Ecuador, Chile and Argentina awarded at Viña del Mar Festival. Performers from Ecuador, Chile and Argentina turned out winners of the international competition of the 61st edition of the Viña del Mar Song Festival, which concluded this early morning. During the event’s Friday evening reached 150 million spectators live, the competitive part was developed, split into the international and the folkloric section. The former’s winner was Ecuadorian Johan Vera with his song ‘Perdon’ (Forgiveness) in the category of Best Interpreter, while in Best Song, the Silver Gaviota Award went to the Chilean representative Vicente Cifuentes with his song ‘Chillan.’ The prize in both cases consisted of Silver Gaviota and 8,000 dollars. Meanwhile, referring to the latter, Argentine Nahuel Pennisi won the awards for Best Performer and Best Song, with the song ‘Avanzar’ (Moving Forward). In the competitive part of the festival, artists from Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela and Colombia also participated this year. Theoretically deemed as ‘the festival’s core,’ actually the competitive part has been losing space within the event’s program, overshadowed by the great galas in which important national and foreign figures are presented.
