Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquis of Vargas Llosa (Spanish: [?ma?jo ??a??as ??osa]; born March 28, 1936) is a Peruvian writer, politician, journalist, essayist, college professor, and recipient of the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature. Vargas Llosa is one of Latin America's most significant novelists and essayists, and one of the leading writers of his generation. Some critics consider him to have had a larger international impact and worldwide audience than any other writer of the Latin American Boom. Upon announcing the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature, the Swedish Academy said it had been given to Vargas Llosa "for his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual's resistance, revolt, and defeat". Vargas Llosa is currently a visiting Professor in the Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University.Vargas Llosa rose to fame in the 1960s with novels such as The Time of the Hero (La ciudad y los perros, literally The City and the Dogs, 1963/1966), The Green House (La casa verde, 1965/1968), and the monumental Conversation in the Cathedral (Conversación en la catedral, 1969/1975). He writes prolifically across an array of literary genres, including literary criticism and journalism. His novels include comedies, murder mysteries, historical novels, and political thrillers. Several, such as Captain Pantoja and the Special Service (1973/1978) and Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter (1977/1982), have been adapted as feature films.Many of Vargas Llosa's works are influenced by the writer's perception of Peruvian society and his own experiences as a native Peruvian. Increasingly, however, he has expanded his range, and tackled themes that arise from other parts of the world. In his essays, Vargas Llosa has made many criticisms of nationalism in different parts of the world, among others in Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia. Another change over the course of his career has been a shift from a style and approach associated with literary modernism, to a sometimes playful postmodernism.Like many Latin American writers, Vargas Llosa has been politically active throughout his career; over the course of his life, he has gradually moved from the political left towards liberalism or neoliberalism. While he initially supported the Cuban revolutionary government of Fidel Castro, Vargas Llosa later became disenchanted with the policies of the Cuban President. He ran for the Peruvian presidency in 1990 with the center-right Frente Democrático (FREDEMO) coalition, advocating neoliberal reforms, but lost the election to Alberto Fujimori. He is the person who, in 1990, "coined the phrase that circled the globe", declaring on Mexican television, "Mexico is the perfect dictatorship", a statement which became an adage during the following decade.
Complutense University of Madrid, National University of San Marcos, Leoncio Prado Military Academy, Complutense University of Madrid, National University of San Marcos, Leoncio Prado Military Academy
Nationality
Peruvian
Spouse
Julia Urquidi
Children
Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, Morgana Vargas Llosa
Parents
Dora Llosa Ureta, Ernesto Vargas Maldonado, Ernesto Vargas Maldonado, Dora Llosa Ureta
Nobel Prize in Literature, Miguel de Cervantes Prize, Premio Planeta de Novela, Rómulo Gallegos Prize, Princess of Asturias Award for Literature, Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, Jerusalem Prize for the Freedom of the Individual in Society, Menéndez Pelayo International Prize, Maria Moors Cab...
Nominations
Neustadt International Prize for Literature, Man Booker International Prize, Neustadt International Prize for Literature, Man Booker International Prize
Movies
The Feast of the Goat, Captain Pantoja and the Special Services, Tune in Tomorrow, The City and the Dogs, Pantaleón y las visitadoras, Los Cachorros, The Feast of the Goat, Captain Pantoja and the Special Services, Tune in Tomorrow, The City and the Dogs, Pantaleón y las visitadoras, Los Cachorros
TV Shows
El Chivo, El Chivo
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Quote
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Words are acts... Through writing, one can change history.
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Fact
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Winner of the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature.
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Member of the jury at the Venice Film Festival in 1994.
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Member of the jury at the Berlin International Film Festival in 1984
$500 Thousand
