The works of Mario Vargas Llosa represent one of the most important works in Latin American literary culture. If you'd like to learn more about this distinguished writer, we invite you to read the following article.
Works by Mario Vargas Llosa
The space this great writer has occupied in Latin American literary culture leads us to believe he is at the top of the continent's most influential writers and essayists. Born in Arequipa, Peru, on March 28, 1936, his real name was Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas. He has distinguished himself as a great writer worldwide and in his political activities in his own country.
In 1993, Vargas Llosa acquired Spanish nationality, and is currently known as the Marquis of Vargas Llosa, a title bestowed by the King of Spain in 2011.
His works have been recognized worldwide and have received various literary awards. Among the most important are the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2010, the Rómulo Gallegos Prize in 1967, the Prince of Asturias Prize for Literature in 1986, and the Cervantes Prize in 1994, among others. It is also important to note that "The City and the Dogs" is one of his most emblematic works, marking a significant milestone in contemporary literature.
Fame came in the 60s with the publication of the novels "The City and the Dogs" (1962), "The Green House" (1965), and "Conversation in the Cathedral" (1969). He has written several essays and has excelled in various literary genres, including essays, narratives, and social satire. However, his greatest expression is in the novel, which has given him great satisfaction.
He has also distinguished himself as a distinguished journalist, with works related to political and literary criticism. Mario Vargas Llosa has also produced numerous plays and various crime and political chronicles, such as "Pantaleón y las Visitadoras" (1973) and "La Festa del Chivo" (2000), both of which have been adapted for film and theater.
His direct involvement in politics has not had the same impact as his literary work. During his youth, he expressed certain leftist views; however, later in life, he showed a tendency toward liberalism. A few years later, he participated in the 1990 Peruvian presidential elections, where he was soundly defeated by the politician and then-leader Alberto Fujimori.
Mario Vargas Llosa's works influenced the political and social life of Peru. These works reflect a range of themes connected to the sociopolitical life of his native country, reflecting the experiences he experienced during his youth. This paved the way for him to travel to Europe in the following years and showcase his talent, which earned him various honors and awards.
Biography
He was born in the city of Arequipa, southern Peru, in 1936. His father, Ernesto Vargas Maldonado, who died in 1979, and his mother, Dora Llosa Ureta, who died in 1995, were separated before Mario was born. However, they divorced two years after his birth. His early life was spent with his mother and her family.
At a young age, he moved with his maternal family to Bolivia, where his grandfather had decided to emigrate for economic reasons. There, his grandfather found a job managing a farm that allowed them to live comfortably for several years.
Youth
They stayed in Cochabamba for nine years, allowing Mario to study at the La Salle Catholic school. At the age of 10, he was informed that his father had died, which was false, but his family didn't want Mario to find out the truth.
By 1945, at the age of 11, he returned to Peru. His grandfather was a relative of the newly elected president, José Luis Bustamante y Rivero. He was appointed Prefect of the department of Perú, so his entire maternal family settled in the capital. Mario traveled with his grandfather to the city of Piura, where he was able to continue his studies.
In that city, he met his lifelong friend, the young Javier Silva Ruete, who years later would become Peru's Minister of Economy. Mario then studied at the Don Bosco School, which maintained a Salesian spiritual line, where he completed sixth grade.
By 1947, she managed to make contact with her father, who wasn't actually dead; so her mother decided to tell the truth. This allowed her to reunite with her husband and begin their married life anew. This led to their return to the capital, where they settled in the Magdalena del Mar region. They stayed there briefly, before moving to the city of La Peral in Callao.
Residential instability allowed Mario to develop open-minded thoughts and varied attitudes, where his first ideas focused on the realities he had seen during his various trips and moves, taking into account in his thoughts situations that could occur in other places.
His stay in this city allowed him to meet many people. On weekends, they would travel to a neighborhood called Diego Ferré, located in the Miraflores district, where he would visit his cousins and friends, forging several friendships, and even meeting his first loves, which he later reflected in various works some years later.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytx-HWe6CWA
His relationship with his father wasn't very friendly, which would mark his life forever. According to the writer himself, his father made him lead an uncomfortable and unpleasant life, leading him to harbor a great deal of resentment and hatred.
These differences arose because the young man was beginning to show signs of an inclination toward his literary education, and his father was in complete disagreement, waging constant war against him with violent actions, even going so far as to throw away his books, and when he referred to the subject of literature, he would shower him with insults.
On the other hand, Mario was not very well-liked by his mother's family either, which led to a situation where adversity surrounded him in his family environment, which also influenced his later life.
In 1950, Mario was already 14 years old and was sent by his father to a boarding school, the Leoncio Prado Military School in Callao. There, he completed his third and fourth years of secondary school, learning the intricacies of military regime and discipline. However, this helped him enormously in developing the art of reading at his leisure, which was his greatest passion.
It is believed that during this period Vargas Llosa's true calling for reading was born; the seed of a writer was just beginning to sprout. He devoured many books by French writers such as Alexandre Dumas and Victor Hugo; he had the privilege of having César Moro as a literature and French teacher.
By 1952, at a very young age, he began his career as a journalist at the Lima newspaper "La Crónica," where he wrote various journalistic reviews, including interviews, reports, and press releases. That year, he dropped out of school and left his job at the newspaper to return to the city of Piura, but this time he lived with an uncle nicknamed "Uncle Lucho."
He finished his last year of high school at San Miguel School in Piura, where he began working at a local newspaper where, in 1952, he performed his first play, "The Flight of the Inca."
Teenage and University life
In 1953, he entered the National University of San Marcos, studying in the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Arts, where he majored in literature. He became a member of university political movements through the Cahuide group, which was actually the Communist Party of Peru in disguise, as its legal activities were not permitted.
During this period, Vargas Llosa began his political activities, which he combined with his studies in law and literature. He fervently opposed the government in power, participating in various protests in squares and public places.
Some time later, he disassociated himself from this political group and became an active member of the Christian Democratic Party led by activist Héctor Cornejo Chávez, with whom he shared struggles to secure the highest office for José Luis Bustamante, who was then in exile. That goal was never achieved.
On the other hand, during that period Vargas Llosa began working as an assistant to the historian Raúl Porras Barrenechea on a project based on the period of the Spanish conquest of Peru; this literary project never came to fruition for various reasons.
First marriage
At 19 years old, he managed to marry a young woman named Julia Urquidi, his maternal aunt's sister. This young woman was 10 years older than Mario and had just been divorced. This relationship caused disapproval in Vargas Llosa's family, and the couple had to separate a few months later.
The writer maintained a sporadic relationship with the young woman and, to support her financially, received help from the historian Porras, who assigned him a series of assignments related to historical research projects. Vargas Llosa was simultaneously working on up to seven research and writing projects.
He also worked at the National Club library as an assistant for the institutional newspaper, where he wrote various articles related to the country's social and political life. He also worked on inspecting gravestones at the Presbítero Matías Maestro Cemetery in the Peruvian capital.
His income increased considerably; at the same time, he had also secured a stable job at Radio Panamericana, where he worked as a journalist and was able to establish himself for a while.
From that moment on, he began a life closely linked to literature. Taking his career seriously, he decided to begin publishing some works that appeared in the newspaper "El Comercio."
First literary essays
In 1956, his first work, "El abuelo," was published in the aforementioned newspaper. He also published a literary work titled "Los jefes," which was featured in the magazine "Mercurio" that same year.
In late 1957, a French publication called La Regué Françoise offered a short story contest for new Latin American writers; Vargas Llosa entered the short story "El desafio" (The Challenge), winning first prize.
This consisted of a fifteen-day stay in the French capital, and in January 58, he arrived in Paris to enjoy his prize. However, his stay in the French capital lasted more than a month; there, he made contact with various intellectuals and writers, seeking information and content that would help him develop as a writer.
Upon his return to Lima, he graduated with a bachelor's degree from the National University of San Marcos. There, he wrote a thesis on the life and work of Rubén Darío, which earned him a special merit award from the academic authorities.
He was also declared the most distinguished student in the field of literature that year; this honor earned him admission to the university's literature chair the following year.
He received a scholarship that allowed him to study at the Complutense University of Madrid, Spain. But before traveling to the old continent, he decided to undertake a series of trips through the Peruvian Amazon in order to understand and master the concepts of nature more directly. From this came the works "The Green House," "Pantaleón," "Las Visitadoras," and "El Hablador."
Studies in Europe
By 1960, his scholarship period was coming to an end, and he decided to move to Paris to seek renewal. However, this was not possible. It is important to note that during his stay in Europe, he had been accompanied by his wife, Julia.
Mario Vargas Llosa decided to stay in Paris despite his dire financial situation and began writing profusely. However, this situation distanced his intimacy with his wife and allowed their relationship to cool, leading to his divorce from Julia a few years later.
Mario Vargas Llosa's first international novel was "The City and the Dogs." Through a friend named Claude Couffon, he met Carlos Barral, director of the Spanish publishing house Seix Barral, who offered to publish it in 1961, and the following year he won the Biblioteca Breve Prize.
In 1966, Vargas Llosa married his first cousin and maternal niece of his first wife, Julia; the young woman named Patricia Llosa Urquidi, daughter of his maternal uncle Luis Llosa Ureta and Olga Urquidi Illanes, who remained in Peru.
With Patricia, he had three children: the first, named Álvaro Vargas Llosa, born in 1966, who is currently a writer and editor; the second, named Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, born in 1967, who held an important position for a time as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; and Morgana Vargas Llosa, born in 1974, who is a professional photographer.
That same year, the Casa Verde publishing house acquired the rights to the novel and also proposed that Mario Vargas Llosa become its literary agent, also offering a short film that would provide him with a stable financial support until the writing of the next novel, "Conversation in the Cathedral."
The contract established that the publisher would be the sole publisher, creating a team in which Vargas Llosa would be the exclusive agent for publishing these works. This allowed the fledgling writer to retain ownership of his own works and not only guarantee his financial stability but also a publishing house that would allow him to publish subsequent works.
By 1971, Vargas Llosa was destined to become a world-renowned writer and, under the direction of Professor Alonso Zamora Vicente, he obtained a doctorate in philosophy and literature from the Complutense University of Madrid, with a cum laude grade and an honorary award for his thesis entitled "García Márquez, Language and Structure of his Narrative Work, History of a Deicide."
It was 1975 when Vargas Llosa was considered one of the most important writers of the Latin American genre; so much so that, the following year, he was invited to participate in the jury at the Cannes Film Festival. Vargas Llosa continued his work as a writer and journalist; however, during the 1982 World Cup in Spain, he participated as a sports journalist, as he was also a fan of the sport.
In 1983, his ex-wife, Julia Urquidi, decided to publish her personal memoirs, "What Varguitas Didn't Say," a true response to the novel he had written a few years before separating from her, "Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter." These memoirs contain details of their long-standing relationship and were released to the public in 2010.
Consolidation as a relevant figure
By the 90s, Vargas Llosa was appointed a member of the Royal Spanish Academy and in 1993 won the Miguel de Cervantes Prize. The following year, he was recognized with merits and honors, including honorary doctorates from numerous Spanish and French universities. His works have been translated into more than 35 languages.
In 2015, a controversy arose regarding his image. According to the Spanish magazine Hola, the writer was allegedly having an affair with Isabel Presley. This situation prompted Mario Vargas Llosa to explain that he was indeed separated from his second wife, Patricia, but he did not explain the controversial images that had appeared in the magazine.
By 2016, Vargas Llosa had formalized his divorce from Patricia, leading to the assumption that his affair with Isabel Presley was real. However, this situation was never clarified. The writer continued his literary activities and participated in various literary artistic movements, affiliated with various intellectual and political clubs.
To date, Mario Vargas Llosa's work is one of the most important in the Hispanic world; it has been read by more than 30 million people and is internationally acclaimed.
He has also been a protagonist in several political situations, particularly related to the leftist movement that emerged in Latin America during the 2000s with the rise of President Hugo Chávez to power in Venezuela.
Personal activities
His intellectual level has allowed him to be a fan of art, but especially of music, sports, and painting. On several occasions, he declared himself a music lover (a collector and person who loves listening to music), especially of the works of composer Gustav Mahler.
He declared on many occasions that he was a fan of Latin American literature, a follower and friend of Gabriel García Márquez; on the day of the Nobel Prize in Literature award ceremony at the Cervantes Institute in New York, he expressed that the award was a recognition of the entire Spanish language.
He always expressed his commitment to what he did and said that every award he received was connected to the entire culture and heritage of his home country. He never subordinated Peru to Spain, nor vice versa; for him, both countries represent his two homelands: one that saw his birth and gave him his first literary knowledge, and the other that gave him his development and fame.
On several occasions he declared the following: "Peru is me," and he is grateful every day for his country having given him the privilege of being born in its land and, above all, of being a writer.
Regarding sports, he is a soccer fan, but above all, he is a fan of the Universitario de Deportes del Perú team; so much so that the team itself granted him the status of honorary lifetime member in 2011, in a ceremony held at the Monumental Stadium in Peru.
He worked as a sports editor and journalist on several occasions during his youth, working for various print media outlets, so much so that he was given opportunities to participate in the 1982 and 1986 World Cups in Mexico.
The awards and honors
One of Mario Vargas Llosa's most important works is that he was a permanent representative of Latin American and Hispanic literature. From a very young age, he began receiving awards and honors related to his literary work.
The Nobel Prize in Literature was the highest award ever received by Mario Vargas Llosa, and it is the prize every writer yearns for throughout their intellectual life. He also won the trilogy of awards that most of the most famous Latin American writers have received, such as the Rómulo Gallegos Prize in 1967 and the Cervantes Prize in 1994.
During his youth, he received the Peruvian National Novel Prize for his novel "Casa Verde," which also earned him the honor of winning the Prince of Asturias Award in Spain in 1986 and the Booksellers' Peace Prize in Germany in 1997.
In 1993, he was honored with the "El Planeta" award for his work "Lituma in the Andes." He was also awarded the Biblioteca Breve Prize in Peru in 1963 for his work "The City and the Dogs." This award marked the beginning of his remarkable literary career.
Mario Vargas Llosa's work also includes honorary mentions from various European and Latin American universities, such as being a member of the Peruvian Academy of Language since 1977 and a member of the Royal Spanish Language since 1994.
He has been awarded honorary degrees by various universities around the world; these include Yale University in 1994, the University of Lima in 1997, La Mayor de San Marcos University in 2001, Oxford in 2003, the European University of Madrid in 2005, the Sorbonne University in the same year, the Simón Bolívar University of Alicante in 2008, the Carlos III University of Madrid in 2014, and the University of Burgos in 2016.
Other universities have petitioned for these honors in Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, and Colombia. Furthermore, Vargas Llosa's work has reached the city hall of his country and other Spanish regions. There is even a street named after him in the city of Logroño, Spain.
He was decorated by the French government in 1985 with the Legion of Honor, and also decorated in 2001 by the Peruvian government with the Order of the Sun, Grand Cross with Diamonds, which is considered in that country to be the highest decoration awarded to heroes and prominent figures.
In 2004, he received the Konex Mercosur Prize for Literature, awarded by the Konex Foundation, based in Argentina, and recognized as the most influential writer in Latin America. In 2008, the National Library of Peru honored him by naming the main auditorium after him, where he was even the guest of honor at its inauguration.
At the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature awards ceremony, Mario Vargas Llosa gave a moving speech, praising the influence of reading and fiction on Latin American writers.
He also noted that the award is a tribute not only to a writer, but to an entire region. A week later, he received the award from King Carl XVI Gustaf in the Stockholm Concert Hall.
That same year, he was awarded the Order of Arts and Letters, which establishes the award for extraordinary contributions to world literature and to the cultural development of the country. The ceremony took place in his native country. On February 4, 2011, the Royal State of Spain, through an official decree, granted him the title of Marquis of Vargas Llosa.
This honor allows him, and according to Spanish nobility legislation, to grant inheritance and lineage, where the decree itself states the following: This title of nobility is granted to Mario Vargas Llosa for his extraordinary contribution, universally appreciated, to Literature and the Spanish Language, which deserves to be recognized in a special way.
During the ceremony, Vargas Llosa, quite moved, said he should take this price with humor, since, in a republican state, it is a very kind gesture from the King of Spain. "I never imagined they would make me a marquis," he thanked Spain and the King, but nevertheless, he said he was a commoner and would die a commoner despite the title.
In 2011, he received the Order of the Aztec Eagle, Insignia, from Mexican President Felipe Calderón. This decoration is considered the highest award bestowed on a foreigner in Mexico. That same year, he received the Peruvian Order of Justice, Grand Cross, in his own country, presented by the President of the Supreme Court.
After receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature, Vargas Llosa is received by the University of San Marcos, who awarded him the Sanmarquina Medal of Honor in the degree of Grand Cross.
This is the highest award given by this institution; that same year, the university itself created a chair bearing his name and a museum containing various articles related to the writer.
Foreign Policy magazine, published in the United States, recognized him as one of the 10 most influential intellectuals in Latin America. This distinction was determined by popular vote, and readers were the ones who actually decided the top 10. Likewise, Mario Vargas Llosa's work was listed by Mexico's National Council for Culture and the Arts as the most important of recent years.
This institution also awarded him the Carlos Fuentes International Prize for considering Mario Vargas Llosa's various works as contributors to literary enrichment as a heritage of humanity.
In 2013, the Peruvian government and cultural organizations institutionalized the Vargas Llosa Prize for Latin American Novels, which serves to encourage young writers in the region; the award is presented annually.
The Miguel de Cervantes Virtual Library Foundation, along with 10 other Spanish universities, carried out a project to create the "Vargas Llosa" Chair, with the aim of promoting and supporting literary studies among contemporary students. The Chair also established the "Mario Vargas Llosa Biennial Novel Prize."
This award gives the winner a sum of 75.000 euros and is aimed at all the young talent dedicated throughout Spain to the movement and study of world literature, which allows the stimulation of the European literary movement. In 2013, he was awarded the Coexistence Prize in the city of Ceuta, Spain.
More important works
The works of Mario Vargas Llosa are considered by many experts to be literary masterpieces, imbued with a rich and beautiful narrative composition, allowing the writer to explore the thoughts he presents. He is the most accomplished of his generation, which makes him one of the most important writers in Latin American literature.
narrative features
Along with Gabriel García Márquez, he represents the expanding movement of contemporary Latin American writers. Mario Vargas Llosa's works value the sublime in experimentation and technical narrative, which creates a sense of elegance for those seeking narrative content.
The themes raised allow Mario Vargas Llosa's works to take readers to historical and cultural levels, allowing them to connect with cities, towns, and places that may even seem very similar to any Latin American country or even some regions of Europe.
In the novel "The City and the Dogs," a significant interest in the form and description of cultural and historical situations is evident, employing language that fascinates and satirizes any reader. These descriptions are accompanied by extensive situations and narratives that blend humor, comedy, and satire.
It's important to know that most of Mario Vargas Llosa's works, and even his most significant ones, were created abroad, especially in Spain and France; but his thematic influence originated in his native country. There, he depicts various experiences and everyday life that are subsequently presented in each of his works, which is a way of demonstrating cultural forms and traditions.
The marked influence of writers from precursor movements, such as García Márquez and Mártires, who proposed magical content and a different ideal, greatly influenced the ideas and works of Mario Vargas Llosa. These tragedies can be seen in certain passages of any of his novels in the magical and bizarre situations of a non-traditional novel.
Evolution as a writer
According to Vargas Llosa himself, his beginnings in literature and narrative began when he attended a play performed in the city of Piura, when he was just 16 years old. This play, entitled "The Flight of the Inca," allowed him to discover his true calling, which would later serve to develop his full talent.
Reading a few short stories published in newspapers and magazines shaped the literary character of this literary genius. Although he participated in a movement called the Generation of '50, which included several writers with a marked influence on local literature, Vargas Llosa chose to isolate himself from this movement. Although he does not deny it, it allowed him to appreciate certain literary contours and knowledge.
This training led him to discover forms of urban realism, which captured a real social situation that many didn't understand. He also learned to differentiate between literary neorealism and the form of expression found in Italian cinema, and he became familiar with and immersed himself in the ideas of commitment of Jean-Paul Sartre.
His development as a writer allowed him to break some of the established molds of the country's writers; his thoughts are expressed in terms of reflecting the aesthetic independence he gradually developed after visiting Europe.
According to some scholars, Vargas Llosa's narrative work is divided into three main parts, and in chronological order, we can see the following: the first part includes works from the beginning of his career and during his youth, showing a form of social intuition that expressed the feelings of the regions he had frequented.
Beginning in 1973, the second phase begins with the publication of works such as "Pantaleón" and "Las Visitadoras," which question various social problems. The growth and technical complexity of his narrative are evident. We'll see a list of all the works mentioned below.
A third section covers what led to his consolidation as a writer and intellectual, developing works of a more technical and narrative level that earned him fame and various awards and honors. This period also covers his activities and endeavors as a public figure and icon within the current literary movement.
List of main works
Before describing Mario Vargas Llosa's main works, it is important to mention that his first book was titled "Los jefes" (The Bosses), a short story that earned him the "Leopoldo Alas Prize" in 1959. The rest of his publications are listed below in chronological order.
1952 The flight of the Inca, theater piece.
1957 The Challenge, story.
1959 The bosses, collection of stories.
1963 The city and the dogs, novel.
1966 The Green House, novel.
1967 The puppies, story.
1969 Conversation in the Cathedral, novel.
«Battle card for Tirant lo Blanc», prologue to the novel by Joanot Martorell.
1971 Secret history of a novel and García Márquez: history of a deicide, literary essay.
1973 Pantaleón and the visitors, novel.
1975 The Perpetual Orgy: Flaubert and Madame Bovary, literary essay.
1977 Aunt Julia and the writer, novel.
1981 The lady of Tacna, theater, The war of the end of the world, novel and Between Sartre and Camus, essays.
1983 Kathie and the hippopotamus, theater and Against all odds, political and literary essays.
1984 Historia de Mayta, novel and La sumptuous abundance, essay on Fernando Botero.
1986 Against all odds reissue, La Chunga, theater, and Who killed Palomino Molero?, police novel.
1987 The talker, novel.
1988 Praise of the stepmother, novel.
1989 Translation from French and prologue to the story by Arthur Rimbaud, A heart under the cassock.
1990 Against All Odds, Volume III (1983–1990), The Truth of Lies, literary essays. The film Tune in Tomorrow, based on Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter, is released.
1991 A writer's reality, a collection of lectures given at Syracuse University.
1992 «A sad and fierce man», essay on George Grosz.
1993 The fish in the water, memories, The crazy of the balconies, theater, and Lituma in the Andes, novel.
1994 Challenges to Freedom, essays on the culture of freedom, Pretty Eyes, Ugly Pictures, radio play broadcast by the BBC in London.
1996 The Archaic Utopia, José María Arguedas and the Fictions of Indigenism, essay, Making Waves, selection of essays from Against All Odds.
1997 Don Rigoberto's notebooks, novel and Letters to a young novelist, literary essay.
2000 La fiesta del Chivo, novel, The Language of Passion, a selection of articles from the «Touch Stone» series, published between 1992 and 2000, in the Madrid newspaper El País, and other newspapers.
2001 Bases for an Interpretation by Rubén Darío, published by the National University of San Marcos. It was his graduation thesis in 1958, also Andes, texts for photographs by Pablo Corral, published by National Geographic.
2001 Literature and Politics, lecture given during the Alfonso Reyes Chair at the Monterrey Institute of Technology; Literature and Life, keynote lecture at the UPC (University of Peru).
2002 Revised and expanded edition of The Truth of Lies (Alfaguara), Paradise in the Other Corner (novel), and L'Herne. Mario Vargas Llosa, essays, correspondence, interviews, testimonies; Iraq Diary, articles on the war in Iraq that were published in El País, with photographs by his daughter Morgana Vargas Llosa.
2003, Palma, national value Text by Vargas Llosa read in the Alameda Ricardo Palma in Miraflores, before the bust of the traditionalist, in the tribute paid to him on October 6, 1956.
2004 The temptation of the impossible, essay on Les Misérables by Victor Hugo, Complete Works. Volume I Narrations and novels (1959-1967) and Volume II Novels (1969-1977), published by Galaxia Gutenberg / Círculo de Lectores (Spain). Éditions de L'Herne publishes Un demi-siècle avec Borges, interview and essays on Borges from 1964 to 1999 (published only in French).
2004 Living Statue, poem by Mario Vargas Llosa and stone lithographs by Fernando de Szyszlo, Ediciones Arte Dos Gráfico, Bogotá, Colombia.
2005 Complete Works, Volume III Novels and Theater (1981-1986), published by Galaxia Gutenberg and Dictionnaire amoureux de l'Amérique latine, essays compiled and translated into French by Albert Bensoussan and Plon Publishing House.
2006 Israel/Palestine. Peace or Holy War, a collection of articles written during his visit to these countries; the film The Feast of the Goat, based on the novel and directed by Luis Llosa, is released; The Bad Girl's Tricks, a novel, is published; and the Círculo de lectores publishes Complete Works. Volume VI Literary Essays I,
2007 Odysseus and Penelope, theater, Dialogue of ladies, poems and Touchstones. Essays on Literature, Art and Politics, essays selected, translated and edited by John King, and published in English by Faber & Faber. Complete works. Volume IV Novels and Theater (1987-1997), published by Galaxia Gutenberg / Círculo de Lectores.
2008: Wellsprings, lectures and essays, published in English by Harvard University Press; publication of At the Foot of the Thames, a play, and The Journey to Fiction. The World of Juan Carlos Onetti, an essay.
2009 Sabers and Utopias, Visions of Latin America, a selection of essays on Latin American politics, literature, and art; and One Thousand and One Nights, a play.
2010 Fonchito and the moon, children's story, The Celt's Dream, novel and Complete Works. Volume V Novels (2000-2006), published by Galaxia Gutenberg / Círculo de Lectores.
2012 The Civilization of the Spectacle, an essay on contemporary culture; Collected Works. Volume IX, Touchstone I (1962–1983); Volume X, Touchstone II (1984–1999); Volume XI, Touchstone III (2000–2012), published by Galaxia Gutenberg / Círculo de Lectores.
2013 The discreet hero, novel.
2014 The children's boat, children's story, Praise of education, selection of articles by Carlos Granés.
2015 Tales of the Plague, theater, El Alejandrino. Tribute to Cavafy, artist's book. Contains MVL's verse with lithographs by Fernando de Szyszlo.
2016 Five corners, story.
Interviews
- 1971: Writers' Things. Gabriel García Márquez, Mario Vargas Llosa, Julio Cortázar. With journalist Ernesto González Bermejo.
- 1972 The Vulture and the Phoenix. Conversations with Mario Vargas Llosa and journalist Ricardo Cano Gaviria.
- 1974 Twenty-four by twenty-four, with Ana María Moix.
- 1974 Latin American Galaxy. Seven years of interviews, with Jean Michel Fossey.
- 1986 Dialogue with Vargas Llosa with Ricardo A. Setti.
- 1997 Pilgrims of the language with Alfredo Barnechea.
- 2003 Mario Vargas Llosa. Life in motion, with Alonso Cueto.
- 2004 Selected Interviews (2004). Selection, prologue and notes by Jorge Coaguila.
- 2011 The Unconquerable. With Beto Ortiz.
- 2014 Conversation with the Cathedrals. Encounters with Vargas Llosa and Borges. With Rubén Loza Aguerrebere.
- 2017 Conversation in Princeton with Rubén Gallo. Course on literature and politics around five books by Vargas Llosa: Conversation in the Cathedral, History of Mayta, Who killed Palomino Molero?, The fish in the water and The Feast of the Goat.
- 2017 Meetings with Mario Vargas Llosa, with Juan Cruz Ruiz.
- 2017 70 years of conversations with passing writers with Mary Ferrero.
Political activity
We initially suggested that, in his early days as a university student, Mario Vargas Llosa had been a member of the Peruvian Communist Party. However, upon seeing ideas and behavior that differed from his expectations, he decided to isolate himself and withdraw from that party. His political affiliation is strongly embedded in his narrative.
In several works we can observe the political tone that he attempts to demonstrate, although it is not known whether as a message or a way of expressing the true political meaning that Mario Vargas Llosa's works have in their narrative content.
70's
The writer directly participated in the revolutionary reforms regarding land grants and other reforms during the military regime of Juan Velasco Alvarado in the late 60s and early 70s, even describing the regime as bold and very creative in implementing several reforms.
However, his position regarding the closure of media outlets was categorical; he even went so far as to say that this type of government displayed signs of authoritarianism, which led to his distancing himself from the government's military-led political line by 1975.
In 1976, he was elected president of the world writers' organization PEN, and during his tenure, he sent several letters condemning Argentine dictator Rafael Videla, denouncing the abuses and mistreatment of writers, intellectuals, and journalists; he criticized the way in which the persecution and murder of those who opposed the regime was carried out.
80s
His political career was not as successful as his literary career. However, by the 80s, the works of Mario Vargas Llosa had gained significant prominence, making him a public figure. His political activity was very active and for several years was characterized by his expression of leftist views, which later shifted.
In 1983, Peruvian President Fernando Belaúnde Terry appointed him to head the Uchuraccay Case Investigative Commission, which aimed to clarify the murder of eight journalists who had traveled to the village to solve the murders that had occurred in the Huaychao region.
The investigations carried out by Vargas Llosa initially determined that the military was not responsible for the massacre; however, another investigation determined that several military personnel were involved, and they were subsequently prosecuted and imprisoned.
In 1984, he headed the Council of Ministers, which formed an independent and impartial cabinet. After a while, Vargas Llosa resigned, believing that such a cabinet would not provide any solutions to the country's problems.
90s
By 1997, Vargas Llosa led a protest movement against the nationalization of Peruvian banking; President Alan García was in power. This allowed him to become a political leader, leading him to form the Liberal Movement, a political platform that allowed him to participate in the 1990 elections.
During the electoral campaign, Vargas Llosa had distanced himself a bit from literary activity and many thought that he was taking advantage of his world fame to run for political office.
However, during the election campaign, Vargas Llosa emerged as the favorite; however, the other candidate, Alberto Fujimori, made such a strong showing that a runoff was forced, where Vargas Llosa was ultimately defeated.
After the election, he moved to Madrid, and Alberto Fujimori's government threatened to strip him of his Peruvian nationality; he was declared stateless. This allowed him to apply to the Spanish government for Peruvian nationality through a letter of naturalization, which was later granted.
His criticism of the Peruvian political system continued abroad; he considered Alberto Fujimori's government a disguised dictatorship. He also criticized the Mexican government and considered the rulers of the 90s to be tin-pot dictators disguised as populist dictators.
Year 2000 onwards
Throughout his career, he has been a vocal critic of dictatorships and governments he considers authoritarian. In numerous articles, he has questioned these governments from various perspectives. In recent years, Vargas Llosa has espoused liberal political views, maintaining communication and ties with various right-wing leaders around the world.
In 2007, he participated in the launch of the Spanish Union for Progress and Democracy party, and was named an honorary member by the Progress and Democracy Foundation. He also directly supported the presidential candidacy of right-wing Chilean businessman Sebastián Piñera.
He also attended the inauguration of the Museum of Memory and Human Rights with President Michelle Bachelet, a ceremony commemorating those who fell during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. In 2011, he chaired the High-Level Commission for the establishment of Peru's Museum of Memory.
This movement was developed with the aim of honoring the victims of that country's internal armed conflict. In 2011, during the Peruvian presidential elections, it supported candidate Alejandro Toledo; however, when it saw that Toledo would not make it past the second round, it supported candidate Ollanta Humala, clearly opposing Alberto Fujimori's daughter, Keiko Fujimori, who had advanced to the second round.
During the presidential campaign, he was invited by Ollanta Humala to attend the swearing-in ceremony for the Commitment to the Defense of Democracy, held at the National University of San Marcos. However, Vargas Llosa was unable to attend, and those present were able to watch a video that the writer himself had sent.
With one week to go before the elections, Mario Vargas Llosa broke off his employment with the newspaper "El Comercio," where he was a columnist. He felt that the newspaper had become a propaganda machine for Keiko Fujimori and, in its eagerness to prevent Ollanta Humala's victory by all means, was violating the most basic notions of journalistic objectivity and ethics on a daily basis.
When the 2011 election concluded, Ollanta Humala had won. Vargas Llosa declared that his fight for democracy had ended at that moment and that with the defeat of the dictatorship, his work was done.
On the other hand, he was a strong critic of the populist policies of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, with whom he had numerous disagreements.
One of his last political activities was during the 2017 Catalan independence referendum; the writer stated his position, claiming to be pro-independence and sympathetic to the ideas of Catalan civil society.
In 2019, he resigned from the PEN after the organization took a position on the release of pro-independence activists Jordi Sánchez Picanyol and Jordi Cuixart in Spain. To date, no significant participation has been noted.
relationship with the communication media
Mario Vargas Llosa's work reveals an important role in journalism, and especially in the media. His presence in these fields has earned him significant participation, which has helped shape his public image over more than four decades.
His first newspaper article appeared in May 1960, in issue 198 of Caretas magazine. By 1977, he had begun a column in the same magazine called Piedra de toque, in which Mario Vargas Llosa analyzed meditation from a literary perspective. These columns have been widely read and have been published biweekly in the same magazine since 1997.
The topics Vargas Llosa has covered in his journalistic contributions include essays on contemporary figures, current affairs and open-minded debates, political themes and analyses of various dictatorial processes, treatises on democracy and globalization, and cultural themes.
He has also published some criticisms of the political activities of the Peruvian leaders in various media, being very direct and concise in his assessments.
In Spain, he worked for various media outlets, including a columnist for the newspaper El País for a time, writing commentaries on politics, literature, and art. He also contributed to numerous European magazines, which have also published speeches, commentaries, and reflections by the author or simply related to him.
Regarding television media, Mario Vargas Llosa's works have been showcased in all their splendor. In every decade or year in which the writer has published a book, a vast majority of television media outlets have made some kind of reference to him.
In the present era, we see how his relationship with interactive media has evolved, as well as with the arrival of social media. Information about Mario Vargas Llosa's works has been disseminated and shown to new generations; many students have had free access to his works through digital books.
He has been a regular on television and radio, as a contributor or special guest on numerous programs of various kinds. In fact, he once had his own television show in Peru, called "The Tower of Babel," although it didn't last long because Vargas Llosa himself stated that time didn't allow him to keep it on the air.
The fame and prestige of this renowned writer are thanks to his clever use of all media outlets. He has successfully positioned himself and developed a way of selling his image as an intellectual and literary figure.
He has navigated the show business jet set with great intelligence, associating with many internationally renowned artists, both in Spain and the United States. This influence has been so significant that several filmmakers have adapted two of his works into films, both of which have also been highly successful.
The criterion of the so-called Peruvianism
Some intellectuals worldwide have highlighted that one of the most important contributions of Mario Vargas Llosa's works is the way he included so-called Peruvianism in his narrative content, which has allowed many people around the world to appreciate this type of culture and tradition in a completely different way than it had been shown in other situations.
Certain writers, such as Marco Lovón Cueva, wrote a very interesting essay on this topic in 2012. Lovón explains that when studying the works of Mario Vargas Llosa, one is exposed to the Peruvian lexical heritage; one can also appreciate references to regional colloquial language and slang in its content.
This allows us to understand, intellectually and culturally, how communication is handled in different regions of our country, where the Peruvian language and Spanish are different from how they are handled in other regions of Latin America.
The expressions historians call "pueblerinas" allow us to describe the environment related to food, traditions, and beliefs in syncretized languages, giving a unique form to a uniquely Peruvian concept and form.
This type of language was widely used in other Latin American authors; for example, Rómulo Gallegos, García Lorca, Juan Carlos Onetti, and García Márquez, who regionalized narrative, presenting it as a form of cultural and traditional expression of their countries' language.
In Mario Vargas Llosa's works, we can appreciate how he develops this theme. He also delves deeper into this type of narrative, taking the language to a level of literary intellectuality, allowing many intellectuals and critics to experience a form of communication that is nonetheless rustic, yet neither vulgar nor provincial.
Peruvianism, then, is a way in which Mario Vargas Llosa's works allow us to know and understand the way of walking with a traditional language, where we can appreciate the cultural value of all Peruvian people.
Closing remarks
- The influence that Mario Vargas Llosa's works have had on contemporary art has allowed for the establishment of criteria where some screenwriters and film directors have developed themes for creating films based on the works of Mario Vargas Llosa. In Latin America, for example, and in his own country, some directors have produced interesting work. Let's take a look:
- "Sunday," an adaptation of the story of the same name, directed by his uncle Luis Llosa in 1970.
- "Los cachorros" was adapted for film in 1973 by filmmaker Jorge Fons; it won the Cultural Institute Award at the San Sebastián International Film Festival in 1972.
- "Pantaleón y las Visitadoras," directed by Mario Vargas Llosa himself and released in 1975, even featuring the author himself in a supporting role.
- "The City and the Dogs" is a version of the same name that was adapted into a film by Peruvian director Francisco Lombardi in 1985.
- "Jaguar" is a second adaptation of the short story "The City and the Dogs," which was filmed in Russia and directed by Chilean Sebastián Alarcón in 1986.
- "Tune in Tomorrow," an adaptation of the novel "Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter," was directed by Jon Amiel in 1990.
- "Pantaleón y las Visitadoras," another adaptation of the same novel, directed by filmmaker Francisco Lombardi in 1999.
- "The Feast of the Goat," one of the most popular and highest-grossing films, was adapted into a film by director Luis Llosa in 2005.
Likewise, the novel "Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter" was adapted for television as a telenovela in 1981; it was directed by David Stivel and met with moderate acclaim. Another telenovela adapted for the small screen, called "El Chivo," was released in 2014, inspired by the novel "La fiesta del Chivo" by Vargas Llosa. It was directed by Andrés Biermann, Rolando Ocampo, and Alfonso Pineda Ulloa.
There is a cameo (interpretation of a public figure in a series, soap opera or film) made in 2019, called "La pasión de Javier", where the Peruvian actor Sebastián Monteghirfo played Vargas Llosa when he met the poet Javier Heraud, during his stay in the French capital.
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