Catalonia's Maria Branyas, oldest living person on Earth, turns 116

Maria Branyas, the oldest living person on Earth, turned 116 this Saturday.

The Catalan woman, who was born in San Francisco, United States, on March 4, 1907, took over Lucile Randon, a 118-year-old French nun who died on January 17, this year, as oldest living person in the planet, according to the Gerontology Research Group, a major source for Guinness World Records' oldest person status for over 20 years.

Responding to a questionnaire sent by Catalan News ahead of her birthday, she said "longevity is all about good luck and good genetics."

A good diet and way of life, along with a good relationship with one's family and friends, are also some of her secrets to reach such an old age.

She said she was surprised at all the media attention and believed "it is not that important."

To mark the day, Branyas also tweeted an extract of a poem by Czech writer and 1984 Nobel Literature Prize Jaroslav Seifert.

"Not till old age did I learn to love silence. Sometimes it is more exciting than music. In the silence emerge tremulous signals and at the crossroads of memory you hear names which time had tried to stifle," her latest tweet reads, pointing out that it is her 116th birthday.

Her Twitter account, @MariaBranyas112, managed by her family, recently explained that filmmaker Sam Green had visited her in order to include her in a documentary called The Oldest People In the World, which " weaves together portraits of the people who hold the Guinness Record for being the oldest person alive, serving as a meditation on time and the poignancy of being alive."

Memories of the First World War

Born on April 4, 1907, to a Catalan family in San Francisco, California, Branyas moved to Catalonia as a young child and has memories dating far back to World War I as well as the Spanish Civil War.

When her mother decided to return to Catalonia with her family including 7-year-old Maria, the world was at war. It was 1914, and in an interview with Catalan News in 2019, Branyas still remembered their way back by ship.

Many years later, in May 2020, Branyas became the senior-most known person on Earth to survive Covid-19 at the age of 113.

Since 2000, she has lived in Residència Santa Maria del Tura care home, in Olot, northern Catalonia.

Branyas, under two months to become oldest person who ever lived in Catalonia and Spain

The oldest Catalan (and Spanish) resident to have ever lived until now was Ana Vela, who died on December 15, 2017, at the age of 116 years and 47 days.

The oldest person that has ever lived in Europe and the world until now was Jeanne Calment, a French woman who passed away on August 4, 1997, at the age of 122 years and 164 days.