Juguemos A Cantar - 1er Festival Juguemos A Cantar - Impact - The Controversy

The Controversy

After the results were announced, a great controversy ensued: Many people believed that Juanito Farias was robbed of first place, while others believed that Lorenzo Antonio Y Su Grupo won fair and square.

The people on the side of Lorenzo Antonio Y Su Grupo felt that the decision was fair because:

• Juguemos A Cantar was a "Festival De La Canción" (Festival Of The Song), therefore, Lorenzo Antonio was worthy of more consideration because he was the only finalist who wrote the song they participated with.
• Their song, “Vamos A Jugar,” was happy, up-tempo, and very positive. In contrast, Juanto Farias’ song, “Caballo De Palo,” was slow, more somber, and had a sad message.
• They played instruments (violins, violas, and harmonicas).
• They had choreography.
• The judges ultimately had them very far ahead in points from even the 2nd place winners with an almost perfect 98 points (out of 100). Juanito came in a distant last place with 80 points.

The people on the side of Juanito Farias argued that he should have won because:

• He was the only participant that sang live, truly showing his vocal talent.
• He continued singing even after his track cut out.
• After the winners were announced, Raúl Velasco proclaimed Juanito, “El Mejor Interprete Del Festival” (The Best Singer Of The Festival). Juanito became known as “El Campeon Sin Corona” (The Champion With No Crown).

Had the Festival been more about vocal talent alone, Juanito Farias might have won. But this Festival was not solely about vocal talent. It was about the Song, the interpretation of the Song, and about happiness and children. The fact that Lorenzo Antonio wrote "Vamos A Jugar" gave Lorenzo Antonio Y Su Grupo a considerable edge over Juanito Farias, and all the other participants. Also, all the songs in the top 10 were happy and positive, as was the general ambience and theme of the Festival. Juanito's song, "Caballo De Palo," was the only song that was slow and sad. That made it an uphill climb for Juanito's song, and in the end, it was probably the biggest factor as to why he came in last place.

Regardless of these reasons, the people who viewed the festival, especially the Mexican "pueblo," felt that an injustice had occurred: Juanto Farias' performance was incredibly strong and for him to have come in last place was viewed as very unfair. This sentiment was instantly felt in the "Siempre En Domingo" studios, and around the country as soon as it became apparent that Juanito Farias didn't even place in the top 3. In an unplanned event, Raúl Velasco reacted by awarding Juanito Farias a "Mejor Interprete Del Festival" award, even though that "award" was not formally part of the Festival's rules and regulations. Because of this, Juanito became known as, "El Campeon Sin Corona," and the general consensus back then as well as today, is that Juanito Farias should have at least placed in the top 3, and possibly even 1st place.

There are other arguments about this, such as Raúl Velasco favored Lorenzo Antonio Y Su Grupo, and was more disparaging towards Juanito Farias due to the color of their skin (Lorenzo Antonio and his sisters being more “white” and Juanito Farias being more “brown”). This however, is an unfounded argument. At the time, Raúl Velasco’s opinion of Juantio was quite the opposite. After the finals, Juanito was one of the artists that was most heavily backed by “Siempre En Domingo” and Raúl Velasco.

Ultimately, all this controversy boosted the Festival’s popularity, as well as the popularity of all involved, even more.