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Cruz Hernández Rivas: The Real Story Behind El Salvador’s 128-Year Claim

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Ale76
(@ale76)
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https://longeviquest.com/2025/08/cruz-hernandez-rivas-the-real-story-behind-el-salvadors-128-year-claim/

Beginning in August 2005 and continuing in the months and years that followed, local and international media covered the story of Cruz Hernández Rivas, a woman from San Agustín, Usulután Department, El Salvador, whose family sought to have Guinness World Records recognize her as the world’s oldest person.

Biography and Longevity Claims

Hernández had worked as a midwife until the age of 100 and was the matriarch of a large family, raising 13 children, 60 grandchildren, 80 great-grandchildren, and 25 great-great-grandchildren.

Reports at the time stated that she was born in San Sebastián, San Vicente Department, on 3 May 1878. If accurate, this would have made her 127 years old in August 2005—surpassing the verified longevity record of 122 years held by Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, and making her not only the world’s oldest living person but the oldest person in recorded history.

However, it was noted that Hernandez had never possessed a birth certificate. The National Registry of Natural Persons (RNPN) of El Salvador issued her a Documento Único de Identidad (DUI)—the national identity card for Salvadoran citizens—based on a baptismal record that was found, which served as the basis for the 1878 birth year claim. RNPN officials announced plans to submit her case to Guinness World Records in November 2005.

At the time, her granddaughter, María Hernández, 55, with whom she shared a small home donated by Spanish aid after the devastating earthquakes of early 2001, spoke about Cruz’s diet. She recalled that in her younger years, when Cruz went out to assist with births, she would start the day with two eggs, a beer, a piece of grilled beef, and coffee—and she enjoyed a small cigarette. María added that Cruz’s grandmother had lived to the age of 120, although her mother had died of illness at around 50.

Cruz Hernández Rivas passed away on 8 March 2007, at the claimed age of 128 years, 309 days.

Her real age

In October 2015, Santiago García Medina, then a new researcher and now a member of LongeviQuest, investigated the case of Cruz Hernández while researching Latin American supercentenarians. He reported finding two possible matches in the records.

The first was a Cruz Hernández Rivas born on 14 September 1908 in Nonualco, La Paz. The second was a Cruz Hernández Rivas, daughter of Sebastián Hernández and Gregoria Rivas, born on 3 May 1893 in San Miguel, San Miguel Department. Since this second record indicated a woman exactly 15 years younger than the claimed birth year of 1878, it was assumed this could be the correct match. This would have made her 113 at the time of her death, not 128.

Although this birthplace differed from earlier media reports, other sources had also stated that she was born somewhere in central El Salvador, with the family uncertain of the exact location—though they believed it was likely San Sebastián.

However, further research later revealed that this woman had most likely died on 17 August 1979—meaning she could not have been the same person still alive in the 2000s. This finding prompted another re-examination of Cruz Hernández’s case.

García Medina was able to confirm the likely names of the claimant’s parents as Fidelito and Anita. With this information, a probable match was located in May 2021: María de la Cruz Hernández, born in San Sebastián on 3 May 1906 to parents Fidel Hernández and Ana Rivas. This birth date would have made her 100 years and 309 days old at the time of her death.

Considering the evidence regarding her probable birthplace, her parents’ names, and the elimination of other potential matches, the findings point to this being the most plausible match for the claimant.

This topic was modified 6 hours ago by Ale76

http://www.supercentenariditalia.it/persone-viventi-piu-longeve-in-italia.
Persone viventi più longeve in Italia – Supercentenari d'Italia (supercentenariditalia.it)


   
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Ale76
(@ale76)
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Joined: 3 years ago
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An organization in disarray claimed to have validated her as real SC of 113 y.o.

Shame on them, as usual.

http://www.supercentenariditalia.it/persone-viventi-piu-longeve-in-italia.
Persone viventi più longeve in Italia – Supercentenari d'Italia (supercentenariditalia.it)


   
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