After Deciding to Finally Follow Her Dream, 95-Year-Old Grandmother Angela Alvarez Wins Her First Latin Grammy

Angela Alvarez, a Cuban American grandmother living her dream of being a professional musician at 95 years old, won big at this year’s Latin Grammy Awards. She tied with Silvana Estrada for best new artist of 2022 after decades of playing musical instruments, singing, and songwriting.

"My grandson was the one who helped me get to where I am now," Alvarez said in her acceptance speech, where she thanked her daughter and grandson, who was the first to record her music. "I want to dedicate this award to God and my homeland Cuba, (which) I will never forget."

Despite playing music since she was a young girl in Cuba and writing songs since she was 14, Alvarez never pursued her dream career of singing and songwriting because her father forbade it.

"She has been singing to us since we were kids," her grandson, Carlos José Alvarez, told TODAY. “One day, I called her up and I said, ‘I want you to sing me the songs that you compose.’ She walks out of a room with these notebooks that were like more than 40 songs and the songs were like a diary of her life.”

After winning her Grammy, Alvarez also dedicated her award to everyone who has a dream, telling them that it's "never too late" to follow it. We couldn’t agree more, and we encourage you to read her story featured in TODAY here.

Question from the Editor: What’s a dream you’ve already accomplished or one you’re looking forward to pursuing in the future?