A Legend Has Died

I was at work when I heard the news. A legend has died. After a brief prayer, I decided to research and write a blog post about this intriguing writer. Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez passed away in his home on Thursday, April 17, 2014.

The world knows him simply as Gabriel García Márquez. This is the man who wrote the famous work, "One Hundred Years of Solitude." Latin American literature was never the same again. This is the novel that gave birth to the literary style known as "magical realism." Simply put, magical realism inserts mystical or supernatural elements into the normal, everyday world that we live in. This could be a character living way past his or her natural life span witnessing future generations as an example. The novel was published in 1967 and became a smash hit earning him lots of money, fame and the ability to reach political leaders such as Fidel Castro. They were friends.

Márquez was born in Aracataca, Colombia on March 6, 1927. At infancy, he was separated from his parents and raised by his grandparents. Their large home prompted the seed for "One Hundred Years of Solitude." Latin America nicknamed him "Gabo." His left-leaning politics served him well working to bridge the rebels and the Colombian government.

After leaving law school, he took up journalism. The stage was set for his many critiques of the government and international politics. He married Mercedes Barcha in 1958 and after twelve years, they had two sons, Rodrigo and Gonzalo.

The writer in him created many short stories and non-fiction works including "Autumn of the Patriarch" (1975), "Love in the Time of Cholera" (1985) and "The General in His Labyrinth" (1989). He set some of his fictional works in a village called Macondo inspired by his Aracataca birthplace. In 1982, he won the Nobel Prize in literature.

It has been said that back in the mid-60's when his family and him were living in Mexico, they took a road trip to Acapulco. Suddenly Márquez got the inspiration for "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and turned the vehicle right around and headed back home. He spent the next eighteen months writing the novel everyday. This hurt his family financially so much they had to sell the family car just to make ends meet.

Márquez loved the cinema and was a freelance screenwriter. A lot of his wealth went towards Latin American film studies.

Doctors did diagnose him with lymphatic cancer in 1999. Fortunately it went into remission after chemotherapy. He continued writing and strictly reduced travel and many future plans during this period. "Living to Tell the Tale" (2002) published shortly thereafter which was one of a projected memoir triliogy. His health continued to decline. Márquez' brother, Jaime, mentioned that in 2012, Márquez had dementia. But at age 87 surrounded by family, Márquez succumbed to pneumonia at his home in Mexico City. The world will always remember him through the vast works he left behind and the life he led. May he always be at peace.

Why not pick up a piece by Márquez and honor him with his words?

¡Hasta luego!
~Keith