In Delmas, on this Tuesday, March 10, the weather is pleasant and we have just knocked on the door of Professor Julien Clerveaux’s home. Upon our arrival, the centenarian—two months into his hundredth year—is taking his morning nap in his small living room, near a window. Dressed in a short-sleeved shirt with yellow, gray, and white checkered patterns, he invites us to sit near him. He has things to say.

At one hundred years old, the professor’s memory remains vivid, enriched by a century of personal and national history. “I am Julien Clerveaux and I was born in Saint-Louis-du-Nord on January 17, 1926. I have just celebrated my 100th birthday,” he says right away.