Two brothers born more than 100 years ago are still going strong in 2019, giving them the record for highest combined age, 2 living siblings.
Albano Andrade (born 14 December 1909) and his 'little' brother Alberto (born 2 December 1911) are 109 and 107 years old respectively, and live in Santa Maria da Feira, Portugal.
Their combined age as of 2 April was an incredible 216 years 230 days – longer than it takes for Saturn and Neptune's combined orbit of the sun!
Albano and Alberto were both born in their family home in Portugal, where they have lived their entire lives. "We were always together; we always got along very well," said Albano.
The two even formed a band together and toured the country in their youth.
"I played the saxophone on tour and played violin when I was not on tour," Albano recalled.
"I also played saxophone," Alberto added. "The saxophone in my hands would almost talk by itself… in every shape or form I would not miss a note."
When asked what the secret was to their long lives, Albano’s advice was "do not eat excessively, don’t get drunk… and behave well!"
Speaking on the differences between their lives in 2019 compared to the early 20th century, Alberto highlights the great changes in transport.
"There were bicycles and then came the cars, but there weren’t as many as there are now. Then the buses showed up. Now all the houses have two cars. Just one is not enough anymore!"
It was a car that once badly injured Alberto when he was younger, causing him to hit his head.
"After all these years I ask God to let me continue living for a little longer… I’ve still got a little bit to go," he remarked.
Both Albano and Alberto are still a few years short of challenging for oldest person ever (male) at 116 years 54 days; however with each other's company and the strong friendship they have developed during their long lives, who's to say they can’t both reach that goal?
"We have always been good friends, with a lot of fun times…we've never argued,” Alberto revealed.
"Friends, always friends, like we are today," agreed his brother.
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