OTI Festival 1996

The OTI Festival 1996 (Spanish: Vigésimo Quinto Gran Premio de la Canción Iberoamericana, Portuguese: Vigésimo Quinto Grande Prêmio da Canção Ibero-Americana) was the 25th edition of the OTI Festival, held on 14 December 1996 at the Teatro Nacional of the Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana in Quito, Ecuador, and presented by Christian Johnson and Ximena Aulestia. It was organised by the Organización de Televisión Iberoamericana (OTI) and host broadcaster the Asociación de Canales de Televisión del Ecuador (ACTVE).

Broadcasters from twenty-two countries participated in the festival. The winner was the song "Manos" performed by Anabel Russ representing Spain; with "Cuánto te amo" by Guillermo Guido representing Argentina placing second; and "Bendito amor" by Carmina Cannavino representing Peru placing third.

The Organización de Televisión Iberoamericana (OTI) designated the Asociación de Canales de Televisión del Ecuador (ACTVE), formed by broadcasters such as Ecuavisa, Gamavisión, and Teleamazonas, as the host broadcaster for the 25th edition of the OTI Festival. The association staged the event in Quito. The venue selected was the Teatro Nacional of the Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana. The house of Ecuadorian culture is a cultural organization founded in 1944 that has several halls and theaters, including the National Theatre, which seats 2,015 people.

Broadcasters from twenty-two countries participated in this edition of the OTI festival. The OTI members, public or private broadcasters from Spain, Portugal, and twenty Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries of Ibero-America signed up for the festival. From the countries that participated in the previous edition, Brazil and Canada were absent.

Some of the participating broadcasters, such as those representing Chile, Ecuador, and Panama selected their entries through their regular national televised competitions. Other broadcasters decided to select their entry internally.

One performing artist had previously represented the same country in previous editions: Guillermo Guido had won the festival for Argentina in 1988.

The festival was held on Saturday 14 December 1996, beginning at 18:00 ECT (23:00 UTC). It was presented by Christian Johnson and Ximena Aulestia. The musical director was Claudio Jácome Harb, who conducted the orchestra when required. The stage was designed by Oswaldo Guayasamín.

The winner was the song "Manos" performed by Anabel Russ representing Spain; with "Cuánto te amo" by Guillermo Guido representing Argentina placing second; and "Bendito amor" by Carmina Cannavino representing Peru placing third. 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.^[2] The festival ended with a reprise of the winning entry.

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

• Marcos Llunas – singer, won the festival for Spain in 1995
• Alejandro Abad – singer-songwriter, wrote the winning entries for Spain in 1993 and 1995
• Luis Padilla Guevara – composer, wrote the entries representing Ecuador in 1985 and 1989
• Victoria Puig de Lange – composer, wrote the entry representing Ecuador in 1978
• Omar Fierro – television host
• Ana Bárbara – singer
• Carlos Bonavides – actor
• Alberto Plaza – singer-songwriter, represented Chile in 1995
• Astrid Gruber – actress
• Betty Pino – radio host

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.