Russian President Dmitri Medvedev awarded Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez a prestigious state prize Tuesday.
A cancer-stricken Marquez received the Order of Honour for his work “strengthening the friendship between the peoples of Russia and Latin America,” said the Kremlin.
The Russian president sent a note to Marquez saying, “Your bright and original works, which reflect the entire continent’s contrasting traditions and cultures, have helped many Russian readers to learn and grow to love Latin America. Without exaggeration we can say that your work resonates in the hearts of millions of people around the world.”
The writer, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982 and is considered one of the world’s most significant authors, received the award on his 85th birthday. It coincided with the electronic release of his most popular book, “One Hundred Years of Solitude.”
Marquez is one of the first individuals of non-Russian origin to receive the award since its creation in 1994.
