#SHOWBIZ: From carrying 68kg sacks to stardom: Maria Cordero recalls gruelling hardship

Hong Kong-based singer Maria Cordero has shared her story of enduring hardship as a single mother raising six children while working as a manual labourer. At 72 years old, Cordero recounted in a recent video how she took on the demanding job after her first husband lost his job, leaving her as the sole provider for their family of eight.

Married to a Filipino bar pianist 22 years her senior when she was just 18, Cordero eventually endured years of domestic abuse and infidelity before divorcing in 1989. At the time, she was burdened with debt, had four children in school, and two infants. Struggling to find work nearby, she landed a job at a moving company, where she was challenged by her employer to demonstrate her physical capabilities.

In order to prove herself, Cordero had to carry three 50-pound bags of flour at a time, roughly 68kg in total, before feeding the flour into a machine, sifting and mixing it, and repacking it. Her daily routine also involved preparing breakfast and ironing her children's school uniforms in the morning, rushing home for lunch to cook milk and food for her family, and returning to work afterwards.

The physical strain left her hands in pain, forcing her to apply Vaseline, cover them with plastic bags, and sleep before beginning another day of labour. Despite the hardships, Cordero refused to dwell on her problems and push forward. She never counted the months she needed to repay her debt, believing that dwelling on the problem would only make it harder to endure.