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Legendary Ma Harper celebrates 90th birthday

Ma Harper is a restaurant owner, mother, grandmother, and retired airplane mechanic. She also founded Taste of New Orleans.

SAN ANTONIO — Happy birthday to an Alamo City legend! 

Alice Olivia Martinez - better known as Ma Harper - is a "Nawlins" original who adopted San Antonio as her home years ago.

Harper has made a name for herself as a restaurateur, with Ma's Harper's Creole Kitchen on the east side. But she spent her first 21 years in San Antonio as an aircraft mechanic at Kelly Air Force Base. She then helped the Zulu Association join the city's 10-day Fiesta with a Louisiana-style food festival called Taste of New Orleans more than 30 years ago.

KENS 5 spoke to Harper in March in the afterglow of a huge year in 2018, when she was featured on the Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, as well as a Facebook feature with Mike Rowe.

RELATED: Ma Harper looks to the future of her iconic creole restaurant

Harper stopped by Great Day SA Monday morning to celebrate her 90th birthday.

RELATED: People Who Make SA Great: Taste of New Orleans founder Ma Harper

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