Gabriel García Márquez

Gabriel Jose de la Concordia Garcia Marquez, also known as Gabo (March 6, 1927 - April 17, 2014) was a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter, and journalist.
Marquez was concieved in a small town in Colombia, Aracataca. He originally studied to become a journalist. He began writing at the age of eighteen. His first books were based on his life.
He was best known for his novels One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967), The Autumn of the Patriarch (1975) and Love in the Time of Cholera (1985). His books were mainly about satire, solitude, magic realism, realism, and violence.
He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in December 1982. The reason was "for his novels and short stories, in which the fantastic and the realistic are combined in a richly composed world of imagination, reflecting a continent's life and conflicts".
Marquez wrote his last book in 2004. He retired in May 2008 because of his age and health.
Since 2012, Marquez was sick with Alzheimer's disease. He lived with his wife, Mercedes Barcha in Mexico City. Marquez died in Mexico City from pneumonia. He was 87 years old.
Early life
Marquez was born in Aracataca, Colombia. His parents were Gabriel Eligio Garcia and Luisa Santiaga Marquez. His father was a pharmacist. His mother left him at a young age and he was raised by his grandparents and father. He studied at the University of Cartagena.
Career
He started as a journalist, and wrote many famous non-fiction works and short stories. Marquez began writing at the age of eighteen. He began writing about living in an old house with grandparents.
He is best known for his novels, such as One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967), The Autumn of the Patriarch (1975), Chronicle of a Death Foretold (1981) and Love in the Time of Cholera (1985).
Most of his books are based or set in his birth_place, Aracataca. He mostly wrote books about realism or magical realism. His motifs included solitude and violence.
Nobel Prize
In 1982, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature "for his novels and short stories, in which the fantastic and the realistic are combined in a richly composed world of imagination, reflecting a continent's life and conflicts". When he was accepting the award, Marquez gave a speech called "The Solitude of Latin America".
Recent Work
In 2002, he published the memoir Vivir para contarla; the first of a projected three-volume autobiography. In 2004, he published another book named Memories of My Melancholy Whores. It caused many problems and controversies in Iran. This book is banned in Iran.
Movies
Several of his stories have inspired other writers and directors. In 1987, the Italian director Francesco Rosi directed the movie Cronaca di una morte annunciata, based on Chronicle of a Death Foretold, written by Marquez.
A number of movies have been made of Garcia Marquez's work. He also wrote some scripts for movies. He often worked with Carlos Fuentes for writing scripts. His famous book, Love in the Time of Cholera was also made into a movie in 2007.
Personal life
Marquez met his wife, Mercedes Barcha, when they were in college. They wanted to get married when they both finished college but Marquez was sent to Europe. When he returned, Marquez married Barcha in 1958.
Marquez had two sons with Barcha. His first son, Rodrigo Garcia, was born in 1959, one year after Marquez and Barcha were married. His second son, Gonzalo, was born in 1962 in Mexico. Rodrigo is a movie director and Gonzalo is a graphic designer.
Marquez and his family traveled by bus to Mexico. They settled in Mexico City. Marquez had always wanted to see the Southern United States because it inspired the writings of William Faulkner. Marquez lived with his family in Mexico City.
Health
In 1999, Garcia Marquez was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer. He went through chemotherapy and made a quick recovery. But, Marquez began developing side effects of old age which drove to his retirement in May 2008.
In 2012, Marquez became sick from Alzheimer's disease. On April 3, 2014, Marquez was hospitalized in Mexico. He had infections in his lungs and his urinary tract and was suffering from dehydration. Marquez later had pneumonia.
Death
Marquez died of pneumonia at age 87 in Mexico City, Mexico. His remains were cremated the next day.
Literary Work
Novels
Leaf Storm (1958)
No one writes to the Colonel (1961)
In Evil Hour (1962)
One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967)
The Autumn of the Patriarch (1975)
Chronicle of a Death Foretold (1981)
Love in the Time of Cholera (1985)
The General in His Labyrinth (1989)
Of Love and Other Demons (1994)
Memories of My Melancholy Whores (2004)
Short Story Collections
Big Mama's Funeral (1962)
Innocent Erendira (1972)
Eyes of a Blue Dog (1974)
Strange Pilgrims (1992)
Non-fiction
The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor (1970)
Clandestine in Chile (1986)
News of a Kidnapping (1996)
Living to Tell the Tale (2002)
References
Further reading
Other websites
Garcia Marquez at The Modern Word
1927 births
2014 deaths
Autobiographers
Deaths from pneumonia
Colombian journalists
People with Alzheimer's disease
Screenwriters
Short story writers