He is 101 years old – he is in good health.
He worked in the fields, was married twice and has five children. At 101 years old, his diet also doesn’t consist of a little Cognac, a nice Rioja and some bacon
“God willing, in July my father will come with us to Fuengirola, which he loves. He bathes in the sea every day. My sister and I have a house there and we try to be with him every day,” she said. Told LOC. Paco Melero is the youngest son of Manuel Melero Sotillo, 101, of Ecija, who enjoys good health.
Manuel was born on April 19, 1922 in Ecija. He married early, in his early twenties, had two daughters, and was soon widowed. He remarried to Carmen, the mother of his other three children, who died in 1987. He never went down the aisle again.
Extremely popular in his town, everyone is shocked by his health. No sugar, no cholesterol… Just four years ago he had a thrombosis, due to which one of his legs had to be amputated.
Manuel Melero Sotillo, with his son Paco (the youngest of five) and his granddaughter Irene. handed over
“His life is like that of any young and healthy person. Besides, he has taught us a lesson about what life is and how to take things for granted. If the leg thing had not happened to him, he would have been rolling around like a bullet.” Would have been.” Paco recalls.
Manuel had to leave his apartment and move into the house of one of his daughters, where the ground floor has been adapted for her. On weekends, her other children take care of her. “And we go everywhere. I put it in the car and we go to Córdoba to eat, we walk through the Jewish quarter and we come back in the afternoon,” says Paco.
At noon he sits on the porch to drink his Rioja, takes a piece of bacon, cuts a few strips with his knife and eats them.
Regarding his father, he emphasizes that he has always been “very neat. He has missed my mother, but he has always liked to wear nice clothes. He buys Alvaro Moreno shirts, wears his swimsuits. .. as if he is 27 years old.” And so, thoroughly cleansed, he enjoys his city, his friends and his family, who surround him like pineapples.
At the age of 101, Manuel does his work. He wakes up, washes himself and has breakfast, either at home or in a bar in town. He doesn’t like the pensioner’s house or the immerso trip. “I don’t move around like a herd,” he often says.
He stayed in the field for 15 days and slept under an olive tree or wherever
At the beach they “take their churitos with coffee, not decaffeinated. And a shot of machaco or cognac.” He always liked the Centenario Terry Cognac, but Paco brought him Cardenal Mendoza and it is now his favorite. “When he doesn’t find it in town, he calls us to find it for him. And on January 1, which is his saint, my nephew Álvaro brings it to Rioja.”
Manuel makes his own colored butter to go with the muffins. And he loves the olive, which he himself breaks with a stone. “I brought ten kilos of mole to him, and he took it. In two days he prepared them. They are olives which are not found in the shops, because they are made by someone sensible.”
Manuel also likes streaky bacon. “At noon he sits on the porch drinking his Rioja, he takes a piece of bacon, cuts a few strips with his razor and eats them. My sister doesn’t want to, but he tells me behind the back ‘Whenever you If you want, bring me more, because I have eaten it'”.
In the field and in construction
Manuel Melero worked in the fields. “When we go by car, he always tells me ‘this is where I walked to work'”. As a child he helped his father with the cattle. “He stayed in the field for 15 days and slept under an olive tree or somewhere else.”
He knew to read and write, and was able to work in construction, charge to pay employees, workers’ hours… He knew how to work.
Like when he wanted to cultivate melons. “They even came from Valencia to buy trucks from him. They told him the soil was bad, but he took a plough, put weights on it and pulled the mule on top, stirring the earth well to pull out the weeds. And he planted melons”.
Manuel Melero, on his way to the bulls with a friend. handed over
He went to Switzerland but came back after 15 days. There was never any comfort in the house, but there was never a shortage of food.
He talks about everything with his family, and he’s very detailed. He asks about his grandchildren, who always come to visit him, and we’re all together when there’s an event. We go to the fields and it is my father who makes the rice, which turns out amazing”.
Manuel’s attitude is jealous. “A few days ago I went to my sister’s house and I found my father standing at the door, sitting in the chair next to him, doing exercises and push-ups to stay in shape.”
Manuel and lawyer Fernando Osuna, on his 101st birthday. handed over
On his 100th birthday, the family gathered at the country club. This year, Paco and his family ate with him at a restaurant with a rice casserole with oxtails. They were joined by lawyer Fernando Osuna, a family friend.
“We rejoice with our father, hope God gives him many years.” “I’m glad to have the years I have to live, but as I am, I’m not able to move without being in bed.”
