BIOGRAPHY

Claudia Soto Saborio was born in the city of Alajuela, Alajuela Province, Costa Rica, on 3 November 1909. Her parents were Maurilio de Jesús Soto Alfaro (1857–1955) and Ana Maria Lucila Saborio Quesada (born 1882). She had one brother, Joaquin Bernardo Ulises (1916–2012).

Her father was the Governor of the Province of Alajuela. Her uncle, Ramon Bernardo Soto Alfaro, was the President of Costa Rica from 1885 to 1889. Her first cousin once removed, Daniel Oduber Quirós (1921–1991), was the President of Costa Rica from 1974 to 1978.

One of her second-cousins, Antonio Ardón Soto (1888–1998), was also a supercentenarian, the first known Costa Rican ever to reach the age of 110. They were related by a shared set of great-grandparents: Bernardo Soto Herrera (1791–1856) and Maria Josefa Quesada Gonzalez (1794–1878).

In 1931, she paraded on the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Costa Rican national hero, Juan Santamaría. Soto Saborio married Guido Castro Steinvorth. At the age of 106, she said: “I had a good life, I can’t complain, and I hope to continue living many more years.“

Soto Saborio died in Alajuela, Alajuela Province, Costa Rica on 10 December 2020 at the age of 111 years, 37 days.

(Sourced from Gerontology Wiki)

RECOGNITION

Around 23 September 2018, she became the oldest known living person in Costa Rica, following the death of 111-year-old Lidia Menis Peresini.

Her age was verified by Stefan Maglov, Jeffrey Xu and Fabrizio Villatoro, and validated by the LAS on 12 January 2020.

Following her death, then 109-year-old Marita Camacho Quirós became the oldest known (documented) living person in Costa Rica.

ATTRIBUTION

GALLERY