BIOGRAPHY

Martina Martínez Franco was born in Paita, Piura, Peru, on 23 February 1907. Her parents were Francisco Martínez Gomez, a cabinetmaker by profession, and Rosa Franco Silva. When she was 3 years old, her mother died, after which she was left in the care of her maternal grandmother, Manonga Silva, together with her older half-brother, Genaro Agurto Silva. When she was around 7, she moved back in with her father, who was now in a relationship with a woman named Mercedes Palacios, who would later take care of her as if she were her own daughter.

At some point in her life, she married Santos Olaya, native of La Huaca. Her husband resided in Sullana because of his work, so Martina had to travel a lot with her daughters. In Paita, she dedicated herself to the business of buying and reselling products such as coal and firewood.

When her daughters finished their secondary studies at the Colegio San Francisco, she sent them to Lima to pursue higher studies. In 1960, she herself decided to move to Lima, along with her niece, Manuela Zapata Martínez, barely 6 years old, daughter of her sister Mercedes.

In Lima, she dedicated herself entirely to supporting young people from Paita who wanted to study or work. Some of the people she helped to later named her “Madre Paiteña Lima-Callao” (English: “Mother Paiteña Lima-Callao”). Until a certain age, she traveled continuously to Paita to visit family and friends.

Martina Martínez Franco passed away on 5 March 2017, at the age of 110.

RECOGNITION

Her age was verified by Stefan Maglov and Santiago García Medina, and validated by the LAS on 13 June 2021, becoming the second Peruvian supercentenarian whose age is validated, after Zoraida Ormaeche Rojas.

ATTRIBUTION

* “LA PAITEÑA DEL S.XX. CUMPLE 110 AÑOS” – Facebook, 25 February 2017

* “HOMENAJE A LA PAITEÑA DEL SIGLO XX Y XXI EN SU ONOMÁSTICO AL CUMPLIR 110 AÑOS” – Facebook, 5 March 2017

GALLERY