Kriti Mehrotra
With Netflix’s ‘I’m Still a Superstar’ delving deep into the remarkable yet scandal-marred career of Spanish pop icon Tamara or Yurena, we get a documentary that is simply gripping. This is because it incorporates not only the successes and betrayals this artist has faced over the decades but also how she has managed to remain motivated to continue even on her darkest days. It turns out her mother, Margarita Seisdedos Santos, was her rock through everything, and even though she is now gone, she remains a constant source of comfort for her because she still has her ashes.
Margarita Seisdedos Santos and Yurena Were the Best of Friends
On December 11, 1969, Yurena was born as María del Mar Cuena Seisdedos to Margarita Seisdedos Santos and Floreal Cuena Ruiz in Barakaldo in the Basque Country, Spain. This area is nearly 300 miles away from her mother’s village of Villarino, where almost every Seisdedos family member was born before her, so she learned a lot about it over time. What’s even more imperative to note, though, is that the matriarch was 41 (born September 22, 1928) when she gave birth to her daughter, so she had a lot more patience, empathy, and emotional intelligence.
Therefore, the moment Margarita realized her little girl was being bullied in school owing to her quiet nature, different habits, as well as weight, she did her best to ensure she never felt lonely. In fact, per Yurena’s account, her mother was there for her during every recess or lunch break, standing on the other side of the school railings to give her company without saying anything. This was when the young girl was 7 to 9 years old, and when she grew a little older and became determined to lose weight, her mother helped her stick to a strict plan while also ensuring she never took things too far.
Thus, it comes as no surprise that when Yurena decided to relocate to Madrid in 1998 so as to establish herself as a singer, Margarita believed in her to such an extent that she moved with her too. The latter knew her daughter would find a way to succeed one way or another, so she didn’t mind making initial compromises even if it came at the expense of comforts like separate beds. In other words, not only did Margarita back Yurena throughout the peak of her career, all her scandals, as well as two suicide attempts owing to media frenzy, but she was also there for every moment before and in between. That’s why the singer always considered her a best friend or a soulmate.
Margarita Seisdedos Santos Sadly Passed Away in 2015
It was early in the morning of October 21, 2015, when Margarita Seisdedos Santos unfortunately died after a long battle with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease – she was 91 at the time. “Today, my life has shattered into millions of pieces (that will be) impossible to put back together,” her daughter Yurena penned in her statement announcing the tragic news. “My soul and my heart have shattered into millions of pieces. Today, I feel like dying. My light, my Star, my life, my angel, my queen, my breath, that’s what you have been to my mom, from the moment I was born until your last breath.” She knew the time was coming because her mother had been in and out of the hospital in her last few months owing to the severity of her ailments, yet it still didn’t make the reality easier.
Therefore, although Margarita had asked to be buried alongside her father at their family grave site back in Villarino, Yurena cremated her and kept her ashes because she was reportedly not ready to let go. Since then, the singer has done her best to find her grandfather’s resting place to fulfill her mother’s wishes, but unfortunately, because of a lack of final confirmation, she hasn’t succeeded. She hoped to lay Margarita’s ashes beside her beloved father, precisely as she had asked, but the officials told her she couldn’t because she had no way of being 100% sure that the grave she had identified was actually her grandfather’s. So, Margarita remains with Yurena to this day.
