Yzabelle Bostyn
WANT to live to 100? Consider moving to this beauty spot in northern Spain, home to the highest number of 100 year olds per capita.
Many expats move to Spain to retire, but where should you move to get the most out of your remaining years?
According to a new study carried out by the Galician Geriatric Society and the LONXENV research group at the University of Vigo has revealed that the northern region is home to the most centenarians in Spain.
Galicia has some 75.79 centenarians per 100,000 inhabitants but that’s not all.
Photo: Turismo Ourense
The region is also home to smaller areas with longevity rates similar to so-called ‘blue zones’.
That means there are more centenarians in these areas than the global average.
One of the demographers behind this term, Michel Poulain, visited Santiago de Compostela recently, where he hinted two Galician provinces could become the seventh blue zone.
Ourense and Pontevedra are in the running thanks to their high longevity rate, demonstrated by Jose Maria Failde, president of the Galician Geriatric Society.
To identify why they live so long, Failde is carrying out further research into the habits of healthy centenarians in the area.
Photo: Sociedade Galega Xerontoloxía e Xeriatría
The research is supported by Ourensividad, a charity dedicated to promoting well being and ‘active’ ageing in the area.
According to the president, Pablo García Vivanco: “Ourense is an ideal place to study longevity because of its population.”
“We hope to create social policies focussed on lifestyle and nutrition, looking to the future.”
Vivanco accompanied Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia as they uncovered the secrets of Galicia’s centenarians.
Photo: Sociedade Galega Xerontoloxía e Xeriatría
The journey begins in Beade, surrounded by green mountains and a stone’s throw from Portugal.
There, 103-year-old Eustaquio Perez says he owes his ripe age to physical exertion and resilience.
Eustaquio spent his youth transporting bags of coffee and sugar to Portugal and later, worked in farming and construction.
He also says getting up early, maintaining routine and not eating dinner helps.
“I get up every morning at 5am to look after my sheep. Then, I have a siesta and watch a cowboy film,” he said.
His diet consists only of natural products from his garden and his dinner is often so light that he skips it all together (two biscuits and some milk).
Contrary to medical advice, Eustaquio has always avoided medicines and isn’t even vaccinated against Covid-19.
However, he has received treatment for hernias and prostate cancer.
When it comes to mental health, he says: “My philosophy of life is to accept what comes and adapt to the changes, always having a sense of humour and not being scared of death.”
Just 40 minutes up the road is Esperanza Cortiñas, at a mighty 107 years-old.
Born in 1916, she still has the energy of a teenager, something which she owes to ‘music and dancing’.
“I love the tango, but I am a lover of all different kinds of music and I have more than seven awards from dance competitions across the country. It’s music and dance that have helped me reach this age,” she said.
However, her life has not been free from strife.
Her mother left her four children to emigrate to Cuba, leaving Esperanza and her siblings to support themselves.
A fashion lover, she has worked in Galicia and Paris, always searching for new opportunities: “I have over forty pairs of shoes, the glittery ones are my favourites”, she admits.
Despite living for over a century, Esperanza also has glowing skin: “My beauty trick has always been to use a simple cream from the supermarket. Nothing more.”
Although she suffered a broken hip just two months ago, she is recovering with surprising ease.
“My health has always been good,” she said.
“I don’t drink besides a shot of coffee with sugar and aguardiente in the morning. I eat everything.”
Now, she says her biggest dream is to get back on the dance floor.
Ever the socialite, her daughter Aurora affirms the 107-year-old ‘can’t walk more than 20 steps without someone stopping her for a chat.’
Next, La Vanguardia returned to the Portuguese border to meet 100-year-old Jose Salgado.
Recently retired, Jose owes his longevity to working on the land until 97 years old.
“I began working at 14 years old and since then I’ve done a lot of things, taxi, businessman, farmer and miller,” he said.
“Until 97 I was working on my orchard, with the same dedication as a young man.”
Despite retiring three years ago, he keeps active by reading the newspaper and carving models.
Jose has also never drank or smoked, although he admits his guilty pleasures are ‘salt and fat’.
He has even started writing a book about his life and says he has three more things to achieve: “sort out some land, reconnect with a girl I liked and see a bit more of the world.”
The father-of-two, grandfather of five and great-grandfather of five advises young people to ‘enjoy the little things’, saying ‘you don’t find happiness in grand travels and adventures’.
According to Pablo Garcia Vivanco, president of Ourensividad, the amount of centenarians in the area are in part thanks to the Atlantic diet, consisting of fresh, seasonal produce.
He also credits the water in the region as a ‘fountain of youth’.
Roberto Fernandez, a GP in the area, says: “Healthy habits and resilience are big factors to longevity in Ourense, although we haven’t yet found any common factors in the centenarians in the area.”
Lack stress due to slower pace of life. It’s relaxing being here.