Fernando del Paso, one of Mexico’s most famous living authors who has made his home in Guadalajara for the past two decades, has been awarded the Cervantes Prize, the Spanish-speaking world’s highest literary honor.
Fernando del Paso
Del Paso told reporters Thursday that he felt “very flattered” by the honor. He was set to hold a press conference in Guadalajara on Friday morning. The prize, named for famed Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes, is worth 125,000 euros.
Born in Mexico City, Del Paso studied at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) and worked as an advertising copywriter before earning a scholarship to London, England, where he lived for 14 years and worked for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). He also lived in France, working for Radio France Internationale and serving briefly as general consul for Mexico in Paris.
“Noticias del Imperio”(“News from the Empire”), an epic historic novel based on the lives of doomed Mexican Emperor Maximilian and his wife Carlotta, is often considered Del Paso’s greatest literary work. It was published in 1987, awarded a slew of prizes and later translated into many languages. Other acclaimed works include “José Trigo” and “Palinuro de Mexico.”
On his return from Europe in 1992, Del Paso took charge of the Biblioteca Iberoamericana, a new library that had opened in Guadalajara. He was awarded the Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL) Literary Prize in 2007 and received an honoris causa doctorate from the University of Guadalajara in 2015.
Del Paso is also an accomplished painter.