Sitting in the sun on a rustic bench, she seems eternal or like an ancient statue carved in stone. Birth certificates did not exist in Bolivia until 1940, and births previously were registered with baptism certificates provided by Roman Catholic priests. Nabi Tajima was born on Aug. "Shes always been active, easygoing and fun," said the grandniece, Agustina Berna. 26, 1900 in a mining camp in the Bolivian mountains.Her longevity is striking in Bolivia, which still has one of South Americas highest levels of mortality, according to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, the U.Growing up, the now-centenarian herded sheep and llamas in the Bolivian highlands until she moved in her teenage years to a valley, where she began selling fruits and vegetables.

The produce became her main source of sustenance, and she still maintains a healthy diet though she does indulge in the occasional cake and glass of soda.The previously worlds oldest person, a 117-year-old Japanese woman, died earlier this year.In her long life, she has witnessed two world wars, revolutions in her native Bolivia and the transformation of her rural town of Sacaba from 3,000 people to a bustling city of more than 175,000 in five decades. She is hard of hearing, but she remains sharp and scolds her smallest dog whenever Blanquita tries to venture out into the street..N.s regional arm. She then dipped a finger into a cake, and smiled while she licked the frosting. Flores Colques national identity card, however, has been certified by the Bolivian government. At 117 and just over 10 months, she would be the oldest woman in the Andean nation and perhaps the oldest living person in the world.The Sacaba mayors office has named Flores Colque a living heritage. Her passing apparently leaves Flores Colque as the worlds oldest living person. She never married and has no children.These days, she enjoys the company of her dogs, cats and rooster. But Guinness World Records says it has received no application for her and Flores Colque doesnt seem to care that her record hasnt been confirmed.A Guinness spokeswoman, however, said she wasnt aware of a claim being filed for the Bolivian woman.

The office and a private foundation have improved her home, building a brick path where she walks, and a shower and toilet with a railing so the centenarian can safely make her way to the bathroom at night."If you would have told me you were coming, Id have remembered all the songs," she said jokingly while playing the diminutive guitar. She proved the doctor wrong. Just a few years ago, she still walked briskly. plastic water tap She is lucid and full of life, and she loves a good cake and singing folkloric songs in Quechua to anyone who comes to visit the dirt-floor adobe home she shares with her 65-year-old grandniece. She hasnt even heard of the reference book. The doctor said she would never walk again.Her national identity card says Flores Colque was born on Oct.SACABA, Bolivia: Julia Flores Colque still sings with joy in her indigenous Quechua tongue and strums the five strings of a tiny Andean guitar known as the charango, despite a recorded age of almost 118 years. But then she fell and hurt her back.