R.I.P. Carlos Fuentes

“No existe la libertad, sino la búsqueda de la libertad, y esa búsqueda es la que nos hace libres.” – Carlos Fuentes

Reports are coming in that literary Titan, Carlos Fuentes has died at age 83. The President of Mexico himself Tweeted that the author died and Elena Poniatowska, tweeted that she was deeply lamenting his death. As am I.

Carlos Fuentes was a beacon for me and a revelation. He taught me that MExicans were writers, that they were literary, that they loved language and story. I knew that of course, from my family and culture, but reading Carlos Fuentes really drove it home. He brought to my budding love of reading, a passion for Mexican literature, for learning to read in my grandparent’s native Spanish so that I could truly feel in my soul, the marvelous wonder that is our culture via the written word.

His body of work is incredible. This is just a list of the novels alone, you can find essays, theater, and more all over the internet:

Novels

La Región Más Transparente (The Most Transparent Region) (1958) ISBN 978-970-58-0014-6
Las Buenas Conciencias (The Good Conscience) (1961) ISBN 978-970-710-004-6
Aura (1961) ISBN 978-968-411-181-3
The Death of Artemio Cruz (1962) ISBN 978-0-374-52283-4
Cambio de piel (A Change of Skin) (1967)
Zona sagrada (Holy Place) (1967)
Cumpleaños (Birthday) (1969)
Terra Nostra (1975)
La cabeza de la hidra (The Hydra Head) (1978)
Agua quemada (Burnt Water) (1980)
Una familia lejana (Distant Relations) (1980)
Orquídeas a la luz de la luna (1982)
Gringo viejo (The Old Gringo) (1985)
Cristóbal Nonato (Christopher Unborn) (1987)
Ceremonias del alba (1991)
The Campaign (1992)
El naranjo (The Orange Tree) (1994)
Diana o la cazadora solitaria (Diana: the Goddess Who Hunts Alone) (1995)
La frontera de cristal (The Crystal Frontier: A Novel of Nine Stories) (1996)
Los años con Laura Díaz (The Years With Laura Diaz) (1999)
Instinto de Inez (Inez) (2001)
La Silla del Águila (The Eagle’s Throne) (2003)
Todas las Familias Felices (Happy Families) (2006), ISBN 987-04-0557-6
La Voluntad y la Fortuna (Destiny and Desire) (2008), ISBN 978-1400068807

Rest in peace Don Carlos, que duermes con los angelitos.

As is usual at AmoXcalli, we’ll be posting links about Mr. Fuentes throughout the next few days, rounding up in both English and Spanish, the words of the world as they mourn a Master.

Spanish

Carlos Fuentes Oficial