Laredo News Loft

Scroll to Info & Navigation

mohandasgandhi: Carlos Fuentes, Latin American literary giant, dies in Mexico The prize-winning writer Carlos Fuentes, modern Mexico’s greatest novelist and indefatigable author of screenplays, stories and often-scolding commentaries, died Tuesday at a hospital in Mexico City. He was 83. The national culture council announced Fuentes’ death. Although it did not immediately specify a cause, some Mexican news reports said he had checked in a night earlier with heart problems. But the prolific Fuentes, who said he had begun a new novel on the heels of another recently completed one, was not publicly known to be ailing. “I deeply lament the death of our beloved and admired Carlos Fuentes, a writer and Mexican of the world,” read a message posted on President Felipe Calderon’s Twitter account. Fuentes, who also served as a Mexican diplomat, gained wide acclaim for novels such as “Aura” and “The Death of Artemio Cruz,” part of a generation of world-class writers from Latin America. U.S. movie audiences may recall the film based on the Fuentes novel “The Old Gringo,” which starred Gregory Peck and Jane Fonda. He won numerous literary prizes and was perennially mentioned as a possible candidate for the Nobel Prize in literature, but never won it.  At home, Fuentes remained until the end outspoken on issues of the day. His most recent column — about the presidential election in France — was published Tuesday in the daily Reforma newspaper. Disdainful of many Mexican politicians, he tacked a note at the end taking aim at the tone of Mexico’s own presidential race, which he said sacrificed discussion of big issues for candidates’ petty attempts to knock each other down. Fuentes said he found elixir in work. “My system of youth is to work a lot, to always have a project pending,” he told the Spanish newspaper El Pais in an interview published Monday. He said he had just completed a novel called “Federico on his Balcony” and had begun a new one. Sad news.

mohandasgandhi:

Carlos Fuentes, Latin American literary giant, dies in Mexico

The prize-winning writer Carlos Fuentes, modern Mexico’s greatest novelist and indefatigable author of screenplays, stories and often-scolding commentaries, died Tuesday at a hospital in Mexico City. He was 83.

The national culture council announced Fuentes’ death. Although it did not immediately specify a cause, some Mexican news reports said he had checked in a night earlier with heart problems. But the prolific Fuentes, who said he had begun a new novel on the heels of another recently completed one, was not publicly known to be ailing.

“I deeply lament the death of our beloved and admired Carlos Fuentes, a writer and Mexican of the world,” read a message posted on President Felipe Calderon’s Twitter account.

Fuentes, who also served as a Mexican diplomat, gained wide acclaim for novels such as “Aura” and “The Death of Artemio Cruz,” part of a generation of world-class writers from Latin America. U.S. movie audiences may recall the film based on the Fuentes novel “The Old Gringo,” which starred Gregory Peck and Jane Fonda.

He won numerous literary prizes and was perennially mentioned as a possible candidate for the Nobel Prize in literature, but never won it. 

At home, Fuentes remained until the end outspoken on issues of the day. His most recent column — about the presidential election in France — was published Tuesday in the daily Reforma newspaper. Disdainful of many Mexican politicians, he tacked a note at the end taking aim at the tone of Mexico’s own presidential race, which he said sacrificed discussion of big issues for candidates’ petty attempts to knock each other down.

Fuentes said he found elixir in work. “My system of youth is to work a lot, to always have a project pending,” he told the Spanish newspaper El Pais in an interview published Monday. He said he had just completed a novel called “Federico on his Balcony” and had begun a new one.

Sad news.

REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger
REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger
REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger
‹ ›

reuters:MEOW! What a great idea 

After three years of negotiations with city officials over hygiene issues, Austria opened its first cat cafe last Friday. 

‘Cafe Neko’, “Neko” meaning cat in Japanese, was opened by Vienna resident Takako Ishimitsu, 47, from Japan. 

Customers can stroke and interact with their five feline hosts, named Sonja, Thomas, Moritz, Luca and Momo, who all came from an animal shelter and now freely roam about the cafe and take naps. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger 

PHOTOS: Vienna’s first cat cafe opens for business

pbstv: The Beautiful Imagination of Maurice Sendak  “That manic kid in that silly wolf suit has made my life pleasurable.” In 2002, the PBS NewsHour’s Jeffrey Brown talked to Maurice Sendak about his roots as an artist and his interest in exploring children’s perceptions of everyday life. Read the interview and Maurice Sendak’s full biography from American Masters.

pbstv:

The Beautiful Imagination of Maurice Sendak 

“That manic kid in that silly wolf suit has made my life pleasurable.”

In 2002, the PBS NewsHour’s Jeffrey Brown talked to Maurice Sendak about his roots as an artist and his interest in exploring children’s perceptions of everyday life.

Read the interview and Maurice Sendak’s full biography from American Masters.