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Cuba's oldest person Benito Martinez Abrogan dies at age 126 (Haitian Born)

Oct 12, 2006

Benito Martinez Abrogan, Cuba's oldest person and star of the government's efforts to promote healthy lives for its oldest citizens, died on Wednesday at the age of 126.

"He died this afternoon. He had been in intensive care, but old age was the main problem," said an official at Ciego de Avila Hospital in central Cuba.

Martinez, who attributed his longevity to a healthy diet of fresh vegetables, some meat and only occasional consumption of alcohol, was born in Haiti in 1880 and migrated to Cuba to work on sugar cane plantations in 1925, according to his Cuban documents.

There was no definitive proof of his age as he had no birth certificate.

The toothless centenarian was the star attraction of Cuba's 120-Club, a group formed by President Fidel Castro's personal physician Eugenio Selman to promote healthy lives for Cuba's elderly.

Communist Cuba proudly boasts it has raised life expectancy to 77 years, equal to that of rich industrialized nations and a major feat for a developing country.

Martinez had a weak heart and used a cane to walk, but did not wear glasses and his hearing was good.

A recent study said more than 2,500 of Cuba's 11.2 million inhabitants are over the age of 100, most of them women. The study attributed the country's high number of centenarians to going easy on alcohol but indulging in sex, cigars and coffee.

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Benito Martínez Abrogan

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Benito Martínez Abrogan (June 18th 1880(?) - October 11th 2006) was a native of Cuba who claimed to be the world's oldest living person by himself and the government of Cuba. Benito said he was born June 19 1880 near Cavaellon in Haiti. He claimed he came to Cuba via steamship in the 1920s when he was 45 years old, worked on the family ranch of Cuban president Fidel Castro and eventually settled in a small farming community outside Ciego de Avila. He put his longevity down to healthy food ? rice and peas, fresh vegetables and only the occasional drink of alcohol.

No actual record exists of his birth or has been produced of his life before he reached Cuba. Cuban experts said that they believed Benito to be probably around 119?comfortably older than the current official world record holder, Elizabeth Bolden, an American woman who is 116. Benito Martinez was the star attraction of the country's recently formed 120-Club, an organisation promoting healthy lives for Cuba's most elderly citizens.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benito_Martinez