Jonathan Mark Witt Holder (born May 19, 1962), better known as simply Marcos Witt, is an American Christian singer and pastor. Witt is considered one of the most influential and famous Spanish speaking figures of Christian music.

Biography

Witt was the second of three children born to Jerry and Nola Witt, a young American missionary couple. The Witt family moved to Durango, 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, Texas, where he earned a degree. Witt also received an M.A. from Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

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. 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. 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 in Argentina, Figali Convention Center in Panama, Estadio Cuscatlán in El Salvador, Estadio Monumental in Ecuador, Estadio El Campín in Colombia, Palacio de los Deportes and Estadio Azteca 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 Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas. Witt has visited the White House 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.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

Awards

Latin Grammy Awards

GMA Dove Awards

AMCL Awards