Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest 1961
Introduction '''Spain''' took part in the '''Eurovision Song Contest ''' for the first time in 1961.The country was represented by Conchita Bautista with the song "Estando contigo", written by Antonio Guijarro and Augusto Algueró. The song was chosen through a national final.
Before Eurovision === National final ===The national final took place at RNE's studios in Barcelona from February 13 to 14, hosted by Federico Gallo, Jorge Arandes and María del Carmen García Lecha, and was aired through radio. Ten songs competed over two shows, with the winner song being decided upon through jury voting.==== Competing entries ====ArtistSongComposer(s)Angelita Baidez"Tempranito"José Solá'''Conchita Bautista'''"'''Estando contigo'''"Augusto Algueró, Antonio GuijarroCoralito de Jaén"Con los ojos, no"Máximo BaratasJorge Miranda"Betsabé"Manuel Martínez Remis, Roberto García MorilloJosé Cercós"Serenata"Mario SellésRamón Calduch"Carita morena"Jorge Domingo"Eva María"Rafael RamírezSanty"La tormenta"Josep Capell"Sigo caminando"Josefina Güell, Juan José UmbertVíctor Balaguer"Ba be bi bu bá"José Pal Latorre==== Semi-final ====The semi-final took place on 13 February 1961.The ten competing songs were presented, and six of these songs went forward to the national final. The jury consisted of 10 members, 5 music experts and 5 plain citizens. The music experts were:* Sebastià Gasch – Journalist at RNE, writer, art critic* Diego Ramírez Pastor – Journalist, president at Asociación de la Prensa de Barcelona* Arthur Kaps – Producer at TVE* Alfonso Banda Moras – Director of current afairs at RNE for Barcelona* Carlos Moltó Arniches – Delegate at Sociedad General de Autores y Editores for BarcelonaThe plain citizens were Alberto Rovira, María Amparo Gascón, Carmen Navarro, Joaquina Navarro and Pilar Agudo Villegas.+ Semi-final – 13 February 1961DrawArtistSongResult1Coralito de Jaén"Con los ojos, no"Eliminated2José Cercós"Serenata"Eliminated '''3'''Víctor Balaguer"Ba be bi bu bá"'''Qualified'''4Santy"La tormenta"Eliminated5Santy"Sigo caminando"Eliminated6Jorge Miranda"Betsabé"'''Qualified'''7Conchita Bautista"Estando contigo"'''Qualified'''8Angelita Baidez"Tempranito"'''Qualified''''''9'''Ramón Calduch"Carita morena"'''Qualified''''''10'''Ramón Calduch"Eva María"'''Qualified'''==== Final ====The final took place on 14 February 1961, with the same hosts and jury members. The winner, "Estando contigo" performed by Conchita Bautista, was selected through jury voting, which she won by just one point.+ Final – 14 February 1961 Draw Artist Song Points Result1Ramón Calduch"Eva María"324 2Angelita Baidez"Tempranito" 1363'''Conchita Bautista'''"'''Estando contigo'''"'''49''''''1'''4Jorge Miranda"Betsabé"2555Víctor Balaguer"Ba be bi bu bá"4826Ramón Calduch"Carita morena"433
At Eurovision On the night of the final, 18 March 1961, Conchita Bautista performed first in the running order, preceding Monaco. At the close of voting "Estando contigo" had received 8 points, placing Spain 9th of the 16 entries. The Spanish jury awarded its highest mark (3) to the United Kingdom.===Voting===Every country had a jury of ten people. Every jury member could give one point to his or her favourite song.+ Points awarded to Spain Score Country 2 points  1 point + Points awarded by Spain Score Country 3 points  2 points  1 point
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