Alaska
Who is Alaska?
Olvido Gara Jova, known artistically as Alaska (Mexico City, June 13, 1963), is a singer and TV host, and one of the most recognizable figures of the Madrid Movida. Raised between Mexico and Spain, she settled in Madrid as a teenager and soon became a regular presence in the emerging musical and counter-cultural scene of the late 1970s.
Her career has unfolded through several successive bands, each associated with a different moment in Spanish music, making her a connecting thread through nearly half a century of Spanish pop and rock.
Career
She started as the singer of Kaka de Luxe, one of Madrid’s first punk bands, and shortly after led Alaska y los Pegamoides, with whom she had her first big hits in the early 1980s. In the mid-1980s she formed Dinarama, with whom she reached her peak popularity, fusing synth-pop with carefree lyrics of great commercial success.
By the 1990s she had formed Fangoria together with Nacho Canut, a project with which she has maintained an active career to this day, evolving toward more sophisticated electronic sounds. Alongside this, she has built an extensive television career as a host and media personality.
Notable discography
Among her most remembered songs are “Bailando” and “¿A quién le importa?,” the latter having become a generational anthem and a reference point for the Spanish-language LGBT movement. With Fangoria, notable tracks include “Absolutamente” and “El final del cuento.”
Legacy
Alaska is considered one of the great icons of the Madrid Movida and an artistic survivor capable of reinventing herself across decades without losing her identity. Her influence can be felt both in Spanish pop music and in the country’s popular and media culture.