María Brañas, the oldest person in the world, turns 116

The American-Spanish Maria Brañas Morera, the oldest person in the world today, celebrated his 116th birthday this March 4.

Maria is a great conversationalist, remains lucid, is active, can stand on her own and likes to walk a little each day.

The elderly woman celebrated her birthday surrounded by friends and loved ones, in the Santa María del Tura geriatric residence, in Olot, a town in Catalonia, Spain, where he has lived for 22 years.

Guinness World Records congratulated María in an article published on January 19, 2023, when the Catalan was still 115 years old, announcing that she had become the oldest living person in the world.

When asked what she believes promotes longevity, this impressive woman said that she attributes it to leading an orderly, socially pleasant life, "without excess" and with a lot of connection with her family.

He also highlighted contact with nature and his relationship with animals, particularly his dogs, as favorable. He placed a lot of value on emotional stability, on knowing how to put aside worries, regrets, and toxic people in time.

"I think longevity is also about being lucky. Luck and good genetics," he said. "Now people live differently. Money is what matters (...) Before, people lived better, more peacefully and more happily," he said in an interview offered in Catalan for The Digital Manager.

Maria was born on March 4, 1907 in San Francisco, United States. His father was a journalist from Pamplona and his mother a Catalan housewife, born in Olot.

In 1915 the family decided to return to Europe and during the return trip the father died of tuberculosis. The Brañas settled in Barcelona and around 1925 they moved to Banyoles, where María married the doctor Joan Moret, with whom he had three children, eleven grandchildren and thirteen great-grandchildren.

In 2020, at 113 years of age, María made headlines for becoming the oldest person in the world to contract COVID-19, although she suffered from the disease asymptomatically.

This nice old lady has her own social media account. She likes the Twitter platform where she shares information with the help of her daughter.

"Life is not eternal for anyone...At my age, a new year is a gift, a humble celebration, a new adventure, a beautiful journey, a moment of happiness. Let's enjoy life together", was Mary's message to the world, on the first day of 2023.