If you think Gertrudis Balsinde is going to reveal her formula for a long life just like that, think again.
``Oh no! That's restricted; I don't give that to anybody,'' said Balsinde, a sweet, shrewd 109-year-old Cuban American who lives with her 77-year-old daughter in Allapattah. ``I don't share that secret.''
Is it the food?
She eats a diet heavy on lard cracklings, roast pork, rice and beans and sweets.
Is it a restful life?
She started working as a domestic at age 10 just like her grandmother Genoveva, the daughter of African slaves taken to Cuba by Spanish settlers. She also raised five children.
There may be a few contributing factors:
In her younger days, she never missed a party, but only drank beer on Christmas Eve, and more importantly, as she aged, she never considered herself old.
It could also be in the genes -- despite a hard life, her grandmother died at age 108.
What is not a secret is that when Balsinde blows out the candles on her cake in mid-November, she will join an extremely exclusive group: they are called the super-centenarians -- people who are 110 years old or older. And she might become the 80th oldest person in the world -- the third in Florida.
As she approaches such a major landmark, Balsinde admits the years are catching up to her.
``I love to go out a lot, have fun, go to a good theater. But now I can't even go to the bad ones. I have to be satisfied with what Don Francisco says,'' she said, referring to the host of Sábado Gigante, a staple of Saturday night Spanish-language television.
And her daughter says Balsinde also needs more sleep as she gets older.
She nonetheless remains lucid, remains in good spirits most of the time and gets around just fine with her walker.
Two weeks ago, she attended a reunion in west Miami-Dade for Cubans, like her, born in the port city of Mariel, 25 miles east of Havana, which she left in 1970. She was by far the oldest person at the event and quickly attracted a crowd when the emcee suggested she might be the oldest living Marieleña.
And that makes her special.
There are only 79 validated living super-centenarians in the world, according to the Los Angeles-based Gerontology Research Group, a nonprofit organization affiliated with the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA).
The group sets rigorous requirements to verify a person is a super centenarian: three pieces of documentation to validate the age, including a birth certificate dating to the original time of birth. Secondly, a marriage certificate. And finally, a photo ID like a driver's license or a passport.
After Balsinde turns 110, the Gerontology Research Group will contact her daughter to begin the validation process. Balsinde has Cuban and U.S. passports as well as a copy of her birth certificate, which all show she was born Nov. 17, 1900. She also keeps her certificate of naturalization. Yes, she passed the citizenship exam at age 93 -- the first time she took it.
The oldest person in the world today is Eugenie Blanchard, who was born in Guadeloupe on Feb. 16, 1896. The person holding the Guiness world record as living the longest is Jeanne Calment, who was born in France a year before Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone and died in 1997: She lived 122 years and 164 days. Of the 79 living super centenarians, only three are men.
``Oh no! That's restricted; I don't give that to anybody,'' said Balsinde, a sweet, shrewd 109-year-old Cuban American who lives with her 77-year-old daughter in Allapattah. ``I don't share that secret.''
Is it the food?
She eats a diet heavy on lard cracklings, roast pork, rice and beans and sweets.
Is it a restful life?
She started working as a domestic at age 10 just like her grandmother Genoveva, the daughter of African slaves taken to Cuba by Spanish settlers. She also raised five children.
There may be a few contributing factors:
In her younger days, she never missed a party, but only drank beer on Christmas Eve, and more importantly, as she aged, she never considered herself old.
It could also be in the genes -- despite a hard life, her grandmother died at age 108.
What is not a secret is that when Balsinde blows out the candles on her cake in mid-November, she will join an extremely exclusive group: they are called the super-centenarians -- people who are 110 years old or older. And she might become the 80th oldest person in the world -- the third in Florida.
As she approaches such a major landmark, Balsinde admits the years are catching up to her.
``I love to go out a lot, have fun, go to a good theater. But now I can't even go to the bad ones. I have to be satisfied with what Don Francisco says,'' she said, referring to the host of Sábado Gigante, a staple of Saturday night Spanish-language television.
And her daughter says Balsinde also needs more sleep as she gets older.
She nonetheless remains lucid, remains in good spirits most of the time and gets around just fine with her walker.
Two weeks ago, she attended a reunion in west Miami-Dade for Cubans, like her, born in the port city of Mariel, 25 miles east of Havana, which she left in 1970. She was by far the oldest person at the event and quickly attracted a crowd when the emcee suggested she might be the oldest living Marieleña.
And that makes her special.
There are only 79 validated living super-centenarians in the world, according to the Los Angeles-based Gerontology Research Group, a nonprofit organization affiliated with the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA).
The group sets rigorous requirements to verify a person is a super centenarian: three pieces of documentation to validate the age, including a birth certificate dating to the original time of birth. Secondly, a marriage certificate. And finally, a photo ID like a driver's license or a passport.
After Balsinde turns 110, the Gerontology Research Group will contact her daughter to begin the validation process. Balsinde has Cuban and U.S. passports as well as a copy of her birth certificate, which all show she was born Nov. 17, 1900. She also keeps her certificate of naturalization. Yes, she passed the citizenship exam at age 93 -- the first time she took it.
The oldest person in the world today is Eugenie Blanchard, who was born in Guadeloupe on Feb. 16, 1896. The person holding the Guiness world record as living the longest is Jeanne Calment, who was born in France a year before Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone and died in 1997: She lived 122 years and 164 days. Of the 79 living super centenarians, only three are men.
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