Tragedy struck again in the Vilar neighborhood of Beluso, within Bueu, Galicia, when a family suffered devastating losses in June 1976. A mother lost her three young children, aged three, two, and one, in a fire that consumed their home. The family’s father, a seaman by trade, was away aboard a vessel in Canada at the time. The mother sustained burns while attempting to rescue her children, and she remained hospitalized as the community mourned. This heartbreaking incident left long shadows over the family and the town, a reminder of how precarious life can be for working families far from home [Source: Vigo Lighthouse, June 17, 1976].
A later chapter of grief unfolded when another fire affected the same family, this time during a separate relocation and life change. The tragedy moved beyond the walls of a single home, touching more lives in Madrid where a new partner and a new set of pets were also part of the narrative. Authorities later reported the deaths connected to that blaze, while neighbors recounted the couple’s efforts to rebuild after previous losses. The events underscored the fragile balance families maintain when abrupt misfortune enters their lives [Source: Madrid Fire Department Records, 1980s].
News of the Madrid fire emerged on a Sunday morning, describing a blaze that erupted at dawn on the third floor of a building at Calle Calamón 12 in La Latina. Neighbors recalled a neighborhood that was loosely described as impoverished, yet the identity of those who perished was not immediately released. In time, reports confirmed that a 33-year-old woman from Beluso, living in Madrid for several years with her partner, had become a focal point of the tragedy. She had been working in the hospitality sector and had kept in touch with her family in Galicia, who expressed ongoing concern about her financial stability and welfare. The family faced an agonizing wait as authorities investigated and tried to piece together the sequence of events that led to the fire [Source: Local Madrid Archives, 1970s].
According to residents of the La Latina estate, emergency responders noted that the couple had been living in a squat-like situation, even without electricity, though a relative later disputed this characterization, asserting that the couple faced difficult conditions but were not confirmed as squatters. By Tuesday afternoon, a police statement confirmed the deceased and began the process of returning the body to Beluso for burial, a moment that reopened old wounds for the parents and siblings who had not yet been born when the original Beluso tragedy occurred. The family’s sorrow extended beyond the immediate losses, as the wider community mourned and remembered the earlier grief that had reshaped their town [Source: Police Records, 1976–1977].
Vigo’s archives later detailed the timeline: two brothers, Benito and Víctor Manuel Martínez Rodríguez, aged two and one respectively, were among the victims, while their sister Catalina, three years old, suffered severe burns and died a few days later. The fire was believed to have started from a short circuit in the room where the youngest children slept, as their mother briefly left the apartment to buy something at a nearby store. This sequence of events has been cited as the most plausible explanation for the disaster, a story repeated in local recollections and historical reports. The mother, though burned, was not life-threateningly injured and managed to resume life with a new family, eventually welcoming four more children. The tragedy thus became a painful, defining moment for Beluso and the surrounding communities, a reminder of the resilience required to carry on after such losses [Source: Vigo Lighthouse, 1976].
In the wake of the tragedy, the surviving mother pressed forward with life, rebuilding alongside her new children. The case left a lasting scar on Beluso, where residents still speak of the event with quiet gravity. The legacy of those early losses continued to shape the family’s narrative, informing how communities remember and respond to similar tragedies—an enduring testament to the fragility of everyday life and the strength of those who persevere after profound bereavement [Source: Community Records, 1976–1977].