Vitoria-Gasteiz, Basque Country — The oldest living man in Spain, Mateo Balbuena Iglesias, passed away on July 16th, at the age of 110 years, 299 days. His passing was confirmed by the NAIZ.
Balbuena Iglesias was born in Villamartín de Don Sancho, Castile and León, on 21 September 1913, as the eldest of ten siblings and the last surviving.
In 1932, he joined the Communist Youth Union of Spain and was appointed Secretary of Agitation and Propaganda. He participated in the Revolution of 1934 and moved to Barakaldo around that time. There, he was involved in the merger of the Unified Socialist Youth (JSU) of Euskadi and served as the local secretary. On July 17, 1936, he called an urgent meeting of the JSU to requisition weapons, and on July 22, a dozen militiamen left for San Sebastian to subdue the rebels at the Hotel María Cristina. On the 24th, he took part in the siege of the Loiola barracks. His experiences from the war period and the early post-war years were later documented in the books he wrote. From his 60s until he was over 100 years old, he continued writing books.
In April 1944, he married Consuelo Lopetegui. They were married for 78 years, until his wife’s passing in September 2022, at the age of 102.
On 14 January 2024, following the passing of 111-year-old Luis Torras Martínez, he became the oldest living man in Spain.
LongeviQuest sends our deepest condolences to the bereaved family and friends of Mateo Balbuena Iglesias.
