Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

was one of the founding members of the

OTI Festival OTI Festival ( es, Festival OTI de la Canción, pt, Festival OTI da Canção), often known simply as La OTI, was an international song competition, organised annually between 1972 and 2000 by the Organización de Televisión Iberoamericana (OTI) ...

and debuted in the event in 1972 when the first contest was held in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

. 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 (except for 1974) till 2000, when the last edition took place. All the Argentine representatives in the show were selected internally.

History

Argentina was one of the most iconic and successful countries in the history of the OTI Festival. The two broadcasters managed to win the contest on four occasions. The first win came in 1979 in

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

by Daniel Riolobos and his song "Cuenta conmigo" (Count on me) which turned into a hit. Some years later, in 1988 Argentina won the festival for second time with Guillermo Guido and his song "Todavía eres mi mujer" (You're still my wife). In 1991, in

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has bee ...

(México) the South American country won for a third time with

Claudia Brant Claudia Alejandra Menkarski (born July 21, 1966), known as Claudia Brant, is an Argentine composer, producer and singer

and her song "Adonde estás ahora?" (Where are you now?). Three years later, in the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

city of

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

, the country won for fourth and last time with Claudia Clarenzio and her elegantly performed song "Canción despareja" (Unlinked song). Apart from their victories, Argentina achieved second place on another four occasions in 1981, with Marianella and her song "Súbete a mi nube" (Ride in my cloud), in 1985, with Marcelo Alejandro and his song "Y tu, prohibida" (And you... Forbidden)", in 1996, with the return of Guillermo Guido and his song "Cuanto te amo" (How much I love you) and in 1998, with Alicia Vignola with her song "Sin amor" (Without love). Argentina also achieved two third places in 1980 with Luis Ordoñez and 1986 with Hugo Marcel.

Contestants

Guillermo Guido's four appearances are of note, as he returned to the event in 1996 and 2000 after his victory in 1988. Victor Heredia - 1983

{{OTI Festival OTI Festival Argentine culture