Is This The Worldâ€™s Oldest man? Bolivian Herderâ€™s Records Show He Was Born In 1890

August 16, 2013

A Bolivian man born in 1890 - and still going strong - has been revealed as the oldest living person ever recorded, it was reported today.

BOLIVIA – August 15,2013; Carmelo Flores Laura turned 123 last month, according to Bolivia’s civil registry.

Yet the herder, from the mountain village of Frasquicia, 50 miles outside the capital La Paz, is still healthy, walks without a stick and doesn’t wear glasses, according to reports.

The native Aymara, who has three children, 16 grandchildren and 39 great-grandchildren, was 24 when World War I broke out and 62 when young Queen Elizabeth ascended to the throne.

Mr Laura, who lost his wife ten years ago, told Bolivia’s Rede Uno TV station that he believes the secret to a long life is taking daily long walks, and never eating pasta or sugar.

Instead, he said he has spent his life eating cananhua, a wild species of quinoa which is rich in protein and amino acid.

He added:’I've never been lazy. I always shared the cooking with my wife.

‘We would only eat what we could find growing wild. We ate mostly skunk meat. I still go on long walks every day.’

The Bolivian’s biblical age means he would easily overtake the current oldest living person, 115-year-old Japanese woman Misao Okawa.

And he would beat Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, who died in 1997 age 122, as the oldest verified age on record.

The oldest ever man, Japanese Jiroemon Kimura, died this year age just 116.

In order to claim the title, Mr Laura’s documents now need to be verified by a Guinness Book of Records official.

Guinness World Records says the oldest living person verified by original proof of birth is Misao Okawa, a 115-year-old Japanese woman.

Guinness spokeswoman Jamie Panas said it wasn’t aware of a claim being filed for the Bolivian.

‘I should be about 100 years old or more,’ Flores says. But his memory is dim.

Although birth certificates didn’t exist in Bolivia when he was born, Mr Laura’s birth date is confirmed on his baptism certificate, considered an authentic record of birth in the country.