Jonathan Mark Witt Holder (born May 19, 1962), better known as simply Marcos Witt, is an American

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

singer and pastor. Witt is considered one of the most influential and famous Spanish speaking figures of

Christian music Christian music is a genre of music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christianity, Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence and lament, and its f ...

Biography

Witt was the second of three children born to Jerry and Nola Witt, a young American

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

couple. The Witt family moved to

Durango Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...

, Mexico, in 1960 and started a missionary outreach. Jerry was killed when his small aircraft was shot down in 1964 while he was dropping gospels of St. John over small villages in Mexico. Nola Witt continued the mission work after his death. Some years later, she married Frank Warren. Together, they began to build new churches in Durango, Mexico. The couple had two children. Witt's education began with basic studies at the American School of Durango. He then studied classical music at the University of Juarez (Durango, Mexico) and eventually started his theological studies at the International Bible College in

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

, Texas, where he earned a degree. Witt also received an M.A. from

Oral Roberts University Oral Roberts University (ORU) is a Private university, private Evangelicalism, evangelical university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Founded in 1963, the university is named after its founder, Charismatic Christianity, Charismatic Christian preacher Oral ...

Tulsa Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

Career

In 1986, Witt founded CanZion Producciones when he recorded his first album, ''Canción a Dios''. He has recorded 30 albums that are available on cassette, CD, and DVD. Witt has sold over 27,000,000 copies of his records in Mexico, the United States and

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

. In 1994, Witt founded CanZion Institute, a school dedicated to the preparation of worship leaders and music ministers. Twenty years later there are over 3,000 students attending the 28 campuses of the Institute in 10 different countries throughout the United States, Latin America, and Europe.''Joy to the World, Inspirational Christmas Messages from America's Preachers'', 2006, Olivia Cloud (ed), Witt has written ten books, including ''Adoremos'', which has been translated to English, Portuguese, and French, and ''Qué hacemos con estos músicos'', which has been translated into Portuguese. Between 2009 and 2012, more than 3,000,000 people attended Witt's concerts in some of the main venues of Latin America. Concerts have been held in such places as

José Amalfitani Stadium The José Amalfitani Stadium (also known as El Fortín de Liniers or Estadio Vélez Sarsfield) is a association football, football stadium located in the Liniers neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina, near Liniers railway station. The venue is t ...

in Argentina, Figali Convention Center in Panama,

Estadio Cuscatlán The Estadio Cuscatlán is a football stadium located in the city of San Salvador, El Salvador. It was inaugurated in 1976. It can hold 53,400 spectators, making it the Association Football stadium with the largest spectator capacity in Central A ...

in El Salvador, Estadio Monumental in Ecuador, Estadio El Campín in Colombia,

Palacio de los Deportes Palacio de los Deportes () is an indoor arena located in Mexico City, Mexico. It is within the Magdalena Mixhuca Sports City complex, near the Mexico City International Airport and in front of the Estadio GNP Seguros, in which sports and arti ...

and

Estadio Azteca Estadio Azteca () (officially known as Estadio Banorte for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium located in Coyoacán, Mexico City. It is the official home of football team Club América, as well as the Mexico national team. The stadium ...

in México City. In 2001, Witt received the Ritmo Latino Award by the People for his "outstanding musical career". Starting in 2002, for ten years he served as pastor of the Spanish Christian congregation at the

megachurch A megachurch is a church with a very large membership that also offers a variety of educational and social activities. Most megachurches are Evangelical, although the term denotes a type of organization, not a denomination. A megachurch draws 2 ...

Lakewood Church Lakewood Church is a non-denominational evangelical Christian megachurch located in Houston, Texas. It is among the largest congregations in the United States, averaging about 45,000 attendees per week. The 16,800-seat Lakewood Church building, ...

in Houston, Texas. Witt has visited the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

for events as a representative of the evangelical Hispanic Community. As of 2023, Witt's music and outreach efforts have been credited as a factor behind the surging growth of Latino evangelicalism across the United States and Latin America. Witt works with William Vanderbloemen as a strategic partner to his firm.

Latin Grammys

In total, Witt has received 6 Latin Grammy awards. In September 2003, Witt received a Latin Grammy Award for Best Christian Album, for '' Sana Nuestra Tierra'' (Heal Our Land). In November of that same year, he recorded '' Recordando Otra Vez'' (Remembering Once Again) at the LA Sports Arena. This recording brought CanZion into the secular market because of its distribution agreement with

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

.In 2004, Marcos received his second Latin Grammy for Best Christian Album for ''Recordando Otra Vez''. On November 2, 2006, Witt received his third Latin Grammy for Best Christian Album for his album '' Dios es Bueno'' (God is Good). On October 31, 2006, he released the album '' Alegría'' (Joy), which was recorded live in Chile. On April 26, 2007, ''Alegría'' won a Latin Billboard Award for Best Christian/Gospel Album of the Year. Witt's daughter, Elena Witt, sang "Cristo, Amante de mi Alma" on the album ''Alegria.'' On November 8, 2007, Witt received his fourth Latin Grammy for Best Christian Album for ''Alegría''.On October 2, 2007, Witt released '' Sinfonía del Alma'' (Symphony from the Soul), which he recorded and dedicated to his stepfather who had died a year earlier. On November 15, 2012, Witt received his fifth Latin Grammy for Best Christian Album for his album ''25 Concierto Conmemorativo'' (25 Memorial Concert). On 2021 Witt released '' Viviré'' for which he was awarded his sixth Latin Grammy for Best Christian Album.

Personal life

In 1986, Marcos married Miriam Lee; they have four children. The couple's oldest child, Elena, is married to singer Harold Guerra, who is signed to CanZion Records, the recording company founded by Witt.

Discography

Bibliography

* ''Adoremos''. Editorial Caribe: Distributed by Editorial Betania, 1993, * ''Qué hacemos con estos músicos?''. Editorial Caribe, 1995, * ''A Worship-Filled Life''. Creation House, 1998, * ''Enciende Una Luz''. Casa Creacion, 2000, * ''Cómo Ejercer la Verdadera Autoridad''. Casa Creacion, 2002, * ''Decida Bien''. Casa Creacion, 2003, * ''Dile adiós a tus temores ''. Atria Books, 2007, * ''Los 8 habitos de los mejores líderes''. Vida, 2014,

Awards

Latin Grammy Awards

*2003: '' Sana Nuestra Tierra'' – Best Christian Album *2004: '' Recordando Otra Vez'' – Best Christian Album (Spanish Language) *2006: '' Dios es Bueno'' – Best Christian Album (Spanish Language) *2007: '' Alegría'' – Best Christian Album (Spanish Language) *2012: ''25 Concierto Conmemorativo'' – Best Christian Album (Spanish Language) *2022: ''Viviré'' – Best Christian Album (Spanish Language)

GMA Dove Awards

AMCL Awards

* 1987: Vocalista Masculino del Año * 1988: Artista del Año * 1989: Artista del Año * 1991: '' Tu y yo'' – Álbum Tradicional o popular del Año * 1992: ''Cuan Hermoso'' – Canción del Año * 1992: '' Te Anhelo'' – Álbum del Año * 1992: Productor del Año * 1995: Compositor del Año * 1995: Productor del Año * 1995: ''Temprano yo te buscare (en vivo)'' – Videoclip del Año * 1992: '' Venció'' – Álbum en Vivo del Año * 1996: ''Poderoso (en vivo)'' – Videoclip del Año * 1997: ''Amo a Cristo (en vivo Argentina 1995)'' – Videoclip del Año * 1998: ''Entrare a Jerusalem'' – Álbum Tradicional o Popular del Año * 1999: ''Enciende una Luz'' – Álbum del Año * 1999: Productor del Año * 1999: ''Enciende una Luz'' – Videoclip del Año * 2000: ''Homenaje a Jesus'' – Álbum en Vivo del Año * 2001: ''El Volvera'' – Álbum en Vivo del Año * 2004: '' Recordando Otra Vez'' – Álbum Tradicional o Popular del Año * 2004: ''Autor de la poesía'' Intervención Musical del Año – dueto con Maria del Sol- * 2006: '' Dios es Bueno'' – Álbum en Vivo del Año * 2006: ''Lluvias de Ayer y Hoy'' – Álbum Tradicional o Popular del Año * 2006: ''Dios es Bueno DVD'' – DVD del Año * 2006: ''No es un Misterio'' Intervención Musical del Año – trio con Alex Campos y Coalo Zamorano- * 2007: '' Sinfonía del Alma'' – Álbum Instrumental/Clásico/Coral del Año * 2009: ''Sobrenatural DVD'' – DVD del Año * 2009: ''Sobrenatural DVD'' – Tour del Año * 2011: ''25 Concierto Conmemorativo'' – Álbum en Vivo del Año * 2011: ''25 Concierto Conmemorativo'' – DVD del Año * 2011: ''25 Concierto Conmemorativo'' – Evento Musical del Año

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Witt, Marcos American performers of Christian music American male singer-songwriters American Christian religious leaders Christian writers American emigrants to Mexico Latin Grammy Award winners Oral Roberts University alumni Singers from San Antonio Singers from Durango Writers from Durango Promise Keepers Living people Performers of contemporary Christian music Spanish-language singers of the United States Singer-songwriters from Texas 20th-century American pianists American male pianists 21st-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians 1962 births