The Netherlands Antilles was represented at the OTI Festival 1983 with the song "", written by Ricardo del Carmen González and , and performed by Philips himself. The Netherlands Antillean participating broadcaster, (ATM), selected its entry through a televised national final. The song, that was performed in position 21, placed in the top-5, out of 21 competing entries. It was the best result of the Netherlands Antilles in the festival.

National stage (ATM), held a national final to select its entry for the 12th edition of the OTI Festival. Sixteen entries were selected for the televised final. Originally, Aruba and Curaçao would select seven entries each, and Bonaire and the Windward Islands one each. This was later changed to Aruba and Curaçao selecting eight entries each.

Curaçaoan pre-selection TeleCuraçao organized a televised pre-selection to select its eight songs for the national final. It was staged on Saturday 3 September 1983 at the ATM studios in Willemstad, beginning at 18:00 AST (22:00 UTC).

Aruban pre-selection The Aruban pre-selection to select eight songs for the national final was held on Sunday 11 September 1983, beginning at 20:00 AST (00:00+1 UTC), at the Aruba Palmbeach Hotel in Palm Beach. It was presented by Gerda Salas and Tico Kuiperi. The show was opened with Sharon Rose, who had won the national final the previous year, guest performing the national anthem, and the sixteen participants singing the festival theme song "". The jury consisted of Martha Figaroa, Sharon Rose, Tirso Steba, and Rafi Camacho, and Gemma Orman, who assisted chairman . The sixteen competing acts were:

+Aruban pre-selection participantsBeatrix Ras

Daphney Martijn Dennis Raghunath Doodle Sofia Edwin Abath Efrem Benita Jeanice Tromp Juancho Ignacio Marcelino Paesch Marienne Olivia Murray Papito Rafael Teddy Phillips The Young Voices Tommy and Francis

Edwin Abath won both Voz di oro and Voz supreme male awards with ""; but since the rules did not allow receiving both titles, the Voz di oro male award went to Claudius Philips with "". Jeanice Tromp won the Voz supreme female award with "" and Olivia Murray won the Voz di oro female award with "". Franklin Granadillo won the award for best arranger, Roberto Montiel for best conductor, and Jeanice Tromp for most popular singer. The songs performed by Dennis Raghunath, Marcelino Paesch, Edwin Abath, Olivia Murray, Tommy and Francis, Efrem Benita, Claudius Philips, and The Young Voices qualified for the national final.

National final ATM held the national final on Sunday 25 September 1983, beginning at 18:00 AST (22:00 UTC), at its studio 1 in Willemstad. It was broadcast live on both TeleCuraçao and TeleAruba.

The winner was "", written by Ricardo del Carmen González and Claudius Philips, and performed by Philips himself.

+ Result of OTI Antiyas 1983 Island territory Song Artist Result "" 1 Dennis Raghunath "" Edwin Abath Efrem Benita Marcelino Paesch "" Olivia Murray The Young Voices Tommy and Francis colspan="3"

At the OTI Festival On 29 October 1983, the OTI Festival was held at the DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., United States, hosted by the Spanish International Network (SIN), and broadcast live throughout Ibero-America. Claudius Philips performed "" in position 21, with Franklin Granadillo conducting the event's orchestra. From the five highest-scoring entries, only the top three were announced. The song made the top-five cut but fell short of the top three. This was the best result of the Netherlands Antilles in the festival.

The festival was broadcast live on TeleAruba and TeleCuraçao.

Voting Each participating broadcaster, or group of broadcasters that jointly participated representing a country, appointed a juror who secretly scored each entry in a scale of 1–5 points, except for the entry representing its own country. The Netherlands Antillean juror was Joy Kock.

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