Mario Vargas Llosa, a towering figure in Latin American literature and Nobel laureate, has died at the age of 89, as announced by his children, Álvaro, Gonzalo, and Morgana. Álvaro shared a letter on social media saying: "It is with deep sorrow that we announce that our father, Mario Vargas Llosa, passed away peacefully in Lima today, surrounded by his family," per the AP. The letter further stated the hope that relatives, friends, and readers "will find comfort, as we do, in the fact that he enjoyed a long, adventurous and fruitful life, and leaves behind him a body of work that will outlive him."
The Peruvian author whose novels challenged political regimes and explored Peruvian society was born on March 28, 1936, in Arequipa, Peru. Vargas Llosa became a figure in the Latin American literary "Boom" of the 1960s and '70s, alongside Gabriel García Márquez and Carlos Fuentes. Vargas Llosa's early experiences at Leoncio Prado Military Academy inspired his debut, The Time of the Hero. The academy, he later said, "was like discovering hell." He was a critic of military and political regimes, voiced in numerous essays and novels. Another popular novel, Feast of the Goat, centered on an ailing dictator in the Dominican Republic. Vargas Llosa's political career included a run for Peru's presidency in 1990. He was defeated by Alberto Fujimori, who resolved political and economic chaos but became authoritarian.
As a public intellectual, Vargas Llosa became a member of the Royal Spanish Academy in 1994 and held visiting professor positions around the world. He wrote several novels depicting real-life figures, such as Paul Gauguin and Sir Roger Casement, and won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2010. His last published novel was Harsh Times in 2019. Known for his defense of personal and economic liberties, his political journey took him from early communism to advocating free-market conservatism. Vargas Llosa was first married to Julia Urquidi and later his first cousin Patricia Llosa, with whom he had three children. His remains will be cremated without a public ceremony. (This content was created with the help of AI. Read our AI policy.)
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