Olvido Gara Jova (born June 13, 1963), known professionaly as Alaska, is a Spanish-Mexican singer, songwriter, actress, television host and DJ.
Many of her songs have reached number one on the music charts in Spain and wide recognition in several Spanish-speaking countries; her biggest hits include songs such as "Perlas ensangrentadas", "Rey del Glam", "Cómo pudiste hacerme esto a mí", "Ni tú ni nadie", "A quién le importa", "La funcionaria asesina", "Mi novio es un zombi" and "Quiero ser santa".
Her best known participation was in La bola de cristal (1984-1988), a television program broadcast on Televisión Española during the eighties, which was committed to treating children as adults and reflected the socio-political change brought about by the Spanish transition, as well as the cultural and musical explosion known as the “movida madrileña”.
As an actress, her most recognized role was in Pepi, Luci, Bom and Other Girls on the Heap (1980), a feature film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar.
The group began as part of the underground movement, and gained popularity with the release of their second album, Una temporada en el infierno (1999).
[3] During 1977 the punk rock band Kaka de Luxe is born, formed by Alaska, Carlos Berlanga, Nacho Canut, El Zurdo, Manolo Campoamor and Enrique Sierra.
These musicians realized that they shared greater affinities among themselves than with the rest of the members of Kaka de Luxe, and decided to go their separate ways, since their musical and artistic interests were completely different.
In its early stages, the band counted with the collaboration of Poch, who would later integrate Ejecutivos Agresivos and form Derribos Arias, as a solo guitarist.
After his departure, the position was temporarily filled by Carlos Berlanga, until finally Alaska assumed the main role of vocalist, abandoning the guitar.
Despite these changes, Alaska y los Pegamoides remained active and participated in the tribute concert to Canito, the drummer of Tos, who died in a traffic accident in February 1980.
In 1981, a parallel group to Pegamoides emerged, Parálisis Permanente, formed by Nacho Canut and Eduardo Benavente, whose sound reflected the British punk tendencies of the time, influenced by bands such as Killing Joke, GBH and The Exploited.
The dissolution of Alaska y los Pegamoides began to take shape during the recording of their only album, between the end of 1981 and the beginning of 1982, which led to the departure of Carlos Berlanga from the group.
Despite this, two more singles were released in 1982, "La línea se cortó" and "En el jardín" (the latter a limited edition flexi disc, which was given away to concertgoers).
In 1989, Carlos Berlanga left "Alaska y Dinarama" in the middle of their tour of their last album Fan Fatal where all songs are tribute to the bands they loved and admired over the years: Ramones, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Michael Jackson, Depeche Mode, Aviador Dro, Parálisis Permanente, etc.
Subterfuge, an important indie company released Fangoria's next album: Una Temporada en el Infierno, considered by some to be a masterpiece of electronic music.
In the late 1980s, Alaska was the host of a Spanish children's show on Televisión Española called La Bola de Cristal.
Alaska has collaborated on the soundtracks of The Killer Tongue (La Lengua Asesina) with Robert Englund, The Bear Cub (Cachorro), Bandid Lover (Amante Bandido) in Miguel Bosé's Papito (2007), etc.