Chile in the OTI Festival 1976

Chile was represented at the OTI Festival 1976 with the song "Era sólo un chiquillo", written by José Alfredo Fuentes and Óscar Cáceres, and performed by Fuentes himself. The Chilean participating broadcasters, Televisión Nacional de Chile (TVN) and Corporación de Televisión de la Universidad Católica de Chile (UCTV), jointly selected their entry through a national selection with several phases. The song, that was performed in position 8, placed third out of 19 competing entries, with 12 points.

Televisión Nacional de Chile (TVN) and Corporación de Televisión de la Universidad Católica de Chile (UCTV), used the second edition of Festival primavera una canción as a national selection to select their entry for the 5th edition of the OTI Festival. The festival featured twenty entries in two qualifying rounds of ten songs each, of which ten reached the final. In addition to the general competition, awards were given for Best Performer and for Originality to one song.

The shows were held at Teatro Astor in Santiago, were presented by Antonio Vodanovic and Marisa Sepúlveda, and were broadcast on TVN's Canal 7, with UCTV's Canal 13 broadcasting only the final. The musical director was Horacio Saavedra, who conducted the orchestra when required.^[1]

The two qualifying rounds were held on Monday 11 and Tuesday 12 October 1976, beginning at 22:00 CLST (01:00+1 UTC). There were ten entries in each round, of which the ten highest-scoring entries in each round advanced to the final. The first round featured guest performances by Paolo Salvatore, Los Red Juniors, and Coco Legrand, and the second round guest performances by the cast of Música libre, Roberto Valdés, and Jorge Cruz.^[1]

The jury in both rounds was composed of the following six record label executives: Roberto Inglez, Jorge Undurraga, Jorge Oñate, Camilo Fernández, Luis Torrejón, and Cristian Livingstone.^[1]

The final was held on Wednesday 13 October 1976, beginning at 22:00 CLST (01:00+1 UTC). It featured guest performances by Juan Carlos Calderón, Sergio y Estíbaliz (who performed among other songs "Si vas para Chile"), Don Francisco, and Mandolino.^[1]

The jury in the final consisted of seven members, of which each of the broadcasters appointed three: TVN appointed Camilo Fernández, Horacio Hernández, Oro Colodro; UCTV appointed Benjamín Mackenna, Raúl de Ramón, and Valentín Trujillo;^[1] and Octavio Espinoza was the seventh juror. Each of them had three votes to distribute as they wished.^[7]

The winner was "Era sólo un chiquillo", written by José Alfredo Fuentes and Óscar Cáceres, and performed by Fuentes himself; with "Reflexiones", written by María Angélica Ramírez, and performed by Osvaldo Díaz placing second; and "Ayer plantamos", written and performed by Ricardo de la Fuente, and "Maestro de escuela rural", written by Luis "Poncho" Venegas, and performed by Luz Eliana both placing third. The first prize was endowed with a monetary amount of CLP$20,000, the second prize of CLP$10,000, and the third prize of CLP$5,000; with all participants, both performers and songwriters, receiving a golden key.^[8] Luz Eliana also received the Best Performer Award, and Silverio Pintor for "Felicidad, niña, felicidad" the Originality Award.

On 30 October 1976, the OTI Festival was held at the Teatro Juan Ruiz de Alarcón of the Centro de Convenciones in Acapulco, Mexico, hosted by Televisa, and broadcast live throughout Ibero-America. José Alfredo Fuentes performed "Era sólo un chiquillo" in position 8, with Horacio Saavedra conducting the event's orchestra, placing third out of 19 competing entries, with 12 points.^[10]

The festival was broadcast on TVN's Canal 7 and UCTV's Canal 13 on delay at 22:05 CLST (01:05+1 UTC). With Antonio Vodanovic and Gina Zuanic providing commentary from the TVN studios, and with Vodanovic acting as spokesperson who announced the Chilean jury's vote.^[11]