Mexican grandma fulfills her dream of recording an album at age 80 and is nominated for a Grammy

“It is never too late to make our dreams come true.” That’s the moral of the story of the life of Irma Silva, an 81-year-old Mexican grandmother who always wanted to dedicate herself to music, but who only managed to do it now, thanks to a challenge that went viral on social media. Her artistic career started late but consistently and she has already received a Latin Grammy nomination.

We, from awesome.club, we are already part of her fan club and we want to tell her story so that you can join us and, together, we can join forces in supporting her.

Irma Gloria Silva was born in 1938, in the state of Nuevo León, and grew up in a family that breathed the traditional genre of northern Mexico. Her uncle was none other than Eugenio Ábrego, founder of the mythical band “Los Alegres de Terán” and one of the most emblematic representatives of this musical style.

She has been singing since she was a child and has always dreamed of recording an album as a professional singer. However, economic problems made her dedicate herself to sewing and household chores, instead of living on her beautiful voice. But that old wish finally came true last year, through a challenge that was born on social media.

“If this video reaches more than 100,000 views on Facebook, we will record an album with grandma”, proposed her grandson, Jorge Loayzat, inviting her to sing a song with his band, Buyuchek. The recording, accompanied by the hashtag #ElRetoDeLaAbuela (grandma’s challenge), achieved its goal within the first twelve hours of its publication, and today has around 280,000 views.

Thus was born Abuela’s songs, an album composed of eleven traditional compositions of northern Mexican music and illustrated with a cover in which Silva occupies the center of the scene surrounded by the rest of the Buyuchek group. The first single is The pajareraa song that launched her to social media stardom and already has over a million views on YouTube.

The story did not go unnoticed by the organizers of the Latin Grammys, who decided to nominate Abuela’s songs in the Best Northern Music Album category. She shares the nomination with very important bands of the genre, such as Bronco and Intocable.

Her grandson recorded and posted a video on social media of the moment he broke the news to the nice lady. “Ave Maria!”, She said, laughing as her first reaction when she learned that the Latin Academy of Phonographic Arts and Sciences had chosen her for the ceremony, to be held in Las Vegas (United States) on November 14th.

Irma is a star and, naturally, has appeared on several television shows since becoming famous on social media. She continues to sing, and on September 19th she and the band Buyuchek released the song con cartitas together with Don Ramiro Cavazos, a legend of this musical genre. “Dona Irma showed everyone that it’s never too late to make your dreams come true”, said the producer from Fonovisa Records, which represents the musical group.

Do you know any cases similar to Grandma Irma’s? Do you have a childhood dream that you’ve fulfilled or would like to fulfill? Share your story with us in the comments section.