OTI Festival 1997

The festival consisted of a semi-final on Friday 24 October and a final on Saturday 25 October 1997, beginning at 20:00 PET (01:00+1 UTC). It was presented by Jorge Beleván and Claudia Doig. The musical director was Víctor Salazar, who conducted the 60-piece orchestra when required. The twenty-two participating entries were performed in the semi-final, of which only ten advanced to the final, with Peru having a guaranteed place in the final as the host country. The stage featured a large colorful backdrop in the semi-final, which was removed for the final, revealing the water fountain and the Metropolitan Cathedral behind it. The final featured a guest performance by Chayanne.

The winner was the song "Se diga lo que se diga" performed by Iridián representing Mexico; with "La hora cero" by Erick León representing Costa Rica placing second; and "Como humo de tabaco" by Dúo La Plata representing Spain placing third. The festival ended with a reprise of the winning entry.^[2]

Results of the final of the OTI Festival 1997^[3]

R/O	Country	Song	Artist	Place
2	Chile	"Nunca sabrás cuánto te amo"	Rachel	—N/a
3	Paraguay	"Las cuentas claras"	Cecilia Kunert	—N/a
8	Costa Rica	"La hora cero"	Erick León	2
	Argentina	"Sin tu mitad"	Raúl Lavié	—N/a
	Cuba	"Golondrina"	Tania Tania	—N/a
	Dominican Republic	"El amor que tuve"	Audrey Campos	—N/a
	Mexico	"Se diga lo que se diga"	Iridián	1
	Peru	"Un lugar sin fronteras"	Fabiola de la Cuba	—N/a
	Spain	"Como humo de tabaco"	Dúo La Plata	3
	Venezuela	"Nada igual que tu amor"	Félix Valentino	—N/a

The members of a single jury selected their favourite songs in a secret vote. In the final only the top three places were revealed. The members of the jury were:

• Los del Río – singer-songwriters
• Yuri – singer, represented Mexico in 1984
• Delia Fiallo – screenwriter
• Kike Santander – songwriter
• Mariela Alcalá [es] – singer
• Luis Aguilé – singer-songwriters
• Jordi Gómez Llunas – singer
• Claudia Dopft – Miss Peru 1997

The festival was broadcast in the 22 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.

Broadcasters and commentators in participating countries

Country	Broadcaster	Channel(s)	Show(s)	Commentator(s)	Ref.
Costa Rica	Repretel	Canal 6	Final		[4]
		Canal 9
Peru	CPR	América Televisión	All shows
Spain	TVE	La Primera	All shows	José Luis Uribarri	[5][6]