Emilio Flores Marquez from Puerto Rico has become the world’s oldest living man at an age of 112 years and 326 days old, Guinness World Records announced on Wednesday.
Marquez, who was born in Carolina, east of the Puerto Rican capital of San Juan in 1908, was recognised by Guinness and awarded a certificate at his home just a few miles (kilometres) from his birthplace.
Asked about his longevity, Marquez — known as “Don Milo” to his friends — said the secret to his advanced years lay in compassion.
“My dad raised me with love and taught me to love everyone. He always told me and my brothers and sisters to do good, to share everything with others. Besides, Christ lives in me,” Guinness quoted him as saying.
The second oldest child of 11 siblings and his parents’ first-born son, Marquez worked on the family’s sugarcane farm and received only three years of formal schooling.
He wife of 75 years Andrea Pérez De Flores, with whom he had four children, died in 2010.
During their time together, they formed a beautiful family of four children, of which two are still alive and well.
Marquez now has five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
He currently lives in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, where his two children, Tirsa and “Millito” take care of him.
The previous oldest living man was recognised by Guinness World Records as Romania’s Dumitru Comănescu, who died on June 27, 2020, at the age of 111 years 219 days.
After Comănescu’s death, the record-breaking authority received evidence Marquez had been born three months earlier than the previous record holder.
“It’s always an honour to celebrate these remarkable human beings, and this year we’ve processed applications from not one but two contenders for the title of oldest living man,” Craig Glenday, Editor-in-Chief at Guinness World Records, said.
The oldest person ever to have lived is Jeanne Calment (France), who lived to be 122 years and 164 days. The oldest man ever is Jiroemon Kimura (Japan), who was born on 19 April 1897 and passed away at the age of 116 years and 54 days on 12 June 2013.
The oldest person living (female) is Kane Tanaka (Japan, b. 2 January 1903) who at the age of 117 years and 41 days (as verified on February 12, 2020) lives in Fukuoka, Japan.
