Franco de Vita: Our Italian-Venezuelan pop idol
(CL) - Born in Caracas in 1954, Franco de Vita demonstrated a talent for the piano as a young child. His family soon moved to Italy “Europe’s famous boot” to only return to Venezuela, the pearl of the Caribbean, when he was an teen. After high school, de Vita enrolled in Venezuela’s National Music Conservatory, the starting point for the country’s great pianists. He began his career entertaining parties and local pubs in Caracas with his band “Corpus”. Shortly thereafter in 1982, de Vita forms the group “Icaro”, and records an album of original songs. Here he launches hit after hit, and the Italian-Venezuelan becomes a star. He begins to make a name for himself among the who’s who of Latin American songwriters and singers. 
It is the eighties, and his records are selling like hotcakes. He drops his first self-entitled solo album in 1984 and it quickly goes Gold and Platinum in Venezuela. The voice, style and charisma of this innovative singer-songwriter begin to cause a storm with singles like “No hay cielo” and “Un buen perdedor”. In 1986, de Vita’s second album “Fantas’a” hits the streets, and sales surpass that of his first production with more than 600,000 copies sold. “Aqu’ estas otra vez” and “Solo importas tu” are some of the album’s hit singles. The record goes Double Gold and Platinum and de Vita wins international acclaim. On the request of his fans, the Italian-Venezuelan launches his third album “Al norte del sur” in 1988 and sells over a million copies in Latin America and Spain thanks to popular tracks like “Esta vez” and “Te equivocaste conmigo”.
In the nineties, fans begin to see a more mature Franco de Vita, who easily combines the romantic character of his ballads with the potent power of Spanish rock. He releases “Extranjero” with profound music and lyrics that encompass love, life and friendship. After that, he drops his greatest hits album entitled “Marzo 16”. In 1993, “Voces a mi alrededor” hits stores with tracks like “Calido y frio” and “Te pienso”. Millions of copies are sold and de Vita wins special recognition with “Fuera de este mundo” an acoustic CD he launches in 1996 and “Nada es igual”(1999) where a more vital and rhythmic de Vita reminds fans that he still has that special touch.
Today, Franco de Vita continues to experiment with his music, and enjoys each new stage of his music career. After five years without stepping foot inside a recording studio, de Vita returns with 10 inspirational tracks on “Stop”, one of the year’s best new albums. He describes his most recent CD as a “cry for consciousness”. It includes the tracks “Tu de que vas” and “Si la ves”, two new singles that have captivated the hearts of Latin America and which will undoubtedly earn him his next Gold, and Platinum Albums to add to his already impressive collection.