Watch 95-year-old Angela Álvarez accept her Latin Grammy for new artist of the year
Last Saturday, in what could be the first Latin Grammy since the late Miguel Poveda, the 78-year-old Grammy-winning singer was honored by the Recording Academy at the annual event, along with her husband, fellow Oscar winner Javier Garramón, who was also recognized for a lifetime achievement in music. Also joining them on the stage were the legendary singers Ricky Martin and Gloria Estefan, who were also in attendance to accept the Latin Grammy for Lifetime Achievement.
Álvarez has had a long and illustrious career, reaching all the way back to the 1950s. In addition to being a multi-platinum recording artist, she has been a songwriter (the theme song for the hit TV show Desayunos Pilipinas, which she co-wrote and recorded for the show), a television host and, of course, an actress.
“I haven’t been nominated for anything except for best songwriter, because I have been here since the beginning of time,” she said (while on stage, that is). “I hope I won’t have to come back here very much, because I think I would be bored.”
She was born in Tacloban, the capital of the Philippines, on Nov. 3, 1927, to an accountant father and housewife mother. When she was just 3, her family moved to Tacloban City, where her father established a bakery which became one of the most famous eateries in the city. At first, it was a modest family business, but it grew to become the largest bread shop. “My parents had five daughters, and at our wedding party, I realized as a young girl that I was the oldest. I loved going around town and meeting people. So I went and studied to become a maid at a Catholic school,” she said. She studied for two years and then moved to Manila to be a teacher. But, she recalls, “it was