BIOGRAPHY

Jorge Durán y Coral was born in Panabá, Yucatán, Mexico, on 23 April 1909. Born to indigenous ancestry, he was fluent in both Spanish and Mayan. His parents were Modesto Durán Chan and Carlota Coral Celis. Tragically, he never knew his father, who passed away in 1910, and his mother died when he was just six years old, leaving him orphaned. He then moved to San Felipe, where he was cared for by a woman known as “Doña Nica” and later by his uncles.

At the age of 12, he was sent to school for the first time, where he learned to write his name and other basic skills. During this period, he also worked as a cowboy, managing 500 cattle on a ranch with the help of just one other laborer. After turning 17, he moved to Telchac Puerto, where he worked first as a cowboy and then loading and transporting bales of henequen thread, earning 15 pesos a month. His next chapter took him to the sea, where he became a sailor. Over the years, he took on multiple roles, serving as a cook, a sailor, and eventually a captain. At the age of 50, he returned to San Felipe, where he resumed his work as a cowboy.

When he was 24, he married María Cándida Marrufo Perera, with whom he had three children: Reynaldo, Jorge, and Augustina. Sadly, his first wife passed away when he was 36 years old. He later remarried Benita Dzul, with whom he had six more children: Lázaro, Modesto, Ofelia, Miguel, Luis, and Pedro.

Longevity seemed to run in his family. Two of his older brothers, Feliciano (1899–1997) and Cecilio (1903–2001), lived to the ages of 98 and 97, respectively. He also claimed that his grandmother reached the milestone of becoming a centenarian. At the age of 105, when asked about the secret to his longevity, he humbly responded: “Well, only God knows. All my friends have died. But many people say that physical work wears you out, and I have noticed it does take a lot of strength out of you.”

Jorge was affectionately known as “Don Chep.” In 1914, his mother sent him to get his hair cut, but the barber accidentally nicked his ear with scissors. Seeing the blood, he panicked and ran away with the blanket still tied around his neck, jumping over pigs and horses in the square until he reached home. The botched haircut left him with an unfortunate appearance, prompting his friends to tease him by calling him “che’echop cotz” (Mayan for “badly cut or shaved”). Over time, this nickname evolved into “Chep” or “Chepe.”

Jorge Durán y Coral died in San Felipe, Yucatán, Mexico, on 21 July 2021, at the age of 112 years, 89 days. At the time of his death, all but one of his children were still living. His first two children, Reynaldo and Agustina, were alive at the ages of 88 and 86.

Jorge Durán y Coral died in San Felipe, Yucatán, Mexico, on 21 July 2021, at the age of 112 years, 89 days. At the time of his death, all but one of his children were still living. His first two children, Reynaldo and Agustina, were alive at the ages of 88 and 86.

RECOGNITION

On 3 November 2019, following the death of 113-year-old Domingo Villa Avisencio, he became the oldest (known) living man in Mexico.

His age was verified by Jeffrey Xu, Stefan Maglov, and Fabrizio Villatoro in 2019, and he became one of the first validated cases of the Latin American Supercentenarians (LAS) in January 2020.

ATTRIBUTION

* “Un hombre de 105 años en Yucatán” – La Verdad Noticias, 22 April 2014

* “At 112, ‘Don Chep’ was Yucatán’s oldest man — or maybe not” – Yucatán Magazine, 23 July 2021

GALLERY