Gabriel Garcia Marquez Dies at 87: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

gabriel Garcia Marquez dead

(Getty)

News reports claim that Nobel Prize winning author and beloved Columbian novelist Gabrial Garcia Marquez is dead at the age of 87. Marquez was reporting as being ill for months, but was recently released from a Mexico City hospital after being treated for a lung and urinary tract infection.

Here is what you need to know:


1. Mexican Newspapers Reported His Death

After years of illness, including a battle with cancer in the 1990s, Marquez died today at the age of 87. His death was reported by Mexican newspapers, and confirmed by sources close to the family. He is survived by his wife, Mercedes Barcha, and his two sons.


2. He Was Released From the Hospital 9 Days Ago After Multiple Infections

(Getty)

(Getty)

According to CNN, Marquez was released from a Mexico City hospital on April 8 after being treated with multiple infections.

Reuters reported today that he had just recovered from pneumonia but that his condition remained incredibly “delicate.”


3. He Won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982

In 1982, Marquez was given the Nobel Prize for Literature, you can watch that acceptance above.


4. He Is Best Known For Novels Like ‘Love In the Time of Cholera’ & ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’

(Getty)

(Getty)

Marquez is best known for his first full novel, the 1967 One Hundred Years of Solitude, which became an instant classic in world literature. Le Monde named the book number 33 in the 100 Books of the 20th Century and sold over 50 million copies in Spanish since it’s first release.

He was often praised as being the most popular novelist in the Spanish language since Cervantes.


5. He Has Been One of The Worlds Most Beloved Authors for Decades

From his humble beginnings in Columbia, Marquez became the toast of the literary world befriending world leaders such as Fidel Castro, in keeping with Garcia’s socialist leanings, and Bill Clinton who called Marquez, “my literary hero,” according to USA Today.

Above you can see a video of Marquez swimming in the ocean with Fidel Castro.

The AP reports that Marquez has outsold everything published in Spanish except the Bible.