Gabriel García Márquez was born on 6 March 1927[6] in Aracataca, Colombia, to Gabriel Eligio García and Luisa Santiaga Márquez Iguarán.[7] Soon after García Márquez was born, his father became a pharmacist and moved, with his wife, to Barranquilla, leaving young Gabito in Aracataca.[8] He was raised by his maternal grandparents, Doña Tranquilina Iguarán and Colonel Nicolás Ricardo Márquez Mejía.[9] In December 1936, his father took him and his brother to Sincé, while in March 1937, his grandfather died; the family then moved first (back) to Barranquilla and then on to Sucre, where his father started up a pharmacy.[10]