THE grandmother of Andalucia is 109 years young and lives in Los Barrios.
Maria Rodriguez Sanchez, known as Maria Matacabras, was born on January 24, 1913 and yesterday, September 12, she celebrated her saint day with a special visit from the local Mayor.
Miguel Alconchel, the mayor of Los Barrios, accompanied by the first deputy mayor, Sara Lobato, and the mayor of Citizen Participation, Inmaculada Domínguez, made a personal visit to Matacabras home to wish this well-loved centenarian a happy saint day and gift her a beautiful bouquet of flowers.
In 2017 this neighbor of Los Barrios received the title of Citizenship on the Day of Andalucia, for a lifetime of work and sacrifice.
The hardship of the era that Matacabras was born into saw her working from a very young age. At just nine years old she was running errands and cleaning for ladies of the town.
In 1931, at 18 years old Matacabras was married to Eduardo Guerrero, father of her three children, however she was widowed at the age of 42, and had to working as a ‘matutera’ (goods smuggler), travelling to Portugal, Gibraltar and Jerez trading with tobacco, coffee and fabrics, in order to raise her children.
Tragically, in 1980 her only daughter Pepa died, leaving Matacabras to also provide for her nine grandchildren, the youngest being 5 years old at the time.
Matacabras, who is very loved by her family and neighbours, currently resides with one of her granddaughters in Santa Rosa.
At 109 years young, she is still able to read and sing and can offer a tip or two about life.
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