Mario Vargas Llosa, Peruvian Author and Nobel Literature Laureate, Dies at 89

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Renowned Peruvian author and Nobel Prize winner in Literature, Mario Vargas Llosa, who held great influence over Latin American literature for several decades, passed away at the age of 89, as confirmed by his son on Sunday.

With profound sadness, we share the news that our beloved father, Mario Vargas Llosa, has passed away tranquilly in Lima today, surrounded by his cherished family.” This letter, penned by Álvaro, Gonzalo and Morgana, was shared on X.

The letter says that his remains will be cremated and that there won’t be any public ceremony.

His leaving will bring sadness to his family, friends, and global readers, but we find solace in knowing he lived a lengthy, exciting, and productive life. Moreover, he leaves an enduring collection of work behind, which will continue long after him.

He wrote renowned novels such as “The City and the Dogs” (La Ciudad y los Perros) and “Banquet de la Vaca” (Feast of the Goat).

A highly productive author of novels and essays, as well as recipient of numerous awards, Mario Vargas Llosa, was bestowed with the Nobel Prize in 2010, following years of speculation that he might be a deserving laureate.

In 1959, Mario Vargas Llosa unveiled his initial compilation of tales titled “The Cubs and Other Stories” (Los Jefes). However, it was in 1963 when he truly made a splash in the literary world with his pioneering debut novel “The Time of the Hero“, a work inspired by his time at a Peruvian military academy that stirred up resentment within the nation’s military. A thousand copies of this novel were set ablaze by military officials, with certain generals labeling the book as untruthful and Vargas Llosa as a communist.

With works like “Conversation in the Cathedral” (Conversación en la Catedral) published in 1969, Vargas Llosa swiftly emerged as one of the key figures within the literary movement known as “The Boom” or the new wave of Latin American writers during the 1960s and 1970s, alongside Gabriel García Márquez and Carlos Fuentes.

At 15 years old, Vargas Llosa began his writing career as a part-time crime reporter for the newspaper La Crónica. Beyond this, his official website indicates that he held various other positions such as correcting names on tombstones in Peruvian cemeteries, teaching at the Berlitz school in Paris, and briefly working on the Spanish desk at Agence France-Presse in the same city.

For much of his lifespan, he regularly contributed articles to various publications, with his most notable work being a bi-monthly political opinion piece titled “Touchstones,” which appeared in multiple newspapers.

Over time, Vargas Llosa became an ardent advocate for individual and financial freedoms, distancing himself from his past associations with communism, and frequently criticized leftist Latin American leaders whom he deemed as authoritarians.

Initially, he was a backer of the Cuban revolution spearheaded by Fidel Castro. However, his support waned over time, leading him to criticize Castro’s Cuba. By 1980, he openly declared that he no longer found socialism as a viable solution for developing countries.

1976 in Mexico City saw an infamous altercation between Vargas Llosa and fellow Nobel laureate García Márquez, who was once his friend. Later, Vargas Llosa derisively referred to him as “Castro’s sycophant.” The reason for their fight remains unclear; it could have been due to political disagreements or personal conflicts, but both authors chose to keep the matter private and never spoke about it publicly.

Gradually shifting his political views towards free-market conservatism, Vargas Llosa found himself losing the backing of numerous fellow Latin American authors in the literary world. Even some of his own fans criticized him for this transformation.

Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, a renowned author, hails from the Peruvian city of Arequipa, nestled in the Andes at the base of the Misti Volcano, and was born on March 28, 1936.

Instead of being raised with his biological father, Ernesto Vargas Maldonado, our subject was born into a family situation that required his mother, Dora Llosa Ureta, to relocate herself and her child to Bolivia. This move was necessitated by her father’s position as the Peruvian consul in Cochabamba at the time.

In simpler terms, Vargas Llosa described his upbringing as “relatively turbulent,” being spoiled by his mother and grandmother, residing in a grand house with staff, where all his desires were catered to.

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In easy-to-understand language, Vargas Llosa referred to his childhood as “a bit stormy” because he was pampered by his mother and grandmother, lived in a big house with servants, and had everything he wanted given to him.

It wasn’t until he turned ten years old, following their relocation to Piura, a coastal city in Peru, that he discovered his father was still alive. After reconciling, the family later shifted residence to Lima, the capital of Peru.

Vargas Llosa portrayed his father as a strict disciplinarian who considered his son’s passion for Jules Verne and poetry writing as potential paths to poverty, and worried about his “masculinity,” holding the belief that poets are often gay.

As a teenager, I found myself unable to join a naval academy due to my young age, much to my disappointment. Instead, my father wisely decided to enroll me at Leoncio Prado Military Academy. This formative experience later inspired me to write “The Time of the Hero,” a novel that resonated with readers and garnered the Spanish Critics Award.

The military academy “was like discovering hell,” Vargas Llosa said later.

He enrolled at San Marcos University in Peru to pursue both literature and law. He felt drawn to literature as a vocation, while choosing law to appease his family who thought, with some justification, that authors often struggle financially.

Following his completion of a literature degree in 1958, Vargas Llosa chose not to submit his final law thesis. Instead, he was awarded a scholarship for advanced study towards a doctorate in Madrid.

Vargas Llosa frequently found inspiration in his native Peru, yet he chose to spend part of each year living in Madrid, New York, and Paris rather than residing there permanently.

Initially, his written works depicted the complexities of Peru, showcasing its harsh military attitude and cruelty, its decaying aristocracy, and a coexistence of ancient Amazon tribes and contemporary urban deterioration from the 20th century.

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In his early literary pieces, he portrayed a diverse picture of Peru that encompassed the harsh reality of its military culture, the decline of its aristocracy, and an unusual blend of Stone Age Amazonian lifestyle with 20th-century urban decay.

Vargas Llosa described Peru as an ailment that cannot be cured and his connection with it as deep, severe, and overflowing with the intensity of passion in 1983.

16 years after residing in Europe, he came back to Peru in 1974 under the rule of a left-wing military regime. He admitted, “I found myself drifting away from my homeland’s truth and particularly its language, which for a writer could be fatal.

In 1990, he became a presidential candidate in Peru amidst a country grappling with a chaotic Maoist guerrilla uprising and an unstable, rapidly inflating economy.

However, an unrecognized university rector named Alberto Fujimori managed to overpower him. He effectively addressed the political and economic turmoil, yet his rule eventually transformed into one marked by corruption and authoritarianism.

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Initially an unknown university rector, Alberto Fujimori defeated him. While he successfully handled much of the political and economic instability, his leadership later became characterized by corruption and authoritarianism.

Guillermo Cabrera Infante, a close companion of Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa, later admitted that he had secretly wished for Vargas Llosa’s political candidacy to fail. He expressed this thought by saying: “For Peru, it might have been a gain in uncertainty, but for literature, it would have been a loss in eternity. Politics are just fleeting moments in history.

As a gamer, I’d say: In my own writing adventures, Mauricio Vargas Llosa has penned numerous captivating novels based on the tales of genuine individuals. For instance, he explored the life of Paul Gauguin, a renowned French Post-Impressionist artist, and his grandmother, Flora Tristan, in The Way to Paradise back in 2003. Later, in 2010, he delved into the story of 19th-century Irish nationalist and diplomat, Sir Roger Casement, in The Dream of the Celt. His most recent novel, published in 2019, is titled Harsh Times (Tiempos Recios) and it revolves around a U.S.-backed coup d’etat that took place in Guatemala in 1954.

In 1994, he was inducted into the Royal Spanish Academy, and since then, he has held positions as a visiting professor and resident writer at over a dozen institutions worldwide.

During his teenage years, Vargas Llosa became part of a communist group and ran off with, subsequently marrying, a 33-year-old Bolivian named Julia Urquidi – who happened to be the sister-in-law of his own uncle. This nine-year marriage served as inspiration for him when he wrote the popular comic novel titled “Aunt Julia and the Screenwriter” (originally known as “La Tía Julia y el Escribidor”).

In the year 1965, he got married to his younger first cousin, Patricia Llosa, and they went on to have three children together. Fifty years later, they parted ways, and he began a relationship with prominent Spanish figure Isabel Preysler, ex-wife of singer Julio Iglesias and mother of famous singer Enrique Iglesias. They ended their relationship in 2022.

He is survived by his children.

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2025-04-14 06:55