Aruba in the OTI Festival 1989

Until 1986, Aruba was part of the Netherlands Antilles, and TeleAruba was a station of (ATM). After Aruba obtained its separate status, TeleAruba became independent from ATM, applied to become a full member of the (OTI), and intended to debut at the OTI Festival 1987 as an independent participant. Since ATM began selecting its entry for the OTI Festival through a national final in 1978, a public pre-selection to choose its entries for the Antillean national final was constantly held in Aruba. Of the eight Antillean national finals in which Aruba was involved, seven were won by Aruban entires, and represented the Netherlands Antilles in the festival. == National stage ==

In 1987, TeleAruba held a national selection with two phases to select its entry for the 16th edition of the OTI Festival, in what would be Aruba's debut as an independent participant in the festival. Pre-selection A pre-selection was held on Sunday 5 July 1987 at the Golden Tulip Aruba Caribbean Hotel in Palm Beach. Of the competing entries, seventeen qualified for the national final. The winner of the pre-selection was "", written by Don Ramon Krozendijk and Edwin Abath and performed by Abath himself; with placing second, and Sergio Tjoe-A-Loi placing third. The song performed by Juancho Ignacio, Francis Jacobs, , Marion Istatia, Albi Navas, Tommy de Cuba, Marcelino Paesch, Don Ramon, Yvette and Lupe Thomas, Junior de Freitas, Mylene Marquez, Ito Dania, Sigfried Godoy, and Didi Wernet, also qualified for the national final. National final TeleAruba held the national final on Sunday 6 September 1987, beginning at 18:00 AST (22:00 UTC), at in Oranjestad. The musical director was Franklin Granadillo. The winner was "", written by Don Ramon Krozendijk and Edwin Abath and performed by Abath himself. Aftermath Due to a miscommunication between TeleAruba and OTI, the debut of Aruba in the festival was not possible in 1987. TeleAruba announced that it would enter the song in the 1988 festival; but this did not happen until the 1989 festival. == At the OTI Festival ==

On 18 November 1989, the OTI Festival was held at the theater of the James L. Knight Center in Miami, United States, hosted by Univision, and broadcast live throughout Ibero-America. Edwin Abath performed "" in position 7, with Franklin Granadillo conducting the event's orchestra. The song was not among the top-three places revealed. The festival was broadcast live on TeleAruba. == References ==