Cuba in the OTI Festival
Almost two decades after the very first edition of the OTI Festival, Cuba and its member station, the Cuban Institute of Radio and Television debuted in the event in 1991 turning into the very last Latin American country making its debut in the festival.
| Cuba | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member station | Cuban Institute of Radio and Television |
| National selection events | National Cuban Song Contest for OTI (1991) De La Habana a Valencia (1992-1994) Internal selection (1996-2000) |
| Participation summary | |
| Appearances | 8 |
| Best result | 3rd in 1995 |
| Worst result | In 1992, 1993 and 1996 |
| External links | |
| Cuban Institute of Radio and Television Website | |
The very first Cuban entry in the contest was "Si todos saben de ti" (If everybody knows about you) performed by Delia Díaz de Villegas, which was moderately successful making it to the top 10.[1]
The following year, Cuba kept on participating in the OTI Song Contest organising a national final from 1992 to 1994 and then, selecting the entrants internally.[2]
The best scoring Cuban entry came in 1995 in the Paraguayan city of San Bernardino with the song "Hoy que no estás" (Today you are not here) performed by Cristina Rebull, which came third in the festival.[3]
The following Cuban competing songs in the contest from 1996 to 2000 were also successful, managing again to reach the top 10.
Due to the short trajectory of Cuba in the OTI Festival, the country never won or hosted the festival which came to an end in 2000.
| Year | Artist | Title | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Delia Díaz de Villegas | Si todos saben de ti (If everybody knows about you) | 10 |
| 1992 | Augusto | Sólo para mí (Just for me) | _ |
| 1993 | Manolo Sánchez | Amor de miedo (Fearful love) | _ |
| 1994 | Oswaldo Rodríguez | Amor y cadenas (Love and chains) | 9 |
| 1995 | Cristina Rebull | Hoy que no estás (Today you ae not here) | 3 |
| 1996 | Eduardo Antonio | Me queda la canción (Only songs are left for me) | _ |
| 1997 | Tania Tania | Golondrina (Swallow) | 10 |
| 1998 | Osnel Odit Bavastro | Un sueño loco (A crazy dream) | 10 |
| 2000 | Indira Hernandez | Una vida nueva (A new life) | 10 |
References
- "Delia Díaz de Villegas represented Cuba in the OTI Festival".
- Ginori, Yin Pedraza (2015-11-18). "El blog de Pedraza Ginori: MIS OTROS FESTIVALES DE LA OTI / DE 1992 A 1995". El blog de Pedraza Ginori. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
- Vida!, Zoé Valdés ¡Libertad y (2017-02-12). "Cristina Rebull presentada por Luis de la Paz en Viernes de Tertulia". ¡Libertad y Vida! Zoé Valdés Publicación Digital. Retrieved 2017-04-05.