A farmer from Peru claims to be the oldest person (6 photos)

Peruvian officials are trying to challenge the decision of the Guinness Book of Records, which awarded the title of centenarian to a 111-year-old resident of Great Britain. Marcelino Abad Tolentino celebrated his 124th birthday on April 5, authorities said.







Marcelino was discovered in the tiny village of Ciaglla in 2019. The farmer was given documents according to which he was born in 1900.





Officials have revealed the secret of his longevity: his diet consists of fruit and lamb, and, like most people in this part of the world, the man loves to chew coca leaves.



“Surrounded by the serene flora and fauna of Huanuco, Marcelino Abad Tolentino, or “Machico,” led a healthy lifestyle and found inner harmony. This explains his good health and friendliness,” the government statement said. “He has bravely overcome 12 decades of life and 5 April blew out 124 candles."

Officials are helping Tolentino apply to the Guinness Book of World Records for the title of oldest person.



Tolentino will unseat current record holder John Alfred Tinniswood of England, who took the title after the death of 114-year-old Juan Vicente Perez on April 2.

Tinniswood, a World War II veteran, was born August 26, 1912. The man has four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, and now lives in a nursing home.

The Briton admitted that he does not adhere to a special diet. He considers his 111 years to be “impressively lucky.”



California native Brañas Morera is the oldest woman in the world at 117 years old. She was born on March 4, 1907, a year after her parents emigrated from Spain to the United States.