OTI Festival 2000

The OTI Festival 2000 was the 28th and last edition of the OTI Festival. It consisted of a semi-final on 19 May and a final on 20 May 2000, held at the Salón Teotihuacán of the in Acapulco, Mexico, and presented by Emmanuel, Andrea Legarreta, Bárbara Ferré, Gabriela Spanic, and Nora Salinas. It was organised by the Organización de Televisión Iberoamericana and host broadcaster Televisa. Initially scheduled for 19–20 November 1999 in Veracruz, it had to be postponed and relocated due to the severe flooding that occurred in early October in the country, which devastated the city.
Broadcasters from twenty countries participated in the festival. The winner was the song "Hierba mala" performed by Hermanas Chirino representing the United States; with "Con una canción" by José Vega representing Puerto Rico placing second; and "Mi vida" by Natalia Sosa representing Mexico placing third.

Location

The Organización de Televisión Iberoamericana designated Televisa as the host broadcaster for the 28th edition of the OTI Festival. The event was initially scheduled for 19–20 November 1999 in Veracruz, but it had to be suspended due to the severe flooding that occurred in early October in the country, which devastated the city. Televisa, in agreement with the OTI, decided to postpone the event to May 2000, relocating it to Acapulco. The venue selected was the Salón Teotihuacán of the, which is a multipurpose hall with an area of within the convention and exhibition center. The hall had hosted the festival in 1991.

Participants

Broadcasters from twenty countries participated in this edition of the OTI Festival. The OTI members, public or private broadcasters from Spain, Portugal, and eighteen Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries of Ibero-America signed up for the festival. From the countries that participated in the previous edition only Colombia, the Netherlands Antilles, and Uruguay were absent.
Some of the participating broadcasters, such as those representing Chile, Costa Rica, and Cuba, 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: had represented Argentina in 1988 and 1996, and Luis Fernando Piedra had represented Costa Rica in 1993.

Country

Broadcaster

Artist

Song

Language

Songwriter

Conductor

Argentina|1861ill|Guillermo Guido|eslang\|es|Amar es tan simple|i=no

Festival overview

The festival consisted of a semi-final on Friday 19 May and a final on Saturday 20 May 2000. It was presented by Emmanuel, Andrea Legarreta, Bárbara Ferré, Gabriela Spanic, and Nora Salinas. The musical director was Nando Hernández, who conducted the orchestra when required.

Semi-final

The semi-final was held on Friday 19 May 2000. The twenty participating entries were performed in the semi-final, of which only ten advanced to the final, with Mexico having a guaranteed place in the final as the host country.

Country

Artist

Song

Result

Bolivialang\|es|Destino|i=noN/A

Final

The final was held on Saturday 20 May 2000. It opened with a medley of some of the songs that have won the festival throughout its history performed by the members of the backing choir: "Una canción no es suficiente", "A dónde voy sin ti", "Canción dispareja", "La felicidad", "Se diga lo que se diga", and "Fin de siglo, éste es el tiempo de inflamarse, deprimirse o transformarse", with the latter leaded by its original singer Florcita Motuda. The show also featured another winning song performed by its original performer: "El fandango aquí" by Eugenia León ; and other performances by Charlie Zaa, Marco Antonio Solís, Hernaldo Zúñiga, Francisco Céspedes, and Emmanuel.
The winner was the song "Hierba mala" performed by Hermanas Chirino representing the United States; with "Con una canción" by José Vega representing Puerto Rico placing second; and "Mi vida" by Natalia Sosa representing Mexico placing third. There was a trophy for each of the first three places. The first prize trophy was delivered by Emilio Azcárraga, president of OTI, and the beauty ambassador of Costa Rica; the second prize trophy by Eladio Lárez, vice-president of OTI, and the beauty ambassador of Venezuela; and the third prize trophy by Nicolás Castillo, president of the OTI programs committee, and the beauty ambassador of the United States. The festival ended with a reprise of the winning entry.

Country

Artist

Song

Place

Cubalang\|es|Una vida nueva|i=noN/A

Jury

The nine members of a single jury selected their favourite songs in a secret vote. The voting system was not disclosed, and in the final only the top three places were revealed, with third place awarded to two songs jointly. The members of the jury were:

Emanuel Ortega – singer-songwriter
Felipe Gil – songwriter, wrote the entries for Mexico in 1975 and 1981, winning in 1975
Alejandro Abad – singer-songwriter, wrote the winning entries for Spain in 1993 and 1995
Charlie Zaa – singer
Florcita Motuda – musician, represented Chile in 1978, 1981, and 1998, winning in 1998
– composer, wrote the entry for Mexico in 1979
Kike Santander – composer
Hernaldo Zúñiga – singer-songwriter, represented Nicaragua in 1974
Noelia – singer-songwriter

Broadcast

The festival was broadcast in the 20 participating countries where the corresponding OTI member broadcasters relayed the contest through their networks after receiving it live via satellite.
Known details on the broadcasts in each country, including the specific broadcasting stations and commentators are shown in the tables below.