Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

and its two OTI member stations, Panamericana TV and

América Televisión América Televisión is a Peruvian television network, founded in 1958. The network is owned by Plural TV, which is a joint venture of the '' El Comercio'' and ''La República'' daily newspapers. It was the second television channel to be fou ...

, began their participation in 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) ...

in 1972, 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 ...

with

Betty Missiego Beatriz Teresa Missiego Campos (born 16 January 1938 in Lima, Peru) better known as Betty Missiego () is a Peruvian singer, who has held dual Spanish citizenship since 1972 and lives in Spain. In her native Peru, Betty began her career as a dan ...

, who would represent

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

in the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

seven years later. Although the Peruvian debut in the Latin American song contest was apparently well received, her song "Recuerdos de un adiós" (Memories of a goodbye) didn't convince the juries and ended third to last. Peru never won the OTI festival, but during their uninterrupted participation the country achieved many successes and placed in the top 10 several times.

History

Even though the debut of Peru in the festival was not successful, the following entries, which were selected internally, were much more promising. In fact, one year later, in

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte (, ; ) is the sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population around 2.7 million and with a metropolitan area of 6 million people. It is the 13th-largest city in South America and the 18th-largest in the Americas. The metropol ...

, the performer Gabriela de Jesús, placed second with her song "El mundo gira por tu amor" (The world turns thanks to your love). In 1977, again in Madrid, the singer Cecilia Bracamonte managed to place sixth for Peru with her song "Lando" which turned into a hit in the South American country. Some years later, in 1982, when

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

, the Peruvian capital city, hosted the event for first time, the singer Elsa María Elejalde managed again to take the country to the top 10 with a seventh place. In 1988, in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, the singer Rocky Belmonte achieved third place for Peru with the song "Partiré Buscaré" (I will depart, I will search) and in 1996 in Quito, the Peruvian broadcaster ended in the same place with Carmina Cannavino and her song "Bendito amor" (Blessed love). The last Peruvian representative in the event was

Anna Carina Anna Carina Copello Hora (born 14 August 1981) is a Peruvian dancer, actress and singer-songwriter. In 2010, she was nominated for the Premios Orgullosamente Latino: Soloist of the Year, Latin Song of the Year, Latin album of the Year, and Vi ...

, who, although she didn't manage to reach the top 10, turned into a well known personality in the Andean country.

Contestants

Rocky Belmonte, who represented Perú in the OTI Festival in 1988, placing third, returned to the event in 1994 in,

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 ...

with his song "Mía" (Mine) getting the 12th place.

References

{{OTI Festival OTI Festival Peruvian culture