Those venerable furrows, these bursting laughters, and that well-deserved satisfaction draw the passage of time, past the century, on the faces of the characters on this story. Here they inform us about their arduous lives and their days of wine and roses, their recollections and their zest for all times. These are centenarians: virtually 17,000 in a rustic, Spain, with the very best improve in life expectancy after Japan.: Exhausting lives, with days of wine and roses: The secrets and techniques of centenarians in Spain | Life-style

Spain is a rustic of longstanding treasures. This is confirmed by the epic tales of women and men who, with stamina and braveness, have lived greater than a century. They all exhibit that they know learn how to survive… however, above all, that they know learn how to reside. And they achieve this with out a sense of resignation, with out conforming to no matter is anticipated of them.

Over greater than 100 years, they’ve given their all, whether or not or not it’s caring for family members, or working till they lose their sense of function. They have emigrated, solely to return with one thing higher; they’ve loved themselves whereas overcoming blows and losses. They have seen others depart, whereas surrounding themselves with the precise individuals. They have eaten effectively, however they’ve additionally, at occasions, endured starvation. These witty Spanish centenarians have maintained an unwavering religion, constructing households which might be stuffed with the heat of youngsters, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. These offspring, in flip, take heed to their elders’ recollections and look after them in a noble and pure cycle of life.

Spain is the nation with the second-highest life expectancy on the planet, behind solely Japan. Among those that have crossed the 100-year mark – in response to the 2024 information from the National Statistics Institute (INE) – there are 16,902 (13,919 ladies and a couple of,983 males) centenarians within the nation, or 76% greater than within the final decade. And this determine might attain 230,000 inside 50 years.

Maintaining this momentum represents a problem. But, above all – in response to Juan Martín, director of the International Center on Aging (CENIE), affiliated with the University of Salamanca – it represents “an opportunity.” He presents the incontestable figures of this evolution: in 1900, life expectancy in Spain was 34 years. In 2025, it would attain 84. Half-a-century in the past, in 1975, 650,000 infants had been born. In 2024, the overall was 322,034. We’re witnessing an escalation in longevity (a time period that Martín prefers to make use of, somewhat than “aging”).

Spain can also be a rustic the place many individuals who had been born overseas select to spend their later years. “Therefore, we should – far from [seeing this as] a problem – consider it to be a strategic asset,” Martín provides. To obtain this, it’s important to protect the perfect well being and cognitive skills in those that overcome the best life boundaries. “We must rethink everything with a view to achieving this,” he asserts. This impacts the complete societal construction, from the healthcare system itself, to reinforcements in preventive care and financial constructions. “We must, therefore, sign a new social contract and anticipate [problems, while remedying them] with solutions.”

Mónica de la Fuente, a professor emeritus of physiology on the Complutense University of Madrid, says that the flexibility to reside a protracted and wholesome life relies upon “on the capacity to adapt.” Beyond organic, genetic, dietary or environmental elements, she maintains that it’s important to “keep the nervous, endocrine and immune systems in check.” Those who’ve led simple and comfy lives don’t essentially reside longer. On the opposite, “those who have demonstrated greater resilience in difficult situations do so,” De la Fuente emphasizes. Even these with optimum genes aren’t assured longevity: “That [factor] influences 25%… [but] the remaining percentage depends on lifestyle and motivation.”

This is one thing that EL PAÍS encountered on a go to to Spain’s northwestern area of Galicia. The next prevalence of centenarians has been detected right here in comparison with different areas of Spain. This is very the case within the province of Ourense, in addition to in components of the provinces of Lugo and Pontevedra. A complete of 34 municipalities in that space are at the moment eligible for “Blue Zone” standing. This choose membership at the moment consists of 5 areas from all over the world the place the best longevity has been detected.

Michel Poulain, a professor emeritus on the University of Leuven, in Belgium, is a type of chargeable for certifying these areas worldwide. They are characterised, the scientist factors out, “by an exceptionally high concentration of centenarians in good health,” which is decided through analysis investigations. So far, Sardinia (Italy), Okinawa (Japan), Ikaria (Greece), Nicoya (Costa Rica) and, not too long ago, the island of Martinique have been acknowledged. Galicia might quickly be a part of that record, Poulain assures EL PAÍS.

And that’s what José María Faílde, president of the Galician Society of Gerontology and Geriatrics, is engaged on. He’s immersed in research and checks that can persuade Poulain’s workforce. To achieve this, he and his colleagues should unravel the intricacies and delve into information offered by the INE, in order to determine municipalities the place quite a few residents surpass the 100-year barrier. But there’s one issue that’s extra conclusive than somewhere else: “What’s surprising in Spain isn’t just the number of centenarians, but also their quality of life and the abilities they retain.” Faílde notes that those that finest handle to keep away from the defining elements of the trendy vortex – expertise, a sedentary life-style, a poor eating regimen, an absence of a way of [spiritual] transcendence, and loneliness – are probably the most profitable.

At 102 years previous, Moni Gamecho Azpeitia remains to be a chic racket participant. One day, Moni’s youngsters seen their mom difficult her pals to a recreation of Basque pelota (a sport from the racquetball household) and beating them. Nobody might defeat her. Later – when she was approaching the age of 80 – she advised them a secret. In her youth, she had earned her residing taking part in the game, touring round Spain and profitable tournaments. But she didn’t inform them as a result of Jaume, their father, didn’t need them to seek out out. At the time it wasn’t well-regarded for somebody to make a residing in a subject that concerned sports activities betting.

“Do you mind if I go out onto the terrace for a cigarette?”

Her daughter – who accompanies Moni at her dwelling in Barcelona – isn’t the one who asks for this. It’s her mom, who permits herself three or 4 cigarettes a day on the age of 102. “It’s so pleasurable!” She’s been smoking since she was 13 years previous. “I’ve never quit. And white wine: I can’t go without it. You can’t eat codfish with water, give me a break!”

When Moni takes inventory of her life, virtually all of it has been shiny. She has 4 youngsters, seven grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. She additionally had an excellent childhood within the Basque city of Pasajes de San Juan, the place they lived off her father’s fishing boat, then a years-long profession as knowledgeable athlete, in addition to a cheerful marriage to Jaume. “He was very handsome, a hard worker and a good businessman,” she recollects. Moni obtained married after surviving the Spanish Civil War: supporters of the Basque Nationalist Party, she and her household needed to flee their dwelling. “[We were] totally anti-Franco,” she emphasizes. First, they settled within the municipality of Portugalete. Then, they moved to France, adopted by Valencia. She in the end ended up in Barcelona, with season tickets to the the opera on the Gran Teatre del Liceu and loopy nights of dancing till the wee hours alongside the Paral·lel avenue, all whereas summering an hour away on the seaside in Lloret de Mar. And she by no means stopped making the drive to Pasajes de San Juan (at all times hitting the gasoline, given her love of pace).

Her secret to longevity? High morale, as she demonstrates whereas wanting by means of her photograph album: “I was very elegant and very beautiful. I had great hair… I’m a great dancer. Look at those dresses, look at those furs, look at that agility… [I] attracted attention wherever I went.”

Another centenarian, 104-year-old Flori Almaraz, fell in love between jail visits. Republican Lieutenant-Colonel Domingo Morriones – the daddy of Luis, her deceased husband – was being held in Córdoba Prison. He was serving his sentence alongside Lorenzo Almaraz, Flori’s father. She additionally used to go to her dad. And that’s the place she and Luis met.

Their fathers suffered totally different fates. Morriones was spared. Almaraz was shot. From then on, Flori Almaraz Garrote and her siblings needed to fend for themselves. Her relationship with Luis continued by means of letters, he in Andalusia and she or he again in Zamora, the province the place she was born, within the city of Luelmo de Sayago, again in 1920. But what didn’t subside was her rebelliousness and loyalty to her individuals. She was even sentenced to jail for collaborating along with her pals who had been hiding within the mountains whereas working in opposition to the Franco regime. “I wasn’t politically active in anything, but friends are friends. So, I helped them.” She labored in a cleaning soap manufacturing unit and a warehouse, the place she might simply purchase provides. She was caught and served time in Valladolid Penitentiary Center.

Flori later married Luis and began a household with three daughters. They first settled in Valencia after which in Santander. There, she welcomed EL PAÍS, insisting that she be addressed by her given title. “I’m too old to be addressed formally,” she chuckles. Her daughter, Begoña, a household physician, accompanies her. They each keep in mind how they moved north in order that Hortensia, Begoña’s sister, might research Civil Engineering. Luis then obtained a place as a municipal worker, in order that they stayed. “I’m fine anywhere,” Flori shrugs. Especially along with her three daughters, two grandchildren, 4 great-grandchildren… and a number of other books. “I read every day,” she declares. She additionally learns concerning the world by means of the press and tv: “Sometimes, I don’t understand this country. I don’t like people yelling at each other. Everyone has the right to food, to good health and to be able to study. This [concept] – which is very simple – sometimes seems very difficult.”

Domingo Payno Sáez is a singer. At 104 years previous, he stills sings mountain of us songs, simply as he did as a younger man together with his pals on Saturdays, in between flirting and having fun with a snack or two. He remembers these days as he sits on the porch of his youngsters’s home in Bárcena de Pie de Concha, a municipality within the small northern area of Cantabria. Not removed from there, in Santa Cruz de Iguña, he was born – greater than a century in the past – to a household of grocers. His father had discovered the commerce down in Andalusia, the place he turned what in Cantabria they name jándalos: migrants from the south to the north. This gave the household character, a survival intuition, in addition to a selected approach of understanding life.

Domingo, however, didn’t to migrate. As a toddler, he hung out with the children from his village, both in school, taking part in video games on the street, or devoting time to reciting the rosary. “I pray every day,” he says. And, till not too long ago, he attended mass each day.

Both of his childhood hobbies caught with him. And so did soccer. Today, he’s a member of Torina – the city’s workforce – which brings him virtually extra pleasure than the a lot bigger Racing de Santander. To at the present time, Domingo can’t keep in mind a greater lineup than the one which led the workforce to a runner-up end in La Liga of 1931: “Sola, Ceballos, Mendara, Ibarra, Baragaño, García, Santi, Loredo, Larriñaga, Telete, Cisco…”

At 16, he joined a metalworking firm in Los Corrales de Buelna. There, he retired as a workshop supervisor and shortly moved together with his spouse, Sita, to Santander. “My life has been my wife and work.” When she died, his nephew, José Manuel (who’s extra like his son, as a result of he calls him “dad”), took him to Madrid, the place he did nothing however take pleasure in life: “I had more than just a good time,” he jokes. With COVID, nevertheless, they headed again to Bárcena. The entire household caught the virus aside from him.

In his new dwelling, he has continued singing, changing into an encyclopedia of folklore repertoires for the younger individuals.

When EL PAÍS arrived within the Galician municipality of Beade at 10 A.M., 104-year-old Eustaquio Pérez wasn’t dwelling. Orita, his spouse – a 93-year-old lady who has hardly ever ventured away from the village – advised us he’d gone out with the sheep, identical to he does each morning. However, after looking the encompassing space, there was no signal of him. The cobblestone paths had been slowed down of their justifiable share of mud, sufficient to trigger a nasty fall for anybody (particularly if you happen to’re 104). His grandson, Pablo, together with Chema Faílde – the person who preserves the reminiscence of the aged residents within the province of Ourense – spoke about him. The legend grew, as if he had been a Captain Kurtz from Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (1899).

Earlier within the morning, at 5 A.M., his grandson had checked in on Eustaquio, confirming that he was okay. He had recorded him on his cellphone, having breakfast alone within the kitchen. He ate his migas – fried breadcrumbs – and low with milk, together with 4 tablespoons of sugar. That’s proper, 4. Then, he took the sheep off to graze till midday. Afterwards, his grandson defined, he would come dwelling to eat and lie down for a bit, whereas watching TV.

Orita handed the time by telling EL PAÍS how her husband – whom she met at a village dance – had emigrated to Equatorial Guinea. His mother and father, Clodomiro and Manuela, had left earlier, for Argentina, however their son had opted to remain within the area. Between Europe and Africa, he made a residing as a home employee. Then, he obtained into smuggling.

Around midday, Eustaquio lastly appeared. He sat down to substantiate every part. “Here we are, resisting. Knowing how old I am, that’s all I have left: resisting. Year after year, I resist. No [long-term] plans: just eating, drinking and sleeping, that’s all there is. Lots of rest…”

He additionally totally justifies the rationale for his early mornings: “I enjoy my time working. Sleeping, not so much.”

“When I was a child,” he provides, “we had a very difficult life.” And what about his smuggling profession? “Here, we have the border with Portugal, where we maintained that way of life. There was always business; [I started out] with coffee, working on my own. I was a smuggler by tradition.”

Emigration to what was then referred to as the province of Fernando Poo (modern-day Bioko, in Equatorial Guinea, a former Spanish colony) additionally left its mark on him. He labored in development for 12 years. Then, he needed to depart the nation, when President Teodoro Obiang got here to energy. But with the cash he saved, he was in a position to return to his homeland and purchase some acres. “Work is my joy. Ain’t nothing better.”

Esperanza Cortiñas, 108 years previous, was born within the Galician metropolis of Lugo and she or he is a superb dancer. At her age, she nonetheless doesn’t prefer to miss a chance to bounce. Although recently, she’s been afraid of shedding her stability… one thing she tempers with a drugs for vertigo. Even so, she persists along with her pasodobles and tangos on Sundays when she performs on the Ourense Social and Community Center. She lives within the metropolis along with her daughter, Mari Carmen. “Well,” she clarifies, “it’s my daughter who lives with me.”

Born right into a household of 4 siblings, she’s the daughter of Avelino and Serafina, who needed to to migrate from Spain to Cuba. It’s the identical factor she would do years later, however to Paris. She had been widowed by Manuel, her husband, who didn’t have a simple life, both. All his brothers had been killed within the Spanish Civil War. And he by no means recovered from silicosis, a lung illness that affected him after working tirelessly on the development of a serious dam in Galicia. A meager pension wasn’t sufficient to reside on, so Esperanza went to France, the place she labored tirelessly. “I almost went half-crazy,” she sighs. “But it was worth it. With my savings, I bought the house I have now, next to the bridge.”

She left Spain on her personal. And then she introduced over her daughters: Mari Carmen, Esperanza and Aurora. The latter two now reside in Xàtiva (Valencia) and Paris, respectively. And as we speak, the daughters take pleasure in what they couldn’t for years: the corporate of their mom, by means of dancing, her fondness for sweets and the pictures of espresso liqueur they make at dwelling.

Felisa González, 101, does each day workout routines in her backyard. “Come to my gym,” she smiles. She leaves the kitchen of her dwelling in O Irixo, within the Galician province of Ourense – the place she nonetheless makes use of a charcoal range to warmth meals – and turns the nook, displaying EL PAÍS her backyard. There, she grows potatoes, tomatoes, beans, cabbage and legumes.

Unlike lots of her neighbors within the area, she didn’t to migrate and stayed dwelling as an alternative, working part-time as a caretaker for the aged and the youngsters left behind by those that went off seeking alternatives elsewhere. Caring for others has been her vocation and her livelihood. And Felisa sorted the susceptible for extra than simply cash: she was typically rewarded with meals and furnishings, in a bartering system. She made ends meet with the sale of eggs, or with no matter she grew in her backyard.

Chickens roam across the semi-abandoned village the place she lives as we speak: there’s just one neighboring home. If she desires to see some hustle and bustle, she visits different cities. From time to time, she’s shocked with a celebration: the residents threw one for her one hundredth birthday, when the Town Hall offered her with a medal. “I cried with emotion,” she recollects. That day, she certainly remembered her mother and father, her 4 siblings, her husband – Antonio Nogueira, who fought within the Battle of the Ebro (the longest and bloodiest battle of the Spanish Civil War) – and her son, José Antonio, a police officer who died on the age of 74. Her two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren had been on the ceremony, witnesses to the power of a lady who doesn’t know the that means of the phrase “surrender.”

Manuel González Rúa, 100, spent his life at sea. “My life has been a bit of everything,” he displays, sitting in his dwelling. He lives within the Port of Bueu, within the province of Pontevedra. But there’s one factor that his life has been centered round, greater than the rest: the ocean. Growing up alongside the coastal area of Rías Baixas – surrounded by mist-covered hills, idyllic seashores and rafts that drift on the fury of the water – was an invite to discover. Manuel did so, however with out straying too far: “I was never into deep-sea fishing.”

He confesses that he was a cheerful baby, up till his father died when he was 14. “Then, the hardships began.” They had two boats at dwelling. But when the conflict got here, they might solely use one. There weren’t sufficient working-age males to do every part: “There were only old people and children left.”

After the conflict, the able-bodied males resumed their work. Manuel earned simply half of the usual wage, as a result of he was advised that he didn’t have the power to maneuver the gear. When he lastly proved his price, the lads gave him his full pay. Little by little, he not solely started to earn a good sum of money, but additionally respect. He quickly discovered that the ocean wanted “young people and strong [cargo haulers].”

Manuel maintained his creativity in his workshop, the place he entertained himself by designing and constructing boats. At the age of 24 he married Mercedes, a neighbor who had identified him since childhood. They had two daughters collectively.

Even again then, he knew that inshore fishing was his calling: deep-sea fishing meant an excessive amount of time away from his household, in addition to wounds on his arms, brought on from tugging the wires. He ultimately started embarking on service provider ships, serving as chief engineer. Later, he acquired a ship that modified his fortunes: La rosa de los vientos (“the compass rose”). It made him a lot revenue that he opened a bar. Thus, the household prospered: as we speak, its members make a residing from distributing fish and seafood all through Spain.

Manuel enjoys spending time together with his six grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren simply as a lot as they take pleasure in seeing him. On July 16 – through the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the principle competition in Bueu – they gathered round a desk laden with spider crabs, prawns, crayfish…

A good friend was proper when he suggested him: “With bottom nets, you’ll always eat.”

At 102 years previous, Josefa Villanueva is the perfect prepare dinner within the Marín space. She factors out that, in truth, she’s 102 years previous “and-a-half.”

Josefa Villanueva is aware of that monks eat higher than troopers. She’s cooked for each branches: at a non secular retreat home and on the Naval Academy in Marín (Pontevedra), the place she ran the kitchen for the excessive command. And she’s a lady who is aware of learn how to measure the excesses of her language: she’s cautious to curb her euphoria, however she doesn’t disguise the enjoyment of getting spent a century along with her household. Listening to her fast wit is a pleasure. She tells EL PAÍS that, rising up, she was considered one of 5 siblings, raised by Enrique and Josefa, their mom. Her childhood wasn’t one for extravagance. “[It was] sometimes good, sometimes bad,” she shrugs. She remembers this as we speak when she goes to a type of supermarkets she loves: “There’s everything: even if you can’t buy anything, you go in naked and come out dressed.”

She was a sensible lady, although she needed to drop out of college. She married younger – to Pedro Bermúdez – they usually had a daughter. She quickly understood the that means of Rosalía de Castro’s poem, The Widows of the Living and the Widows of the Dead. The former had been those that stayed in Galicia whereas their husbands emigrated. Pedro left them when their daughter was seven and by no means returned. He wandered round Brazil after which Uruguay. That’s the place he died.

There had been different suitors: “I wasn’t going to be like a donkey, tied to a post.” Together, along with her daughter (additionally named Josefa), she explains that, “at times, things improved.” She discovered by understanding the human situation: “In this world, you have to be good sometimes and bad sometimes; otherwise, the flies eat us.” She labored and labored. She made positive there was at all times meals on the desk: “If you can eat something good, you don’t eat something bad.” There additionally should at all times be bread on the desk, to ward off recollections of the Civil War. “One day, I saw a loaf of bread [and couldn’t afford to buy it].” She discovered to make empanadas herself. Her corn empanadas are unmatched within the Marín space.

Josefa likes to provide orders: “But if I had money, I’d be better at giving orders,” she factors out. Through this text, she asks that the authorities improve her pension. “They might read this if it’s published… but I don’t know if they’ll understand.”

Another Spanish centenarian, José Escobar, wasn’t in a position to learn this report. But he advised us about his life in his Cordoba dwelling, alongside his son, José Manuel. While the 106-year-old sat at his desk, his son handed us his trophies. Many had been gained because of a battle of longevity and survival. Before leaving, we noticed two papal blessings on parchment: one from John Paul II – a present for his silver wedding ceremony anniversary together with his spouse, Concepción – and one other from Pope Francis, on his one hundredth birthday.

Escobar obtained a number of awards all through his life. And he at all times had the picture of the Virgin Mary shut by. He endured his time on Earth, raised two youngsters and loved two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. He thanked the Virgin for his work at an area grocery retailer, which he joined within the Nineteen Thirties. He prayed to her first together with his mom after which together with his spouse, whom he met at a potluck within the metropolis. Devotion and work made up his legacy, together with some diversions (comparable to soccer and his help for Córdoba FC). He was dependable, methodical, fervent and discreet. He sowed goodness and lived a wholesome life, with few mishaps: “Small ulcers and the occasional hernia, no more.” Escobar made just a few visits to the hospital. And, if he ever needed to spend the night time there, he wouldn’t enter his room with out his picture of Our Lady of Sorrows.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get extra English-language information protection from EL PAÍS USA Edition