The Spanish Maria Branias Morera was born in the state of California, USA and has survived two world wars, the Spanish Civil War, the 1918 flu pandemic and Covid 19.
"Maria Branias has left us. She died as she wished: in her sleep, peacefully and without pain," her family wrote on their profile on the X social network.
On January 23, 2023, the woman became the oldest known living person after the death of 118-year-old Lucille Randon in her nursing home in the French city of Toulon.
Branias attracted the attention of the world press after contracting COVID-19 in May 2020, when Spain was one of the most affected countries before the availability of vaccines.
"Order, calmness, a good relationship with family and friends, contact with nature, emotional stability, no worries, no regrets, lots of positivity and staying away from toxic people" - this is what Branias attributes to his longevity, according to the website of Guinness World Records.
“I think longevity is also about luck. Luck and good genetics,” she explains.
Branias was born in San Francisco on March 4, 1907, a year after her parents moved from Spain to the United States. Over the next eight years, the family moved to Texas and New Orleans, where her father founded the Spanish-language magazine, Mercurio, before returning to Spain and settling in Catalonia.
Since then, she has experienced decisive moments on small and large scales.
Her father died of pulmonary tuberculosis during the transoceanic voyage from the United States to Spain. The route was detoured as World War I made the route treacherous and the ship had to go through Cuba and the Azores.
In 1918, the Spanish flu pandemic swept the world. Then, when Branias was 29, the Spanish Civil War broke out, leaving her with "very bad memories". World War II followed soon after.
Branias started a family with her husband, a Catalan doctor named Joan Moret. The couple has three children, 11 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.
On the couple's wedding day, after hours of waiting, they learn that their priest has unexpectedly passed away. There was no phone at the church to call for another priest, so the family had to get in the car and look for another.
Since then, Branias has embraced the advancement of technology. In recent years, it has "embraced" social networks and digital communications in particular. Branias uses a voice-to-text device and X (Twitter) to keep in touch with loved ones.
"Life is not eternal for anyone. At my age, the new year is a gift, a modest holiday, a beautiful journey, a moment of happiness. Let's enjoy life together," reads one of her New Year's posts. | BGNES
