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Sunday, April 19, 2015

Maria of Playa Maria

Yesterday I reported the death of Maria and I just found a very poignant obituary written by one of her grandchildren, Marcos Brito, who is a DJ and music producer living in London, on his Facebook page. He wrote the following:


Marcos Brito :  
Thank you for the tomato jam ♡ 
My grandmother, Maria, passed away Thursday evening, after being ill for sometime. Her life was well-lived and her choices and hard work have had such a massive impact on so many people over the course of her life, from the family she raised - my father, my aunt and uncle, to extended family and friends that you she touched, to the many many thousands of tourists that have stayed at her pension house or dined at her restaurant or even just enjoyed a beer at sunset from the bar over the past 50 years - as one of the first commercial buildings in the area, Casa Maria helped develop the existing tourism in Valle Gran Rey - one of the important sources of economy for the people of Valle Gran Rey. The beach where her home lay was named 'Playa Maria' after her. All she did was work, she was a true slave to the kitchen - which made her an excellent cook and she has made some great dishes in her time, including always making my favourite whenever I visited - tomato jam. She never went to the beach that was metres from her front door, the nearest she got was walking out to feed the seagulls the food leftovers at sunset. Even the seagulls loved her. She was as famous as they get on her island. Many people will miss her. I will miss her and all that she brought to this life. xxxxxxxxxx
I took this photo at Bar Maria just a few years ago after a lovely chat with her © lagomera1.blogspot.com

3 comments :

Grant Townroe said...


Grant Townroe The end of an era...Valle Gran Rey will never be the same without Maria...a beautiful gentle lady.x

Anonymous said...

What's the news with regard to Bar Maria?...Are the rumours true that it is closing down?
What a shame if it's true. My first memory of VGR, almost 20 years ago, i will never forget...stood outside bar Maria watching the sun being drummed down behind El Hierro and the food was also good. I never stayed there, I stayed in Casa Domingo a few times and various apartments in Playa...

(Willie...don't know how to contact you apart from in the comment and I thought you might know what's happening with Bar Maria)...Grant.

La Gomera said...

Bar Maria is presently up for sale, but we'll have to wait and see if it really will be sold or remain in the family. It is sadly closed for the time being.