Cuban News Agency

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At the Eighth Meeting of Centenarians, which is part of the 10th
International Seminar on Active and Satisfactory Longevity, participants
agreed in acknowledging the social system established in Cuba in 1959,
which has guaranteed a happy and healthy aging.

Graciela Concepcion, a 102-year-old pianist woman from Puerto Padre, Las
Tunas, said she looked up to the leader of the Cuban Revolution and that
she had actually dedicated a song to Fidel.

Blanca Rosa Leon Contreras, born in 1909 in Villa Clara, said the Cuban
social system had given a lot to the whole people and particularly to the
senior citizens and pointed out that Fidel Castro had contributed a great
deal for Cubans to have a decent old age.

Feeling lucky for having passed a century of age with such vitality,
Marino Rodriguez, 102, from Guantanamo, thanked the Revolution for its
achievements in health, social security, education and other fields and
stressed how much he has benefited from those attainments.   

Dr. Rodrigo Alvarez Cambras, director of the Frank Pais International
Orthopedics and Scientific Complex gave a talk at the event about the
importance of doing physical exercises regularly and start at early ages,
as the best therapy to fight anxiety and stress.  
“Life is movement and movement is life,” he remarked.

The event included a swimming exhibition by longevous adults at the pool
of the National Hotel where the Seminar is taking place.

Dr. Eugenio Selman-Housein, president of the Medical Association of the
Caribbean and of the 120 Years Club, is in charge of the organizing
committee of the forum that brought together more than 200 specialists
from several countries.