Ángela Álvarez was a Cuban singer and songwriter who won a Latin Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2022, when she was 95 years old.
- Died: December 6, 2024 (Who else died on December 6?)
- Details of death: Died in Baton Rouge, Louisiana at the age of 97.
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Ángela Álvarez’s legacy
As Álvarez grew up in pre-revolution Cuba, music was an integral part of her life. She learned to play the piano at a young age, and she was always encouraged to sing at family gatherings. Her father discouraged her from making music her career, and she followed his wishes, but she continued to play and sing for relatives throughout her life, even as she worked as a house cleaner.
In 1962, amid fears for their children in the early years of Fidel Castro’s regime, Álvarez and her husband sent the children to the U.S. as part of the evacuation program called Operation Pedro Pan. A few years later, she was able to rejoin her children in the U.S., and the family settled in Baton Rouge. While she raised her family, Álvarez also wrote songs, filling notebooks with lyrics.
In 2009, one of Álvarez’s grandsons asked her if he could record some of her songs so they would be preserved for the family. He was surprised to discover her notebooks full of songs, and he encouraged her to record an album, which he helped produce. The project came to fruition in 2021 with her self-titled debut. The following year, Álvarez was honored with the Latin Grammy Award, which she shared with singer and songwriter Silvana Estrada of Mexico. Also in 2022, she appeared in the Latinx-centered “Father of the Bride” adaptation. She was featured in the 2021 documentary “Miss Angela.”
Notable quote
“Your life starts today. Always aspire to achieve something — chase the inspiration to sing, to pick up an instrument, to paint — do it. And don’t get stuck on the idea that you may fail. Keep going and moving forward and when you finally do get to the end, that’s when you can say I can or I can’t — but always try it first.” — from a 2022 interview for Variety
Tributes to Ángela Álvarez
Full obituary: The New York Times
