OTI Festival 1998
The OTI Festival 1998 was the 27th edition of the OTI Festival. It consisted of a semi-final on 13 November and a final on 14 November 1998, held at National Theatre of Costa Rica in San José, Costa Rica, and presented by Maribel Guardia and Rafael Rojas. It was organised by the Organización de Televisión Iberoamericana and host broadcaster Repretel. The event was jeopardized by hurricane Mitch.
Broadcasters from twenty-three countries participated in the festival. The winner was the song "Fin de siglo, éste es el tiempo de inflamarse, deprimirse o transformarse" performed by Florcita Motuda representing Chile; with "Sin amor" by representing Argentina placing second; and "Quem espera, desespera" by Beto representing Portugal placing third.
Location
The Organización de Televisión Iberoamericana accepted the proposal from Repretel to be the host broadcaster of the 27th edition of the OTI Festival. Repretel offered to be the sole host broadcaster following the withdrawal of Teletica, which staged the Costa Rican national final that year and did not want to take the risk of hosting after considering that it had been notified too late.Repretel staged the festival in San José. The venue initially selected was the Melico Salazar Theatre, but it had to be discarded as it was too deteriorated and gave a bad impression. The production was relocated to the National Theatre of Costa Rica, which was able to change the dates of the activities already scheduled and free up a whole week for the preparations. During the festival, 800 guests attended the event inside the theatre main hall. Outside the building, a platform was set up as a secondary stage for some of the guest performances, and a grandstand for an additional 400 guests who followed the event on two giant screens located in front of the Gran Hotel.
The celebration of the event was jeopardized when hurricane Mitch devastated the continent between 22 October and 9 November 1998, becoming one of the most intense and deadliest hurricanes of the 20th century. The OTI itself donated US$20,000 for the victims of the hurricane, and the audience was encouraged to make donations during the broadcast.
On 9 November, a welcome cocktail was held at San José Palacio Hotel upon the arrival of the participating delegations. On 11 November, they were presented to the press at that same hotel in the afternoon, and attended an official reception presided by Astrid Fischel Volio, vice president of Costa Rica and minister of culture, youth, and sports, at the National Culture Centre after sunset. On 12 November, they attended a traditional dinner at Pueblo Antiguo in Parque Diversiones; on 13 November, they had a dinner at Le Chandelier restaurant right after the semi-final; and on 14 November, the Costa Rican Tourism Board hosted a gala dinner for 300 guests at the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum right after the final, presided by, minister of turism, where they enjoyed a menu prepared by Marcela de Quirce.
Participants
Broadcasters from twenty-three countries participated in this edition of the OTI festival. The OTI members, public or private broadcasters from Spain, Portugal, and twenty-one Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries of Ibero-America signed up for the festival. All the countries that participated the previous edition returned, joined by the Netherlands Antilles which returned after being absent since 1995.Some of the participating broadcasters, such as those representing Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, and Mexico, selected their entries through their regular national televised competitions. Other broadcasters decided to select their entry internally.
Two performing artists had previously represented the same country in previous editions: María Elisa had represented Uruguay in 1974, and Florcita Motuda had represented Chile in 1978 and in 1981.
| Country | Broadcaster | Artist | Song | Language | Songwriter | Conductor | ||||||||
 Argentina|1861ill|Alicia Vignola|eslang\|es|Sin amor|i=nohlist|Bibi Albert|Héctor DengisFestival overviewThe festival consisted of a semi-final on Friday 13 November and a final on Saturday 14 November 1998. It was presented by Maribel Guardia and Rafael Rojas. The musical director was Álvaro Esquivel, who conducted the 60-piece Costa Rica Philharmonic Orchestra, assembled specifically for the occasion, when required; and the mixed choir of four voices. Eleven television cameras, positioned both inside and outside the theater, were used to broadcast the festival. The event had a cost of ₡79 million, of which ₡34 million were spent on the orchestra alone.Semi-finalThe semi-final was held on Friday 13 November 1998, beginning at 19:00 CST. The show featured guest performances by Curime, Jazz Garbo, Manú, Carlos Cuevas, Iridián, Carlos Mejía Godoy, Erick León, and the Costa Rican National Dance Company. The twenty-three participating entries were performed in the semi-final, of which only twelve advanced to the final, with Costa Rica having a guaranteed place in the final as the host country. Later that night, the organizing committee held a draw to determine the running order in the final.FinalThe final was held on Saturday 14 November 1998, beginning at 19:00 CST. The opening act featured the song "Bienvenidos", written for the occasion by Álvaro Esquivel, and a medley of well-known songs titled "Suite iberoamericana", both performed by and the members of the backing choir; and a three-minute documentary film about the natural beauty of Costa Rica directed by Édgar Silva. The show featured guest performances by Marta Sánchez, Rubén Blades, Cristian Castro,, Pimpinela, Soraya, and Emmanuel.The winner was the song "Fin de siglo, éste es el tiempo de inflamarse, deprimirse o transformarse" performed by Florcita Motuda representing Chile; with "Sin amor" by representing Argentina placing second; and "Quem espera, desespera" by Beto representing Portugal placing third. There was a statuette designed by Miguel Ortuño for the winner. The first prize was delivered by Astrid Fischel Volio and Miguel Alemán, president of OTI. The first prize was endowed with a monetary amount of US$30,000, the second prize of US$20,000, and the third prize of US$10,000. The festival ended with a reprise of the winning entry.
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United Stateslang\|es|Un ángel en mi habitación|i=noN/A