Mario Vargas Llosa facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
The Most Excellent
The Marquess of Vargas Llosa
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Vargas Llosa in 1988
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| Born |
Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa
28 March 1936 |
| Died | 13 April 2025 (aged 89) Lima, Peru
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| Citizenship |
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| Alma mater | |
| Title | Marqués |
| Political party | People's Liberty (2023–2025) |
| Spouse(s) |
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| Partner(s) | Isabel Preysler (2015–2022) |
| Children | 3, including Álvaro Vargas Llosa |
| Awards | Miguel de Cervantes Prize 1994 Nobel Prize in Literature 2010 |
| Seat L of the Real Academia Española | |
| In office 15 January 1996 – 13 April 2025 |
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| Preceded by | Juan Rof Carballo |
| Seat 18 of the Académie française | |
| In office 9 February 2023 – 13 April 2025 |
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| Preceded by | Michel Serres |
| Signature | |
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Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquess of Vargas Llosa (born March 28, 1936 – died April 13, 2025), known to most as Mario Vargas Llosa, was a famous Peruvian writer, journalist, and politician. He was one of the most important writers in the Spanish language and Latin America. Many people think he had a bigger impact around the world than any other writer from the Latin American Boom, a time when Latin American novels became very popular.
In 2010, he won the Nobel Prize in Literature. This award recognized his amazing ability to show how power works and how individuals fight against it, rebel, or sometimes lose. He also won many other important awards, like the Miguel de Cervantes Prize in 1994. In 2021, he was chosen to be a member of the Académie française, a very respected group in France that protects the French language.
Vargas Llosa became famous in the 1960s with novels like The Time of the Hero (1963) and The Green House (1965). He wrote many different kinds of books, including comedies, mysteries, historical stories, and political thrillers. Some of his books, like Captain Pantoja and the Special Service and Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter, were even made into movies.
His books often explored Peruvian society and his own experiences growing up in Peru. Later, he wrote about themes from other parts of the world. In his essays, he often criticized nationalism, which is when people have too much pride in their own country and think it's better than others.
Like many writers from Latin America, Vargas Llosa was also involved in politics. He first supported the Cuban government led by Fidel Castro. However, he later disagreed with their actions, especially after a Cuban poet was put in prison in 1971. After that, he became a liberal, believing in more freedom and individual rights. He even ran for president of Peru in 1990, but he lost the election.
Contents
Early Life and Family Background
Mario Vargas Llosa was born on March 28, 1936, in Arequipa, a city in southern Peru. His parents, Ernesto Vargas Maldonado and Dora Llosa Ureta, separated a few months before he was born. His father later had two more sons, Mario's half-brothers.
Mario lived with his mother's family in Arequipa. When he was about a year old, his grandfather became an honorary consul for Peru in Bolivia. So, Mario moved with his mother and her family to Cochabamba, Bolivia, where he spent his early childhood. His family told him that his father had died, because they didn't want to explain that his parents had separated.
Later, his grandfather got a job in Piura, a city on the northern coast of Peru, and the family moved back to Peru. In Piura, Mario went to elementary school at a religious school called Colegio Salesiano. In 1946, when he was ten, he moved to Lima and met his father for the first time. His parents tried to get back together and lived in a Lima suburb during his teenage years. In Lima, he went to a Catholic middle school.
When Mario was fourteen, his father sent him to a military school in Lima. At 16, before finishing military school, he started working as a journalist for local newspapers. He left the military academy and finished his studies in Piura. There, he worked for a local newspaper and saw his first play, La huida del Inca, performed on stage.
In 1953, Mario Vargas Llosa started studying law and literature at the National University of San Marcos in Lima. While at the university, he joined a group that believed in communism. He was drawn to these ideas because of the unfairness and corruption he saw in Latin America. In 1955, at age 19, he married Julia Urquidi, who was his maternal uncle's sister-in-law and 10 years older than him.
He began his writing career seriously in 1957, publishing his first short stories. After graduating from the National University of San Marcos in 1958, he received a scholarship to study in Spain.
In 1960, after his scholarship ended, Vargas Llosa moved to France, hoping for another scholarship. When he arrived in Paris, he found out his request was denied. Even with money problems, he and Julia decided to stay in Paris. He started writing a lot, even as a ghostwriter (writing for others without getting credit). Their marriage ended in divorce in 1964. A year later, he married his first cousin, Patricia Llosa. They had three children: Álvaro Vargas Llosa (a writer), Gonzalo (who works for international organizations), and Morgana (a photographer).
Writing Career and Famous Books
First Major Works
Vargas Llosa's first novel, The Time of the Hero (La ciudad y los perros), came out in 1963. The book is about students at a military school in Lima, based on his own experiences. This book became very popular right away. Critics were impressed by his lively writing and new storytelling methods. However, the book criticized the Peruvian military, which caused arguments in Peru. Some generals even said he was paid by another country to make the Peruvian Army look bad.
In 1965, he published his second novel, The Green House (La casa verde). It was praised immediately and showed that Vargas Llosa was a very important writer in Latin America. This book won the first Rómulo Gallegos Prize in 1967, beating out other famous writers. Many critics still think The Green House is one of his best works.
His third novel, Conversation in The Cathedral (Conversación en La Catedral), was published in 1969. This long and complex story is about Santiago Zavala, the son of a government minister, and his driver, Ambrosio. The book has a sad and hopeless feeling, making it one of Vargas Llosa's most serious novels.
Humor and Later Works
After Conversation in The Cathedral, Vargas Llosa's writing style changed. He started to use more humor. His first funny novel was Captain Pantoja and the Special Service (Pantaleón y las visitadoras), published in 1973. This book makes fun of some of his earlier, more serious works.
From 1974 to 1987, Vargas Llosa focused on writing but also did other things. In 1975, he helped direct a movie based on his novel, Captain Pantoja and the Secret Service, but it wasn't very successful. In 1976, he became the President of PEN International, a group for writers and human rights. He also traveled a lot to speak at universities.
In 1977, he published Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter (La tía Julia y el escribidor). This book is partly based on his marriage to his first wife, Julia Urquidi. She later wrote her own book, saying that his version of their relationship wasn't completely accurate. Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter is known for using language and ideas from popular culture in a literary way. It was made into a Hollywood movie in 1990.
Historical Novels and Other Themes
Vargas Llosa's fourth major novel, The War of the End of the World (La guerra del fin del mundo), came out in 1981. This was his first historical novel. It tells the story of the War of Canudos, a real event in 19th-century Brazil where a religious group fought against the national army. This book explored themes like strong beliefs and how people can act without thinking. Critics believe this is one of his greatest books.
After this, he wrote shorter novels. In 1983, he finished The Real Life of Alejandro Mayta (Historia de Mayta). This novel is about a leftist uprising in the Andes mountains of Peru. Later that year, he was asked by the Peruvian president to investigate a terrible event where eight journalists were killed. This experience later inspired his novel Death in the Andes (1993).
It took almost 20 years for Vargas Llosa to write another big work: The Feast of the Goat (La fiesta del chivo), a political thriller, published in 2000. This book quickly became very popular in Spain and Latin America and is considered one of his best.
In 2006, Vargas Llosa wrote The Bad Girl (Travesuras de la niña mala). This story is about a Peruvian man living in Paris who is obsessed with a woman he first loved as a teenager. In 2019, he published Tiempos recios (Harsh Times), which is about a coup (a sudden takeover of government) in Guatemala in 1954.
Political Involvement
From Support to Criticism
Like many other smart people in Latin America, Vargas Llosa first supported the Cuban Revolution led by Fidel Castro. He studied Marxism, a political idea, in college and was drawn to communist ideas after the Cuban Revolution succeeded. However, Vargas Llosa slowly started to believe that socialism (a system where the community owns and controls production) didn't fit with the freedoms he believed in.
His complete break with the Cuban government happened in 1971, when the Cuban government put the poet Heberto Padilla in prison. Vargas Llosa and other intellectuals wrote a letter to Castro, protesting the Cuban political system. After this, Vargas Llosa became a liberal, believing in individual freedom and limited government. He was against governments that were too controlling, whether they were from the left or the right.
Running for President
In 1987, he helped start a center-right political party called Movimiento Libertad and soon became its leader. In 1990, he ran for president of Peru as the candidate for a group of center-right parties. He suggested economic changes that would give more power to private businesses and free markets.
Even though he won the first round of the election, Vargas Llosa was defeated by Alberto Fujimori in the final vote. Vargas Llosa wrote about his experience running for president in his memoir, A Fish in the Water (1993).
Later Life and Interests
From the 1990s onward, Vargas Llosa mostly lived in Madrid, Spain, but he still spent about three months a year in Peru with his family. He also often visited London. He became a Spanish citizen in 1993, but he kept his Peruvian citizenship. He often said he loved both countries. In his Nobel speech, he said: "I carry Peru deep inside me because that is where I was born, grew up, was formed, and lived those experiences of childhood and youth that shaped my personality and forged my calling." He added: "I love Spain as much as Peru, and my debt to her is as great as my gratitude."
Mario Vargas Llosa was a visiting professor at Harvard University in the United States from 1992 to 1993. Harvard later gave him an honorary degree. In 1994, he was chosen to be a member of the Real Academia Española (Royal Spanish Academy), which is very important for the Spanish language.
Vargas Llosa was a big fan of music, especially Gustav Mahler. He also loved association football (soccer) and supported the Peruvian team Universitario de Deportes. He said in his book A Fish in the Water that he had been a fan of this team since he was 10 years old. In 2011, he was given an honorary lifetime membership to the club.
From 2015 to 2022, Vargas Llosa was in a relationship with Isabel Preysler. He passed away on April 13, 2025, in Lima, Peru, at the age of 89.
Writing Style and Influences
Story, Setting, and Main Ideas
Vargas Llosa's writing often combines historical events with his own personal experiences. For example, in his first novel, The Time of the Hero, his time at a military school helped him show how corrupt that place was. The corruption in the school also reflected the problems in Peruvian society at the time. Vargas Llosa often used his writing to point out problems in society, like unfairness and how powerful people can oppress others. One of his main themes was how individuals fight for freedom when they live under oppressive rule. For instance, his novel Conversation in The Cathedral is based on the harsh rule of Peruvian President Manuel A. Odría.
Many of Vargas Llosa's early novels were set in Peru. Later, he wrote about other parts of Latin America, like Brazil and the Dominican Republic. His travels for writing and speaking helped him find new settings for his stories. The War of the End of the World was his first big book set outside Peru. Even though it's about a historical event in Brazil, it's not a history book; it's a novel inspired by a non-fiction account. For The Feast of the Goat, which is set in the Dominican Republic and is about a dictator, Vargas Llosa studied Dominican history very carefully.
Modern and Postmodern Styles
Mario Vargas Llosa's works are seen as both modernist and postmodernist novels. His early books, like The Green House and Conversation in The Cathedral, are complex and serious, which are features of modern novels. However, his later novels, like Captain Pantoja and the Special Service and Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter, are lighter and more humorous, which are characteristics of postmodernism.
Interlacing Dialogues
Vargas Llosa often used a technique called "interlacing dialogues" in his novels. This means he combines two conversations that happen at different times, creating the feeling of a flashback. He also used this to show conversations happening in different places at the same time. This technique is a key part of his writing style. In The Green House, he uses it seriously to connect important events. In Captain Pantoja and the Special Service, he uses it for funny effects.
Literary Inspirations
Vargas Llosa's first inspirations were Peruvian writers who were trying new ways of writing. He wanted a style different from the traditional descriptions of rural life that were popular at the time. He also looked to writers from other countries, like the French writer Jean-Paul Sartre and the novelist Gustave Flaubert, who influenced his writing techniques.
One of Vargas Llosa's favorite writers, and perhaps the most important for his career, was the American writer William Faulkner. Vargas Llosa believed Faulkner was "the writer who perfected the methods of the modern novel." Both writers used complex changes in time and narration in their stories. For example, parts of The Time of the Hero were influenced by Faulkner's novel Light in August.
Vargas Llosa also wrote literary criticisms about other authors he admired, like Gabriel García Márquez and Albert Camus. He did this to show how these writers influenced his own work and to recognize a connection between them.
Impact and Legacy
Mario Vargas Llosa is considered one of the most important Latin American writers, alongside others like Gabriel García Márquez and Isabel Allende. Many of his stories have been translated into different languages, showing his success around the world. He is also known for his important contributions to journalism, which is something not many other Latin American writers have done. He is recognized for showing how literature, especially novels, can be used to comment on life in a meaningful way. He wrote more than a dozen novels and many other books and stories, and for decades, he was a leading voice for Latin American literature.
Several of Vargas Llosa's books have been made into movies, including The Time of the Hero and Captain Pantoja and the Special Service. Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter was made into an English-language film. The Feast of the Goat was also turned into a play.
Awards and Honors
Vargas Llosa won many awards for his writing. One very important award was the 1994 Miguel de Cervantes Prize, which is the most important award for Spanish-language literature. It's given to authors whose work has greatly improved the Spanish language. In 2002, he received the PEN/Nabokov Award.
On October 7, 2010, the Swedish Academy announced that Mario Vargas Llosa had won the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature. They gave him the award "for his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual's resistance, revolt, and defeat." People all over the world were happy about this decision.
On February 4, 2011, King Juan Carlos I of Spain made Vargas Llosa a Spanish nobleman with the title of Marqués de Vargas Llosa (Marquess of Vargas Llosa).
On November 25, 2021, Vargas Llosa was elected to the Académie française, a very prestigious group in France.
Honors from Countries
Austria
Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class
Chile
First Class of the Order of Educational and Cultural Merit Gabriela Mistral
Dominican Republic
Grand Cross with Silver Star of the Order of Christopher Columbus
France
Chevalier of the Legion of Honour
Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (1993)
Mexico
Commander of the Order of the Aztec Eagle
Peru
- Member of the Peruvian Academy of Language
Grand Cross with Diamonds of the Order of the Sun of Peru
Spain
- Hereditary Marquessate of Vargas Llosa, given by King Juan Carlos I of Spain
- Member of the Royal Spanish Academy
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Selected Awards
- 1967 – Rómulo Gallegos Prize (Venezuela)
- 1986 – Prince of Asturias Award for Literature (Spain)
- 1993 – Planeta Prize for Death in the Andes (Spain)
- 1994 – Miguel de Cervantes Prize (Spain)
- 1995 – Jerusalem Prize (Israel)
- 1996 – Peace Prize of the German Book Trade (Germany)
- 2002 – PEN/Nabokov Award (USA)
- 2010 – Nobel Prize in Literature (Sweden)
- 2012 – Carlos Fuentes International Prize for Literary Creation in the Spanish Language (Mexico)
- 2018 – Pablo Neruda Order of Artistic and Cultural Merit (Chile)
- 2020 – America Award in Literature (USA)
Arms
- Heraldry of Mario Vargas Llosa
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Coat of Arms as Marquess of Vargas Llosa
(2011–2025)
Selected Works
Fiction Books
- 1963 – The Time of the Hero
- 1966 – The Green House
- 1969 – Conversation in The Cathedral
- 1973 – Captain Pantoja and the Special Service
- 1977 – Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter
- 1981 – The War of the End of the World
- 1986 – Who Killed Palomino Molero?
- 1993 – Death in the Andes
- 2000 – The Feast of the Goat
- 2003 – The Way to Paradise
- 2006 – The Bad Girl
- 2019 – Harsh Times
Non-fiction Books
- 1993 – A Fish in the Water (his memoir)
- 1997 – Letters to a Young Novelist
Plays
- 1952 – La huida del inca
- 1981 – La señorita de Tacna
Images for kids
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Mario Vargas Llosa in 2012.
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Vargas Llosa wearing a cap from Universitario de Deportes, his favorite Peruvian soccer team.
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Mario Vargas Llosa receiving the Order of Educational and Cultural Merit Gabriela Mistral of Chile in 2010.
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Argentine writer Ernesto Sabato (left) with Mario Vargas Llosa (right) in 1981.
