Puerto Rican Man Emilio Flores Márquez Is Officially the Oldest Man Alive
Credit: Guinness World Records
The world’s current oldest living man is Latino! On July 1st, Guinness World Records reported that, currently, the “Oldest Man In the World” is Emilio “Don Millo” Flores Márquez of Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. At the time of the announcement, Flores Márquez was 112 years and 326 days old.
Emilio “Don Millo” Flores Márquez was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico on August 8, 1908. He was the eldest of eleven children.
@guinnessworldrecords Oldest person living (male): 112 years and 326 days – Emilio Flores Marquez 🇵🇷
♬ original sound – Guinness World Records
“It’s always an honor 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,” said Guinness World Records Editor-in-Chief Craig Glenday in a statement. “I am thrilled to feature Sr. Márquez – born, interestingly, on the 8th day of the 8th month in the 8th year of the 20th century! – and bring his fascinating story to the wider public.”
Flores Márquez grew up working on his father’s sugarcane farm and taking care of his nine surviving younger siblings. “I was the oldest of the children, so I did everything. I scrubbed, I took care of the boys, I did everything,” he told Guinness World Records.
Farming is how Flores Márquez supported his family of four children with his wife of 75 years, Andrea Perez. Perez passed away in 2010.
Marquez was born on August 8, 1908, in Carolina, Puerto Rico. He was the first-born son and the second oldest of 11 children born to Alberto Flores Melendez and Margarita Márquez-Garcia. He helped on the family farm and also assisted in taking care of his nine surviving siblings. pic.twitter.com/SWuc09nqMY
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Only two of Flores Márquez’s four children, Tirsa and “Millito”, are alive today. They also live in Rio Piedras, where they look after their father. Flores Márquez has five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. According to Guinness World Records’ Instagram page, Flores Márquez also served in World War II.
While Flores Márquez had a pacemaker implanted when he was 101, since then, he has been relatively healthy. His children say that he is almost completely deaf, but he is still happy and content.
Flores Márquez offered some advice to living a happy and fulfilling life, telling others to “have an abundance of love and to live life without anger.” “My father raised me with love, loving everyone,” he said. “He always told me and my siblings to do good, to share everything with others.”
