A man said to be the oldest person in the world has just celebrated his incredible 123rd birthday in Brazil.
Sprightly Andrelino Vieira da Silva was born on 3rd February 1901, just 11 days after Queen Victoria died.
He saw out two world wars, communist revolutions and then their collapse in China and Russia, the Beatles, Princess Diana, the assassination of JFK and even survived through the COVID pandemic.
After going viral on social media, he has become known as the ‘INSS Terror’, for the cost of his longevity to the Brazilian pension service.
During his celebrations in 2022, he even received a birthday cake with ‘terror of the INSS’ written on it.
In response, the pension service sent Andrelino a special plaque saying: “You are not the terror of the INSS. You are a blessing to the INSS.”
And they signed it off: “We wish Mr Andrelino many more years of life.”
Video footage shot the same year shows Andrelino cooking up a meal in his kitchen as he chats with a family member.
Born in Firminopolis, in the state of Goias, Andrelino was married and had seven children but has outlived two of them.
Oldest Man Alive Becomes Selfie Star At 121
He now lives in Brazil’s western province Aparecida de Goiania and claims he has official documents to support his amazing age.
He also has 13 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
One granddaughter, Janaina Lemes de Souza, told local media: “He’s fine, everything’s great.
“It’s a great satisfaction for him to be with us for another year like this, everyone together.”
She added that people often recognise him in the street and ask him for a selfie, saying: “Some ask to take a photo and he does.”
To find out more about the author, editor or agency that supplied this story – please click below.
Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
The Ananova page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.
