Spain-Peru Nobel Prize laureate Mario Vargas Llosa is already in Paris for a week that blends celebration with a touch of ceremony. A reception is planned for Thursday at the French Academy, an event that will see Llosa accompanied by his ex-wife, Patricia Llosa Urquidi, and their children as the family promotes the occasion through social networks today.
In a post that accompanied the family photo, Álvaro Vargas Llosa, the couple’s first child, wrote on his social media that they were in Paris for what he called the eve of significant events. The image shows the trio seated together, resting between commitments.
Earlier in the day, Morgana Vargas Llosa, a photographer and another member of the family, shared details about the trip. The message was hopeful and reflective, emphasizing resilience and the reasons to celebrate life despite recent challenges.
Vargas Llosa, aged 86, is poised to be the first Spanish-language writer to be admitted to the French Academy, a century-old institution responsible for preserving the language of Molière and shaping its evolution in modern times.
The public reception for the author of the novel La fiesta del Chivo will unfold as a formal ceremony in a small audience at the Amphitheatre of the French Institute. Attending will be several esteemed guests, including former King Juan Carlos I of Spain and his daughter Infanta Cristina, who were invited by Vargas Llosa himself. The event marks a milestone in a career that has long been associated with contemporary literary discussions in Europe.
Vargas Llosa’s election to the Academy took place in November 2021. Since then, the 2010 Nobel Prize winner has faced criticism from some French intellectual circles for not writing in French and for political positions that some perceive as leaning toward the right. These debates have accompanied his literary and public life in the months leading up to the ceremony.
The Academy, established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, sets an age limit of 75 for new immortals, a rule sometimes questioned given the prestige of the seats. The graduating class has been celebrated since 2010 as the immortals with the motto À l’immortalité, an emblem of their enduring influence in French letters. Vargas Llosa will take the 18th chair, which became vacant after philosopher Michel Serres passed away in 2019.
The moment is seen as a testament to the global reach of Vargas Llosa’s work and its impact on the canon of modern literature. In Paris, the ceremony will be watched closely by literary circles and cultural institutions, reflecting long-standing ties between Latin American authors and French intellectual life. [Source: cultural press coverage]