Now Reading: Nobel Laureate Mario Vargas Llosa, Literary Giant, Dies at 89
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Nobel Laureate Mario Vargas Llosa, Literary Giant, Dies at 89
Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa, a titan of Latin American literature and 2010 Nobel Prize winner, passed away on April 10, 2025, at 89 in Lima, his family announced.
Renowned for novels like The Time of the Hero and Conversation in the Cathedral, Vargas Llosa blended political critique with lyrical storytelling, shaping the 1960s “Boom” alongside Gabriel García Márquez. His Nobel citation praised his “cartography of power structures,” with works translated into 40 languages, selling 20 million copies globally. A stroke in 2023 had slowed him, but he published essays until 2024, defending liberalism against populism.
Born in Arequipa in 1936, Vargas Llosa’s life mirrored his fiction, his 1987 presidential bid in Peru lost to Alberto Fujimori, and his shift from socialism to free-market advocacy stirred debate. Peruvian President Dina Boluarte declared three days of mourning, with 10,000 attending a Lima vigil.
Spain’s King Felipe VI, where Vargas Llosa held citizenship, called him a “voice of freedom.” Critics noted his controversial stances, like backing Keiko Fujimori in 2011, but his literary legacy, taught in 80% of Latin American universities, remains unchallenged. As tributes pour from writers like Isabel Allende, his death marks the end of an era for global letters.
