Mexico in the OTI Festival 1985


Mexico was represented at the OTI Festival 1985 with the song "El fandango aquí", written by, and performed by Eugenia León. The Mexican participating broadcaster, Televisa, selected its entry through a national televised competition with several phases. The song, that was performed in position 8, placed first out of 21 competing entries, winning the festival. This was the third entry from Mexico that won the OTI Festival, after winning in 1973 and in 1975.

National stage

Televisa held a national competition with four televised qualifying rounds, a playoff, two semi-finals, and a final to select its entry for the 14th edition of the OTI Festival. This fourteenth edition of the National OTI Festival featured twenty-eight songs in the qualifying rounds, twelve in the semi-finals, and six in the final. In addition to the general competition, awards were given for Best Male Performer, Best Female Performer, Best Musical Arrangement, Breakout Male Artist, and Breakout Female Artist among all the competing artists.
The qualifying rounds were held at Studio 2 of Televisa San Ángel, while the semi-finals and the final were held at the National Auditorium in Mexico City, all presented by Raúl Velasco, and broadcast on Las Estrellas. The musical director was, who conducted the orchestra when required.
SongArtistSongwriterConductor
"A tu merced"Gil RiveraGil RiveraJesús Medel
"Blue demon blues"Jaime LópezJaime López
"Búscame"Ana GabrielChucho Ferrer
"De aquí a la luna"Jorge MuñizJorge MuñizLuigi Lazareno
"El amor es amor"PrismaSylvia TapiaJulio Jaramillo
"El fandango aquí"Eugenia LeónEduardo Magallanes
"En mi soledad"Marcos FloresJesús Medel
"Fanático"Juan SantanaRubén Zepeda
"Guitarra"Sandra LhorGustavo A. Santiago
"La única mujer sobre la tierra"José Alberto FuentesSergio Andrade
"Mágico"María del SolCarlos LaraRicardo Toral
"Me haces falta"LilianaJorge Javier MartínezChucho Ferrer
"Mi opinión"Beatriz AdrianaMarco Antonio SolísRubén Zepeda
"Muñeco de papel"Sonia RivasJorge René González
"Navegaré"Mario PintorMario PintorJulio Jaramillo
"Por falta de ternura"JuliánLoroJesús Medel
"Porque te quiero"Fernando RibaRicardo Toral
"Qué razón tenías"Manuel AscanioJuan Ramón IbarraSalomón Jiménez
"Quiero abandonarme"Ricky LuisRicky LuisDavid Rojas
"Quisiera"Sergio Andrade
"Sangre, sol y barro"José RobertoJosé RobertoChucho Ferrer
"Sobreviviré"María MaríaNora BetancourtLuigi Lazareno
"Soy el rock and roll"VitorinoLuigi Lazareno
"Te quiero para mí"MorenitaSylvia TapiaChucho Ferrer
"Tú y yo en el tiempo"CrystalRubén ZepedaRubén Zepeda
"Una mujer"Mariana MaesseMary ReinaMarcos Lizama
"¿Y ahora qué hago?"Roco DamiánDamián OntiverosJesús Medel
"Y creo que voy a llorar"Arturo VázquezLuigi Lazareno

Qualifying rounds

The four qualifying rounds were held on Saturdays 3, 10, 17, and 24 August 1985. Each round featured seven entries, of which the two highest-scoring advanced to the semi-finals. In each round, after all the competing entries were performed, each of the eleven jurors cast one vote for each of their two favorite entries.
SongArtistVotesResult
1"Fanático"Juan Santana9Qualified
2"Por falta de ternura"Julián5
3"Sobreviviré"María María5Qualified
4"Una mujer"Mariana Maesse0
5"Te quiero para mí"Morenita3
6"¿Y ahora qué hago?"Roco Damián0
7"Soy el rock and roll"0

SongArtistVotesResult
1"Muñeco de papel"0
2"Búscame"Ana Gabriel2
3"En mi soledad"10Qualified
4"Y creo que voy a llorar"2
5"Porque te quiero"Fernando Riba1
6"Navegaré"Mario Pintor5Qualified
7"Quiero abandonarme"Ricky Luis2

SongArtistVotesResult
1"Mi opinión"Beatriz Adriana1
2"Tú y yo en el tiempo"Crystal4
3"A tu merced"Gil Rivera6Qualified
4"De aquí a la luna"Jorge Muñiz9Qualified
5"La única mujer sobre la tierra"José Alberto Fuentes1
6"Blue demon blues"Jaime López0
7"Guitarra"Sandra Lhor1

SongArtistVotesResult
1"El fandango aquí"Eugenia León9Qualified
2"Sangre, sol y barro"José Roberto2
3"Me haces falta"Liliana1
4"Qué razón tenías"Manuel Ascanio1
5"Mágico"María del Sol2
6"El amor es amor"Prisma6Qualified
7"Quisiera"1

Playoff

The playoff was held on Saturday 24 August 1985 following the fourth qualifying round. To select the last four semi-finalists, each of the eleven jurors cast one vote for each of their four favorite entries among the twenty not qualified.
SongVotesResult
1"Por falta de ternura"1
2"Una mujer"0
3"Te quiero para mí"0
4"¿Y ahora qué hago?"0
5"Soy el rock and roll"1
6"Muñeco de papel"0
7"Búscame"4Qualified
8"Y creo que voy a llorar"3
9"Porque te quiero"1
10"Quiero abandonarme"0
11"Mi opinión"3
12"Tú y yo en el tiempo"11Qualified
13"La única mujer sobre la tierra"4Qualified
14"Blue demon blues"0
15"Guitarra"2
16"Sangre, sol y barro"2
17"Me haces falta"3
18"Qué razón tenías"3
19"Mágico"5Qualified
20"Quisiera"0

Semi-finals

The semi-finals were held on Friday 30 and Saturday 31 August 1985. The twelve songs that had been qualified were distributed between the two semi-finals. In each semi-final, after all the competing entries were performed, each of the fifteen jurors cast one vote for each of their three favorite entries, and the three most voted songs from each semi-final went on to the final.
SongArtistVotesResult
1"De aquí a la luna"Jorge Muñiz3
2"Navegaré"Mario Pintor8Qualified
3"El amor es amor"Prisma5
4"Sobreviviré"María María6
5"Mágico"María del Sol9Qualified
6"En mi soledad"14Qualified

SongArtistVotesResult
1"A tu merced"Gil Rivera4
2"La única mujer sobre la tierra"José Alberto Fuentes9Qualified
3"Tú y yo en el tiempo"Crystal8Qualified
4"Búscame"Ana Gabriel3
5"Fanático"Juan Santana7
6"El fandango aquí"Eugenia León14Qualified

Final

The six-song final was held on Sunday 1 September 1985. The final was held in two rounds. In the first round, each of the fifteen jurors cast one vote for each of their three favorite entries, and the three most voted songs went on to the superfinal. In the superfinal, each juror announced aloud one vote for their favourite entry.
The winner was "El fandango aquí", written by, and performed by Eugenia León. The festival ended with a reprise of the winning entry.
SongArtistVotesResult
1"Tú y yo en el tiempo"Crystal54
2"La única mujer sobre la tierra"José Alberto Fuentes36
3"Mágico"María del Sol45
4"Navegaré"Mario Pintor6Qualified
5"El fandango aquí"Eugenia León13Qualified
6"En mi soledad"14Qualified

SongArtistVotesResult
1"Navegaré"Mario Pintor03
2"El fandango aquí"Eugenia León111
3"En mi soledad"42

Merit awards

In the final, the jurors voted for the Best Male and Female Performer, Best Musical Arrangement, and Breakout Male and Female Artist among the three shortlisted artist in each category.
José Alberto Fuentes received the Best Male Performer Award; the Best Female Performer Award; the Best Musical Arrangement Award for "El fandango aquí"; Ricky Luis the Breakout Male Artist Award; and Eugenia León the Breakout Female Artist Award.

Official album

Las 12 finalistas del Festival OTI 85 is the official compilation album of the fourteenth edition of the Mexican National OTI Festival, released by Melody in 1985. The vinyl LP features the studio version of the twelve songs qualified for the semi-finals.

At the OTI Festival

On 21 September 1985, the OTI Festival was held at Teatro Lope de Vega in Seville, Spain, hosted by Televisión Española, and broadcast live throughout Ibero-America. Eugenia León performed "El fandango aquí" in position 8, with Chucho Ferrer conducting the event's orchestra, and placing first of 21 competing entries, winning the festival. This was the third entry from Mexico that won the OTI Festival, after winning in 1973 and in 1975.