María Luisa Vázquez de Silva

BIOGRAPHY

María Luisa Vázquez de Silva, affectionately known as “Lulú”, was born in Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain, on 29 March 1910. She was the fourth of eight siblings, but one of her older siblings had died a few months before she was born. Her parents were Evaristo Vázquez Lescaille, a prominent businessman from Pontevedra who introduced the city to its first radio, and Purificación Silva Vázquez. One of her grandmothers was Cuban. In January 1919, she enrolled in the boarding school at Sagrado Corazón de Placeres in Pontevedra, which was founded that same year, and she studied there for 9 years. As a child, she had a nearly fatal case of measles. After recovering from that, she contracted whooping cough and vomited everything she ate. Her father then sent her to a sanatorium in Vedra in the comarca of Santiago. At 108, she mentioned that one of her fondest memories was from her youth when she received her first dress at the Liceo Casino in 1928 during Carnival. She adored waltzes, but especially tangos, and she used to dance frequently with her brother-in-law.

At the age of 18, she became the godmother of the Somatén (a parapolice institution from Catalonia). In 1928, at the Church of San Francisco, the flag of the Somatén of Pontevedra was blessed. She herself presented the flag. At the conclusion of the ceremony, commemorative medals were awarded to her. During the coup d’état of July 1936, she was praying the novena of Carmen in the church of San Bartolomé. Her father and her uncle Enrique were members of the Civic Guard, and she joined Margarita, the female section of the Traditionalist Communion. According to her, her most distressing memories were from the Spanish Civil War (1936–39) because two of her older brothers, Tito and Quique, were on the front lines. During the conflict, she assisted by feeding the wounded and making beds in the hospital.

At the age of 38, she married Juan José Harguindey Salmonte. The couple spent the next 24 years in Santiago until her husband, a doctor, fell ill, prompting them to return to her native Pontevedra. He passed away shortly after, but she remained there for the rest of her life. Although the couple had no children, she had 37 nieces and nephews, and through them, she later had nearly three hundred family members spanning four generations.

During her life, she survived two very serious traffic accidents. In the first accident, she was traveling with her sister when a vehicle hit them, resulting in her sister’s death and leaving her on the verge of losing a leg. Shortly after recovering, she was run over by a car that had mounted the curb, reportedly lifting her up to the height of a balcony.

At the age of 100, she had a maid help her with the housework in the mornings, but she managed on her own for the rest of the day. She still cooked without depriving herself of anything at meals. She knitted every day, sewed, and enjoyed reading, often staying up until 3 AM before falling asleep. Until she was 107, she continued to knit and sew, only stopping due to poor eyesight in one eye. However, she still continued reading novels. At the age of 108, she didn’t cook much anymore. During the COVID-19 pandemic and health restrictions, on her 110th birthday, she received a remote visit from several of her relatives who congratulated her with a large banner at her house. The local police also joined in, sounding the sirens of four patrol cars as they drove by her building, where they made a brief stop to mark the occasion.

Vázquez de Silva passed away in Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain, on 24 December 2021, at the age of 111 years, 270 days.

RECOGNITION

On 7 November 2020, following the passing of 110-year-old Josefina Villaverde Fontenla, she became the oldest known living person in Galicia. Upon her passing, she was likely succeeded by María del Carmen Nouche Porro (born 15 September 1911).

At the time of her passing, she was the fourth-oldest (known) living person in Spain, following María Branyas Morera, Saturnino de la Fuente García, and Josefa San Román Mateos.

Her age has not been validated.