Mario Vargas Llosa

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Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquess of Vargas Llosa (born 28 March 1936), more commonly known as Mario Vargas Llosa (; ), is a Peruvian novelist, journalist, essayist and former politician. Vargas Llosa is one of Latin America's most significant novelists and essayists and one of the leading writers of his generation. Some critics consider him to have had a larger international impact and worldwide audience than any other writer of the Latin American Boom. In 2010, he won the Nobel Prize in Literature, "for his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual's resistance, revolt, and defeat." He also won the 1967 Rómulo Gallegos Prize, the 1986 Prince of Asturias Award, the 1994 Miguel de Cervantes Prize, the 1995 Jerusalem Prize, the 2012 Carlos Fuentes International Prize, and the 2018 Pablo Neruda Order of Artistic and Cultural Merit. In 2021, he was elected to the Académie française.

Vargas Llosa rose to international fame in the 1960s with novels such as ''The Time of the Hero'' (''La ciudad y los perros'', literally ''The City and the Dogs'', 1963/1966), ''The Green House'' (''La casa verde'', 1965/1968), and the monumental ''Conversation in The Cathedral'' (''Conversación en La Catedral'', 1969/1975). He writes, prolifically, across an array of literary genres, including literary criticism and journalism. His novels include comedies, murder mysteries, historical novels, and political thrillers. Several, such as ''Captain Pantoja and the Special Service'' (1973/1978) and ''Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter'' (1977/1982), have been adapted as feature films.

Many of Vargas Llosa's works are influenced by the writer's perception of Peruvian society and his own experiences as a native Peruvian. Increasingly, he has expanded his range, and tackled themes that arise from other parts of the world. In his essays, Vargas Llosa has made many criticisms of nationalism in different parts of the world.

Like many Latin American writers, Vargas Llosa has been politically active throughout his career. While he initially supported the Cuban revolutionary government of Fidel Castro, Vargas Llosa later became disenchanted with its policies, particularly after the imprisonment of Cuban poet Heberto Padilla in 1971, and now he identifies as a liberal and holds anti-left wing ideas. He ran for the Peruvian presidency in 1990 with the center-right ''Frente Democrático'' coalition advocating for liberal reforms, but lost the election to Alberto Fujimori. Since his exit from directly participating in politics in Peru, Vargas Llosa has advocated centre-right activists and candidates internationally.

Vargas Llosa is also one of the 25 leading figures on the Information and Democracy Commission launched by Reporters Without Borders.