Maria Serra Ferrer turned 106 years old on Tuesday, one more as the oldest woman in Vila, but on Thursday she passed away at her home. Maria and her sister Antonia had become well known in Ibiza in the last years for their extraordinary longevity. The youngest turned 101 on January 8 and the oldest turned 106 on February 20.
Her birthday was an event and, in addition to her sister, the rest of her family members were there to congratulate her. Both were daughters of Joan Serra de Can Félix, the last miller of Puig des Molins.
Last Tuesday the two sisters were in a very good mood when they received the press for their anniversary. “That birthday thing is something modern, when we were young what was celebrated was the saint,” explained Antonia. On that day, fritters, sweet wine and herbs were prepared and family and friends were invited. “We held dances at home, with the record player. We danced a lot in those days,” she recalled.
“Now it seems that birthdays are more fashionable. Everything is celebrated a little bit. At that time, you counted the years and even added or subtracted them. When I was 14, I used to say I was 16 to go to dances,” he recalled.
Cakes, cake and herbs
For Maria’s birthday the relatives brought cakes and the Ibicencan herbs were once again on the table for the visitors as they arrived. The cake would arrive in the afternoon.
To those Ibicencan herbs they had attributed the previous year “the secret of so much longevity”, then they remembered that the Ibicencan herbs consumed at Can Fèlix were homemade and “very potent”. Then maria’s wish was that this year she would be able to get together again with the whole family to celebrate her 106th birthday “and that she would keep me as I am now”. At least that last wish was granted.
The funeral followed by burial will be this Saturday from 4 p.m. at the church of Santa Cruz de Vila. The wake will be at the Popmpas Fúnebres mortuary from 13.30 hours.