Mirla Castellanos, is a noted Venezuelan singer with a career spanning over 40 years. Often referred to as "La Primerísima", she started her career as a singer with the band "Cuarteto Los Naipes" in the 1960s before taking up a solo career. She has sold more than 13 million records worldwide.
OTI Festival was an annual singing competition, held between 1972 and 2000 among active member countries of the Organización de Televisión Iberoamericana (OTI). It was preceded in 1969 and 1970 by the Festival Mundial de la Canción Latina, held in Mexico.
Chile started participating in the OTI Festival in 1972 in Madrid and continued participating in an uninterrupted way till the last Show held in 2000 in Acapulco.
Brazil debuted in the OTI Festival in the first edition which was held in Madrid in 1972 and participated in the event intermittently from the start of the event till 1984. Rede Globo withdrew from the event in 1985 and 1986 and returned in 1987. Brazil withdrew again from 1988 to 1992. One year later, the Brazilian broadcaster made a brief return to the event till 1995. From 1996 on, Brazil retired definitively from the event.
Argentina was one of the founding members of the OTI Festival and debuted in the event in 1972 when the first contest was held in Madrid. Canal 7 and Canal 13 Argentina were the two OTI member broadcasters that organised the Argentine participation in the event. Since their debut, this country participated regularly in the festival till 2000, when the last edition took place. All the Argentine representatives in the show were selected internally.
Puerto Rico and its OTI member station, Telemundo Puerto Rico 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.
Spain and its OTI member station RTVE was one of the founding members of the OTI Festival and debuted in the event in 1972 in Madrid, being the host broadcaster of the first show. The Spanish participation in the song contest was almost uninterrupted, in fact, RTVE only withdrew from the contest in the edition of 1986, which was held in Santiago, as a protest against the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship.
Peru and its two OTI member stations, Panamericana TV and América Televisión, began their participation in the OTI Festival in 1972, in Madrid with Betty Missiego, who would represent Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest seven years later.
The Dominican Republic with its OTI member station Telesistema 11, was one of the founding countries of the OTI Festival and participated in the very first edition of the show in Madrid in 1972. Since then, the country participated almost uninterruptedly in the event. The Caribbean country only withdrew from the event in 1976, but one year later, the broadcaster rejoined the show and participated till the last edition in 2000 in Acapulco.
Honduras as the most of the Central American countries, took part for the first time in the OTI Festival in the edition of 1974, which was held in the Mexican coastal city of Acapulco. TNH, the OTI member broadcaster of that country selected Moisés Canelo as their first entrant, who achieved a respectable ninth place. After a withdrawal in 1975, the Honduran broadcaster rejoined the event and participated every year till the last show, which was held again in Acapulco.
Univision, formerly SIN, the biggest Spanish speaking TV channel of the US, was the OTI member station that organised the American participation in the OTI Festival. The network, whose main audience was the Spanish speaking community of the United States, debuted in the contest in 1974 in Acapulco with Rosita Perú and her song "Pero...mi tierra", which ended in the 17th place. Although the American broadcaster withdrawed from the event some years after its debut, Univision returned to the event and participated till the last edition in 2000 which was held again in Acapulco.
The OTI Festival 1972 was the very first edition of the annual OTI Festival and was held in Madrid, Spain. Organised by the Organización de Televisión Iberoamericana (OTI) and host broadcaster Televisión Española (TVE), the contest was held at the Palacio de Exposiciones y Congresos auditorium on Saturday 25 November 1972 and was hosted by Rosa María Mateo and Raúl Matas.
The OTI Festival 1973 was the second edition of the annual OTI Festival. It was held in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, following the country's victory at the 1972 contest with the song "Dialogo" by Claudia Regina and Tobías. Organised by the Organización de Televisión Iberoamericana (OTI) and host broadcaster Rede Tupi, the contest was held at the Palácio das Artes on Saturday 10 November 1973 and was hosted by Walter Forster and Íris Lettieri.
OTI Festival 1974 was the third edition of the annual OTI Festival. It was held in Acapulco, Mexico, following the country's victory at the 1973 contest with the song "Que alegre va María" by Imelda Miller. Organised by the Organización de Televisión Iberoamericana (OTI) and host broadcaster Televisa, the contest was held at the Ruiz de Alarcón Theatre on Saturday 26 October 1974 and was hosted by Raul Velasco and Lolita Ayala.
The OTI Festival 1975 was the fourth edition of the annual OTI Festival. It took place in San Juan, Puerto Rico, following the country's victory at the 1974 contest with the song "Hoy canto por cantar" by Nydia Caro. Organised by the Organización de Televisión Iberoamericana (OTI) and host broadcaster Telemundo, the contest was held at Telemundo television studios on Saturday 15 November 1975 and was hosted by Marisol Malaret and Eddie Miró.
The OTI Festival 1976 is the fifth edition of the annual OTI Festival. It took place in Acapulco, Mexico, following the country's victory at the 1975 contest with the song "La felicidad" by Gualberto Castro. Organised by the Organización de Televisión Iberoamericana (OTI) and host broadcaster Televisa, the contest was held at the Ruiz de Alarcon Theatre on Saturday 30 October 1976 and was hosted by Raúl Velasco and Susana Dosamantes. It was the second time that Raúl Velasco had hosted the event, as he also hosted the 1974 contest at the same venue, making him the first person to host the contest twice.
OTI Festival 1977 was the sixth edition of the annual OTI Festival. It took place in Madrid, Spain, following the country's victory at the 1976 contest with the song "Canta cigarra" by María Ostiz. Organised by the Organización de Televisión Iberoamericana (OTI) and host broadcaster Televisión Española (TVE), the contest was held at the Centro Cultural de la Villa de Madrid on Saturday 12 November 1977 and was hosted by Mari Cruz Soriano and Miguel de los Santos.
The OTI Festival 1978 was the seventh edition of the annual OTI Festival. It was held in Santiago, Chile, who offered itself to to stage the event after Nicaragua, who won the 1977 contest, was unable to organize it due the outbreak of the Nicaraguan Revolution. Organised by the Organización de Televisión Iberoamericana (OTI) and host broadcasters Televisión Nacional de Chile, Canal 13, UCV Televisión and Canal 9, the contest was held at the Municipal Theatre of Santiago on Saturday 2 December 1978 and was hosted by Raquel Argandoña and Raúl Matas. Matas had previously presented the inaugural OTI Festival back in 1972 in Madrid.
The OTI Festival 1979 was the eighth edition of the annual OTI Festival. It was held in Caracas, Venezuela after decided in a draw. Organised by the Organización de Televisión Iberoamericana (OTI) and host broadcaster Venevisión, the contest was held at the National Theatre of the Military Academy on Saturday 8 December 1979 and was hosted by Eduardo Serrano and Carmen Victoria Pérez.
The OTI Festival 1980 was the ninth edition of the annual OTI Festival. It was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, following the country's victory at the 1979 contest with the song "Cuenta conmigo" by Daniel Ríolobos. Organised by the Organización de Televisión Iberoamericana (OTI) and host broadcasters Canal 7 and Canal 13, the contest was held at the 1049-seat Martín Coronado room of the Teatro General San Martín on Saturday 15 November 1980 and was hosted by Antonio Carrizo and Liliana López Foresi.
