United States in the OTI Festival

The representatives from the United States in the OTI Festival were mainly Latino performers and bands born in the country, but sometimes, they opted to select famous singers from other Ibero-American countries. The country won the event for first time in 1986 with the song "Todos" –which sent a message of unity between the Latin community in the country– sung by a trio composed by the performers Damaris Carbaugh, Miguel Ángel Guerra [es] and Eduardo Fabiani. The second victory for the United States was in the last event in 2000 with the song "Mala hierba" sung by Hermanas Chirino.^[1]

Apart from their victories, the United States managed to get two consecutive second places: in 1977 in Madrid with the song "Si hay amor vendrá" by Lissette Álvarez, and in 1978 in Santiago de Chile with the song song "Ha vuelto ya" by Susy Lemán. They got another second place in 1992 in Valencia with the song "No te mueras, América" by Carlo de la Cima. In 1981 and 1982, they got third place.

The United States hosted the OTI Festival on three occasions, the first one in 1983 in the Constitution Hall of Washington, D.C., which was presented by the Cubans Rafael Pineda and Ana Carlota. This edition of the festival was famous because the ceremony was opened by a message by the President of the United States, Ronald Reagan sent to the Spanish speaking community which hailed their contribution to the cultural diversity of the country. They also hosted the event in 1989 in Miami having the James L. Knight Convention Center as the venue and in 1990 in the Caesars Palace of Las Vegas.