, image = Apertura del Festival de Viña 2010

, caption =Overture to the closing night of LI Viña del Mar International Song Festival (2010) , location =

Viña del Mar Viña del Mar (; meaning "Vineyard of the Sea") is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune on Zona Central, Chile, central Chile's Pacific coast. Often referred to as ("The Garden City"), Viña del Mar is located within ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

, years_active =1960-present , founders = , dates =3rd week of February , genre =Various , attendance = , capacity =15,000 , website
Viña del Mar city website
The Viña del Mar International Song Festival ( es, Festival Internacional de la Canción de Viña del Mar) is an annual international

music festival A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or ho ...

held every 3rd week of February in

. Started in 1960, it is the oldest and largest music festival in Latin America, and one of the longest running music festivals in the world. It was cancelled in 2021 and 2022 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Festival takes place in the Quinta Vergara Amphitheater and attracts over 15,000 spectators. It has been broadcast live on radio and on Chilean television over the years by TVN, Canal 13,

Megavisión Red Televisiva Megavisión (MEGA) is a Chilean private television network headquartered in Santiago. It currently airs on digital frequency channel 27 ( ISDB-Tb) for HDTV. In 2012, ownership of Mega channel was transferred from Claro Group to B ...

Chilevisión Chilevisión (often abbreviated as CHV) is a Chilean free-to-air television channel. It is the third oldest Chilean television network, owned by Paramount Networks Americas, being founded by the University of Chile on November 4, 1960. Histo ...

, regularly breaking viewing records. The Viña festival features a song competition in two categories:

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former descri ...

and

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...

, interspersed with performances by international music stars encompassing such diverse genres as rock, and pop music in various languages,

cumbia Cumbia refers to a number of musical rhythms and folk dance traditions of Latin America, generally involving musical and cultural elements from American Indigenous peoples, enslaved Africans during colonial times, and Europeans. Examples include: ...

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: A ...

, reggaetón,

bachata Bachata may refer to: * Bachata (music), a genre of Latin American music **Traditional bachata, a subgenre of bachata music * Bachata (dance), a dance style from the Dominican Republic * Bachatón, a hybrid bachata/reggaeton music style * "Bachata ...

among others.

History

Between 1984 and 1989 Leonardo Schultz and Gary H. Mason, one of the pioneers of the reggaeton movement, teamed up to help revamp the festival and streamline its operations. They arranged for the appearance of artists including:

The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Polic ...

, Air Supply,

Eddie Money Edward Joseph Mahoney (March 21, 1949 – September 13, 2019), known professionally as Eddie Money, was an American singer and songwriter who, in the 1970s and 1980s, had eleven Top 40 songs, including "Baby Hold On", " Two Tickets to Par ...

Sheena Easton Sheena Shirley Easton (; born 27 April 1959) is a Scottish singer and actress. Easton came into the public eye in an episode of the first British musical reality television programme '' The Big Time: Pop Singer'', which recorded her attempts to ...

Jose Feliciano Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. *Jose ben Abin *Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galilean ...

(the pair produced his Grammy-nominated album ''Escenas de Amor'' in 1982, as well as the Grammy-winning album ''Me enamoré'' in 1983),

Andy Gibb Andrew Roy Gibb (5 March 1958 – 10 March 1988) was an English singer, songwriter, and actor. He was the younger brother of Barry, Robin and Maurice, who went on to form the Bee Gees. Gibb came to prominence in the late 1970s through th ...

Neil Sedaka Neil Sedaka (; born March 13, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Since his music career began in 1957, he has sold millions of records worldwide and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collabo ...

Gloria Gaynor Gloria Gaynor (née Fowles; born September 7, 1943) is an American singer, best known for the disco era hits " I Will Survive" (1978), " Let Me Know (I Have a Right)" (1979), " I Am What I Am" (1983), and her version of " Never Can Say Goodbye" ( ...

, Mr. Mister to name a few. In 1988 and 1989,

Thomas Anders Bernd Weidung (born 1 March 1963), known by his stage name Thomas Anders, is a German singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the pop duo Modern Talking. Starting his singing career while still in school ...

(of

Modern Talking Modern Talking was a German pop music duo consisting of arranger, songwriter and producer Dieter Bohlen and singer Thomas Anders. They have been referred to as Germany's most successful pop duo, and have had a number of hit singles, reaching ...

fame) was the festival's headliner, one of the first times an artist was invited back to perform two years in a row. Schultz and Mason also arranged for major international jurors including:

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the " Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the ...

(the Beatles' producer),

Maurice Jarre Maurice-Alexis Jarre (; 13 September 1924 – 28 March 2009) allmusic Biography/ref> was a French composer and conductor. Although he composed several concert works, Jarre is best known for his film scores, particularly for his collaborations wit ...

(scored the films such as ''

Dr. Zhivago ''Doctor Zhivago'' is the title of a novel by Boris Pasternak and its various adaptations. Description The story, in all of its forms, describes the life of the fictional Russian physician and poet Yuri Zhivago and deals with love and loss during ...

'', ''

Lawrence of Arabia Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916–1918) and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915–1918 ...

'', ''

Witness In law, a witness is someone who has knowledge about a matter, whether they have sensed it or are testifying on another witnesses' behalf. In law a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, e ...

'', ''

A Passage To India ''A Passage to India'' is a 1924 novel by English author E. M. Forster set against the backdrop of the British Raj and the Indian independence movement in the 1920s. It was selected as one of the 100 great works of 20th century English liter ...

'', and ''

Ghost A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to re ...

''),

Manoella Torres Manoella Torres is an American singer and actress of Puerto Rican descent based in Mexico who has had an extensive career that continues to this day. She has recorded over 350 songs by famous songwriters including Armando Manzanero, Juan Carl ...

(Mason produced her hit duet, which was written by Schultz entitled "No me mires así"), Joey Travolta,

Connie Stevens Connie Stevens (born Concetta Rosalie Ann Ingolia; August 8, 1938) is an American actress and singer. Born in Brooklyn, New York City to musician parents, Stevens was raised there until age 12, when she was sent to live with family friends in r ...

and many others. In the 1990s the broadcast rights to the Festival were given to Televisa and featured prominent Mexican Artists, as well as major Latin Artists. In 2008,

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States a ...

band Journey played their first concert with new vocalist

Arnel Pineda Arnel Campaner Pineda (born September 5, 1967) is a Filipino singer and songwriter. He came to prominence in the Philippines during the 1980s and internationally in 2007 as the lead singer of the American rock band Journey. Early life Arne ...

at the festival. The 2008 Viña Festival was hosted by Sergio Lagos and

Tonka Tomicic Tonka Tomicic Petric ( hr, Tonka Tomičić Petrić, ; born 31 May 1976) is a Chilean model and television presenter of Croatian origin. Best known for televisions shows on TVN and Canal 13 as Buenos Dias A Todos, Viña's International Festiv ...

, and headlined by

Nelly Furtado Nelly Kim Furtado (; ; born December 2, 1978) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Furtado has sold over 40 million records worldwide making her one of the most successful Canadian artists. She first gained fame with her trip hop-inspired de ...

Wisin & Yandel Wisin & Yandel is a Puerto Rican reggaeton duo consisting of Wisin and Yandel. They started their career in the late 1990s and have been together since, winning several awards including a Grammy Award in 2009. They became the first and the onl ...

, and

Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (EW&F or EWF) is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, big band, Latin, and Afro pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million reco ...

. In 2009, artists such as Latin sensation

Daddy Yankee Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez (born February 3, 1976), known professionally as Daddy Yankee, is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, composer, and actor. Known as the " King of Reggaetón" by music critics and fans alike, he is the artist who coined ...

and the legendary British band

Simply Red Simply Red are a British soul and pop band formed in Manchester in 1985. The lead vocalist of the band is singer and songwriter Mick Hucknall, who, by the time the band initially disbanded in 2010, was the only original member left. Since t ...

captivated the audience of Viña. For its 50th edition, the festival's hosts were the late

Felipe Camiroaga Felipe Humberto Camiroaga Fernández (8 October 1966 – 2 September 2011) was a Chilean television presenter, actor and comedian, one of the most popular in his country. Camiroaga hosted many shows for Chilean television station TVN, includin ...

and news reader Soledad Onetto. The event has not been held in the years 2021 and 2022 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. In March 2022, the return of the 62nd edition of the Viña del Mar International Song Festival was confirmed for the year 2023.

1970s and 1980s

Following the

1973 Chilean coup d'etat Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. P ...

the dictatorship headed by

Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (, , , ; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean general who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, first as the leader of the Military Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981, being declared President of ...

came to control the Viña del Mar International Song Festival and used it to promote sympathetic artists, in particular those that were part of the

Acto de Chacarillas The Acto de Chacarillas was a ritualized youth event held in the summit of Cerro Chacarillas in Santiago, Chile on 9 July 1977 organized by the military dictatorship of Chile. It was organized by the Frente Juvenil de Unidad Nacional to commemorat ...

in 1977. In the first years of dictatorship Pinochet was a common guest at the festival. Pinochet's advisor Jaime Guzmán was also spotted on occasion at the festival. Festival presenter

Antonio Vodanovic Antonio Vodanovic (born March 2, 1949, Santiago, Chile) is a Chilean television presenter known for being the presenter of Viña del Mar International Song Festival from 1976 to 2004. From the late 1970s to 1982 he was programming director of Tele ...

publicly praised the dictator and his wife Lucia Hiriart on one occasion on behalf of "the Chilean youth". Supporters of the dictatorship appropriated the song ''

Libre Libre may refer to: Computing * Libre software, free software * Libre Computer Project, developer of open-hardware single-board computers Medicine *FreeStyle Libre, a glucose monitoring device Media * Libre Times, news site which people can free ...

'' of Nino Bravo, and this song was performed by

Edmundo Arrocet Edmundo is a common name that is used by many individuals including: * Edmundo Alves de Souza Neto, former Brazilian football player * Edmundo Farolan, Filipino writer * Edmundo Ros, Trinidadian musician * Edmundo Rivero, Argentine singer * Edm ...

in the first post-coup edition while Pinochet was present in the public. From 1980 onward when the festival begun to be aired internationally the regime used it to promote a favourable image of Chile internationally. For that purpose in 1981 the festival spent a big budget on bringing popular foreign artist including

Miguel Bosé Luis Miguel González Bosé (born 3 April 1956), usually known as Miguel Bosé, is a Spanish pop new wave singer and actor. Early life Bosé was born in San Fernando Hospital in Panama City, Panama, the son of Italian actress Lucia Bosè (193 ...

Julio Iglesias Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva (; born 23 September 1943) is a Spanish singer, songwriter and former professional footballer. Iglesias is recognized as the most commercially successful Spanish singer in the world and one of the top record ...

and

Camilo Sesto Camilo Blanes Cortés (16 September 1946 – 8 September 2019), known professionally as Camilo Sesto "El Rey del Amor", was a Spanish singer, songwriter and music producer. There are various sales figures for him, ranging from 70 to 200 million ...

. The folk music contest of the Viña del Mar International Song Festival had become increasingly politicized during the Allende years and was suspended by organizers from the time of the coup until 1980.

''"El Monstruo"''

Traditionally, the Festival's audience openly demonstrates its acceptance or displeasure with the established acts performing there, as well as contestants in the two competitions. As a result, the Chilean media has nicknamed the Festival's audience '' El Monstruo'' ("The Monster"). Earning acceptance from ''El Monstruo'' usually has a direct impact on an artist's popularity in the rest of Latin America. This is particularly true for Spanish speaking pop stars. Conversely, booing artists off the stage is not uncommon. Artists compete in the Festival's regular competitions for one of three awards, given in this order: ''"Antorcha de Plata"'' (Silver Torch), ''"Antorcha de Oro"'' (Golden Torch) and ''"Gaviota de Plata"'' (Silver Seagull). However, audience response may demand that one of the three awards - or, progressively, all three- also be awarded to an established act as their performance progresses. An artist who "tames the ''"Monstruo"''" by earning all three awards receives almost instant recognition as a major star by Chilean and Latin American media.

Awards' History

Artists perform in the Festival de Viña with the goal of receiving as many awards as possible, which will depend on their success with " El Monstruo." The awards have had multiple changes throughout the festival's history. The first two awards ever given were the Golden Lyre and Golden Harp in 1961. However, these two awards would be replaced by the Silver and Golden Seagull in 1969. In 1983, the Festival's commissioners decided to create the Silver and Golden Torch as a "second tier" award. This decision was made in order to add more variety to the awards, and make the Seagull the most prestigious award in the festival. For over 30 years, no changes were made to the awards. However, in 2015, the production team and Viña's municipality decided to eliminate the Silver and Golden Torch, leaving the Silver and Golden Seagull as the only awards that performers could aspire to get. The reason for this decision was all the critiques that the event was receiving about the high numbers of awards that an artist could receive. Finally, the Platinum Seagull was added in 2012 as a special award for performers with long influence throughout the festival's history. Only 3 artists have received it up to date.

The Stage

Each year the TV companies try to improve on the previous year's set. Millions are invested in creating elaborate stages.

Winner songs

International contest

:Before 1968, the contest only allowed Chilean composers.
In 2000 the contest included the best songs in the history of the festival.
In 2009, the contest included former winners between 2001 and 2008.
In 2010 had a contest with the most representative songs of the participant countries. Winning countries * : 23 times (13 times in the International Contest + 9 when the Contest was only national) * : 10 times * : 6 times * : 5 times * : twice * : twice * : twice * : once * : once * : once * : once * : once * : once * : once * : once * : once * : once

Folk contest

:Between 1974 and 1980 this contest was cancelled by the military dictarship of Augusto Pinochet
Before 2000, the contest only allowed Chilean composers.
In 2009, the contest included the former winners between 2001 and 2008. Winning countries (since 2001, start of International Folk Contest) * : 11 times (and 33 years of National Folk Contest, between 1961-1973 and 1981–2000) * : 5 times * : twice * : once * : once

Performing Artists

Every year international artists are invited to perform at the Festival. in the 2003 edition the Italian singer-songwriter Franco Simone received the "Lifetime Achievement Award" for having strung together thirty years of success in South America with his songs translated into Spanish,

Festival Queen

Every year the festival selects a queen. Popular personalities apply to be queen, often offering outrageous stunts to win. The queen is chosen by a vote organized by the newspaper ''

La Cuarta ''La Cuarta'' ( es, The Fourth One) is a Chilean daily tabloid and part of the Copesa group. The newspaper is famous for its tone and plebeian style of headlining stories. The newspaper began publication on 13 November 1984. On 17 November 201 ...

''. Journalists accredited to the Festival express their preferences through a secret ballot. The day after the election there is a coronation and the delivery of a band and a ring as a prize by the relevant authorities. Since 2001, on the day of the coronation the Queen of the Festival has to dive into the pool at the Hotel O'Higgins in Viña del Mar in front of the media. Some of the women chosen as Queen include:

Celia Cruz Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso (21 October 1925 – 16 July 2003), known as Celia Cruz, was a naturalized Cuban-American singer and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century. Cruz rose to fame in Cuba during ...

, Diana Bolocco,

Thalía Ariadna Thalía Sodi Miranda (; born 26 August 1971), known mononymously as Thalía, is a Mexican singer and actress. Referred to as the " Queen of Latin Pop", she is considered one of the most successful and influential Mexican artists. Havi ...

Sigrid Alegría Sigrid Alegría Conrads (born 18 June 1974) is a Chilean film and television actress. Alegría began her acting debut in the TVN soap opera '' Borrón y cuenta nueva'' in 1998, playing the role of "Doris Morán", a religious nun who was rethink ...

Yuri Yuri may refer to: People and fictional characters Given name *Yuri (Slavic name), the Slavic masculine form of the given name George, including a list of people with the given name Yuri, Yury, etc. * Yuri (Japanese name), also Yūri, feminine Ja ...

Raffaella Carrà Raffaella Maria Roberta Pelloni (18 June 1943 – 5 July 2021), better known as Raffaella Carrà (), was an Italian singer, dancer, television presenter, actress and model. She was well known in Europe and Latin America as a result of her many ...

, and

Gloria Trevi Gloria de los Ángeles Treviño Ruiz (born February 15, 1968), known as Gloria Trevi (), is a Mexican singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, television hostess, music video director and businesswoman known as "The Supreme Diva of Mexican Pop". ...

List of Queens

;Notas

Queens per country

References

External links

Viña del Mar city website
(in Spanish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Vina Del Mar International Song Festival Vina Del Mar International Song Festival, 2010 Music festivals established in 1960 Music festivals in Chile Pop music festivals Recurring events established in 1960 Rock festivals in Chile Song contests Tourist attractions in Valparaíso Region Summer events in Chile

History

1970s and 1980s

''"El Monstruo"''

Awards' History

The Stage

Winner songs

International contest

Folk contest

Performing Artists

Festival Queen

List of Queens

Queens per country

See also

References

External links