The presidents of Mexico and Colombia also attend the memorial service for the author of '100 Years of Solitude' who passed away four days ago at the age of 87.
- April 22, 2014
AceShowbiz -
A memorial service to remember Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez was held in Mexico City on Monday night, April 21. The presidents of Mexico and Colombia were among people who honored the Colombia-born author at the memorial service which was held at Bellas Artes Palace.
"We come as admirers and friends of Gabo from all corners of the planet. He will live on in his books and writings. But more than anything he will live forever in the hopes of humanity. Eternal glory to someone who has given us so much glory," Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said at the ceremony, as quoted by The Associated Press. President Enrique Pena Nieto, meanwhile, called Garcia Marquez "the greatest Latin American novelist of all time."
The late author's widow Mercedes Barcha attended the service in the front row alongside their two sons, Rodrigo and Gonzalo, and grandchildren. The author was previously cremated in a private ceremony. Thunderous applause erupted when the family placed an urn containing his ashes on a black pedestal surrounded by yellow roses.
Prior to the speeches, people from all ages lined up to pass by the urn. The service was also attended by Mexico City Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera and Rafael Tovar y de Teresa, president of Mexico's National Council for Culture and the Arts.
Garcia Marquez, who won Nobel Prize for literature in 1982, passed away at his home in Mexico City on Thursday, April 17. His 1967 novel "One Hundred Years of Solitude" has been translated into more than 25 languages. Other popular works include "Chronicle of a Death Foretold", "Love in the Time of Cholera", "The General in His Labyrinth" and "Autumn of the Patriarch".
