By Juan Carlos Pérez Salazar | BBC News Mundo
April 13, 2025 — Lima, Peru
Peruvian writer and Nobel Laureate Mario Vargas Llosa passed away this Sunday in Lima at the age of 89, his children Álvaro, Gonzalo, and Morgana confirmed in an official statement.
“His departure will sadden his relatives, friends, and readers, but we hope they will find comfort, as we do, in the fact that he enjoyed a long, multifaceted, and fruitful life, and leaves behind a body of work that will outlive him,” the family said.
In accordance with his wishes, there will be no public ceremony. The family requested privacy to bid farewell in an intimate setting. His remains will be cremated, as he desired.
Vargas Llosa spent his final days surrounded by his three children and Patricia Llosa Urquidi, their mother and a longtime presence in his life.
A Life Devoted to Literature
Mario Vargas Llosa was born on March 28, 1936, in Arequipa, Peru. He was a towering figure in the Latin American literary "Boom" alongside Gabriel García Márquez, Julio Cortázar, and Carlos Fuentes. His work tackled themes ranging from authoritarianism, corruption, and political upheaval to personal freedom and moral complexity.
Among his most acclaimed novels are The Time of the Hero (La ciudad y los perros, 1963), Conversation in the Cathedral (Conversación en La Catedral, 1969), The Green House (La casa verde, 1966), and The Feast of the Goat (La fiesta del Chivo, 2000), a chilling portrayal of Rafael Trujillo’s dictatorship in the Dominican Republic.
His literary voice, marked by rigorous narrative structures and psychological depth, earned him international acclaim. In 2010, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature for his “cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual’s resistance, revolt, and defeat.”
Vargas Llosa also played an active role in politics. He ran for the presidency of Peru in 1990 and later became a Spanish citizen. He was a member of the French Academy and a recipient of the prestigious Prince of Asturias Award.
The Legacy of a Titan
Often regarded as the last of Latin America's literary titans, Mario Vargas Llosa leaves behind a monumental legacy. His influence transcended language, borders, and ideologies. With his death, a historic chapter of global literature comes to a close — yet his voice endures, echoing through every line of his timeless works