Peruvian author and 2010 Nobel Prize winner in Literature, Mario Vargas Llosa, has died at the age of 89, his family confirmed on Sunday, April 13, 2025, in Lima. His passing marks the end of an era for Latin America’s golden age of literature.
“It is with deep sorrow that we announce that our father, Mario Vargas Llosa, passed away peacefully in Lima today, surrounded by his family,” wrote his eldest son, Alvaro, in a message on X, jointly signed by his siblings Gonzalo and Morgana Vargas Llosa.
Vargas Llosa, born into a middle-class family in Peru, rose to global acclaim as one of the key figures of the Latin American literary “boom” of the 1960s and 1970s, alongside literary giants such as Colombia’s Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Argentina’s Julio Cortázar.
In recent months, speculation had mounted about his health as he withdrew from public appearances. Back in October, Alvaro had shared that his father was “on the verge of turning 90, an age when you have to reduce the intensity of your activities a little.”
The family, in their statement, acknowledged the inevitable grief: “The writer’s passing will sadden his relatives, his friends and his readers around the world. But we hope that they will find comfort, as we do, in the fact that he enjoyed a long, adventurous and fruitful life, and leaves behind him a body of work that will outlive him.”
No Public Ceremony
In accordance with Vargas Llosa’s wishes, there will be no public ceremony. “Our mother, our children, and ourselves trust that we will have the space and privacy to bid him farewell in the company of family members and close friends,” the siblings stated. His body will be cremated as per his instructions.
Outside his Lima residence, small crowds gathered quietly. Gustavo Ruiz, a longtime admirer, told national radio station RPP, “I didn’t believe it and I wanted to come close to his house since they are not going to give him a wake.”
David Marreros, a 30-year-old visual artist, said to AFP that Vargas Llosa had shown “that one can live doing what one is most passionate about.”
Tributes Pour In
Peruvian President Dina Boluarte took to X to express the nation’s loss: “The writer’s intellectual genius and enormous body of work will remain an enduring legacy for future generations. We express our sincerest condolences to the family, to his friends, and the whole world. Rest in peace, illustrious Peruvian for the ages.”
Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe honoured him as a “Master of Masters,” adding, “He leaves us a path for the future.”
Fellow Peruvian writer Alfredo Bryce Echenique reflected on the loss to the country’s literary world, telling RPP that Vargas Llosa’s “enormity” made his death “a sorrow for Peru.”
In the United States, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau also paid tribute. “To label him as just Peruvian would be a disservice because his themes and interests were timeless and universal,” he wrote on X. “He will live on in my bookshelves and many others in Latin America and around the world.”
Vargas Llosa had returned to live in Lima last year and had marked his 89th birthday on March 28. Days before, Alvaro posted three photos on X, showing the acclaimed author visiting places in Lima that had inspired his final two novels: Cinco Esquinas (“Five Corners,” 2016) and Le Dedico Mi Silencio (“I Dedicate My Silence To You,” 2023).
Renowned for his realistic portrayals of social and political life, Vargas Llosa’s early works—such as La ciudad y los perros (“The City and the Dogs,” 1963) and Conversación en la catedral (“Conversation in the Cathedral,” 1969)—remain seminal. Though his political views, particularly his conservatism, drew criticism from some South American intellectuals, his literary contributions remained widely respected.
His works have been translated into approximately 30 languages. A committed Francophile, he lived for several years in Paris and, in 2016, became the first foreign author to be included in France’s prestigious Pleiade literary collection during his lifetime. In 2021, he was named to France’s Academy of intellectuals.
Mario Vargas Llosa leaves behind not just a remarkable body of work, but also a legacy of passion, precision, and literary courage that continues to resonate worldwide.
