Potatoes in your pockets: 3 tricks for a long life from an 87-year-old Colombian who has lived it all
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Loading... - Emil Agard
- 18 Apr 2023
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Jesus María Rodriguez (Chucho), an 87-year-old retired shoemaker living in Cúcuta, on Colombia’s border with Venezuela, has been stealing potatoes, concocting special juices, and watering local trees in an effort to protect his health. And you may want to take note.
Chucho grew up in Chinácota, Norte de Santander, during one of the most dangerous times in Colombia’s history: La Violencia, a 10-year civil war between the Conservative and Liberal political parties. From the age of 12, he could no longer go to school due to threats from the Conservatives coming into power—his family was Liberal.
During the rest of Chucho’s childhood, he worked with local farmers and drank chicha, a fermented corn beverage, leading to his early alcoholism. He was cheeky, a flirt, and even spent a few nights in jail for causing trouble.
In his early teens, he also left home and lived on the streets of Duranía, Norte de Santander, for several months. There he began making and fixing shoes and set up his handmade leather shoe business in Cúcuta several years later. Shortly after, he met his wife, Leonor. They’ve been together for 66 years and had 12 children.
He proudly declares that during the course of his life he has had several near-death experiences—but God wanted him to stick around. And sitting on a white plastic chair and swinging his legs back and forth, he told me he even once stopped one of Chinácota’s mayors from being assassinated by eavesdropping.
In his 80s, he is still active, watering plants in his neighborhood every morning, always attending mass in the church, and accompanying his wife to her daily exercises to ensure she doesn’t get involved in the local gossip. Read More…
