Colombians honor Garcia Marquez
Public readings, exhibits mark anniversary of Nobelwinning author’s death
BOGOTA, Colombia — From hundreds of public readings in Mexico to an exhibit in Bogotá displaying the typewriter off which flew the pages of “One Hundred Years of Solitude,” fans of Gabriel Garcia Marquez honored the Nobel laureate Friday on the first anniversary of his death.
Since his death of cancer at age 87, Garcia Marquez’s ability to delight audiences has only grown, his name cropping up on everything from several documentary films to a bottle of rum. His best-known work, “One Hundred Years of Solitude,” continues to crop up on best-seller lists around the world. Colombia’s congress is even debating legislation for putting his affable grin and bushy eyebrows on a new banknote.
Garcia Marquez’s native Colombia inspired and dismayed the author in equal measure, and the feeling was often mutual. The main memorial a year ago took place in Mexico City, the author’s home for decades, and the family’s decision to sell his personal archive to the University of Texas in Austin for $2.2 million irked Colombian sensibilities.
But any lingering resentment appeared to have lifted.
On Friday, the National Library in Bogota exhibited personal objects donated by the author’s family, including the gold Nobel Prize medal and the first Smith-Corona typewriter he used when writing “One Hundred Years.”
Across town, the National Museum displayed the traditional linen suit that the author wore when he accepted the Nobel Prize in 1982.
And the guest of honor at Bogota’s International Book Fair next week will be “Macondo,” the fictitious Caribbean town made famous by Garcia Marquez.