The participation of Argentina in the OTI Festival first began at the inaugural OTI Festival in 1972 held in Madrid. Canal 7 and Canal 13 Argentina, members of the Organización de Televisión Iberoamericana (OTI), were responsible for the Argentinian participation. Its participation in the song contest was only interrupted once, in 1974. All the Argentinian representatives in the show were selected internally.
| Argentina | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Participating broadcaster | |
| Participation summary | |
| Appearances | 27 |
| First appearance | 1972 |
| Last appearance | 2000 |
| Highest placement | 1st: 1979, 1988, 1991, 1994 |
| Host | 1980, 1988 |
History
Argentina was one of the most 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 with the song "Cuenta conmigo" sung by Daniel Riolobos, which turned into a hit. Some years later, in 1988 they won the festival for second time with the song "Todavía eres mi mujer" sung by Guillermo Guido. In 1991, in Acapulco it won for a third time with "Adonde estás ahora? by Claudia Brant. Three years later, in 1994 in Valencia, the country won for fourth and last time with "Canción despareja" by Claudia Carenzio.
Apart from their victories, Argentina achieved second place on another four occasions: in 1981 with "Súbete a mi nube" by Marianella, in 1985 with "Y tu, prohibida" by Marcelo Alejandro, in 1996 with "Cuanto te amo" by Guillermo Guido, and in 1998 with "Sin amor" by Alicia Vignola. Argentina also achieved two third places in 1980 with "Dime adiós" by Luis Ordóñez and 1986 with "A ti no te ha dicho" by Hugo Marcel.
Participation overview
Guillermo Guido's three appearances are of note, as he returned to the event in 1996 and 2000 after his victory in 1988.
| 1 | First place |
| 2 | Second place |
| 3 | Third place |
| F | Finalist |
| SF | Semi-finalist |
| X | Contest cancelled |
| Year | Artist | Song | Place | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Víctor Heredia | "Sabes que estamos aquí, América"[a] | 9 | 3 |
| 1973 | Juan Eduardo | "Dije que te quiero"[b] | 9 | 3 |
| 1974 | Did not participate | |||
| 1975 | Marty Cosens | "Dos habitantes"[c] | 11 | 3 |
| 1976 | Adriana Santamaría | "Como olvidar que te quise tanto"[d] | 8 | 3 |
| 1977 | Jerónimo | "Jugar a Vivir"[e] | 6 | 3 |
| 1978 | Carlos Bazán | "Dijeron que era un niño"[f] | 11 | 7 |
| 1979 | Daniel Riolobos | "Cuenta conmigo"[g] | 1 | 43 |
| 1980 | Luis Ordóñez | "Dime adiós"[h] | 3 | 31 |
| 1981 | Marianella | "Súbete a mi nube"[i] | 2 | 40 |
| 1982 | Magdalena León | "Para dar las gracias"[j] | 4 | 22 |
| 1983 | Silvina Garré | "Charlaciones"[k] | 16 | – |
| 1984 | Alan y Roy | "La luz de mi escritorio no se enciende"[l] | – | – |
| 1985 | Marcelo Alejandro | "Y tu, Prohibida"[m] | 2 | – |
| 1986 | Hugo Marcel | "A ti no te ha dicho"[n] | 3 | – |
| 1987 | Lalo Márquez y Daniel Altamirano | "Todavía la vida"[o] | 15 | – |
| 1988 | Guillermo Guido | "Todavía eres mi mujer"[p] | 1 | 26 |
| 1989 | Mónica Cruz | "Te quedarás en mi"[q] | – | – |
| 1990 | Trío San Javier | "Quedate chiquilin"[r] | – | – |
| 1991 | Claudia Brant | "¿Adonde estás ahora?"[s] | 1 | – |
| 1992 | Horacio Molina | "Lo vivido"[t] | – | – |
| 1993 | Marcelo San Juan | "Yo soy el otro"[u] | – | – |
| 1994 | Claudia Carenzio | "Canción despareja"[v] | 1 | – |
| 1995 | Inés Rinaldi y Fernando Porta | "Si se pierden las canciones"[w] | – | – |
| 1996 | Guillermo Guido | "Cuanto te amo"[x] | 2 | – |
| 1997 | Raúl Lavié | "Sin tu mitad"[y] | SF | – |
| 1998 | Alicia Vignola | "Sin amor"[z] | 2 | – |
| 1999 | Contest cancelled X | |||
| 2000 | Guillermo Guido | "Amar es tan simple"[aa] | SF | – |
Hosting
| Year | City | Venue | Hosts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Buenos Aires | Teatro General San Martín |
| [1] |
| 1988 | Teatro Nacional Cervantes |
| [2] |