Mijas grandmother who 'loves dancing' celebrates 100th birthday

Josefa Alarcón celebrated her 100th birthday on 2 March with a surprise party organised by her family, many of whom travelled from abroad to be with her on the special occasion.

One of the gifts she received was a tablet, which Josefa, the oldest resident in Mijas Pueblo, has not been able to put it down, as she loves to play Candy Crush and Solitaire.

This is not Josefa’s only hobby, as she also likes to paint and draw, along with making plasticine models for her eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

As a young woman, she worked hard, as a maid in people's houses, and on the land, picking olives, harvesting wheat and “doing whatever I was told to do”, although, as she points out, it wasn’t all hard work, as she “liked dancing very much”.

She married “a beautiful person” from Granada and swapped her life in the country and her dancing to raise four children. The family moved to Barcelona, but returned after a few years to Mijas, the village where she was born, and where her four children also live. Now she spends time in all of their homes, but lives mainly with her eldest son, Antonio.

Josefa, who’s favourite colour is purple, still enjoys dancing, and although she has impaired hearing, she does not need glasses to paint, as she says she can see perfectly.

“The truth is that I am coping quite well at 100,” she declared.

Josefa received a surprise visit from the town’s mayor, Ana Mata, this week, who congratulated her on her centenary. Mata asked Josefa what her secret was at reaching 100 in such good condition, to which she replied, “by gaining the respect of others, and by respecting myself also”.

“I have no complaints about any of my children, my daughters-in-law or anyone else, they all treat me very well, and with respect. I respect them too, of course”, she told the mayor.