The United States was represented at the OTI Festival 1989 with the song "", written by Margarita Andino, and performed by Iris and Margie. The participating broadcaster representing the country, Univision, selected its entry through a national televised competition. The song, that was performed in position 17, was not among the top-three places revealed. In addition, Univision was also the host broadcaster and staged the event at the James L. Knight Center in Miami.
National stage Univision held a national televised competition to select its entry for the 18th edition of the OTI Festival. This was the twelfth edition of the . In the final, each song represented a Univision affiliate, each of which had selected its entry through a local pre-selection.
Félix López, who qualified for the final by winning the Houston pre-selection, had already represented El Salvador in 1982 and 1974.
Central California pre-selection On Saturday 5 August 1989, KFTV held a televised pre-selection at the Fresno Memorial Auditorium in Fresno, beginning at 20:00 PDT (03:00+1 UTC). This twelfth edition of the Central California Local OTI Festival featured ten songs. It was presented by Jorge Muñiz, and broadcast on Channel 21 on Sunday 13 August, beginning at 19:30 PDT (02:30+1 UTC).
The winner, and therefore qualified for the national final, was "", performed by Rodrigo González.
+ Result of the Local OTI Festival – Central California 1989 Song Artist Songwriter(s) Result "" Rodrigo González
Tampa pre-selection On Sunday 6 August 1989, WBHS held a televised pre-selection in Tampa, beginning at 18:30 EDT (22:30 UTC). This sixth edition of the Tampa Local OTI Festival featured seven songs. It was broadcast on Channel 61.
The winner, and therefore qualified for the national final, was "" written by Esther María Tellado and performed by Jaime Jacob.
+ Result of the Local OTI Festival – Tampa 1989 Song Artist Songwriter(s) Result "" Jaime Jacob Esther María Tellado Fausto Antonio Gastón García Henry Guerra Dinorah Rivas Roy Soto Jaime Torres
Houston pre-selection On Saturday 26 August 1989, KXLN-TV held a televised pre-selection at the Wortham Theater Center in Houston. This second edition of the Houston Local OTI Festival featured twelve songs, selected from the seventy received. It was presented by Beatriz Alvarado and José Ramírez, assisted by Pedro de Pool, Laurinda Flores, and Manny López, and broadcast on Channel 45. The show featured guest performances by Lupita Ferrer, , and Carlos Mata.
The jury was composed of Jesús López Guizar, Javier Figueras, , Nicolasa, and Raúl Vale as chairperson. Each juror scored each of the entries between 1 and 5 points.
The winner, and therefore qualified for the national final, was "", written and performed by Félix López; with "", written by Iván Senteno and performed by Fernando González and Werner Baertschi, placing second; and "", written and performed by Alejandro Martínez placing third. The first-place trophy was presented by José Adán Treviño, president of the station, the second prize trophy by Beatriz Alvarado, and the third-place trophy by Laurinda Flores. The festival ended with a reprise of the winning entry.
+ Result of the Local OTI Festival – Houston 1989 Song Artist Songwriter(s) Result 1 "" Héctor Darío Tapasco 2 "" Ramón Torres José Villarreal 3 "" Fey Libertad Samuel Pérez Córdoba 4 "" Jesús Rodríguez Jesús Rodríguez 5 "" Theo Alvarado Carlos Montes 6 "" Félix López Félix López 7 "" Gloria Regil Ricardo Flores 8 "" Sergio del Valle Sergio del Valle 9 "" José Antonio Gómez José Antonio Gómez 10 "" Rafael de Bastos Rafael de Bastos 11 "" Fernando González and Werner Baertschi Iván Senteno 2 12 "" Alejandro Martínez Alejandro Martínez 3
Los Angeles pre-selection On Thursday 31 August 1989, KMEX-TV held a televised pre-selection at The Hollywood Palace in Los Angeles. This eleventh edition of the Los Angeles Local OTI Festival featured eight songs, selected from the 412 received. It was presented by Andrés García and , and the musical director was Roberto Arballo Betuco. It was broadcast on Channel 34 on Sunday 3 September, beginning at 20:00 PDT (03:00+1 UTC).
The jury was composed of Chuck Anderson, María del Rey, José Silva, Emily Simonitsch, Kenny O'Brien, Isabela Sotelo, and Eduardo Quezada as chairperson.
The winner, and therefore qualified for the national final, was "", written and performed by Juan José; with "", performed by Miguel Enrique, placing second.
+ Result of the Local OTI Festival – Los Angeles 1989 Song Artist Songwriter(s) Conductor Result 1 "" 2 "" 3 "" 4 "" Juan José Juan José 5 "" 6 "" 7 "" Miguel Enrique 2 8 "" Margarita Luna Rubén Trujillo Javier Pontón 4
San Antonio pre-selection On Friday 8 September 1989, KWEX-TV held a televised pre-selection at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center in San Antonio, beginning at 20:00 CDT (01:00+1 UTC). This edition of the San Antonio Local OTI Festival featured twelve songs. It was presented by Franco and Blanca Santos, and broadcast on Channel 41 on Sunday 17 September, beginning at 20:30 CDT (01:30+1 UTC).
The jury was composed of Mary Esther Bernal, Ramiro Burr, Paul Elizondo, Rosita Fernández, Ada García, David González, Salomé Gutiérrez, Santiago Nieto, Ovidio Rodríguez, and Juan Tejada.
The songs were performed by Agustín Ariza, Lina del Roble Cronful, Zenaida Alvarado, Sylvia Bezi, Mario Márquez, Cecilio González, Adalberto Gallegos, José Rosario, Luis A. Urbina, Sylvia Montiel, Luis Damián, and Xavier González. Songwriters competing included Mario A. Sánchez, Miguel Nacel, José E. González, Black Alonso, Efraín S. Palacios, Sergio Ruiz, and Jonathán Zarzosa.
The winner, and therefore qualified for the national final, was "", performed by Xavier González.
+ Result of the Local OTI Festival – San Antonio 1989 Song Artist Songwriter(s) Result "" Xavier González
Dallas–Fort Worth pre-selection KUVN held a televised pre-selection. This was the first edition of the Dallas–Fort Worth Local OTI Festival. It was broadcast live on Channel 23.
The winner, and therefore qualified for the national final, was "", performed by Luz María Zárate.
+ Result of the Local OTI Festival – Dallas–Fort Worth 1989 Song Artist Songwriter(s) Result "" Luz María Zárate "" Andrea Teicher Andrea Elisabeth Teicher
Final The final was held on Thursday 28 September 1989 at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, beginning at 20:00 EDT (00:00+1 UTC), and featuring fourteen songs. It was presented by Lucy Pereda and Antonio Vodanovic, and broadcast live on all Univision affiliates. The show featured guest performances by Lucía Méndez, Franco, Ednita Nazario, Franco De Vita, and Luis Enrique.
The jury was composed of María Sorté, Lolita de la Colina, Yuri, Willy Chirino, Ruddy Rodríguez, Luca Bentivoglio, Henry Sakka, Gabriel Traversari, Madelín Marchant, and Laura Fabián.
The winner was "" representing WLTV–Miami, written by Margarita Andino, and performed by Iris and Margie; with "" representing WCIU–Chicago, written by Daniel Recalde and performed by Liliana Campuzano, placing second; and "" representing KDTV–San Francisco, written and performed by Cristina Stibor, placing third. In addition, Liliana Campuzano received the Best Performer Award, and Héctor Garrido the Best Musical Arrangement Award for "". The festival ended with a reprise of the winning entry.
+ Result of the final of the Song Artist Affiliate Result "" Iris and Margie WLTV–Miami 1 "" Félix López KXLN-TV–Houston "" Jaime Jacob WBHS–Tampa "" Rodrigo González KFTV–Fresno "" Juan José KMEX-TV–Los Angeles "" Xavier González KWEX-TV–San Antonio "" Luz María Zárate KUVN–Dallas–Fort Worth "" Héctor Flabio Martínez and Blanca Morales KTVW-TV–Phoenix "" Rodrigo Azagra KLUZ-TV–Albuquerque "" Gerard Grimaud WXTV–New York "" Cristina Stibor KDTV–San Francisco 3 "" Lilo González W48AW–Washington D.C. "" Héctor Salomón KINT-TV–El Paso "" Liliana Campuzano WCIU–Chicago 2
At the OTI Festival On 18 November 1989, the OTI Festival was held at the theater of the James L. Knight Center in Miami, hosted by Univision, and broadcast live throughout Ibero-America. Iris and Margie performed "" in position 17. The song was not among the top-three places revealed at the end.
After the OTI Festival In 1990, María Conchita Alonso released "" as the first single from her studio album also titled . Her cover version of the song peaked at 24 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart.
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