The family of deceased Colombian author and Nobel Prize winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez announced on Thursday that the cremation ceremony will take place in Mexico where the writer has lived since the 1960s.
MORE: Colombia Literary Legend Gabriel Garcia Marquez Dies At 87
The announcement was made on behalf of the family by Maria Cristina Garcia, the director of the National Institute for Fine Arts in Mexico City where Marquez died.
The ceremony will be entirely private while authorities will allow fans to honor the writer who died on Thursday at 87 in the days after the cremation.
Colombia’s Minister of Culture, Mariana Garces, had said earlier Tuesday that Colombia wanted to respect the wishes of the family if they decided to bury or cremate their loved one in Mexico rather than his native Colombia.
MORE: Colombia To Respect Family Wishes If Garcia Marquez Want Late Writer Buried In Mexico
Garcia Marquez was born in Colombia, but has lived in Mexico — which considers the late writer one of its own — since the 1960s.
In his native country he continues to be seen as the country’s greatest writer in history, as iconic books like “100 Years of Solitude” and “Love in Times of Cholera” were about Marquez’ time in Colombia.
His death following a long fight against cancer forced a flow of condolences from around the globe. US President Barack Obama who described Garcia Marquez as a “great visionary” and added that he has been”one of [my] favorite writers since I was young.”
MORE: Obama Laments Death Of Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos decreed three days of national mourning in honor of the deceased writer of “100 Years of Solitude” and “Love in Times of Cholera.”
MORE: Santos announces ‘national 3 days of mourning’ for Gabriel Garcia Marquez