Maricarmen was 17 when she arrived with her family at an apartment on Calle Alcalde Sainz de Baranda, in Madrid’s Retiro district. It was 1956. The Tren de Arganda passed nearby, there were vegetable gardens and small shops, and all the neighbors knew one another.
The home grew along with her: paintings, old photographs, flowers, porcelain, and armchairs that had been there since the early years. Her father died in 1960, when she was 21, and she took on family responsibilities. Her mother lived there until 2005, and Maricarmen inherited the rental contract.
She worked for 49 years as an administrative assistant and never had children, but she did have her cousin Vicente, whom she considered a brother.
In 2018, the building changed hands, and she was offered the chance to buy her home for around 247,000 euros. She didn’t have that money and couldn’t get a loan because of her age. She refused to leave and held out for almost 7 years. At 87, the police removed her from her home, and she ended up in hospital.
Maricarmen Abascal died 11 days after losing the home where she had lived for 71 years.
