Gustavo Cárdenas Ávila, also known as Jan, (born April 30, 1974 in

Celaya Celaya (; Otomi: ) is a city and its surrounding municipality in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico, located in the southeast quadrant of the state. It is the third most populous city in the state, with a 2005 census population of 310,413. The muni ...

Guanajuato Guanajuato, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato, is one of the 32 states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guanajuato, 46 municipalities and its cap ...

, Mexico) is a Mexican musician, actor, and television host. He had success as a pop-ballad singer in the 1990s and later became a screen and stage actor.

Personal life

Avila was born in Celaya, Guanajuato on April 30, 1974. He is the son of Gustavo Cardenas and Aurora Avila, and has an older sister named Aurora. At the age of 18, Avila studied abroad for a year in Macon,

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

to finish

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

. During this time, he played drums and percussion in a

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

band. Avila was briefly married to model and beauty pageant titleholder Alejandra Quintero from 2002 to 2003. Avila has two children, Eugenia and Diego. In 2024, his passion is photography.

Career

Music

Upon returning to Mexico, Avila joined a pop music group called Sombras, first as a

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western music ensemble, bands that play Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, or Contemporary R&B, R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeepi ...

and then as a

vocalist Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

. After several years of playing in different cities, Sombras was recruited to perform for the weekly television show ''

Siempre en Domingo ''Siempre en Domingo'' (translated ''Always on Sunday'') was a Mexican variety show created and hosted by Raúl Velasco. The show aired on Televisa from December 14, 1969, until April 19, 1998, when Velasco retired. ''Siempre en Domingo'' became o ...

.'' This led to Avila being discovered by Raul Velasco, being signed with Polygram Discos, and releasing his first self-titled album in 1997, " Jan." The album contained the pop-ballad ''Chiara'', which became a strong hit in the same year on the charts in Ibero-America, which despite not having a music video, was played on ''

'' for an international audience. The song talks about a loved one who died due to terminal disease. The album gained success in Central and South America, as well as Mexico, and led to Avila acting in telenovelas. For his second album, ''Acaríciame el alma'' (1999), Avila worked with Alberto Estebanez in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and with Carlos Lara in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. His success in telenovelas helped promote this album. In 2002, Avila released his third album, ''Y Te Vas'', produced by Christian de Walden in Los Angeles, CA. His fourth album, in 2008, ''Tierno'' was created with EMI Televisa Music.

Television

Soon after his first album, in 1998, Avila was given the opportunity to act and perform in the soap opera ''

Soñadoras ''Soñadoras'' is a Mexican telenovela produced and created by Emilio Larrosa with Rocio Taboada and Braulio Pedraza for Televisa in 1998. Plot Psychologist Fernanda, grieving the murder of her fiancé and her father's paralysis from a shooti ...

''. He would go on to successfully act in many other telenovelas and television shows, including '' DKDA'', '' Mi destino eres tu'', '' La Intrusa'', '' Navidad sin fin'', '' Niña amada mía'', '' Amarte es mi Pecado'', '' Rubí'', '' Apuesta por un amor'', '' Alborada'', ''Peregrina'', and '' Heridas de amor''. In 2007, he acted in the telenovela ''

Destilando Amor ''Destilando amor'' (English: ''Distilling Love'') is a Mexican telenovela produced by Nicandro Díaz González for Televisa in 2007. It is the remake of the 1994 Colombian telenovela '' Café con aroma de mujer''. On Monday, January 22, 2007, Ca ...

'' alongside

Eduardo Yáñez Eduardo Yáñez Luévano (; born September 25, 1960) is a Mexican actor. Early life Yáñez was born in Mexico City. He lived with his mother, and has never met his father. Career Producer Ernesto Alonso saw Yáñez's potential and gave him ...

, Angélica Rivera and Sergio Sendel.

Hosting

Avila participated as host for reality shows, pageants, and game shows including

Univision Univision () is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television, free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the L ...

, as well as ''Desfile de las Rosas 2001'', ''Liverpool Fashion Fest'' (2012), A Comer con Coca Cola (2009-2011), '' Nuestra Belleza Mexico'', ''Primer Festival del Mariachi'', '' Premios Juventud 2007,'' among others. He has also made several appearances on '' Premio Lo Nuestro''. And with Televisa he hosted ''Celebremos Mexico: hecho en mexico''.

Modeling and advertising

Avila has been involved in several advertising campaigns, like for Relojes Rado, Campana para Maseca USA, Joyerías Bizzarro, and Telefonía Celular, and Coca Cola de México.

Discography

* ''Tierno: Para Siempre'' (2012) (EMI Televisa Music) * ''Tierno'' (2008) (EMI Televisa Music) * ''Y Te Vas'' (2002) * ''Acaríciame el Alma'' (1999) (Universal Music) * ''Jan'' (1997) (Sony Music)

Television

* Corazón Indomable (2013) *

Como dice el dicho ''Como dice el dicho'' (translation: As the saying goes) is a Mexican anthology drama series produced by Genoveva Martínez for Televisa. The series premiered on 1 February 2011, on Las Estrellas. The series covers a variety of stories in whi ...

(2012) as Ponce *

Rafaela Rafaela is a city in Argentina, located in the central-west region of the Santa Fe Province. It serves as the head of the Castellanos Department and is the third most populous and significant urban center in the province, following Rosario, Santa ...

(2011) as Rene Echeverria *

Destilando amor ''Destilando amor'' (English: ''Distilling Love'') is a Mexican telenovela produced by Nicandro Díaz González for Televisa in 2007. It is the remake of the 1994 Colombian telenovela '' Café con aroma de mujer''. On Monday, January 22, 2007, Ca ...

(2007) as Patricio Iturbe * Heridas de amor (2006) as Luciano Sartori * Alborada (2005) as Santiago de Corsa * Peregrina (2005) as Él mismo * Apuesta por un amor (2004) as Dr. Felipe Calzada * Rubí (2004) as Marco * Amarte es mi pecado (2004) as Roberto Peña * Niña amada mía (2003) as Mauricio Barocio * Amigas y rivales (2001) as Julio * Navidad sin fin (2001) (mini) as Rodito * La intrusa (2001) as Johnny * Mi destino eres tú (2000) as Fernando Rivadeniera del Encino * DKDA: Sueños de juventud (1999-2000) as Rodrigo Arias *

(1998-1999) as Gerardo Rinalde

Awards and nominations

* Received the Latin Emmy Award as a host of the '' Desfile de las Rosas'' in

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial d ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

* Received the Disco De Platino for his work with the band on the telenovela '' DKDA'' * In 2004, he won the

TVyNovelas ''TVyNovelas'' is a Mexican magazine published by Editorial Televisa on a monthly basis. Like soap opera publications in the United States such as ''Soap Opera Digest'' and '' Soaps In Depth'', it mainly carries coverage of Mexican and internat ...

award for Best New Actor in '' Amarte es mi pecado''

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cardenas Avila, Gustavo 1974 births Living people Male actors from Guanajuato Singers from Guanajuato People from Celaya 20th-century Mexican male actors 21st-century Mexican male actors 21st-century Mexican singers 21st-century Mexican male singers