Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2010, died on Sunday (13) in Lima, 89 years old.
The news was confirmed by their sons Álvaro, Gonzalo and Morgana, who released a statement highlighting the long and fruitful life of the author, marked by a literary work that transcends generations.
According to the family, there will be no public ceremony, and the remains of the writer will be cremated, according to his will.
Vargas Llosa was the author of classics like Cathedral conversation, The city and the dogs e The Bode Partyconsolidated as one of the greatest names in contemporary literature.
Born in Arequipa, Peru, in 1936, Vargas Llosa was one of the protagonists of the so-called “boom” of Latin American literature, along with names such as Gabriel García Márquez and Julio Cortázar.
His work explored themes such as power, resistance and the complexities of the human condition.
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Since its literary debut, with The chiefs (1959), until your last work, I dedicate to you my silence (2023), the author maintained a constant and diverse production, which included novels, rehearsals, articles and plays.
Vargas Llosa was also an engaged intellectual, actively participating in political and social debates throughout his life.
Vargas Llosa’s career was marked by a political vision that combined moral progressivism with economic neoliberalism, which often generated controversy among his admirers.
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In 2010, upon receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature, the Swedish Academy highlighted its “cartography of the structures of power and its sharp images of resistance, rebellion and defeat of the individual”.
Among his most emblematic works is The Bode Party (2000), a narrative based on the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo, in the Dominican Republic, which became a reference in the literature on authoritarian regimes in Latin America.
In addition to his vast literary production, Vargas Llosa had a personal life marked by great passions and changes.
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He married his cousin Patricia Llosa, with whom she had three children, and later lived a relationship with socialite Isabel Preysler, ex-wife of Spanish singer Julio Iglesias.
Despite his intense public life, the writer has always highlighted the importance of individual freedom, both in his work and in his personal choices.
He was also a member of the Royal Spanish Academy and, in 2021, became one of the “immortals” of Academie Française, a rare recognition for an author who wrote exclusively in Spanish.
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In his Nobel Prize speech, the author highlighted the transforming power of literature, stating that “the lies of fiction become truths through readers.”
