Ecuador in the OTI Festival


and its two OTI member stations, Teleamazonas and Ecuavisa debuted in the OTI Festival in 1974 in the third edition of the festival, which was held in the coastal city of Acapulco, with the singer Hilda Murillo with her song "Las mariposas". Since then, the Andean country took part in the contest util the last edition in 2000 which was held again in Acapulco.

History

Ecuador's history in the Latin American song contest did not yield any victories. Teleamazonas and Ecuavisa, however, achieved a number of top 5 finishes.
The Ecuatorian debut in the OTI Festival was successful because of Hilda Murillo's fifth place. After that, the country didn't repeat that success, and in the following two years, the delegation ended in the bottom five of the scoreboard. However, in 1977 the female singer Marielisa with her song "Sonreir cuando quiero llorar" took the Ecuadorian broadcasters back to fifth place. In contrast, in 1978, 1979 and 1980, Ecuador registered its worst placings ever with two last places with zero points.
After some unsuccessful participations, in 1985 in Seville, the indigenous Quechua singer Jesús Fichamba recorded a second-place finish for Ecuador for the first time with his song "La pinta, la niña y la Santa María" in a reference to the three boats led by Christopher Columbus, who discovered America. The performer, who appeared on stage with the traditional Quechua suit, was acclaimed.
Two years later in Lisbon, the Andean country repeated the success with another indigenous singer, Gustavo Velázquez, and his ethnic pop song "Mi amigo el condor".

National Final

Ecuavisa and Teleamazonas also organised an annual national contest in order to select the Ecuatorian participant in the OTI Festival. As in the other participating countries who opted for this way of selecting their entrants, the winner was selected by a professional jury.

Contestants

AñoArtistaCanciónLugar;Pts
:es:OTI_2000|2000Danilo RoseroCanto por ti, por amor
:es:OTI_1998|1998Evelyn y FabricioFijate
:es:OTI_1997|1997Luis CaicedoTe quiero
:es:OTI_1996|1996Duo AgualunaVuela vuela
:es:OTI_1995|1995Tierra BuenaMira
:es:OTI_1994|1994Juan Carlos y P. TeránTemporada baja
:es:OTI_1993|1993PericlesÉl tiene razón
:es:OTI_1992|1992Jesús FichambaUna canción para dos mundos
:es:OTI_1991|1991Juan Carlos CórdovaPara escribir una canción
:es:OTI_1990|1990PATRICIO LOPEZ ECUADORPor amor al arte
:es:OTI_1989|1989Hnos. Miño NaranjoMi campesina
:es:OTI_1988|1988Ketty PazmiñoJuan Cansino
:es:OTI_1987|1987:es:Gustavo_Velázquez|Gustavo VelázquezMi amigo el cóndor 2
:es:OTI_1986|1986Tannya LópezPobres niños, pobre mundo
:es:OTI_1985|1985:es:Jesús_Fichamba|Jesús FichambaLa Pinta, la Niña y la Santa María2
:es:OTI_1984|1984:es:Alfredo_Mármol|Alfredo MármolDéjame saber 5
:es:OTI_1983|1983:es:Nicky_Bravo|Nicky BravoMenos de ti 20
:es:OTI_1982|1982André KatanAprenderé 210
:es:OTI_1981|1981Los Hnos. DiabloAmérica1211
:es:OTI_1980|1980Jeanneth SalgadoEn un instante 213
:es:OTI_1979|1979Miguel A. GuevaraCómo tener tu cariño
21
:es:OTI_1978|1978:es:Gracian|GracianJuan, el infeliz 18
:es:OTI_1977|1977MaríelisaSonreír cuando quiero llorar
5
:es:OTI_1975|1976Tito Del SaltoMis veinte años 15
:es:OTI_1975|1975Miriam ConstanteYo quiero componer el mundo con mis manos
17
:es:OTI_1974|1974:es:Hilda_Murillo|Hilda Murillo 5