The United States was represented at the OTI Festival 1988 with the song "", written by América Vázquez and Miguel ÃÂngel MejÃÂa, and performed by MejÃÂa himself. The participating broadcaster representing the country, Univision, selected its entry through a national televised competition. The song, that was performed in position 8, placed fourteenth and last out of 22 competing entries, tied with eight other songs with 0 points.
Univision held a national televised competition to select its entry for the 17th edition of the OTI Festival. This was the eleventh edition of the . In the final, each song represented a Univision affiliate, each of which had selected its entry through a local pre-selection.
On Saturday 18 June 1988, KFTV held a televised pre-selection at the Warnors Theatre in Fresno, beginning at 20:00 PDT (03:00+1 UTC). This eleventh edition of the Central California Local OTI Festival featured ten songs. It was presented by Pedro Santos and Prisma, and broadcast on Channel 21 on Sunday 26 June, beginning at 19:00 PDT (02:00+1 UTC).
Songwriters competing included VÃÂctor González, Christina Cardona, Francisco Resendiz Lemos, A. Fernando Figueroa, Coco González, Juan Carlos Urbina, Ramón Vecina, Javier RamÃÂrez Jr., and Raúl Gonzalez. The songs not performed by their songwriter were performed by Dora Luz Orozco, Miguel Hernández, Helen Vecina, Cynthia González, Juan ÃÂngel Salinas, José Matos, Salvador Arteaga, and Viola Rendón.
The winner, and therefore qualified for the national final, was "", written by Ramón Vecina and Gary Kennedy and performed by Ramón Vecina and Helen Vecina.
On Wednesday 17 August 1988, KMEX-TV held a televised pre-selection at The Hollywood Palace in Los Angeles. This tenth edition of the Los Angeles Local OTI Festival featured ten songs, selected from the 350 received. The show featured guest performances by Armando Manzanero, , , Julio Sabala, and the Dolores Terry ballet. It was broadcast on Channel 34 on Sunday 28 August, beginning at 19:00 PDT (02:00+1 UTC).
The jury was composed of Lucho Gatica, , Franco, Rudy Regalado, and Alberto Quezada.
The winner, and therefore qualified for the national final, was "", written and performed by Juan Miguel EnrÃÂquez Soto; with "", written and performed by Miguel Enrique (Michael Henry Gaytán), placing second; and "", written and performed by Ana Linda (Linda Arriola), placing third. The festival ended with a reprise of the winning entry.
On Saturday 27 August 1988, KINT-TV held a televised pre-selection at the El Paso Convention and Performing Arts Center in El Paso, beginning at 19:00 CDT (00:00+1 UTC). This fourth edition of the El Paso Local OTI Festival featured ten songs, selected from the 47 received. It was broadcast on Channel 26 on Saturday 3 September, beginning at 21:00 CDT (02:00+1 UTC). The show featured a guest performance by .
The jury was composed of , Beto Valtierra, Rafael Mendoza, Verónica Sosa-Nájera, and Malena Cano.
The winner, and therefore qualified for the national final, was "", written by Juan Solares and performed by Samuel Delgado.
On Thursday 1 September 1988, WBHS held a televised pre-selection in Miami. This was the fifth edition of the Tampa Local OTI Festival. It was broadcast on Channel 61.
The winner, and therefore qualified for the national final, was "", written by Dinorah Rivas, and performed by Esther MarÃÂa Tellado.
WLTV held a televised pre-selection in Miami. It was broadcast on Channel 23.
The winner, and therefore qualified for the national final, was "", written by América Vázquez and Miguel ÃÂngel MejÃÂa, and performed by MejÃÂa himself.
W14AA held a televised pre-selection in Washington D.C., and broadcast on Channel 14.
The winner, and therefore qualified for the national final, was "", written and performed by MarÃÂa Isolina.
KXLN-TV held a televised pre-selection in Houston. This was the first edition of the Houston Local OTI Festival. It was broadcast on Channel 45.
The winner, and therefore qualified for the national final, was "", written by VÃÂctor Manuel Moreno and performed by José Humberto MarÃÂn.
KDTV held an internal pre-selection. The station filmed a preview video for each of the shortlisted songs, with the singers lip-syncing to the studio version of the songs. The songs, the preview videos, and which had received the most votes, were revealed in a special program, broadcast on Channel 14.
The winner, and therefore qualified for the national final, was "", written by Cyarmine BenÃÂtez and performed by Ana Deisi.
The final was held on Wednesday 28 September 1988 at the Fontainebleau Hilton Hotel in Miami Beach, featuring thirteen songs. It was presented by Lucy Pereda and Antonio Vodanovic, and broadcast live on all Univision affiliates. The show featured guest performances by Willy Chirino, Paloma San Basilio, Julio Sabala, ÃÂngela Carrasco, and Manuel Mijares.
The jury was composed of: Luca Bentivoglio, Paul RodrÃÂguez, Lupita Ferrer, Lissette, Jorge MartÃÂnez, Lucerito, Arnaldo André, Fernando Carrillo, Gigi Zanchetta, Gabriel Traversari, Manuel Mijares, ÃÂngela Carrasco, Julio Sabala, Braulio, Cristina Saralegui, Rudy Pérez, and Don Francisco as chairperson.
The winner was "" representing WLTVâÂÂMiami, written by América Vázquez and Miguel ÃÂngel MejÃÂa, and performed by MejÃÂa himself; with "" representing WSNS-TVâÂÂChicago, written by Juan Carlos Felipe and performed by Roberto Sánchez, placing second; and "" representing W14AAâÂÂWashington D.C., written and performed by MarÃÂa Isolina, placing third. In addition, Miguel ÃÂngel MejÃÂa received the Best Performer Award, and Héctor Garrido received the Best Musical Arrangement Award for "".
On 19 November 1988, the OTI Festival was held at the Teatro Nacional Cervantes in Buenos Aires, Argentina, hosted by Argentina Televisora Color (ATC), and broadcast live throughout Ibero-America. Miguel ÃÂngel MejÃÂa performed "" in position 8, with Rodolfo MartÃÂnez conducting the event's orchestra, and placing fourteenth and last out of 22 competing entries, with 0 points tied with the songs from Bolivia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, the Netherlands Antilles, Panama, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela.