Spain was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1986 with the song "Valentino", written by José María Guzmán, and performed by the band Cadillac. The Spanish participating broadcaster, Televisión Española (TVE), internally selected its entry for the contest. The song, performed in position 9, placed tenth out of twenty competing entries with 51 points.
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Before Eurovision
Televisión Española (TVE) internally selected "Valentino" performed by Cadillac as its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 1986. The members of the band were José María Guzmán, Pedro Agustín Sánchez, and Daniel Jacques Louis. The song was written by Guzmán himself. The name of the song, the songwriter and performers were announced on 27 February 1986.
Song
"Valentino" is an up-tempo number with influences from synthpop, in which the protagonist describes his attempts to attract a woman. He describes the drinks and the atmosphere in the room of a hotel in Madrid for a good night. The song simultaneously serves as an ode to Italian film star Rudolph Valentino, often referred to as the original "Latin lover" – "couldn't have done it better...". The protagonist looks up to Valentino's charms and wants to "be the protagonist of his films". Cadillac also recorded an English version of the song under the same title.
At Eurovision
On 3 May 1986, the Eurovision Song Contest was held at the Grieghallen in Bergen, Norway, hosted by Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK), and broadcast live throughout the continent. Cadillac performed "Valentino" the ninth on the evening, following Turkey and preceding Switzerland. Eduardo Leiva conducted the event's orchestra performance of the Spanish entry. At the end of voting, "Valentino" received a total of 51 points, placing tenth out of a field of 20 competing entries.
TVE broadcast the contest in Spain on TVE 2 with commentary by Antonio Gómez Mateo. Before the event, TVE aired a talk show hosted by Marisa Naranjo introducing the Spanish jury, which continued after the contest commenting on the results.
Voting
TVE assembled a jury panel with eleven members. The following members comprised the Spanish jury:
Emilio Aragón – showman
Blanca Fernández Ochoa – ski racer
Rafi Camino – bullfighter
José María Tío – imaging technician
Carolina Conejero – student
Rosario Cabanas – jockey
Marta Cantón – rhythmic gymnast
María Cuadra – actress
Javier Escrivá – actor
Antonio Imízcoz – journalist
Pablo Pérez Royo – hairdresser
The jury was chaired by César Gil. The jury awarded its maximum of 12 points to Ireland.