BIOGRAPHY

Guillermina Acosta Bilbao was born in David, Chiriqui Province, Colombia (now Panama), on 27 November 1901. She grew up with her four sisters and her father, Atanasio, as her mother, Demetria, passed away at a young age—just 34. She never married but had two partners: Dionisio Atencio, whom she met in 1919, and Brígido Roux. She had a total of nine children with them. Her son Cecilio, born in July 1920, was still alive as of May 2025 at the age of 104.

Acosta worked as a housewife, performing tasks such as cooking, washing clothes in the river, roasting coffee, grinding corn, and feeding corn to the chickens. She also worked in agriculture. Her daily routine began at 4:00 a.m. when she would prepare breakfast and lunch for her partner, Brígido, who worked in the fields and, during the 1930s, contributed to the construction of the Pan-American Highway. Brígido passed away in 1997 at the age of 83.

Her personality was described as “kind-hearted, affectionate, wise, and tender with her grandchildren. She always smiled and was never bad-tempered with anyone.” She was also known for her love of cooking and dancing.

When asked about her secret to longevity, she attributed it to her deep faith in God. She prayed throughout the day—upon waking, bathing, eating, and before sleeping—and always prayed for her family and the sick.

At the age of 112, she had five living children, 29 grandchildren, and 15 great-grandchildren.

Guillermina Acosta Bilbao passed away in David, Chiriquí Province, Panama, on 13 February 2017, at the age of 115 years, 78 days.

RECOGNITION

On 4 August 2015, following the passing of 114-year-old Serafina Herrera de Sugasti, she became the oldest known living person in Panama, at the age of 113 years, 250 days. On 11 February 2016, at the age of 114 years, 76 days, she surpassed Herrera’s final age, becoming the oldest person ever recorded in Panama. At the same time, she became the oldest known person ever born in Central America.

On 7 March 2016, following the passing of 114-year-old Eleonora Camargo Veiga of Brazil, she became the oldest documented living person in Latin America, at 114 years and 101 days old (Note: this excludes Eudoxie Baboul, who passed away in French Guiana on 1 July 2016).

On 12 May 2016, following the passing of Susannah Mushatt Jones (USA), she became the oldest known living person in continental North America, at the age of 114 years, 167 days. However, Violet Brown of Jamaica, who lived in the Caribbean, was older and outlived her.

Upon her passing, Bienvenida Vergara Jaén succeeded her as the nation’s oldest known resident, while Luzia Mohrs succeeded her as the oldest known living person in Latin America. Delphine Gibson succeeded her as the oldest known living person in continental North America.

At the time of her passing, she was the 6th-oldest living person in the world, after Emma Morano, Violet Brown, Nabi Tajima, Chiyo Miyako, and Ana Vela Rubio.

She was the last known surviving person born in the territory of present-day Panama before its secession from Colombia on 3 November 1903.

Her age was documented by the Latin American Supercentenarians (LAS) organization and was listed as pending validation as of 13 June 2021. The validation process was completed by Santiago García Medina, Fabrizio Villatoro and James Roberts, and validated by LongeviQuest on 19 May 2025.

ATTRIBUTION

GALLERY