Carme Noguera, the oldest woman in Catalonia, turns 112 years old: "I have eaten, slept and worked like everyone else"

Carme Noguera, widely recognized as the longest-living woman in Catalonia, has turned 112 years old this Saturday. Born in 1914 in Olot, she witnessed the early days of World War I and continues to recall life during that time. She remembers that, in her youth, there was only one man with a car in the capital of the Garrotxa region. The most common mode of transport then was the tartana, a two-wheeled cart. After growing up in Olot, Noguera became part of the first class of the Nursing School of the Catalan Government in 1933, at the age of 19, and worked as a nurse during the Spanish Civil War. According to the specialized longevity database LongeviQuest, Noguera ranks among the world's oldest living individuals, with only around seventy others ahead of her. Her birthday coincides with historical milestones, including the establishment of the Mancomunitat de Catalunya, the first step toward modern Catalan self-government since 1714, and the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, which triggered the outbreak of World War I. It was in this context, both local and global, that Carme Noguera was born on August 22, 1914, in Olot, making her the oldest person in Catalonia since the death of Angelina Torres last year. In a recent interview with the Catalan News Agency (ACN), Noguera requested to be addressed with the informal "you," saying, “So you don’t make me feel old,” she joked, downplaying her advanced age. When asked about her longevity, she responded, “I’ve done things, eaten, slept, and worked like everyone else.” She also expressed admiration for Maria Branyas, who lived to 117 years and held the title of the world’s oldest person for nearly a year and a half before passing away in 2024. Noguera, originally from Olot, had the opportunity to meet Branyas when she was already a centenarian and lived in a residence within the same municipality. Currently residing in Taradell with her daughter, Noguera still recalls her childhood. She describes how carts were the primary means of transportation in the streets of the Garrotxa region’s capital. The telephone had not yet reached households, and radio broadcasts were unheard of until a neighbor acquired the first one. In 1933, at the age of 19, she moved to Barcelona to join the first class of the Nursing School of the Catalan Government. She pursued her studies at the Hospital Clínic. On July 19, 1936, she planned to travel to the medical center to continue her academic work, but the Spanish Civil War broke out, and she could not attend. The following day, she did go to the hospital and recounted that many wounded soldiers were treated there in the early stages of the conflict. One man arrived with a bullet wound that had pierced a mattress intended to protect him, but it failed to do so. During the war, Noguera served as a nurse at the Clínic and also cared for patients suffering from tuberculosis at the Sanatorium of Count Fígols. Each day, a soldier escorted nurses from their residence to the hospital, a practice that lasted for a long time. As a result, they remained unaware of the ongoing developments in the conflict. Additionally, women were prohibited from walking outside. Despite expressing that food was never lacking during the war because the Catalan government ensured their sustenance, Noguera remembers carrying a suitcase filled with potatoes from Barcelona to Olot to help her parents, who faced food shortages. After the war, she continued working as a nurse until her marriage in 1951. She had three children and now has two granddaughters and a great-grandchild. Her longevity has been notable for years, as she once requested a computer as a gift to celebrate her 100th birthday.