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María Albarral
Marbella
Monday, 14 April 2025, 16:36
Peruvian writer and Nobel Prize winner, Mario Vargas Llosa, who died on Sunday 13 April aged 89 in Lima, had a close relationship with Marbella where he spent many summers with his family for decades. He was loved and respected by the people of Marbella, which is why the town hall has decreed two days of official mourning. Flags will fly at half-mast as a sign of respect in all municipal buildings. "Today is a sad day for the town and for the world of literature," said the Mayor, Ángeles Muñoz.
She went on to say, "Of all the places in the world, Vargas Llosa chose ours as a place of inspiration and rest and was undoubtedly one of our best ambassadors." Muñoz said that the writer "established very close ties with our town, actively participating in its cultural and social life. We will always remember him for his human qualities and his closeness."
Vargas Llosa would spend three weeks a year at the Buchinger Clinic. He took great care of his health and regularly took morning walks along the town's 'Paseo Marítimo' (promenade), as well as doing aerobic exercise.
He was also regularly spotted at the town's parties and charity events where he first went with his wife, Patricia Llosa Urquidi, and later was seen with partner, Isabel Preysler. Before the death of Preysler's husband, Miguel Boyer, the couple lunched at La Fonda, Marbella with the LLosas.
His importance in the town led to a primary school being named after him, leaving his mark forever on the educational community of Marbella.
'Adopted son'
There is also a street named after him and in 2014 he was named 'adopted son of Marbella. "I came here for the first time many years ago without knowing, of course, that from then on I would establish such a deep and permanent link between my life and this town. From then until now I have been a visitor every summer. I have always come to Marbella overwhelmed with tiredness after a generally very intense year, full of obligations, not always pleasant, of many trips and many worries," the writer said during his acceptance speech. At the time he said that he was still alive thanks to three things "in this order of importance: Literature; Patricia, my wife; and the Buchinger Clinic, that is to say Marbella".
Relationship with Malaga
Malaga was not only a refuge for Vargas Llosa, in recent years it has also been a cultural haven. The writer founded the Escribidores festival; a literary meeting between America and Europe promoted by the Vargas Llosa Chair, which held its first event in 2022. "Malaga has become a cultural centre of the first order," he said at the time.
The Nobel prize winner returned to the city the following year, on that occasion giving an opening talk with Cuban Leonardo Padura in which he praised the transformative power of literature. Vargas Llosa didn't attend the Malaga festival again after that, but Escribidores continues thanks to the support of the Junta de Andalucía, through the Centro Andaluz de las Letras. The last festival took place in February of this year with guests including Eduardo Mendoza, Elizabeth Strout, Javier Cercas, Sami Naïr and María Dueñas.
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