Gabriel García Márquez was born in Aracataca, Colombia, on March 6, 1928. His parents were Gabriel Eligio García and Luisa Santiaga Márquez de García. He spent the first 8 years of his life living with his maternal grandparents, Col. Nicolás Márquez and Tranquilina Iguarán de Márquez because his parents were too poor to raise him themselves.

He went to a Jesuit college to study law, but he decided instead to become a journalist in 1948. In 1955, he became a European correspondent for the newspaper El Espectador, but the newspaper was shut down by the dictator Rojas Pinilla because it published some articles that angered the Colombian government. He founded Presna Latina, a Cuban press agency. In the 60's he worked in Mexico city as a screenwriter, journalist, and publicist. His early literary works were influenced by William Faulkner. He developed his own style, however, with his 1967 novel Cien Años de Soledad, or One Hundred Years of Solitude.

He won the nobel prize for literature in 1982. Here is a picture of him with the prize:

He is still alive today and lives in Mexico City. He is now one of the most widely read authors of Latin America.

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