Jesús Castillo Rangel, nicknamed Don Chuchito (

Soconusco Soconusco is a region in the southwest corner of the state of Chiapas in southeastern Mexico along its border with Guatemala. It is a narrow strip of land wedged between the Sierra Madre de Chiapas mountains and the Pacific Ocean. It is the sout ...

Chiapas Chiapas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas, is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises Municipalities of Chiapas, 124 municipalities and its capital and large ...

; October 24, 1896, Nicolás Bravo, Othón P. Blanco,

Quintana Roo Quintana Roo, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Quintana Roo, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, constitute the 32 administrative divisions of Mexico, federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into municipalities of ...

; December 20, 2017), was a Mexican revolutionary. At the time of his death, at the claimed age of 121 years, he was considered the oldest man in Mexico, a feat registered in the General Archive of the Nation of Mexico.

Biography

Early life

The

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...

broke out when Don Jesus was only 14 years old «I fought alongside Zapata; but the first days of the Revolution I was a Carrancista military man ». He was part of the troops commanded by

Emiliano Zapata Emiliano Zapata Salazar (; 8 August 1879 – 10 April 1919) was a Mexican revolutionary. He was a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution of 1910–1920, the main leader of the people's revolution in the Mexican state of Morelos, and the insp ...

, demonstrating his sympathy to the motto slogan "the land belongs to those who work it", and convinced by the hopes of triumph that the revolutionary general transmitted.

After the Revolution

In 1924, after the revolution, he met his future wife, Fidencia Morales. With her he had two children: Rodolfo and Alfredo. The persecution undertaken by the landowners of the time against those who had taken part in the revolutionary movement, forced the couple to move to Concepción del Oro, a community in the state of

Zacatecas Zacatecas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Zacatecas, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 31 states of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Zacatecas, 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas City, Zacatec ...

. In an effort to keep them safe in Soconusco they left their two children in the care of their acquaintances, of whom they never heard. "My wife and I had to flee, because all of us who participated in the revolution movement were not safe, they even burned our houses." Jesús and his wife Fidencia stayed in Concepción del Oro for several years, where he dedicated himself to cultivating the land. Later they had to move to Acayucan,

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

. Finally, in 1989 they settled permanently in Nicolas Bravo,

His life in Quintana Roo

Don Chuchito, as his neighbors call him, dedicated himself to working on the land until he was 106 years old. In 2012 his wife, Fidencia Morales, passed away after living 91 years with him. In 2015, the National Institute for Older Adults (Inapam) recognized Don Chuchito nationally as the oldest person in Mexico.

Death

He died on December 20, 2017, at the claimed age of 121 in the town of Nicolás Bravo, municipality of Othón P. Blanco in Quintana Roo the same town he had resided the last 27 years of his life.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Castillo Rangel, Jesus 2017 deaths Mexican men centenarians Mexican revolutionaries Longevity claims 1896 births