Angela Álvarez Wins Latin Grammy at 95 and Makes Music History: 'It's Never Too Late'

Kevin Winter/Getty Angela Alvarez

Angela Álvarez's dream came true.

On Thursday evening, the 95-year-old musician won a Grammy, tying with songwriter Silvana Estrada for the best new artist award — making her the oldest person to win a Latin Grammy. Going into the ceremony, she was also the oldest person ever nominated for a Latin Grammy.

"I want to dedicate this award to God and to my beloved country, Cuba, which I will never be able to forget," Álvarez said while accepting her award.

"To those who have not fulfilled their dream, although life is difficult, there is always a way out and with faith and love you can achieve it, I promise you," Álvarez concluded her speech. "It's never too late."

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A lifelong singer, the 95-year-old singer-songwriter wrote dozens of songs over the last few decades, often playing them for friends and family. But she never put them out into the world — until now.

Thanks to the help of her grandson, Álvarez finally released her self-titled debut album last year, leading to her nomination at Thursday's Latin Grammy Awards.

Omar Vega/FilmMagic Angela Alvarez

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"It was a very big but very beautiful surprise, and I thought afterwards that all my dreams came true," she told Billboard Español. "At 95, but that doesn't matter."

Álvarez was born in Cuba, and she's been musically inclined for as far back as she can remember. Though she wanted to pursue singing as a career, her father had other plans, and instead, she married her husband and had four children.

Though she eventually emigrated to the United States, it wasn't an easy journey. After she sent her children to the U.S. in 1962 for a better life, she was forced to stay behind for several months and had to be reunited with them later due to a problem with her paperwork, according to the Miami Herald.

As they grew and had families of their own, Alvarez continued to sing. During a trip to visit her in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, her grandson Carlos José Álvarez had the "epiphany" that her life's work should be recorded in order to preserve "the legacy of our family," he told Billboard.

"I didn't know there were so many [songs], I had no idea," said Carlos, who works as a composer and producer. "When I got back to L.A., that's when it clicked. I called her up and I said, 'Nana, do you want to do this?' First she said, '¡Yo no voy para Los Ángeles! ¿Pa' qué?' ['I'm not going to Los Angeles! For what?'] And I say, 'To record your album!' And she's like, 'OK, I'm there!'"