Fernando del Paso, one of Mexico’s most honored novelists and poets and a longtime resident of Guadalajara, died November 14 at the age of 83, prompting a flood of eulogies across the cultural and political spectrum.
Del Paso won numerous awards throughout his life, among them the FIL Literary Award in Romantic Languages in 2007 and Spain’s prestigious Premio Miguel de Cervantes in 2015.
Born in Mexico City, Del Paso first studied medicine before switching to economics, and then realized that his real talent lay in writing. He worked as an advertising copywriter, journalist and broadcaster prior to publishing his first novel, “José Trigo,” in 1965. This historical portrait of the Mexican railroad of the 20th century received a cool reception at its launch but has gradually gained a reputation as one of Mexico’s most important works of literature.
In 1969, Del Paso won a scholarship from the Ford Foundation and traveled to Iowa to take part in the International Writing Program. He stayed there with his family until 1971, when he was granted a Guggenheim scholarship, which allowed him to move to London, England.
Del Paso lived in London for 14 years, working for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and later in France, where he worked for Radio France Internationale and served as Consul General of Mexico until 1992.
His second novel, “Palinuro de México,” published in 1977, drew on his experiences as a young medical student. Later in his life, Del Paso said it was his favorite novel to write.
Del Paso published “Noticias del Imperio” (News from the Empire), widely considered his master work, in 1987. This powerful and encyclopedic novel focuses on the tragic lives of Maximilian and his wife, Carlota, the short-lived emperor and empress of Mexico. Set 60 years after Maximilian’s execution, the narrative flows from Carlota’s fevered memories of her husband’s ill-fated empire to the multiple and conflicting accounts of a broad cast of characters who bore witness to the events that first placed the hapless couple on their puppet thrones, and then as swiftly removed them.
In 2007, Nexos magazine cited “Noticias del Imperio” as the most important Mexican novel of the previous 30 years.
Del Paso retuned to Mexico in 1992 to take up a position as director of the Universidad de Guadalajara’s Octavio Paz Iberoamerican Library, a job he held until his death this week.
He wrote his last novel, “Linda 67,” a tale of suspense and crime, in 1995.
In addition to his literary works, Del Paso was an accomplished artist. His works have been shown in major European cities and the United States, as well as the Instituto Cultural Cabañas and Ex Convento del Carmen in Guadalajara.
Marisol Schultz, director of the Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL), said the “entire Mexican literary community is in mourning.”
In a tweet, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto paid tribute to Del Paso’s “invaluable legacy,” noting how he “enriched Mexico’s cultural patrimony.”