Venezuelan Juan Vicente Perez Mora, certified oldest man alive passes away at 114
Venezuelan Juan Vicente Perez Mora, certified by Guinness World Records as the oldest man alive, has passed away aged 114.
A father of 11, news of Juan's demise was confirmed on April 3 by Freddy Bernal, the governor of Táchira, a state in western Venezuela where Juan resided with his family.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro took to social media to mourn Juan's passing, expressing condolences and recognising his extraordinary life saying, "Juan Vicente Pérez Mora has transcended into eternity at 114 years old, from the town of El Cobre who gave Venezuela the Guinness Record for being the oldest man in the world."
Juan's journey into the record books began on February 4, 2022, when he was officially recognised as the oldest man alive aged 112 years and 253 days old following the passing of Spanish-born Saturnino de la Fuente Garcia on 18 January 2022 at 112 years and 341 days.
Reflecting on Juan's legacy, Craig Glenday, Guinness World Records Editor-in-Chief, remarked, "It’s been an honour to recognize and celebrate the incredibly long life of Venezuela’s first ever fully authenticated supercentenarian man."
Juan attributed his longevity to a simple yet disciplined lifestyle, including hard work, adequate rest, early bedtime, daily consumption of aguardiente (distilled alcoholic spirit), and unwavering faith in God.
Married for 60 years to Ediofina del Rosario García, Juan and his wife established a large family of 11 children, 42 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren, and 12 great-great-grandchildren.
Having witnessed significant milestones throughout history, including both World Wars, the invention of television, and the moon landing, he became the first male supercentenarian from Venezuela in 2019 on his 110th birthday and would have turned 115 in May.
Attention now turns to 112-year-old Gisaburo Sonobe of Japan, who is expected to become the oldest living man pending confirmation from his family, according to Guinness World Records.
While María Branyas Morera who was 115 years 321 days old, as of 19 January 2023 was recognised by Guinness World Records as the world's oldest living person, South Africa’s Johanna Mazibuko, who died two months before turning 129 in March 2023 was said to have been the world’s oldest living person.
