‘World’s oldest living woman’ celebrates her 117th birthday with her 107-year-old sister in Brazil
- Cicera Maria dos Santos was reportedly born in 1906, making her 117 years old
A 117-year-old, believed to be the world’s oldest living woman, has celebrated her birthday with her 107-year-old sister in Brazil.
Cicera Maria dos Santos was reportedly born in 1906, making her 117 years old.
If her date of birth is confirmed, it would make her a year older than current Guinness world record holder Maria Branyas Morera, 116, of Spain.
Cicera celebrated her birthday on September 23 with her sister Josefa Maria de Conceicao, 107, surrounded by family and friends.
The party included a colorful cake, snacks and applause from all the guests.
Cicera Maria dos Santos (pictured) was reportedly born in 1906, making her 117 years old
If her date of birth is confirmed, she would be one year older than current Guinness world record holder Maria Branyas Morera, 116, of Spain (Photo: Cicera’s alleged ID card showing her yet unconfirmed date of birth)
Cicera celebrated her birthday on September 23 with her sister Josefa Maria de Conceicao (left), 107, surrounded by family and friends
The party included a colorful cake, snacks and applause from all the guests
The sisters told local media that the secret to a long life is having faith in God and eating right.
Cicera said, ‘The peace of the Lord be with us. Who can do more than God? Everything is God.’
And her sister added: ‘You have to eat. Beans, corn, cassava, potatoes.”
Cicera lived most of her life in the Brazilian countryside.
There she sold chickens at the local market in Paraiba, a state in the northeast of the country.
Josefa’s grandson Ruan said the older sister was “descended from people who were actually enslaved.”
“Five generations ago, my family was enslaved.
The sisters told local media that the secret to a long life is having faith in God and eating right
Josefa’s secret to a long life? ‘You have to eat. Beans, corn, cassava, potatoes,” she said
“They survived everything from the last century and they beat COVID,” he explained.
“The greatest happiness in the world is to be here with them today.”
Slavery was practiced in Brazil from the mid-16th century until its abolition in the 1860s.
It is unclear whether Cicera or her family plan to contact Guinness World Records to officially make her the “world’s oldest living woman.”