THE WORLD'S oldest man is Spanish and lives in the village of Bienvenida (Badajoz province) – which, curiously, translates as 'welcome' – having taken the top spot after the recent death of Yisrael Kristal, from Israel.
Francisco Núñez Olivera has always lived in the same town, which currently has 2,200 inhabitants, since he was born there in late December 1905.
He hopes – and fully expects – to live until at least the end of 2017, when he will be 113 years old.
Until he was 107, Francisco still went for walks around the village on his own, although when he became tired he would simply stop on street corners to chat to the other locals.
Now in a wheelchair, but still healthy, Francisco lives with his daughter María Antonia, aged 81.
He mostly puts his long life down to genetic factors – Francisco's brother Luis, who lives in Asturias, is 95 and his sister Jacoba, who also lives in Bienvenida, is 93 – but he has also enjoyed a healthy diet and the loss of most of his teeth with age has not changed this.
Francisco mostly eats vegetables and pulses he grows himself on his allotment – which he has tended to and lived off since earliest adulthood – and enjoys a 'decent glass of wine' regularly.
María Antonia, visibly proud of her dad, says his extremely elegant demeanour earned him the nickname of 'Marchena', after the famous flamenco singer of the same name from Sevilla.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com