BIOGRAPHY

Maria Paschoalina de Castro was born in Conceição do Rio Verde, Minas Gerais, Brazil, on 2 May 1911 (claimed 5 April). She is of Native American descent. Her parents were either freed slaves or children of freed slaves. She had three siblings, and her parents resided in Valinhos, a locality near Conceição do Rio Verde.

At some point, she got married and had 13 children. Her husband passed away around 1959.

Even at the age of 97, she retained the ability to perform household tasks such as washing clothes, cooking, and washing dishes, among other duties. She is deeply devout, with a strong religious connection to Nossa Senhora Aparecida. At the age of 107, five of her children were still living, and she had 22 grandchildren, and an unspecified number of great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. She is known as “Ia” by her relatives and friends.

RECOGNITION

In 2018, G1 published a report in which they mistakenly referred to her as Maria Paschoalina de Cássia instead of “de Castro.”

Her age was initially listed as a pending validation by the Latin American Supercentenarians (LAS) as of 8 May 2021. The validation process was completed by Stefan Maglov and Gabriel Ainsworth, and her age was validated by LongeviQuest on 10 September 2023.

ATTRIBUTION

* Interview at the age of 97

* “Família comemora aniversário de 107 anos de matriarca em Lambari, MG” – G1, 5 April 2018

GALLERY

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