Cuban-born singer was 95 when she co-won the award following the release of her 2022 debut album
Angela Álvarez, the Cuban-born singer who — as a 95-year-old — won Best New Artist at the 2022 Latin Grammys, has died at the age of 97.
The singer’s death was confirmed by her grandson Carlos Jose Álvarez, who told Billboard Espanol that his grandmother died “peacefully” Friday surrounded by family in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where she lived since the Seventies. No cause of death was provided.
“I feel so lucky to have shared our grandmother with the world. She was a gift to me,” said Carlos José Alravez, a film composer who recorded his nonagenarian grandmother’s debut album, which spanned 15 songs. “What we accomplished together was extraordinary. She is an example of courage, love and the importance of keeping dreams alive. She taught us how art can heal in times of adversity.”
Álvarez was both the oldest-ever nominee and winner of the Latin Grammys’ Best New Artist award, which she split in 2022 with Mexican singer-songwriter Silvana Estrada. The award recognized Álvarez’s 2021 self-titled, independently released debut album. Soon after, Álvarez appeared in the 2022 remake of Father of the Bride, where she performed the Cuban classic “Quiéreme mucho.”
Her grandson, Carlos Jose, continued, “Being able to work with her changed my life. The gift I thought I was giving her, was actually a gift she gave to me and in turn the world. She always said, ‘I want to leave this world knowing my music would live on,’ and it will. Her life was full and her legacy shines on.”
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