more than a century of historic change. At just eight years old, she moved with her family to Catalonia, Spain — a journey marked by tragedy when her father died of tuberculosis. Yet Maria thrived in her new home, raising a family and living a quiet but fulfilling life that eventually made her one of the oldest people ever recorded.
Before her death in 2024, Maria made a rare and generous request: she asked scientists to study her DNA to discover what made her so resilient. Researchers at the University of
