Thousands bid Garcia Marquez farewell in Mexico

By
AFP
|
Thousands bid Garcia Marquez farewell in Mexico
MEXICO CITY: Mexico bid farewell Monday to its beloved adopted son, Colombian novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez, with thousands of fans filing past his ashes in a music-filled tribute to the Nobel laureate.

A coffee-colored urn containing his ashes was placed on a pedestal, surrounded by yellow roses -- his favorite flowers -- in Mexico City´s domed Fine Arts Palace.

Fans streamed to pay their last respects to the author of "One Hundred Years of Solitude," taking pictures as a string quartet played classical music.

Guests applauded when his widow, Mercedes Barcha, and sons, Rodrigo and Gonzalo, stood as honor guards at the ornate cultural center, where Mexico pays tribute to its late artistic icons.

The presidents of Mexico and Colombia delivered speeches to honor the giant of Latin American literature, who influenced generations of Spanish-language writers.

"We join together to pay tribute to the one who, from icy Stockholm in December 1982, touched the world by speaking about solitude in Latin America," said Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, referring to the day the author received his Nobel prize.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto called him "the greatest Latin American novelist of all time."

"We, Mexicans, love him and will always love him," he said.

Known affectionately as "Gabo," Garcia Marquez died Thursday in the Mexico City house where he lived for decades with his wife and two sons. He was 87.