In this edition in which the number of participating countries rose again to 21, Argentina won for the very first time the festival with the performer Daniel Riolobos and his song "Cuenta conmigo" (Count on me).

Brazil was the winning country of the previous year's edition with Denise de Kalafe and her song "El amor...cosa tan rara" (Love...

Caracas, the capital city of Venezuela, was chosen as the host place of this edition of the festival and Venevisión, the participating broadcaster of the Caribbean country, became the organiser of the event.

Portugal also made the decision to return to the event after a one-year withdrawal because of the equally unexpected low result of their performer two years before in the Spanish capital city.

In this edition, as that of last year, there was a huge scandal when Estela Núñez, who was an unknown singer back then, won with the support of the jurors against the preferences of the audience.

In that country, the favourites to represent Mexico in the international OTI Festival were the widely popular performers Yuri and Emmanuel.

Although the selection of Estela Núñez with her song "Vivir sin ti" (To live without you) initially angered the audience, she was applauded after her reprise performance.

When the performance round started, both presenters made a brief individual introduction of the participating singers, quoting the name of the entrants, the lyricist and the director of the orchestra.

The Puerto Rican performer Ednita Nazario was the third one to take the stage with her ballad "Cadenas de fuego" (Chains of Fire), which was well received by the local and Venezuelan press, becoming one of the main favourites to win the event.

Portugal, with José Cid and his song "Na cabana junto à praia" (In the Hut Next to the Beach) was received with admiration by the audience and by the jurors.

There was a tie in the fifth place between the contestant from Brazil Represented by Miltinho with his song "Conselho" (Advice) and the Puerto Rican performer Ednita Nazario with Cadenas de fuego "Fire chains".

The Ecuadorian representative Miguel Ángel Vergara got the last lace with zero points with his song "Como tener tu cariño" (How to have your love) The audience figures, as those of the previous year, reached the level of 300 million viewers.

Miltinho, the famous Brazilian samba performer who won fifth place in this edition of the OTI Festival, would go on with his already successful career releasing many studio albums and hit songs.

Other performers, such as the Peruvian José Escajadillo who specialised in Creollan music, would enjoy a successful career after getting the eleventh place in this edition of the festival with the song "Benito Gazeta".