
Puerto Rico and its OTI member station, Telemundo Puerto Rico (Now WKAQ-TV) was one of the founding countries of the OTI Festival and debuted in the show in 1972 in Madrid, competing uninterruptedly from the very first edition until the last show held in Acapulco in 2000.
| Puerto Rico | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member station | Telemundo Puerto RIco (WKAQ-TV) |
| National selection events | Internal Selection |
| Participation summary | |
| Appearances | 27 |
| First appearance | 1972 |
| Best result | 1º 1974 1º 1980 |
| Worst result | 18th 1982 |
| External links | |
| Telemundo Puerto Rico website | |
History
Puerto Rico, whose broadcaster selected its performers internally, had a promising start in the OTI Song Contest. In fact, the broadcaster always selected big names in order to compete in the event. The Caribbean island won the contest on two occasions, the first time with Nydia Caro and her song "Hoy sólo canto por cantar" (Today I just sing for singing) in 1974. This song, composed by Ricardo Cerrato, was enormously popular and very controversial for being considered an "anti-protest" song.[1]
Six years later, in Buenos Aires, the Puerto Rican branch of Telemundo recorded its second victory in the festival with Rafael José and his song "Contigo, mujer" (With you woman), which was composed by Laureano Brizuela and Ednita Nazario.[2]
Apart from their victories, the country managed to reach the top 10 in 8 occasions, but from 1983 on, the results of Puerto Rico in the contest started declining, In fact, since then, Telemundo was unable to reach the top ten positions again, until the last edition of the show in 2000, when the country got the second place with the media personality, José Vega Santana and his song "Con una canción" (With one song).
Telemundo Puerto Rico, hosted the OTI Festival in 1975 after the victory of Nydia Caro the previous year, according to the original rules of the show. The venue of the contest were the TV Studios of Telemundo in San Juan. The broadcaster created a colorful stage with a central platform and an orchestra section in the background.
Contestants
| Year | Artist | Song | Place | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | José Vega Santana | Con una canción (With one song) | 2 | |
| 1998 | Ariana | Yo te propongo (I suggest to you) | ||
| 1997 | Ángel Joel Peña | Almas solas (Lonely souls) | ||
| 1996 | Porto Latino | Ay, amor (Oh, Love) | ||
| 1995 | Carlos Alberto Fortuño | Latinoamericano (Latin American) | ||
| 1994 | Jéssica Cristina | Lo que te toca vivir
(What it's time for you to live) |
SF | |
| 1993 | Rumba y Bembé | Que siga la rumba (Let the rhumbe go on) | ||
| 1992 | Brenda Reyes | Atrapada en el tiempo (Catch the time) | ||
| 1991 | José Juan Tañón | Nuestra voz (Our voice) | SF | |
| 1990 | Ivonne Briel | La mujer que sueños vé
(The woman who sees dreams) |
||
| 1989 | Aldo Matta | ¿Por qué no volverás?
(Why won't you return?) |
||
| 1988 | Sandra Roger | Para ser feliz (To be happy) | 14 | 0 |
| 1987 | Marisol Calero | Soy mujer (I'm a woman) | ||
| 1986 | Maggy | Solos tú y yo, nadie más
(Justo you and me, nobody else) |
||
| 1985 | Juan Manuel Lebrón[3] | Represento (I represent) | ||
| 1984 | Lou Briel | Todo llega (Everything comes) | ||
| 1983 | Edgardo Huertas | Navegaré (I will sail) | ||
| 1982 | Lunna | Sin tu música (Without your music) | 18 | 5 |
| 1981 | Glen Monroig | Mírame a los ojos (Look into my eyes) | 15 | 8 |
| 1980 | Rafael José | Contigo Mujer (With you woman) | 1 | 36 |
| 1979 | Ednita Nazario | Cadenas de fuego (Fire chains) | 5 | 21 |
| 1978 | Rafael José | Háblame (Talk to me) | 4 | 35 |
| 1977 | Aquamarina | Piel Dormida (Aesleep skin) | 6 | 3 |
| 1976 | Eduardo Delgado | ¿Quién? (Who?) | 15 | 1 |
| 1975 | Los Hispanos | ¿Dónde vas, amigo?
(Where are you going to?, Friend?) |
5 | 5 |
| 1974 | Nydia Caro | Hoy sólo canto por cantar
(Today I sing just for singing) |
1 | 18 |
| 1973 | Óscar Solo | Yo quiero una orquesta (I want an orchestra) | 6 | 5 |
| 1972 | Chucho Avellanet | Por ti (For you) | 4 | 6 |
References
- "Nydia Caro celebrará 40 aniversario de su victoria en el Festival de la OTI". www.efe.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2017-06-05.
- "Rafael José a 35 años de haber ganado el OTI". El Nuevo Dia (in Spanish). 2015-11-06. Retrieved 2017-06-05.
- "TBT: Hace 30 años que Juan Manuel Lebrón cantó en el Festival OTI". Primera Hora. 2015-09-03. Retrieved 2017-06-05.