My Grandmother (by Martina Rodríguez)

She was born on 6th January 1933 in Villanueva de los Castillejos. She had five brothers and one sister.
My grandmother went to school, from six to ten, in Castillejos. She went to school every day, on Saturdays too and she went all afternoons, except on Thursdays. On Thursdays a priest visited them in the morning and they prayed.
All of her brothers went to school too and when they were twelve years old, some of them went to different schools and others stopped studying.
My grandmother was sent to a boarding school in Portugal. Her favourite subject was Portuguese. She didn't like maths, or geography...
Her teachers were all nuns and they were very good with the pupils; they didn't beat them, they only scolded them.
After the school in the evening, my grandmother used to go to a friend's house to play with dolls. In the evening she didn't study and neither had they to do the homework.
When my grandmother was a teenager, she left the boarding school, she embroidered in Castillejos. In the evening, she used to walk down the road with her friends. On Saturdays and Sundays they went to church. At home she liked to read.
Her mother made her look at the maids while they were making beds or cooked the food... to learn from them.
My grandmother met my grandfather when he came to Castillejos to work as a teacher. On day her friends introduced her to my grandfather. My grandfather and his friend went to see my grandmother and her friends who were embroiders. The first time that my grandfather Patri saw her he fell in love and he said: "Can we see each other tomorrow?".
My grandmother never worked, because her parents had money. She has always lived in Castillejos.
In the summer, she and her sister went to Portugal to spend the holidays there. They used the bus to go from one place to another.
On Public holidays they went to a club. On weekends, she walked in the afternoon and she went to the cinema.
My grandmother thinks that life has changed a lot. At that time everyone didn't have car. My grandmother saw a telephone for the first time when she was 16 years old.
Before, the cylinder didn't exist and they had a shower with water warmed in the sun. My grandmother didn't have a TV in her childhood.
I have learned a lot from my grandmother Maricruz. I appreciate her very much and I give her all my fondness. Thanks to her I have been educated as a good person.

My grandmother (by Tomás Sayago)

My grandmother was born on April, 1939 in San Juan del Puerto, Huelva.
She lived in a rented house in the outskirts of San Juan with her six brothers and her five sisters.
She didn´t go to school because her family didn´t have any money .Only her sister María Dolores went to school because she was the youngest.
In her free time she used to play “teje” and she played skipping rope and “piola”. She also used to make clothes for dolls.
For Christmas, her parents used to give her a basket with three sweets.
At the age of seven she started to work. Later, when she was a teenager she used to help her mum, she cut wood and she fed her animals.
She used to look after sheep and pick up olives. She sometimes went from one place to another on her dad´s donkey and she used to guard a field where her dad grew melons.
At the age of fourteen, something terrible happened to her. Her sister Mercedes died when she fell from a tree.
Her sister Josefa had to move to Huelva because her husband couldn´t find a work in San Juan. Now, she lives there.
My grandmother met my grandfather when she was fourteen years old in the avenue.
My grandfather rode her in his motorbike and she fell in love with him.
They got married in San Juan del Puerto.
She had three sons and one daughter (my mother Mercedes).
She didn´t have holidays but she and her family used to go Mazagón in summer.
Her life changed completely when Tomás, the youngest of her sons, had an accident.
After twenty days in the hospital he died with sixteen years old.
When I was born, my mother gave me his name and my grandmother was happy.
My grandmother has taught me many things: to be a responsible and hardworking person and to enjoy what I have got now and she didn´t have.

My grandmother (by María del Carmen Domínguez)

My grandmother was born on 29 October, in Higuera de la Sierra (Huelva). Her family consisted of her three sister and her parents. In her childhood she lived in Higuera de la Sierra.

Neither she nor her sisters went to school. My grandmother didn't like any subjects and neither the teachers. She helped in the house. My grandmother used to play with the doll in her free time.

In her adolescence she worked in different houses taking care of children. In hr house my grandmother herped with the housework.

My grandmother met my grandfather in a dance when she was fiften years old and they gob married with eighteen years old. My grandmothr devoted herself work as a nanny. She had to emigrate to Sevilla and Cartaya. Her sister had to emigrate to Sevilla. The experience was good. She felt fine, because she went there to work. She made a living working in houses.

My grandmother went to dance sometimes a week, she waled along the mountains and she a went to the cinema. Her life changed when she starded having children. She had ten children.

My grandfather (by Rosana Cáceres)

Joaquin, my grandfather, was born on 27th January, 1935. He grew up with his parents, his brother and his two sisters. He lived in Toneleros street.

My grandfather went to school less than one year and his brother and sisters too. When he didn’t know the lesson, his teacher slapped him and shut him in a room. After school, he ate, if there was enough food at home and then he used to go to work.

In his free time he played marbles and football.
In his adolescence he went through many difficulties. Since my grandfather was 10 years old, he worked. In his house, his brother and sisters slept together in a bed.
When he was young, he never had holidays and at the weekends, he SAM in the river. Those Sundays when he had to go to school, he went to mass.
Until he wasn’t thirty years old and began to work, he didn’t have holidays.

When my grandfather was 22 years old, he went to Canarias to work and he was 22 months there. He felt very bad there.

My grandparents knew each other since they were children as they lived in the same street. One day he broke his trousers and my grandmother sewed them up and they began a friendlier relationship.


For my grandfather, life has changed in education, the treatment to persons and the condition of the life.

My grandmother (by Soraya Hidalgo)

My grandmother was born on October 25th, in 1938; in a country house nearly a village, called Calañas.
My grandmother grew up in relatievely big family. She had got six brothers, one sister and her parents.
She played the “rayuela” and the typical games of that time.
At the age of ten, she moved to the Cerro Del Andévalo. They lived in a small house, in a long and narrow street.
During her adolescence, my grandmother worked in the village selling milk. She had to the country to go to the village (Calañas).
She did that way every day to earn money.
Thanks to this tout she met with a boy that was working in the country. They went to pick up mushrooms and they fell in love.
Later, when my grandmother was an adult she moved to Calañas whit my grandfather. There they had children, one boy and three girls. The children helped them in the house, because my grandmother had to take care to his small son.
My grandmother always has taken care of me and my cousins. I believe my grandmother has been very brave that’s why I admire her.

My grandmother (by Isabel Manzano)

My grandmother was born on August 18th, 1947, in Coria del Rio, Sevilla. She had one sister and three brothers.
In her childhood she went to school only two or three years because she had to work and her brothers and her sister too. The time she was in a school she had only female teachers and they were very bad, they always punished her.
After school, my grandma worked in her house; she cleaned, cooked the food for everyone and used to take the food to her brothers to work.
She played to teje, skipped rope, played hide-and-seek, sang and dance, because she didn’t have any radios.
When she was 14 years old, she met my grandfather, because she was working in the country.
My grandmother worked in a factory of olive-oil, she used to pick up cotton for a factory and to take care of children.
At that time, many people emigrated to other countries, towns or villages but my grandma didn’t go. My grandfather emigrated to France and Switzerland a, because he had to work.
The experience was good, because he used to work in a restaurant. But also he felt sad because he couldn’t see his family and he met his son for the first time with eight months.
They used to move in the bus, my grandfather’s motorbike. They went to the cinema at the weekends and went to the beach on holidays.
The most significant changes in her life is were having five children, the death of her parents, being grandmother and learning how write and read in a centre of adults.

This is the life of my grandmother, her name is María Isabel or Maribel and I love her very much!

My grandfather (by Manuel Fernández)

He was born on 30th, 1937, in San Juan del Puerto, Huelva. His family consisted of his father, his mother and him.

At the age of five years he went to school. His favourites subjets were maths, geography and history. His teachers were very good with him, because they never hit him. He was a good student. He used to play with his friends after school. They used to play marbles and football.

As a teenager, he used to study to get the title Technical Education of mechanic. He used to help his mother in the house. My grandfather met my grandmother while he was walking in the town. I think it’s very typical.

He married on June 14th, 1964. Then they used to go to the cinema and to the beach. Sometimes, they travelled by car to Granada. He was working as a mechanic in Huelva.

The most significant changes in his life were his marriage and the birth of my mother. I think my grandfather is very important because he is the president of Cáritas (an organization to help poor people) and he is a fantastic person.

My grandmother (by Rocío Flores)

She was born on 1st of September 1934. She had got four brothers and two sisters. She lived in a house in Renfe, in San Juan del Puerto.
She walked three kilometers to go to the school, four times a day. Her favorite subject was Math. When she was small, the teachers hit her.
She helped her mother in the house, everyone had a task and who finished first helped the rest of the brothers. She used to skip the rope, she used to play with marbles and she used to play “piola” .
She worked in a factory where they built bricks, she cut bricks. She used a machine to cut them. She met my grandfather in the factory. It was love at first sight.
My family never emigrated. My grandmother went to different places by bike. Every Sunday she went to the village, to sleep in her relative´s house.

My grandfather (by Elías González)

My Grandmother was born on June 22nd, 1939.She had three sisters. She and her family lived in Huelva.

She went to the ``Holy Angel´´ school together with her three sisters. Her favourite subject was History her teachers were good but strict, as it was usual at the time.
After going to school, she enjoyed herself with her friends playing yo-yo, volleyball... She also helped her mother in the house. She had a happy infancy.
At the adolescence, she was employed as a secumstress. She met my grandfather on March 19-th- in a party.

She earned a living as a teacher of embroidery. She emigrated to Cádiz with her uncles, her relatives never emigrated.

Holidays and at the weekends she went to parties, to the country, to beaches...

The most important moment in her life was when she married my grandfather and she had her children.

THANK YOU, GRANDMOTHER

My grandfather (by Belén Ruiz)

My grandfather was born on March 21 st, 1942 in Marmolejo, Jaen
He lived in a numerous family with her father and mother and with one brother and three sisters.
He went with her brothers and sisters to school; his favourite subjects were history, geography, and maths
His teachers were very bad. After school he did the homework and he also played football, rode his bike…
My grandfather had many responsibilities, he used to care for her brothers and sisters, and to help my great-grandmother.
When he was a teenager he liked to go out with his friends. My grandfather met my grandfather in San Juan while he was walking in the street
As an adult, he worked as a fitter and he went to work in a motorcycle
He has worked in Cordoba, Jaen, Cartagena, Tarragona, San Pedro de Alcantara and San Juan. He had to emigrate to work. His most important changes in life were having four girls and marrying with my grandmother

My grandmother (by Patricia Gil)

My grandmother was born on 1st September 1934 in San Juan del Puerto. She had four brothers but one of them died in his childhood she went to school with her brother and her sisters. She was in the school until she was 10 years. Then she went to work.

Her teachers went to school on foot. She doesn’t remember school very well. She usually played with her dolls after school; she usually worked in other people’s houses. When she was a teenager, she always worked. She washed the dishes. She played with dolls and she took care of her sister. She devoted her time to clean other people’s hours and work the country.

She didn’t have a car she had to walk or ride her bicycle.

My grandmother (by Rocío Gómez)

She was born on 2nd June 1936 in San Juan del Puerto (Huelva). Her name is María, she had two brothers and two sisters. She lived in San Juan del Puerto.

My grandmother went to school some days. Their brothers and sisters went to school some days to She didn’t like any subjects because they were very difficult. Her teacher was very good, her name was Mª Dolores.

She worked in her house looking alter her niece, she played “piola”, skipped the rope, hopscotch…

My grandmother used to go to the square to look for a boyfriend on Saturdays. She used to make the household, because her mum died, her sister worked and she had to the rest.
She was seventeen years when she met my grandfather in the street, where she lived. It was love at first sight.

She wasn’t working. She was always walking along the street. On holiday, she bathed in the river. At the weekends, she went to the movies.
According to my grandmother we live better now than before, because everything has changed for the better.

My grandmother (by Rocío Gómez)

She was born on 2nd June 1936 in San Juan del Puerto (Huelva). Her name is María, she had two brothers and two sisters. She lived in San Juan del Puerto.

My grandmother went to school some days. Their brothers and sisters went to school some days to She didn’t like any subjects because they were very difficult. Her teacher was very good, her name was Mª Dolores.

She worked in her house looking alter her niece, she played “piola”, skipped the rope, hopscotch…

My grandmother used to go to the square to look for a boyfriend on Saturdays. She used to make the household, because her mum died, her sister worked and she had to the rest.
She was seventeen years when she met my grandfather in the street, where she lived. It was love at first sight.

She wasn’t working. She was always walking along the street. On holiday, she bathed in the river. At the weekends, she went to the movies.
According to my grandmother we live better now than before, because everything has changed for the better.

My grandmother (by Ana Vázquez)

My grandmother was born on January 27th, 1938 in San Juan del Puerto.
She had a brother but he is dead. She has got a sister and two brothers.
At the age of six she studied in a house with an ad woman .When the old woman got angry. She was very bad. She worked in the country with the horses and she helped in the house.
She lived in San Juan del Puerto always. After school she worked picking up olives or sowing seeds, wheat…
She went out only on Sundays. She didn’t have any holidays. Some years later, my grandmother had to after of her sisters; a terminally ill woman.
She worked in Zufre in the house of a family. She cleaned and to take care of the children. She had few clothes. She used to cook the food for the family.
She met her husband in Zufre at worked in the country until she got married. At weekends, she went out with her friends. My grandmother thinks many that things have changed. At that time, there was a lot of poverty, they did not have, many things as there are now. 

My grandfather (by Sebastián Garrido)

My grandfather was born on April 23rd, 1947. He had three brothers. As a child, he was living in Peñarrolla (Córdoba), when he had the misfortune that his mother died of asthma with 35 years old; when he worked only 12 years. All his brothers went to school, where the discipline was very hard.
There was a teacher, who was the most demanding, he taught mathematics.
In spite of his exigency, his subject was the one that my grandfather liked the most.
In his free time he used to play with the top or to hide. He began to be my grandmother’s boyfriend at the age of 9, and since then they were together. When he had to work and simultaneously study.
As an adult he made a living, being employed at the factory; for he had to emigrate two times; the first time all his family emigrated to Puertollano, and the second time he emigrated to Huelva with my grandmother and his first two children. For him it was hard to move away from his father, though he was proud to have finished the career and being able to have a good working place in Huelva. Thanks to the money he earned, he had the opportunity to move in a car.
If my grandfather had some time, he took it to spend it with my grandmother.
He has experienced a few significant changes in life, as the electrical supplies, the respect between persons, the good habits, the technology and the medicine, the freedom of going out to the street without fears, etc.

My grandfather (by Victoria Almirón)

My grandfather was born on June 12, 1945 in Zalar (Granada).

He had two sisters and one brother. My grandfather went very rarely to school because he had to work. His brother and sister also went very rarely to school. My grandfather was very clever, he liked Maths a lot.

My grandfather and her family came across many difficulties, like shortage of food and the death of my dad. He helped his family working outside the house. My grandfather returned home every days, he had a difficult adolescence. He had to work and had no vacation. He worked all day: he had many different jobs in a mine (in Bilbao) in a construction of a factory (cellulose)...

My grandfather went everywhere on foot or by bus. He met my grandmother at the age of 18. My grandfather used to go to see her by bike to Huelva.

My grandfather before living in San Juan del Puerto, lived in Zalar ( Granada ), Bilbao and finally he arrived in San Juan del Puerto, because he had to work.

My grandfather told me that now the children don't have to leave school to work, but at that time many of them heeded to earn money to help their family.

He always tells me not to miss the opportunity to study now that I can.