A 95-Year-Old Grandma, Whose Dad Stopped Her From Singing During Her Teenage Years, Gets A Latin Grammy Nomination After Her Grandson Recorded Her Songs

Angela Alvarez spent most of her life with her songs tucked away, even though music had been part of her world since childhood. Now, at 95, the Cuban-American grandmother is finally getting the kind of attention many artists only dream about, and it all started because her grandson decided her voice should be heard.

She learned piano and guitar as a girl in Cuba and began writing songs at 14, but her father kept her from pursuing music professionally. After marriage, children, exile, loss, and years of rebuilding her family in the United States, Angela kept singing anyway, mostly for the people closest to her.

Then her grandson recorded her songs, and everything changed. Read on.

A 95-year-old Cuban-American grandmother has just recently started living out her dream of being a professional musician

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She learned to play guitar and piano as a young girl in Cuba, writing songs from the age of 14

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Her dreams of becoming a professional musician were to be put under lock and key, as her father forbade it

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Her four kids joined 14,000 other unaccompanied Cuban children fleeing the communist oppression

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Before she made her way to the US, after many long years of separation, she was reunited with her children and underwent a long process of rebuilding her family. They later relocated to Louisiana's Baton Rouge.

Her songs filled their home as her husband, a mechanical engineer, worked in the sugar business. When the time was right, she sang to her nine grandchildren just like she did with her children.

He credited his love for music to have stemmed from his Nana, as the kids call her

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The songs captured her joy, her love, as well as her pain and loss upon losing both her husband and only daughter to cancer

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Music stayed as an important part of her life, getting her through ups and downs

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TODAY as Carlos José Alvarez, her 42-year-old composer grandson, shared that “every chance she had to grab a guitar, she was singing to us.” He even credited his love for music to have originated from his Nana.

Inspired by the idea of preserving their family legacy, he thought, "Why not put those songs on tape?" and asked his grandmother to sing the songs she had written.

She shared with him around 50 songs she had composed throughout her life, spanning from her early years in Cuba to the present day.

Andy Garcia, a Cuban-American actor, was contacted by Carlos and decided to make a documentary about Angela's life

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“She represents a generation, perhaps our greatest generation of Cubans"

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She was nominated for a Latin Grammy for best new artist—at the age of 95

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Music continued to play a significant role in her life, supporting her through highs and lows and recording all the details of her life into a beautiful mosaic of history, as though it were a private journal she shared with the people she cared about most. The songs accurately depicted her love, joy, and grief after losing both her husband and her only daughter to cancer.

When the passion project was finished, they realized they had something truly wonderful that they couldn't keep to themselves. Carlos asked singer and actor Andy Garcia, a Cuban-American, for suggestions on how to best tell her story and he took it up.

It’s a similar tug-of-war to a sibling fight over selling their family home, despite others refusing.

All those years later, she was finally able to unlock the box, unleashing her talents for all of us to appreciate

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Listen to the first song of the album below

Given that she was nominated for a Latin Grammy for "best new artist" at the age of 95, it is obvious that the songs touched the hearts of hundreds, if not thousands, of listeners. She and Carlos are slated to perform at the ceremony in Las Vegas.

Angela also had trouble believing it. "It was a very big but very beautiful surprise, and I thought afterwards that all my dreams came true. At 95, but that doesn’t matter," she laughed.

People online loved this inspirational story and they had this to say

Owen Perez

This story clearly struck a nerve online.

A Grammy

Dave Straka

A recognized singer and song writer

Zelma Baxter

A Grammy would be appropriate

George Kamp

Never stop dreaming

Marie E Moore

Great story

Joe Rutte

A beautiful story

Gloria Stanley

I'm happy for her too

Miguel Garza

Wonderful

Denise Darrell

Angela is certain that her late husband and father would be quite proud if they could see it for themselves. She discovered her affinity for music all those years ago.

She had her dreams hidden away all those years ago. After all those years, she was able to open the box, allowing us to all admire, enjoy, and learn from her talents.

Her long-delayed spotlight finally arrived.

Wait until you see how the cousin cooking for a “secret lasagna” showdown went. Family Feud: should I share my great-grandmother’s secret lasagna recipe?