Born in Guanajuato, Mexico, María married Juan Sada in 1901. Together they trekked across the border at Boquillas one of two Spanish-speaking settler families to populate in the area. The Sada family operated a trading post, general store and eating establishment in the Big Bend area of Texas throughout the 1920s and 1930s. In time, "Chata's Place" became a social hub for community life in the region. It emerged as the choice location for weddings, baptisms, quinceañeras, graduations, and other life cycle celebrations. Feast days and other cultural events competed with the establishment's other functions. Among these Chata's Place served as a local bank, cashing checks for clients, and shelter, providing lodging for hunters, geologists, engineers, and nature lovers who visited the isolated outpost. Godparents for many of the children born in the region, Juan and Maria also adopted six children of their own. María was known for her expertise as a midwife, curandera, judge, teacher and horticulturalist. Upon Juan's death in 1936, Maria closed Chata's Place and moved to Del Rio, Texas where she died in 1973.

LINKS
The Handbook of Texas Online National Park Service The Great Unknown of the Rio Grande Images