María Andrea Álvarez Cortés is a Mexican supercentenarian whose age has been validated by LongeviQuest.
BIOGRAPHY
Andrea Álvarez Cortés was born on 23 November 1913, in Moctezuma, San Luis Potosí, Mexico. Her parents were José Ruperto Álvarez Jaramillo, a farmer and muleteer, and María Virginia Cortés Galicio, a housewife.
As a young girl, she was hidden by her grandfather to prevent revolutionaries from abducting her during the Mexican Revolution (1910–1917). Her father, Ruperto, used to take her to neighboring communities for events—riding pillion on his horse—because she loved to dance. She married Zacarías Barbosa Medina in December 1934 and had eight children; four of them were still alive as of October 2026. Álvarez Cortés dedicated herself to homemaking and supporting her husband with farm work, as she handled many of the agricultural tasks that fell to him.
Her daily routine involved rising at 5:00 a.m. to milk the cows and prepare meals for the family. She made cheese from the milk she collected and would later accompany her husband to gather firewood for cooking, as she cooked with wood for much of her life. At times, she traveled to the United States to pick cotton—crossing the Rio Grande on a raft made of logs— and also worked seasonally as a domestic worker there.
Her family believes the secret to her longevity lies in her diet and the consumption of foods she grew herself—specifically a diet based on squash, beans, nopales (cactus pads), prickly pears, cow and goat milk, fresh corn, and tortillas, along with occasional chicken broth and roast pork. In her free time, she enjoys crocheting, making her own clothes, and tending to her plants and flowers. She never followed a specific diet, but because her teeth are not in the best condition, her diet consists mainly of eggs, beans, tortillas, and chicken broth; she also drinks Ensure.
As of October 2026, she also had 25 grandchildren (23 living), 76 great-grandchildren (75 living), and 65 great-great-grandchildren.
She currently lives in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico.
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RECOGNITION
Her age was verified by Gabriel Ainsworth, Fabrizio Villatoro, with assistance from her family, and validated by LongeviQuest on 12 October 2026.
ATTRIBUTION
(The biography of Andrea Álvarez Cortés was compiled entirely through interviews with her family and Moctezuma City Hall.)
GALLERY
Undated. (Source: Courtesy of the family).
Undated. (Source: Courtesy of the family).
On her 111th birthday celebration in 2024. (Source: Courtesy of the family).
On her 112th birthday celebration in 2025. (Source: Courtesy of the family).
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