The OTI Festival 1996 (, ) was the 25th edition of the OTI Festival, held on 14 December 1996 at the of the in Quito, Ecuador, and presented by Christian Johnson and Ximena Aulestia. It was organised by the (OTI) and host broadcaster the (ACTVE).
Broadcasters from twenty-two countries participated in the festival. The winner was the song "", written by Chema Purón and , and performed by Anabel Russ representing Spain; with "", written by Carlos Castellón, and performed by representing Argentina, placing second; and "", written by Ángel Chanon, and performed by representing Peru, placing third.
Location The (OTI) designated the (ACTVE), formed by broadcasters such as Ecuavisa, Gamavisión, and Teleamazonas, as the host broadcaster for the 25th edition of the OTI Festival. The association staged the event in Quito. The venue selected was the of the . The house of Ecuadorian culture is a cultural organization founded in 1944 that has several halls and theaters, including the National Theatre, which seats 2,015 people.
Participants Broadcasters from twenty-two countries participated in this edition of the OTI festival. The OTI members, public or private broadcasters from Spain, Portugal, and twenty Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries of Ibero-America signed up for the festival. From the countries that participated in the previous edition, Brazil and Canada were absent.
Some of the participating broadcasters, such as those representing Chile, Cuba, Ecuador, and Panama selected their entries through their regular national televised competitions. Other broadcasters decided to select their entry internally.
One performing artist had previously represented the same country in previous editions: had won the festival for Argentina in 1988.
+ Participants of the OTI Festival 1996 Country Broadcaster(s) Song Artist Songwriter(s) Language Conductor Argentina "" Carlos Castellón Spanish Carlos Castellón Bolivia "" Huáscar Bolívar Vallejo Huáscar Bolívar Vallejo Spanish Claudio Jácome Harb Chile TVN "" José Luis Moya José Luis Ubiergo Spanish Colombia "" Duo Voz en Off Daniel Betancourt Spanish Claudio Jácome Harb Costa Rica "" Sergio Coto Spanish Cuba ICRT "" Eduardo Antonio Eduardo Antonio Spanish Claudio Jácome Harb Dominican Republic "" Frank Ceara Manuel Tejada Spanish Manuel Tejada Ecuador "" Aldo y Gianny Salvador Alberto Caleris Spanish Claudio Jácome Harb El Salvador TCS "" Juan Manuel Bolaños Guillermo Maldonado Spanish Gerardo Parker Guatemala "" Álvaro Aguilar Álvaro Aguilar Spanish Roberto Estrada Honduras "" Millicent Viera José Antonio González Spanish Claudio Jácome Harb Mexico Televisa "" Sergio Arzate Spanish Nicaragua "" Manuel Salvador Baltodano Manuel Salvador Baltodano Spanish Claudio Jácome Harb Panama "" Omar Argel Espinosa Darío Espinosa Spanish Paraguay "" Jorge Castro Alberto Aguilera Spanish Mauricio Cardozo Ocampo Peru "" Ángel Chanon Spanish Portugal RTP "" Elaisa Portuguese Johnny Galvão Puerto Rico Telemundo Puerto Rico "" Grupo Porto Latino Rodolfo Barreras Spanish Pedro Toledo Spain TVE "" Anabel Russ Spanish Eduardo Leiva United States Univision "" Raffy Jorge Marcos Spanish Uruguay "" Los Iracundos Los Iracundos Spanish Julio Frade Venezuela "" Dina Jean Paul Cole Spanish
Festival overview The festival was held on Saturday 14 December 1996, beginning at 18:00 ECT (23:00 UTC). It was presented by Christian Johnson and Ximena Aulestia. The musical director was Claudio Jácome Harb, who conducted the orchestra when required. The stage was designed by Oswaldo Guayasamín.
The winner was the song "", written by Chema Purón and , and performed by Anabel Russ representing Spain; with "", written by Carlos Castellón, and performed by representing Argentina, placing second; and "", written by Ángel Chanon, and performed by representing Peru, placing third. The first prize was endowed with a monetary amount of US$30,000, the second prize of US$20,000, and the third prize of US$10,000. The festival ended with a reprise of the winning entry.
+ Results of the OTI Festival 1996 Country Song Artist Place 1 Peru "" 3 2 Venezuela "" Dina 3 Costa Rica "" Sergio Coto 4 Mexico "" Sergio Arzate 5 Colombia "" Duo Voz en Off 6 Portugal "" Elaisa 7 Cuba "" Eduardo Antonio 8 Uruguay "" Los Iracundos 9 Panama "" Omar Argel Espinosa 10 Guatemala "" Álvaro Aguilar 11 Spain "" Anabel Russ 1 12 Argentina "" 2 13 Chile "" José Luis Moya 14 Dominican Republic "" Frank Ceara 15 Puerto Rico "" Grupo Porto Latino 16 Paraguay "" Jorge Castro 17 Nicaragua "" Manuel Salvador Baltodano 18 El Salvador "" Juan Manuel Bolaños 19 United States "" Raffy 20 Honduras "" Millicent Viera 21 Bolivia "" Huáscar Bolívar Vallejo 22 Ecuador "" Aldo y Gianny Salvador
Jury The members of a single jury selected their favourite songs in a secret vote. Only the top three places were revealed. The members of the jury were: Marcos Llunassinger, won the festival for Spain in 1995 Alejandro Abadsinger-songwriter, wrote the winning entries for Spain in 1993 and 1995 composer, wrote the entries representing Ecuador in 1985 and 1989 Victoria Puig de Langecomposer, wrote the entry representing Ecuador in 1978 Omar Fierrotelevision host Ana Bárbarasinger actor singer-songwriter, represented Chile in 1995 actress Betty Pinoradio host
Broadcast The festival was broadcast in the 22 participating countries where the corresponding OTI member broadcasters relayed the contest through their networks after receiving it live via satellite.
Known details on the broadcasts in each country, including the specific broadcasting stations and commentators are shown in the tables below.
+ Broadcasters and commentators in participating countries Country Broadcaster Channel(s) Commentator(s) TVE José Luis Uribarri
References