Meet the 95-year-old Cuban singer nominated for a Latin Grammy as Best New Artist

The reboot of the film “Father of the Bride” has three important revelations: Gloria Estefan’s growth as an actress; how spectacular Miami looks on the big screen; and the clear and magnificent voice of Ángela Álvarez singing “Quiéreme mucho.”

Who was that beautiful lady singing one of the most beloved tunes in the Cuban songbook over Arturo Sandoval’s trumpet? And how is it that we are just discovering this talent?

Better late than never. That 95-year-old, who played Aunt Pili in the film, was nominated for Best New Artist by the Latin Grammy Awards for her album “Angela,” produced by her grandson, Carlos José Álvarez, a film soundtrack composer who grew up listening to her sing at family gatherings.

Carlos José discovered the depth of his grandmother’s talent when she showed him a notebook with 40 songs she composed.

“That notebook is the journal of her life and the way she dealt with difficult moments. Through those songs I found out about the love she had for my grandfather,” said Carlos José, who accompanied Ángela in the interview with el Nuevo Herald.

“I want to record an album with you,” he told her when he returned to Los Angeles after visiting her once in Baton Rouge, where she has lived for more than 50 years.

“My dream was always to leave this world and know that my music would remain,” Ángela told him. She had been singing and composing since she was a teenager, but never considered turning it into a career so as not to contradict her father. He had other plans for her.

Memories of Cuba

Instead, Ángela married a sugar engineer, had four children and dedicated herself to being a mother, although she would occasionally sing in restaurants, or once in a Miami radio contest (which she won) and at parties.

“When you have that desire in your heart, you never give up,” she told el Nuevo Herald. The native of Camagüey spent her childhood playing the piano and singing with her aunts, who always encouraged her.

“When I was a teenager there was no television, I knew boleros and all the music on the radio,” she recalls. Her love for Cuba is revealed on several songs on the album, “Un canto a mi Cuba,” “Añoranzas” and “Romper el yugo.”

Her favorite composer is Ernesto Lecuona, who collaborated with Gonzalo Roig, who composed “Quiéreme mucho” a few years before Ángela was born.

Pensaban que venían de vacaciones pero resultó una vida. El éxodo que forjó grandes amistades

When Castro took over, Ángela and her husband decided to leave Cuba. She would go first with the children because her husband was not allowed to leave. The authorities had decided that anyone who knew how the power plants worked was not allowed to leave the island.

But another complication presented itself.

Ángela recalls being told by an official at the Havana airport, “Of the five passengers, one cannot leave.”

The one who couldn’t leave was her, because she was missing some paperwork. There on the spot, Ángela had to decide if she would send her four children — the youngest was 4 years old and the oldest 15 — alone on the plane to the United States.

The children left Cuba on May 17, 1962, and she was not allowed to leave until August, and the few months seemed like an eternity to everyone, Ángela said. After arriving in Miami they were assigned to an orphanage in Colorado until Ángela arrived and found a job that could support them.

When she was reunited with her children, her youngest, who only spoke English, asked who she was. She just couldn’t recognize her mom.

The many lives of Miss Angela

The documentary “Miss Angela” (2021), narrated by actor Andy García, a friend of Carlos José and a key figure in Ángela’s discovery, tells her story. Ángela had her first concert at the Avalon Theater of Los Angeles at the age of 91, where she thanked García with a big hug.

“When we were making the album and the film, it was very clear that we had to share her with the world, that her life and what she has done has inspired many people,” Carlos José said.

Whether his grandmother wins the Grammy, the fundamental thing to Carlos José is that young people learn from that generation that sacrificed so much.

“Sit down and talk to them. We are all immigrants and if we can do what we do today, it is because of them. I make my music for the sacrifices of my family,” said Carlos José.

Despite how hard it was to leave the island, she holds onto the good memories of Cuba. “I carry it deep inside of me. When I sing, I go from Guáimaro to Cascorro, where my father’s farm used to be. I’m remembering when he was on the Central Highway. I love my island and I will never forget it,” she said.

The 23rd Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards will be broadcast live from the Michelob ULTRA Arena at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas on Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022, beginning at 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. CT) on Univision.