The United States was represented at the OTI Festival 1981 with the song "", written by Vilma Planas and Héctor Garrido, and performed by Aldo Matta. The participating broadcaster representing the country, the Spanish International Network (SIN), selected its entry through a national televised competition. The song, that was performed in position 6, placed third with 22 points, tying with the entry from Mexico, out of 21 competing entries.
The Spanish International Network (SIN) held a national televised competition to select its entry for the 10th edition of the OTI Festival. This was the fourth edition of the National OTIâÂÂSIN Festival. In the final, each song represented a SIN affiliate, each of which had selected its entry through a local pre-selection.
On Sunday 30 August 1981, KMEX-TV held a televised pre-selection at the Grand Theatre of the Los Angeles TradeâÂÂTechnical College in Los Angeles, beginning at 21:30 PDT (04:30+1 UTC). This third edition of the Los Angeles Local OTI Festival featured ten songs, shortlisted from 410 received. It was presented by Eduardo Quezada and Sonia Vorhauer, and broadcast live on Channel 34. The show featured a guest performance by , the previous year's winner.
The jury was composed of Mario Alberto Millar, Elisabeth Waldo, Erich Bulling, Lupita Morán, Dinorah Pérez, Teresa Medina, and Paco Calderón as chairperson. The president of the jury only decided in the event of a tie, the rest of the jurors scored each song between 1 and 5 points.
The winner, and therefore qualified for the national final, was "", written and performed by Guillermo Fernández.
The final was held on Saturday 10 October 1981 at the Fontainebleau Hilton Hotel in Miami Beach, featuring eight songs. It was presented by Omar Marchant and Vivian Núñez, and broadcast live on all SIN affiliates. Each of the eight competing SIN affiliates assembled a jury that awarded their favorite entries, except their own, between 1 and 5 points in order of preference.
The winner was "" representing WXTVâÂÂNew York, written by Vilma Planas and Héctor Garrido, and performed by Aldo Matta; with "" representing KMEX-TVâÂÂLos Angeles, placing second; and "" representing KWEX-TVâÂÂSan Antonio, placing third. The festival ended with a reprise of the winning entry.
On 5 December 1981, the OTI Festival was held at the National Auditorium in Mexico City, Mexico, hosted by Televisa, and broadcast live throughout Ibero-America. Aldo Matta performed "" in position 6, with Héctor Garrido conducting the event's orchestra, and placing third with 22 points, tying with the entry from Mexico, out of 21 competing entries.
Each participating broadcaster assembled a jury who awarded 5âÂÂ1 points to their five favourite songs in order of preference.