Puertas was born in the neighborhood of Boedo of Buenos Aires City, Argentina, on 29 September 1912. Her father taught her how to read, write, and do math. As a child, she worked extensively, assisting her family with everyday chores. Her father, a Spanish immigrant, succumbed to the Spanish flu. As his final wish to protect his family from the disease, he entrusted his wife with traveling to Europe along with their five children. At the age of 9, she arrived to Castilla la Vieja in Spain.

As a young woman, she moved from Valladolid to Madrid, where she met her husband, Francisco Elbl, an Austrian pastry chef in the service of King Alfonso XIII. He had learned to make chocolate, bonbons, and pastries in Vienna and was hired at a confectionery shop in Madrid that served the kings of Spain. They met in the city and got married. He was ten years her senior. With the outbreak of the Civil War (1936–39), they were compelled to return to her native Argentina. Their first child had just been born, and although her husband had the opportunity to work in Austria, they perceived that all of Europe was in turmoil, on the brink of World War II, and she didn’t speak German. Advised by the Argentine embassy, they decided to return to her homeland. They left behind most of their belongings and returned to Argentina as war refugees. Drawing on his experience as a chocolatier, her husband found employment at the Noel factory in Argentina, and later at the Suchard company. There, he focused primarily on crafting recipes for Sugus candies. It was he who instructed the factory workers on how to create candied Sugus.

In August 2023, at the age of 110, she voted in the Argentine primary elections, accompanied by her daughter María Teresa and two of her grandchildren. It was reported that she has never missed voting in elections since Argentina granted women the right to vote.

As the sole gift for each birthday, she asks her family to celebrate a mass, expressing gratitude for the years she has lived.