Ángela Álvarez

{{Short description|Cuban-born American singer (1927–2024)}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Angela Alvarez | image = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date|1927|06|13}} | birth_place = Camagüey, Cuba | death_date = {{death date and age|2024|12|06|1927|06|13}} | death_place = Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S. | spouse = {{marriage|Orlando Alvarez||1977|reason=died}} | label = | occupation = | years_active = | website = {{URL|https://www.angelaalvarez.com/}} }}

'''Ángela Álvarez''' (June 13, 1927 – December 6, 2024) was a Cuban-born American singer and the oldest Latin Grammy Award for Best New Artist winner ever. She shared the 2022 award with Silvana Estrada at the 23rd Annual Latin Grammy Awards.<ref>{{cite web|first=Rachel|last=DeSantis|title=How a Lifetime of Songwriting Helped Angela Álvarez Earn Her First Latin Grammy Nomination at 95|work=People|date=November 4, 2022|url=https://people.com/music/how-a-lifetime-of-songs-helped-angela-alvarez-95-earn-her-first-latin-gr/|accessdate=November 18, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Marysabel|last=Huston-Crespo|title=Angela Álvarez makes history at age 95 with Latin Grammy tie win for best new artist|work=CNN|date=November 17, 2022|url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/17/entertainment/angela-alvarez-best-new-artist-latin-grammys/index.html|accessdate=November 18, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Sydney|last=Page|title=Angela Alvarez, 95, is nominated for Latin Grammy Best New Artist|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=November 10, 2022|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/11/10/angela-alvarez-grammy-cuba-musician/|accessdate=November 18, 2022}}</ref>

Her songs were first recorded on an album produced by her grandson, film composer and producer Carlos José Alvarez.<ref>{{cite web|work=Yahoo! News|date=June 28, 2021|url=https://news.yahoo.com/meet-94-old-rising-star-135953930.html|title=Meet 94-year-old rising star Angela Alvarez|accessdate=November 18, 2022}}</ref>

Álvarez appeared in the 2022 remake of ''Father of the Bride'' (which stars Andy Garcia) singing the beloved Cuban musical standard "Quiéreme mucho".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/features/angela-alvarez-best-new-artist-latin-grammy-1235163535/|title=How a 95-Year-Old Grandmother Nabbed a Latin Grammy Best New Artist Nomination|first1=Sigal|last1=Ratner-Arias|magazine=Billboard |date=November 1, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Eglė|last=Radžiūtė|title=Father Prohibits His Daughter From Becoming A Musician, She Gets Nominated For Latin Grammy Nearly 80 Years Later After Grandson Records Her Songs|work=Bored Panda|date=November 16, 2022|url=https://www.boredpanda.com/angela-alvarez-best-new-artist-latin-grammy/|accessdate=November 18, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Sarah|last=Moreno|title=Cubana de 95 años nominada al Grammy como artista revelación|work=El Nuevo Herald|date=October 11, 2022|url=https://www.elnuevoherald.com/entretenimiento/article266927071.html|accessdate=November 18, 2022}}</ref>

==Life and career== Álvarez was born in Camagüey, Cuba, on June 13, 1927.<ref name="alvarezdies">{{cite news |last1=Ratner-Arias |first1=Sigal |title=Angela Alvarez, Nonagenarian Winner of the 2022 Latin Grammy for Best New Artist, Dies at 97 |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/latin/angela-alvarez-dead-2022-best-new-artist-latin-grammy-winner-dies-obituary-1235846694/ |access-date=6 December 2024 |publisher=Billboard |date=6 December 2024}}</ref> She developed an interest in music early on in her life.<ref name=alvarezdies />

Álvarez came to the United States in 1965 and took up a job as a bank janitor.<ref name=alvarezandfamiliyinus>{{cite news|url=https://www.inregister.com/features/baton-rouges-angela-alvarez-waited-a-lifetime-to-win-one-of-musics-biggest-prizes|title=Baton Rouge’s Angela Alvarez waited a lifetime to win one of music’s biggest prizes|first=Christina|last=Leo|publisher=inRegister|date=April 3, 2023|accessdate=December 6, 2024}}</ref> Her four children were able to come into the United States in 1962 as part of Monsignor Bryan Walsh’s Operation Pedro Pan. They spent three years in an orphanage in Pueblo, Colorado before her arrival.<ref name=alvarezandfamiliyinus /> While living in the United States, Álvarez took up residency in Baton Rouge, Louisiana,<ref name=alvarezandfamiliyinus /> where her late husband found work as a mechanical engineer in the sugar industry.<ref name=alvarezdies /> Prior to settling in Baton Rouge, Álvarez's husband, who had also been forced to wait behind, reunited with the family in Mexico, and then hopped around Houston, Miami, Louisiana, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, and El Salvador before getting his well-paying job in Baton Rouge.<ref name=alvarezandfamiliyinus /> Both her husband and only daughter died from cancer years before her.<ref name=alvarezdies /> Prior to her death, Álvarez's daughter, who died of cancer in 1999,<ref name=alvarezandfamiliyinus /> married, with her wedding day marking the first time Álvarez sang her song, ''Maria''.<ref name=alvarezdies /> At the time of her death in December 2024, she had three living children, nine grandchildren, and 15 great-grandchildren.<ref name=alvarezdies />

As of 2023, Álvarez was still living in the same Baton Rouge home where she had lived from 1972.<ref name=alvarezandfamiliyinus />

On December 6, 2024, Álvarez died in Baton Rouge at the age of 97.<ref name=alvarezdies />

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * {{discogs artist|Ángela Álvarez}} * {{IMDb name|10226712}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez, Angela}} Category:1927 births Category:2024 deaths Category:American musicians of Cuban descent Category:Cuban emigrants to the United States Category:Latin Grammy Award for Best New Artist Category:21st-century American women singers Category:21st-century American singers Category:Women in Latin music Category:People from Camagüey Category:People from Baton Rouge, Louisiana