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Mexico and Colombia hold Gabriel Garcia Marquez memorials Mexico and Colombia hold Gabriel Garcia Marquez memorials
(about 2 hours later)
Mexico and Colombia are holding public memorials to Nobel prize-winning author Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who died on Thursday in Mexico City aged 87.Mexico and Colombia are holding public memorials to Nobel prize-winning author Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who died on Thursday in Mexico City aged 87.
The presidents of Colombia and Mexico are due to attend a formal ceremony with funeral cortege in Mexico City, where Garcia Marquez lived for decades. The presidents of Colombia and Mexico are due to attend a formal ceremony which is taking place in Mexico City, where Garcia Marquez lived for decades.
At the same time residents in his home town of Aracataca in northern Colombia are holding a symbolic funeral.At the same time residents in his home town of Aracataca in northern Colombia are holding a symbolic funeral.
He was considered the finest writer of the Spanish language since Cervantes.He was considered the finest writer of the Spanish language since Cervantes.
Garcia Marquez was cremated at a private family ceremony in Mexico City last week.Garcia Marquez was cremated at a private family ceremony in Mexico City last week.
A funeral cortege is taking Garcia Marquez's ashes from his house to the historic centre of the Mexican capital for the memorial ceremony. A funeral cortege took the urn containing his ashes from his house to the historic centre of the Mexican capital, where the memorial ceremony is underway.
The event in the majestic Palace of Fine Arts will be attended by Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, his Mexican counterpart Enrique Pena Nieto and the author's wife, Mercedes Barcha, and sons, Rodrigo and Gonzalo. Many admirers
Thousands of members of the public who are mourning his loss will also say goodbye to the author at the cultural venue, which is where Mexico pays tribute to its late artistic icons. It was placed on the podium of the majestic Palace of Fine Arts, which is where Mexico pays tribute to its late artistic icons.
It has been adorned with yellow flowers, the author's favourite, and a string quartet will perform music by the Hungarian Bela Bartok, among other composers. The ornate cultural venue was adorned with yellow flowers, the author's favourite, and musicians also performed some of his favourite pieces.
Colombian tributes Many admirers filed past the urn, and joined the author's wife, Mercedes Barcha, and sons, Rodrigo and Gonzalo, to say their goodbyes.
In Colombia, residents are holding a ceremony of their own in his birth place of Aracataca, the inspiration for Macondo, the setting for his 1967 seminal masterpiece One Hundred Years of Solitude, which sold millions of copies around the world. The event will later be attended by Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and his Colombian counterpart Juan Manuel Santos.
In Colombia, residents are meanwhile holding a ceremony of their own in his birthplace of Aracataca, the inspiration for Macondo, the setting for his 1967 seminal masterpiece One Hundred Years of Solitude, which sold millions of copies around the world.
'Special legacy'
A local resident Elvia Vizconte said Garcia Marquez would be remembered for generations to come.
"He was a very important person here in Aracataca. And now he leaves us a very special legacy for new generations, his novels, his tales, his stories," she told the Associated Press news agency.
On Tuesday, the Colombian government will hold a formal ceremony at the main cathedral in the capital Bogota, which will be televised.On Tuesday, the Colombian government will hold a formal ceremony at the main cathedral in the capital Bogota, which will be televised.
Then on Wednesday, Colombians will have readings of Garcia Marquez's novel No One Writes to the Colonel in hundreds of libraries, parks and universities across the country.Then on Wednesday, Colombians will have readings of Garcia Marquez's novel No One Writes to the Colonel in hundreds of libraries, parks and universities across the country.
The BBC's Will Grant in Mexico City says while no-one has said so officially, there may be an element of disappointment in Colombia that the first main event to commemorate Garcia Marquez is taking place in Mexico rather than his country of origin. The BBC's Arturo Wallace in Bogota says there was some sadness in Colombia that the first main event to commemorate Garcia Marquez was taking place in Mexico rather than his country of origin.
But rather than a diplomatic spat, it simply reflects the degree to which both countries - indeed all Latin Americans - considered him to be their own, he says. But Colombians also understand that he made Mexico his home and, despite his frequent trips to Colombia, they were used to his absence, our correspondent adds.
One solution being posited is that the writer's ashes be divided between Mexico and Colombia, but his family has not yet revealed its wishes.
The writer fled Colombia in 1981 after learning that the country's military wanted to question him over links to left-wing guerrillas.The writer fled Colombia in 1981 after learning that the country's military wanted to question him over links to left-wing guerrillas.
Fellow writers, politicians and cultural figures from around the world paid tribute to the author, often credited with inventing the magical-realist genre of fiction. Fellow writers, politicians and cultural figures from around the world paid tribute to the author.
He achieved fame for pioneering magical realism, a unique blending of the marvellous and the mundane in a way that made the extraordinary seem routine.
With his books, he brought Latin America's charm and teaming contradictions to life in the minds of millions of people.