BIOGRAPHY

María Gabriela Calderón was born in Adrogué, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, on 22 February 1912. Her parents were Ángel María Narciso Calderón de la Barca Romero and María Enriqueta Curutchet Salthú. She had at least one younger sibling, Julio Alberto (1913–1992). As a child, she spent summers in Mar del Plata with her family. She also traveled to Paris three times with her grandparents—twice in 1927 and once in 1928. She attended Argentino Modelo and Santa Unión schools.

On 17 November 1937, at the age of 25, she married Rodolfo Jorge Zimmermann Bóveda (1907–1976) in Buenos Aires. They had met when she was 18. The couple had 12 children. Although she never held a formal job, she was a dedicated housewife who cared for her large family, beginning when she had her first daughter.

She had been interested in politics since her school days. Even at 107, she expressed concern about corruption. At the age of 105, she wished to speak with President Mauricio Macri—a request that reached him, prompting a personal phone call to her home. At 107, she wanted to vote in the 2019 Argentine general election but discovered she was no longer registered, making it the first time in her life she was unable to vote.

At the age of 107, she had 58 grandchildren, 118 great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren.

María Gabriela Calderón passed away in Buenos Aires, on 29 September 2022, at the age of 110 years, 219 days.

RECOGNITION

Her age was verified and listed as pending validation by the Latin American Supercentenarians (LAS) organization on 8 January 2022.

ATTRIBUTION

* María Gabriela Calderón de la Barca Curutchet – Genealogìa Familiar

* “Tiene 107 años, quiere votar pero no figura en el padrón” – Somos Jujuy, 11 August 2019

* “Tiene 107 años, no pudo votar en las PASO, pero luchó y ahora lo hará por Macri” – La Nación, 23 October 2019

* “Una belleza de 109 años” – Revista Nordelta, April 2021

GALLERY