Viña del Mar

The Viña del Mar International Song Festival has its host duo for 2025. The event’s production reported Wednesday (Nov. 6) that presenter and journalist Rafael Araneda will join previously announced host Karen Doggenweiler for its 64th edition, which returns to Quinta Vergara from February 23 to 28.

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This will be the first time that Doggenweiler serves as co-host of the Chilean festival, while Araneda returns after seven years, having hosted before between 2011 and 2018.

Produced this year by Bizarro Live Entertainment, the Festival de Viña begins a “new era” on the channel Mega, after having previously been broadcast on Canal 13 and Televisión Nacional de Chile.

“Today, it is an honor, it is a privilege, it is a gift that music gives me, that life gives me, to be able to return in this new era of Mega and Bizarro doing the Viña del Mar Festival,” Araneda told Billboard Español this week. “[I have] great memories, and great expectations for the future.”

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“I am tremendously lucky to participate in this edition,” said Doggenweiler. “Viña is not only a festival, it is a global movement of music and entertainment, of human connection.”

With almost three decades of career in radio and television, Araneda has hosted journalistic spaces, primetime shows, realities and contests, in addition to his eight years at the helm of the Viña del Mar Festival. In recent years he has developed his career in Mexico City (TV Azteca) and Miami (Univision), where he currently hosts the show Enamorándonos.

Doggenweiler, with more than a quarter century on the Chilean screens, has also hosted entertainment shows in various formats, including primetime programs, morning shows, family shows, game shows, reality TV and festivals. Over the years she has had a close connection with the Festival de Viña, which she not only covered as a reporter, but for which she also served as a judge.

Launched in 1960, the Viña del Mar International Song Festival is held annually at the Quinta Vergara, a 15,000-seat amphitheater located in the Chilean city of Viña del Mar, in the central coastal region of Valparaíso.

Over six days, the event features a mix of superstars, emerging singers and local artists competing for Silver, Gold and Platinum “Gaviotas” (Seagulls). These awards are decided by a jury with the help of viewers from their homes, although the so-called “monster” — the audience present at Quinta Vergara — undoubtedly has great power of influence with its ovations and occasional boos.

Below, Karen Doggenweiler and Rafael Araneda, the official hosts of Viña del Mar 2025, answer questions from Billboard.

Karen, this is your first time as a host of the most important television event in Chile. How do you feel now that this moment is approaching?

I am tremendously fortunate to participate in this edition of the festival. Viña is not only a festival, it is a global movement of music and entertainment, of human connection. We are going to have cutting-edge technology, there is a commitment to sustainability as well and a show that we hope will illuminate the entire summer [in the Southern Hemisphere]. I feel that it comes at a very, very special moment in my career.

Together with Rafael, we hope to put our own stamp on it. We know that for 65 years other channels have had it too… and well, now we are here and of course we hope that it becomes an endearing festival in this new version that we have prepared, in this change of era that we are working with so much love and dedication.

Rafael, what does it mean to you to return to Viña as host after seven years?

Indeed, I was member of the jury on two occasions at the Viña del Mar Festival, and then I had the opportunity to host it in eight consecutive editions. It was an extraordinary experience, personally and professionally, given that we work with the best technology in terms of making television, of doing what we are passionate about. We work on a 360 multimedia concept where there are different audiences, not just the people on television — there is the radio, the written press, today social media is very strong, and also digital broadcasts that can even give you a personalized festival experience. In that sense, it was always a nice challenge.

Today, it is an honor, it is a privilege, it is a gift that music gives me, that life gives me, to be able to return in this new era of Mega and Bizarro doing the Viña del Mar Festival. [I have] great memories, and great expectations for the future.

What would you say has been your favorite moment in Viña?

Karen: So many! I was able to go as a spectator when I was little with my mother, with my sister. I have also been part of the jury, and on related satellite programs, I participated as a reporter, waiting for the artists who arrived at the airport to interview them. For so many years I have witnessed it from different places. I think I was just missing being a host! So I think my favorite moment in Viña is yet to come. Although I treasure each of these other moments in a very important place in my heart, I think Viña 2025 is going to be my favorite moment in Viña del Mar.

Rafael: There are many particular moments, there are many behind-the-scenes emotions — but I stick with the prior preparation, on a personal level. And also observing from backstage, from a unique point of view, the nerves of world-class stars before going onstage — or when they are introduced — they look nervous, they look eager, you see them vocalizing, doing exercises, talking and refining details with their crew. And there you realize that we are all people, that we all want to give always the best version of ourselves, and that what happens there is unique, truly wonderful.

Karen, you mentioned attending the festival as a spectator with your mother and your sister. What does your family tell you now that you will be hosting Viña del Mar?

Karen: My family feels proud, happy, and of course supports me in this important instance. We experience the affection of each of the Chileans that we encounter every day, of our compatriots, in every step we take on the street, through the screens, through the radio. Of course our family also adds to that. And I am convinced that with Rafael it is the same. I know his family, I love them very much. And well, we are already working very closely to make it an unforgettable festival, so that we truly reflect this change of era, so that we can surprise, and so that everyone transforms each of these six nights in something that remains forever in the hearts.

Rafael, what is going to be different for you after seven years of absence?

Rafael: I think that the signature that Mega and Bizarro are going to give it. And in that sense, together with Karen — with whom I had the opportunity to work for many years on Chilean television in different formats, at different times, and we enjoyed it, we had a great time — I think that will be the hallmark. Having the possibility of meeting her again after so many years of accumulated experience is going to be very rich. Hopefully that chemistry and maturity that we have both gained over the years will come through. I have no doubt that this is how it will be.

But the signature will also be connected to energy, which is a central concept for Viña 2025. The energy generated by the music, the energy generated by the Viña del Mar experience, the energy generated by making a broadcast that each of us makes it our mission, not only the media. People today will have access to technological platforms to see the festival from wherever they want to see it, and however they want to see it. I hope they see it with their family — the lineup is going to be along those lines. It will be family-friendly crossover artists, and obviously and proudly massive. That’s Viña del Mar.