Puerto Rico in the OTI Festival
and its OTI member station, Telemundo Puerto Rico was one of the founding countries of the OTI Festival and debuted in the show in 1972 in Madrid, competing uninterruptedly from the very first edition until the last show held in Acapulco in 2000.
History
Puerto Rico, whose broadcaster selected its performers internally, had a promising start in the OTI Song Contest. In fact, the broadcaster always selected big names in order to compete in the event. The Caribbean island won the contest on two occasions, the first time with Nydia Caro and her song "Hoy sólo canto por cantar" in 1974. This song, composed by Ricardo Cerrato, was enormously popular and very controversial for being considered an "anti-protest" song.Six years later, in Buenos Aires, the Puerto Rican branch of Telemundo recorded its second victory in the festival with Rafael José and his song "Contigo, mujer", which was composed by Laureano Brizuela and Ednita Nazario.
Apart from their victories, the country managed to reach the top 10 in 8 occasions, but from 1983 on, the results of Puerto Rico in the contest started declining, In fact, since then, Telemundo was unable to reach the top ten positions again, until the last edition of the show in 2000, when the country got the second place with the media personality, José Vega Santana and his song "Con una canción".
Telemundo Puerto Rico, hosted the OTI Festival in 1975 after the victory of Nydia Caro the previous year, according to the original rules of the show. The venue of the contest were the TV Studios of Telemundo in San Juan. The broadcaster created a colorful stage with a central platform and an orchestra section in the background.
Contestants
| Year | Artist | Song | Place | Pts |
| :es:OTI 2000|2000 | José Vega Santana | 2 | ||
| :es:OTI 1998|1998 | :es:Ariana|Ariana | Yo te propongo | ||
| :es:OTI 1997|1997 | :es:Ángel Joel Peña|Ángel Joel Peña | Almas solas | ||
| :es:OTI 1996|1996 | :es:Porto Latino|Porto Latino | Ay, amor | ||
| :es:OTI 1995|1995 | :es:Carlos Alberto Fortuño|Carlos Alberto Fortuño | |||
| :es:OTI 1994|1994 | :es:Jéssica Cristina|Jéssica Cristina | Lo que te toca vivir | SF | |
| :es:OTI 1993|1993 | :es:Rumba y Bembé|Rumba y Bembé | Que siga la rumba | ||
| :es:OTI 1992|1992 | :es:Brenda Reyes|Brenda Reyes | Atrapada en el tiempo | ||
| :es:OTI 1991|1991 | :es:José Juan Tañón|José Juan Tañón | Nuestra voz | SF | |
| :es:OTI 1990|1990 | :es:Ivonne Briel|Ivonne Briel | La mujer que sueños vé | ||
| :es:OTI 1989|1989 | :es:Aldo Matta|Aldo Matta | ¿Por qué no volverás? | ||
| :es:OTI 1988|1988 | :es:Sandra Roger|Sandra Roger | Para ser feliz | 14 | 0 |
| :es:OTI 1987|1987 | Marisol Calero | Soy mujer | ||
| :es:OTI 1986|1986 | :es:Maggy|Maggy | Solos tú y yo, nadie más | ||
| :es:OTI 1985|1985 | Juan Manuel Lebrón | |||
| :es:OTI 1984|1984 | Lou Briel | |||
| :es:OTI 1983|1983 | :es:Edgardo Huertas|Edgardo Huertas | |||
| :es:OTI 1982|1982 | Lunna | Sin tu música | 18 | 5 |
| :es:OTI 1981|1981 | Glen Monroig | Mírame a los ojos | 15 | 8 |
| :es:OTI 1980|1980 | Rafael José | 1 | 36 | |
| :es:OTI 1979|1979 | Ednita Nazario | Cadenas de fuego | 5 | 21 |
| :es:OTI 1978|1978 | Rafael José | Háblame | 4 | 35 |
| :es:OTI 1977|1977 | :es:Aquamarina|Aquamarina | Piel Dormida | 6 | 3 |
| 1976 | :es:Eduardo Delgado|Eduardo Delgado | ¿Quién? | 15 | 1 |
| 1975 | :es:Los Hispanos|Los Hispanos | ¿Dónde vas, amigo? | 5 | 5 |
| 1974 | Nydia Caro | | 1 | 18 |
| 1973 | :es:Óscar Solo|Óscar Solo | 6 | 5 | |
| :es:OTI 1972|1972 | Chucho Avellanet | 4 | 6 |