At 95, She Won for 'Best New Artist'

UPDATE Nov 21, 2022 7:54 AM CST

She won! A 95-year-old singer/songwriter named Angela Alvarez has won the Latin Grammy for best new artist, reports the Guardian. “To those who have yet to make their dreams come true, know that although life is hard, there’s always a way out and with faith and love everything can be achieved,” Alvarez, who was born in Cuba but emigrated to the US decades ago, said in her acceptance speech.

Nov 3, 2022 6:51 PM CDT

One of the nominees for best new artist at the Latin Grammys this year is only five years short of a century in age. Billboard and the Miami Herald tell the remarkable story of 95-year-old Angela Alvarez, whose debut album, Angela, wowed everyone when it came out in June. Alvarez lives in Louisiana, but she is a native of Cuba, and she's been writing songs and singing her whole life. It was her grandson, film soundtrack composer Carlos Jose Alvarez of Los Angeles, who had the idea to put her songs into an album for posterity. He served as the producer, and the Grammy nomination followed.

“It was a very big but very beautiful surprise, and I thought afterwards that all my dreams came true," Alvarez tells Billboard. "At 95, but that doesn’t matter." She is enjoying fame beyond the album as well. Actor Andy Garcia narrates a new documentary about her life, Miss Angela, and he also helped her land a singing cameo in the Father of the Bride film reboot. Alvarez and her husband left Cuba after Fidel Castro assumed power, and the Herald has the details on the difficulty of getting to the US with their four children. You can listen to one of her songs here. (More Grammys stories.)