Gabriel Garcia Marquez .. 150 messages discovered in a “mysterious” box

On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the late Colombian writer Gabriel García Márquez winning the Nobel Prize for Literature for his 1967 novel “One Hundred Years of Solitude”, his granddaughter Emilia García Elizondo unearthed 150 letters from her solitude inside a mysterious plastic box, to open the season of celebrations honoring the famous writer. .

One of these celebrations took place, Thursday, in the house in which Marquez lived with his wife, Mercedes Barcha, from the eighties until his death in 2014, located south of the Mexican capital, Mexico City, while the second celebration took place, Saturday, at the Museum of Modern Art in Mexico.

It is known that “One Hundred Years of Solitude” for which Marquez won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982, has been translated into 35 languages ​​and sold more than 30 million copies, which explains why the celebrations on the occasion were not limited to specific nationalities, as happened at the Giza Culture Theater in Cairo, over which the Dayrut Culture Palace troupe presented an interesting show under the title “Death Foretold,” written by the late Colombian writer.

Regarding the echoes of Marquez’s interactive presence, to this day, in the countries of the Middle East, the Lebanese novelist Nermin Khansa told Sky News Arabia that “in the stories and novels of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, beauty flows and is formed in the combination of imagination and reality in a quiet world of purposeful imagination.”

She added, “In all of his books, stories and writings, he leaves immortal phrases that cross the times without fading their letter,” recalling that “Marquez, who said that the writer never finishes his novel but abandons it, will never give up our memory of his global novelist creativity.”

Detected messages

As for the plastic letter box that Emilia García Elizondro’s granddaughter discovered by chance while reviewing archives of photos left by her grandfather, “Descendants” was written on its label.

According to the Associated Press, Emilia, “and after she hesitated to open the box, her curiosity overcame her, and she found inside it 150 unpublished messages that Gabriel had received from well-known personalities, including the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, Cuban President Fidel Castro, former US President Bill Clinton and the actor and American director Robert Redford.

Emilia, a director of the Garcia Marquez Foundation, told the agency she was shocked to find the box in a closet on the second floor of her grandparents’ house.

She pointed out that “this discovery came as a surprise to the family, who had always believed that all of Gabriel’s personal letters and correspondence were at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin, which has the largest collection of the writer’s documents.”

Of the 40 messages displayed on Thursday, five were from Castro, one from Neruda, two from Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes, two from Mexican gangster subcommandant Marcos, one from Redford, one from American actor and director Woody Allen, and seven from Clinton.

In one of the messages of the former US president, dating back to December 28, 1999, Clinton wrote to Marquez telling him about a Colombian valento concert held at the White House, where he showed him the feelings that he and his wife Hillary had, describing that music as a “treasure”.

Clinton addressed the Colombian writer, saying that it “is a remarkable and wonderful contrast from the negative images often associated with his beautiful country.”

In addition, a letter written by Castro in his handwriting to Gabriel García Márquez, dated December 10, 2007, revealed what he had said about him being subject to a strict regime of exercises, saying that “he must not fail to comply with that regime, if he intends to continue to be useful to the revolution.” , according to the Associated Press.

It is known that the historical Cuban leader had contracted intestinal infections in late July 2006, forcing him to stay in hospital, and to cede power to his brother, Raul Castro, until his death in November 2016.

left marquis

It is worth noting that Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who was born in Colombia in 1927, was known as “Gabo” in Latin American countries, especially as the man defended Cuba, lived in Mexico, and was always proud of being first and foremost a Latin American.

He spent his early childhood away from parents, in pursuit of a living, drowning in listening to his grandfather, a retired colonel, who gave him political awareness since his childhood, and his grandmother, who was distinguished by telling folk tales and fairy tales.

At the beginning of his life, he worked as a journalist, before moving to the world of the novel, which he loved. In his literary approach, he collected a world in which fiction and legend are intertwined with daily life.

Gabriel García Márquez did not deny his leftist inclinations, but rather spoke out against the hegemony of the United States, and was a fierce defender of the policies of his friend Fidel Castro. After years of being denied entry to Washington, President Bill Clinton lifted the ban.

And about Marquez’s legacy in the world, especially in Arab countries, the author of the novel “Season of Migration to Freedom”, Lebanese writer Laura Makdissi told Sky News Arabia on this occasion: “The mention of Gabriel Garcia Marquez is associated with passion and sweetness,” adding that he is “a writer haunted by love.” And beauty, through his novels, introduces you to a world full of the magic of literature.”

Makdisi continued, “I read his masterpiece “One Hundred Years of Solitude” while I was a high school student, and my surprise was great… Then I read “Love in the Time of Cholera” and my surprise was even greater.

She concluded by saying: “Perhaps what distinguishes Marquez’s novels are those charming climates that touch a high human horizon, flowing feelings, and sweetness that flows like water through the senses to possess you the heart.”