The United States was represented at the OTI Festival 1989 with the song "", written by Margarita Andino, and performed by Iris and Margie. The participating broadcaster representing the country, Univision, selected its entry through a national televised competition. The song, that was performed in position 17, was not among the top-three places revealed. In addition, Univision was also the host broadcaster and staged the event at the James L. Knight Center in Miami.
Univision held a national televised competition to select its entry for the 18th edition of the OTI Festival. This was the twelfth edition of the . In the final, each song represented a Univision affiliate, each of which had selected its entry through a local pre-selection.
Félix López, who qualified for the final by winning the Houston pre-selection, had already represented El Salvador in 1982 and 1974.
On Saturday 5 August 1989, KFTV held a televised pre-selection at the Fresno Memorial Auditorium in Fresno, beginning at 20:00 PDT (03:00+1 UTC). This twelfth edition of the Central California Local OTI Festival featured ten songs. It was presented by Jorge Muñiz, and broadcast on Channel 21 on Sunday 13 August, beginning at 19:30 PDT (02:30+1 UTC).
The winner, and therefore qualified for the national final, was "", performed by Rodrigo González.
On Sunday 6 August 1989, WBHS held a televised pre-selection in Tampa, beginning at 18:30 EDT (22:30 UTC). This sixth edition of the Tampa Local OTI Festival featured seven songs. It was broadcast on Channel 61.
The winner, and therefore qualified for the national final, was "" written by Esther MarÃÂa Tellado and performed by Jaime Jacob.
On Saturday 26 August 1989, KXLN-TV held a televised pre-selection at the Wortham Theater Center in Houston. This second edition of the Houston Local OTI Festival featured twelve songs, selected from the seventy received. It was presented by Beatriz Alvarado and José RamÃÂrez, assisted by Pedro de Pool, Laurinda Flores, and Manny López, and broadcast on Channel 45. The show featured guest performances by Lupita Ferrer, , and Carlos Mata.
The jury was composed of Jesús López Guizar, Javier Figueras, , Nicolasa, and Raúl Vale as chairperson. Each juror scored each of the entries between 1 and 5 points.
The winner, and therefore qualified for the national final, was "", written and performed by Félix López; with "", written by Iván Senteno and performed by Fernando González and Werner Baertschi, placing second; and "", written and performed by Alejandro MartÃÂnez placing third. The first-place trophy was presented by José Adán Treviño, president of the station, the second prize trophy by Beatriz Alvarado, and the third-place trophy by Laurinda Flores. The festival ended with a reprise of the winning entry.
On Thursday 31 August 1989, KMEX-TV held a televised pre-selection at The Hollywood Palace in Los Angeles. This eleventh edition of the Los Angeles Local OTI Festival featured eight songs, selected from the 412 received. It was presented by Andrés GarcÃÂa and , and the musical director was Roberto Arballo Betuco. It was broadcast on Channel 34 on Sunday 3 September, beginning at 20:00 PDT (03:00+1 UTC).
The jury was composed of Chuck Anderson, MarÃÂa del Rey, José Silva, Emily Simonitsch, Kenny O'Brien, Isabela Sotelo, and Eduardo Quezada as chairperson.
The winner, and therefore qualified for the national final, was "", written and performed by Juan José; with "", performed by Miguel Enrique, placing second.
On Friday 8 September 1989, KWEX-TV held a televised pre-selection at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center in San Antonio, beginning at 20:00 CDT (01:00+1 UTC). This edition of the San Antonio Local OTI Festival featured twelve songs. It was presented by Franco and Blanca Santos, and broadcast on Channel 41 on Sunday 17 September, beginning at 20:30 CDT (01:30+1 UTC).
The jury was composed of Mary Esther Bernal, Ramiro Burr, Paul Elizondo, Rosita Fernández, Ada GarcÃÂa, David González, Salomé Gutiérrez, Santiago Nieto, Ovidio RodrÃÂguez, and Juan Tejada.
The songs were performed by AgustÃÂn Ariza, Lina del Roble Cronful, Zenaida Alvarado, Sylvia Bezi, Mario Márquez, Cecilio González, Adalberto Gallegos, José Rosario, Luis A. Urbina, Sylvia Montiel, Luis Damián, and Xavier González. Songwriters competing included Mario A. Sánchez, Miguel Nacel, José E. González, Black Alonso, EfraÃÂn S. Palacios, Sergio Ruiz, and Jonathán Zarzosa.
The winner, and therefore qualified for the national final, was "", performed by Xavier González.
KUVN held a televised pre-selection. This was the first edition of the DallasâÂÂFort Worth Local OTI Festival. It was broadcast live on Channel 23.
The winner, and therefore qualified for the national final, was "", performed by Luz MarÃÂa Zárate.
The final was held on Thursday 28 September 1989 at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, beginning at 20:00 EDT (00:00+1 UTC), and featuring fourteen songs. It was presented by Lucy Pereda and Antonio Vodanovic, and broadcast live on all Univision affiliates. The show featured guest performances by LucÃÂa Méndez, Franco, Ednita Nazario, Franco De Vita, and Luis Enrique.
The jury was composed of MarÃÂa Sorté, Lolita de la Colina, Yuri, Willy Chirino, Ruddy RodrÃÂguez, Luca Bentivoglio, Henry Sakka, Gabriel Traversari, MadelÃÂn Marchant, and Laura Fabián.
The winner was "" representing WLTVâÂÂMiami, written by Margarita Andino, and performed by Iris and Margie; with "" representing WCIUâÂÂChicago, written by Daniel Recalde and performed by Liliana Campuzano, placing second; and "" representing KDTVâÂÂSan Francisco, written and performed by Cristina Stibor, placing third. In addition, Liliana Campuzano received the Best Performer Award, and Héctor Garrido the Best Musical Arrangement Award for "". The festival ended with a reprise of the winning entry.
On 18 November 1989, the OTI Festival was held at the theater of the James L. Knight Center in Miami, hosted by Univision, and broadcast live throughout Ibero-America. Iris and Margie performed "" in position 17. The song was not among the top-three places revealed at the end.
In 1990, MarÃÂa Conchita Alonso released "" as the first single from her studio album also titled . Her cover version of the song peaked at 24 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart.