Childhood beginnings Gian Marco was born in
Lima, Peru, on 17 August 1970. His mother is actress and singer
María Regina Alcóver Ureta, while his father is composer and singer Javier Óscar Florencio Zignago Viñas, also known as . As the son of artists, Gian Marco was introduced to music at very early age. The art surrounded him during his childhood. Gian Marco grew up listening to the songs of his father, and watching his mother perform in theater. As a child he traveled with his parents and learned to love the life style of an artist. At age 12, Gian Marco sang for the first time on television in the Argentine TV show
Domingos Gigantes (
Giant Sundays), broadcast by
Channel 9 in Buenos Aires under the direction of
Orlando Marconi. A year later, Gian Marco sang in
Caracas on the TV show
La Revista de los Sábados (
The Saturday Magazine) impressing viewers that enjoyed a thirteen-year-old child singing a popular song titled "Eva Maria". At the age of six he recorded a 45 rpm together with his father entitled "Navidad Es" ("Christmas Is"). Gian Marco attended elementary school, middle school, and high school at the Colegio Santa Margarita located in Monterrico, a middle-class neighborhood in the district of
Santiago de Surco, in Lima. He played the guitar and sang in all school activities. In 1981, at age 11, Gian Marco recorded a song for the musical
Papito Piernas Largas (
Daddy Long Legs). His mother also participated in the play. During his youth, Gian Marco participated in a series of artistic events, singing and acting, developing his talents and preparing for what would become a successful career. After finishing school, at the age of 18, Gian Marco traveled to
Santiago de Chile to pursue a graphic design career. Although things were going well for him in the graphic design field, Gian Marco continued to feel the pull of a music career. To prove himself as an artist, he began playing in the most popular venues in Santiago and
Viña del Mar where he began to make a name for himself. He managed to capture the attention of the press, being the most publicized artist at the event. It was there that Discos Independientes proposed recording his first album. At the beginning of 1990 his first production hit the national record market with the title
Gian Marco: Historias that achieved hits as "Domitila" and "Mírame" ("Look at me"), under the musical direction of Pepe Ortega. In 1992 he recorded his second album, production with the title
Personal, produced in Santiago, Chile, by Pepe Ortega. From this recording the songs "Te Extrañaré" ("I Will Miss You") and "Dame un Beso" ("Give Me a Kiss") made the charts that year. In September 1993 he won first place in the national selection for the OTI Festival, and gained the right to
represent Peru in the
OTI Festival 1993 with his song "Volvamos a empezar" ("Let's Start Over").
Television and national recognition In the mid to late 1990s he came back with other successful productions. He began to dedicate himself to composing songs, and he was called to conduct one of the most popular game shows,
Campaneando, with
Bruno Pinasco. Conducting this program was crucial in gaining the recognition of the wider Peruvian public. His television appearance combined with a prolific period of musical activity. He composed and recorded the albums
Entre la arena y la luna, (
Between the Sand and the Moon) (1994),
Señora, Cuénteme (
Lady, Tell Me) (1994), and
Al Quinto Día (
On the Fifth Day) (1997). His fourth album,
Señora, Cuénteme, is a tribute to
canción criolla in which he affirms with his music the appreciation that he has for the feeling of native peoples like those in Perú.
International success Inspired by his own dreams and a blind faith in his talent, Gian Marco decided to travel to the United States, convinced that he needed to introduce his artistic talent to the international market. He got the attention of
Emilio Estefan who hired him as a composer and performer. He worked with Estefan on a couple tracks for
Mandy Moore's self-titled album. This did not stop him from working on his own material, and he published
A Tiempo (
On Time) (2002) under the label Crescent Moon/Sony; this album was heard on the most significant radio stations in the world, and sold more than 50,000 copies in Spain. The album earned him with three Latin Grammy nominations and confirmed him as the most significant Peruvian sing-songwriter of recent times. In that same year, Gian Marco recorded the theme song for the Americas Cup (Soccer) that would be played in Perú in 2004. The song entitled "Más allá de los sueños" ("Beyond Dreams"), became a resounding success. In 2003, he received the "Artista Revelación Latino" (Emerging Latin Artist) prize in the Musical Arts Awards of the Sociedad General de Autores y Editores de España (
SGAE) (Spanish General Society of Authors and Editors). Later came the album
Resucitar (
Resurrection) (2004), a much more organic album that, as he says "doesn't sing as much about lost love as the previous one, it's a more positive album". This disc had unbelievable success, which brought him a Latin Grammy in 2005. Several singles were released from this album: "Resucitar" ("Resurrection"), "Sin querer" ("By Accident"), "Gota de lluvia" ("A Drop of Rain"), "Después de mi" ("After Me"), "Lejos de ti", ("Far from You"), and "Soy" ("I Am").
15 years of career In 2005 Gian Marco held a show at the
Estadio Monumental de Perú to celebrate his career of 15 years, and had more than 40,000 spectators. Several guests including Regina Alcover (his mother), Mauricio y Palo de Agua,
Pelo Madueño and Antonio Cartagena, among others, clothed in this emotional Gianmarco concert. The concert ended with a rendition of "Hoy" ("Today"), which ended with a mix of "huaynos".
Grandes Éxitos (
Greatest Hits), was released in 2006, by Phantom Records only in Peruvian territory. This album focuses at Gian Marco's fifth album
Al Quinto Día (
The Fifth Day), and also highlight the best songs of his other works. Also that year, he recorded the song for the animated film
Dragones: Destino de fuego
(Dragons: Destiny of Fire), where is the performer of the soundtrack, also titled "Destino de fuego". On 17 November 2006, Gian Marco releases
8, which includes ten unreleased tracks and features the first single in Peruvian territory, a song titled "
No Te Avisa" ("It Doesn't Warn You"), for the rest of the world, the first single was "¿Qué Pasa?" ("What's Up?"), a song in which Gian Marco foray into the rap and gives its followers a somewhat different sound than they normally are used to hear. The album
20 Years, was made to celebrate 20 years of artistic life. There are 20 songs, 18 of which are re-recorded, and two unreleased songs "Invisible" and "In another Life". The song "Invisible" was composed by Gian Marco and
Amaury Gutierrez. In 2012 he was awarded in Mexico a Quadruple Platinum Certification by his label for selling over 400,000 copies of his albums in Latin America since the beginning of his career as an independent artist in 2006. Later that year he won his third
Latin Grammy.
Artistry The singer has been making public the Latin American market as a composer, and also has written songs for
Marc Anthony ("Este Loco Que Te Mira", "Hasta Que Vuelvas Conmigo", "Caminaré"),
Pandora ("Mientras Tanto"),
Jon Secada ("Amanecer", "Si No Fuera Por Ti"),
Jaci Velasquez ("Bendito Amor"),
Obie Bermúdez ("Me Cansé de Ti", "El Recuerdo"),
Emmanuel ("En Otra Vida"),
Alejandro Fernández ("Canta Corazón", "Tengo Ganas", "Dame Un Minuto", "
No Se Me Hace Fácil"), and
Gloria Estefan ("
Hoy", "
Tu Fotografía", "Mientras Tanto"),
Luis Enrique ("Parte de este Juego"), among others. Gian Marco has been important brand image as
Pepsi,
Inca Kola, currently one of the leading companies in mobile telephony in Peru
Claro. He is recognized as one of the best songwriters in Peruvian history as well as one of the artists that puts Peruvian music on the international map by several media including
Billboard Magazine. ==Awards and nominations==