,type=downsize)
With the passing of Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa, many aspects of his fascinating life have come back into the spotlight. Among them is the infamous fight that ended his friendship with Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez.
In the 1960s and 70s, their literary bond—two geniuses without any hint of rivalry—was the most admired. But everything changed the day Vargas Llosa punched García Márquez.
© Getty ImagesThe reason? No one knows for sure. Neither of them ever spoke publicly about it. But two main theories have circulated over the years: one suggests it was a personal issue involving Vargas Llosa’s wife, and the other points to political differences.
Their first contact was in 1966. García Márquez, who was in Mexico at the time writing One Hundred Years of Solitude, sent a letter to Vargas Llosa, who was living in Paris. That letter sparked a friendship that grew through ongoing correspondence for over a year and a half.
© The LIFE Images Collection/GettyThey became such close friends that they even considered writing a novel together.
They met face-to-face for the first time in August 1967 at the Maiquetía airport in Caracas, Venezuela. Their friendship only grew stronger from there—so much so that Vargas Llosa named his second son Gabriel Rodrigo Gonzalo, in honor of García Márquez and his two sons, Gonzalo and Rodrigo.
© Getty ImagesGabo and his wife, Mercedes Barcha, were even chosen as the child’s godparents.
After their meeting in Lima, they ran into each other again—this time in Barcelona, where they lived as neighbors. Gabo had moved there with his wife and two sons, supported by Carmen Balcells, a well-known literary agent.
Balcells extended the same offer to Vargas Llosa, who arrived in Barcelona in 1970 with his wife, Patricia Llosa, and their two children. Their friendship was so close that, that same year, Vargas Llosa published García Márquez: Story of a Deicide.
© Getty ImagesThey were such a dynamic pair that Chilean writer José Donoso highlighted their bond in Personal History of the Boom: “In Italy, for a writer like Vargas Llosa to write a book about another like García Márquez would be impossible. It would be like sci-fi for them to attend the same event without one poisoning the other's coffee."
Although they were close friends, their political beliefs didn’t always align. Gabo was friendly with Fidel Castro, while Vargas Llosa gradually distanced himself from communist ideals. Many believe that their differences may have played a role in the falling out. But it appears that the real issue had more to do with Mario's wife.
Writer Xavi Ayén, in his book Those Boom Years, clarifies that the rift between Gabo and Vargas Llosa was because of Patricia. In mid-1974, as the Vargas Llosa family prepared to return to Peru, Mario fell in love with another woman and left Patricia and their children.
© Bettmann ArchiveIn May 1975, Patricia moved to Barcelona, where she was welcomed and supported by the García Márquez family. Some time later, she and Mario reconciled.
The two writers crossed paths on February 12, 1976, at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City during the premiere of The Andes Odyssey, a documentary by Vargas Llosa about the survivors of the Uruguayan rugby team that crashed in the Andes.
According to Ayén, Vargas Llosa landed a heavy punch on García Márquez and told him, "This is for what you did to Patricia in Barcelona."
As far as anyone knows, they never spoke to each other again. Both avoided mentioning one another from that point on.
García Márquez and Vargas Llosa: both passed away in the month of April
© Getty ImagesBeyond being towering figures of the Latin American Boom, they also shared one of literature’s highest honors. García Márquez received the Nobel Prize in 1982, and Vargas Llosa followed in 2010.
As fate would have it, both authors—and former friends—passed away in the same month. Vargas Llosa died this past Sunday, April 13, while Gabriel García Márquez passed on April 17, 2014. In fact, the 11th anniversary of his death will be marked in just a few days.
© Getty ImagesWhen news of García Márquez’s death broke, Mario Vargas Llosa was one of the first people the media turned to. He shared a few words about the loss: "A great writer has died, whose works gave reach and prestige to literature in our language. His novels will outlive him and continue to win readers everywhere. I send my condolences to his family."
Now, following the passing of Vargas Llosa, the Gabo Foundation—founded by the late Colombian author—shared a tribute on its official X account: "The Gabo Foundation mourns the death of Mario Vargas Llosa, a master of Spanish-language storytelling and a key figure in Latin American literature. We stand with his family, friends, and readers in this time of loss."
