Internationally beloved Nobel laureate and author, Gabriel Garcia Márquez, 87, died Thursday, April 17. He had been hospitalized earlier in the month for pneumonia. Originally from Colombia, the author of One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera was living in Mexico City. He was hailed as the most significant Spanish-language writer since Cervantes (author of Don Quixote in the 16^th century)—Poet Pablo Neruda, in Time magazine, said One Hundred Years of Solitude was “the greatest revelation in the Spanish language since… Don Quixote.” Marquez’s novel is alleged to have sold over fifty million copies worldwide.

In reporting his death, The Washington Post wrote: “[he was a] writer who immersed the world in the powerful currents of magic realism, creating a literary style that blended reality, myth, love and loss in… emotionally rich novels that made him one of the most revered and influential writers of the 20^th century.”

In a televised speech the following the news of his death, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos declared a national mourning period of three days. A Tweet from Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto called Márquez “one of the greatest writers of our time.” Santos tweeted, “Giants never die.”

Read more at The Guardian, The Los Angeles Times, and The New York Times.

Primary Source: CNN