It was the year 1993. Cuba, Elizabeth Sanchez birthplace, was in turmoil, desperately seeking a way out of the worst economic crisis the island had ever faced. There was a severe shortage of food, fuel, energy, and electricity. The entire society was paralyzed.
This period was called the “Special Period,” and the government had urged the population to tighten their belts and hold onto hope to overcome the crisis.
The Sanchez family clung not only to hope for their country but also for the survival of their daughter, Elizabeth, who was about to be born in the worst medical conditions.
“During that time, I felt a lot of sadness; I had to adapt to that life. I liked to compare myself a lot with other people, and my parents protected me a lot. I think God was giving me many opportunities.”
When her mother, also named Elizabeth, went into labor, the power went out, and her daughter had stopped breathing. They had to revive her and rely on faith for her to survive the 28 days she spent in a coma and find her place in the world.
“It was a miracle from God. Our faith in Him is what saved me,” says Elizabeth Sanchez, the daughter, now a successful Christian music singer. “My parents were atheists, raised in a communist country. During this crisis, her father Ricardo had gone to the House of Missionaries seeking support but also answers.
“They told me that in moments like this, you have God. They asked me that if I accepted Him, I had to pray, but before that, I had to make a promise for my daughter to be saved,” says Ricardo in an interview.
He came across a passage from the Bible, Isaiah 49:25, which said, “But thus says the Lord: ‘Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken, and the prey of the tyrant be rescued, for I will contend with those who contend with you, and I will save your children.'”
Reading this deeply moved him, and he kept it in his heart.
Elizabeth Sanchez survived, after those 28 days, she fought for her life, and with the faith of her parents, the doctors, and the intervention of God, she could live.
Elizabeth Sanchez was born in Placetas, Cuba, on March 11, 1993. Her birth was accompanied by peculiar events and unimaginable complications.
During childbirth, she suffered meconium aspiration that caused three cardiac-respiratory arrests. While doctors did their best to save her life, the hospital experienced a blackout. Now she was truly doomed to die! The anxiety of her first hours haunted her for the next 28 days of life, during which she lived in a coma.
“We are thinking a lot about the ‘I,’ when we have to think about the ‘We.’ We have to think about God’s well-being,” she says.
Repeated seizures, internal bleeding, and widespread infections diminished all clinical hope of survival. On April 11, 1993, Easter Sunday, doctors handed her over to her parents in a vegetative state to spend her last days at home. Her future was uncertain. She would never be a normal child, she recounts in her biography.
At the age of four, the family moved to the Dominican Republic. Their faith had led them to dedicate themselves to missionary work, spreading the word of God at that time. From a very young age, Elizabeth felt she was different. She was diagnosed with an intellectual disability; she had problems with numbers and spatial orientation.
“I suffered from bullying in the Dominican Republic; children made fun of me. I didn’t understand why they did it, although I felt different, I didn’t feel they had to do that,” she says. “They would lock me in the bathroom, call me ugly, fat; it was a very sad time for me.”
From childhood, Elizabeth found refuge in music; she liked to sing in front of everyone, her inclination toward religious music was already taking shape. Her parents told her she had different qualities but to have faith and hope; everything would be fine.
“During that time, I felt a lot of sadness; I had to adapt to that life. I liked to compare myself a lot with other people, and my parents protected me a lot. I think God was giving me many opportunities. When I got sad, I would listen to music, and the sadness would go away; surely God was shaping me,” she says.
At the age of eleven, her parents decided to move to Miami; there were no tools in the Dominican Republic to help her with her disability. When they arrived there, her life changed.
“I realized there were other children like me; that was a great relief,” she says.
Against all odds, she managed to study and graduated from the university in Vocal Performance. She was part of the Miami Opera for a while, all of which led her to start working on her first musical project in 2020, “Nace una Esperanza” (A Hope Is Born), inspired by her life experience.
“I never try to see things in black or white but in shades of pink, see Christ as our Savior. I work to make a connection with Him.”
In 2022, she was awarded the Redemption Award for Best Album of the Year with her project “Nace una Esperanza.”
More than a recognition of musical quality and excellence, this award has an even deeper meaning for Elizabeth and her family; it is the confirmation that God not only saved her from death but also entrusted her with the assignment that others believe in Him through her powerful testimony.
“Since I learned about the nomination, I felt grateful and very happy. And then, knowing that I had won the award, I felt a great responsibility. My music speaks of my life and how only faith in God and His promises have turned men’s pessimistic forecasts about my life into true victories.
With this award, I feel committed to God and to all who listen to and support my music. This award is a beautiful stimulus to continue serving God and to pursue my calling to fill the world with love and hope,” shares the award winner.
After this recognition, her world has turned around.
She started experimenting with other music genres, like ranchera, cumbia, but always considering the message and her connection with God.
Elizabeth Sanchez is also about to start a tour to present her book, titled “Viva de milagro” (Live by Miracle).
“I want to show people that despite challenges, we can have a normal life. Even if we suffer, we can get out of that situation because God gives us that opportunity,” she adds.
This whole journey has not been easy, but it hasn’t been impossible either.
“I have had Love, Faith, and Hope, and the support and affection of God,” she says.
It saddens her every time she sees what is happening in the world, but she is not fatalistic. Elizabeth Sanchez sees it as an opportunity that God is giving us to correct our lives.
“We are thinking a lot about the ‘I,’ when we have to think about the ‘We.’ We have to think about God’s well-being,” she says.
For now, marriage is not in her plans; she wants to stay focused on her career.
“I think I’m going through the highest point in my life right now; I’m in the big wave of my life; I must seize this opportunity,” she says.
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