She died at the age of 87 in Mexico
Inspired by Egyptian blood ... the departure of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's widow
Mercedes Barca was the love of Gabriel García Márquez's life. Archives
The Ministry of Culture in Mexico announced the death of Mercedes Barca, widow and inspiring Colombian novelist Gabriel García Márquez, 87, yesterday, in the capital, Mexico.
"I received with great sadness the news of the death of Mercedes Barca," Mexican Culture Minister Alejandra Frausto said in a tweet on Twitter. And she added, "Our deep condolences."
The cause of the death of Barca, who has lived in Mexico since 1961, was not revealed, but Colombian media reported that she was suffering from respiratory problems.
Garcia Marquez, Nobel Prize winner for literature in 1982, who was born in Aracataca, Colombia in 1927, died in 2014 in Mexico.
Colombian President Ivan Duque expressed his condolences to the family. “Today, Mercedes Barca, who was the love of the life of our Nobel laureate Gabriel García Márquez and his companion, died unconditionally,” he wrote, stressing Colombia’s “solidarity” with their family.
The "Gabo Foundation", the surname of the late novelist, and its full name "The Gabriel Garcia Marquez Foundation for the New Iberian American Journalist" said that Mercedes Barca "died in her home in Mexico, where she settled with Gabo in 1961. Garcia Marquez and Mercedes Barsha married in 1958 and lived together. Until the death of the writer.
Mercedes Barcha, who was born to Egyptian immigrants, was born and lived in Magangui, Colombia, where her father owned a pharmacy. García Márquez knew her from childhood, when he traveled with his father to sell medicine from village to village.
The couple have two sons, one of whom is Gonzalo, a painter, and the other, Rodrigo, who is a film and television director and producer.
The death of Mercedes Barcha sparked a reaction on social media in literary, cultural and political circles.
"It was a privilege to get to know Mercedes Barca," Mexico Mayor Claudia Shinbaum wrote, praising "a great and beautiful lady."
1958
The year García Márquez married Mercedes Barca.
Mercedes Barsha was born to Egyptian immigrants and lived in Magangui, Colombia.