Colombian novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez met Fidel Castro after the Cuban leader grabbed power in the 1959 revolution -- the beginning of a decades-long and controversial friendship.
Garcia Marquez, who died in Mexico City on Thursday aged 87, had arrived in the Caribbean island as a journalist to cover Castro's band of bearded guerrillas who ousted right-wing dictator Fulgencio Batista in January 1959.
They quickly became friends, bringing together two of Latin America's most prominent figures of the 20th century. Garcia Marquez even worked for Cuba's Prensa Latina news agency in Bogota and New York.
Cuba's government-run media mourned the legendary writer.
"His friendship with Fidel and Cuba remained constant until his death," the Cubadebate website wrote.
But the writer's closeness with his communist "amigo" contrasted with his fierce criticism of Latin America's right-wing dictatorships.
The two men had disagreements, which they both said were often exaggerated.
Castro, who handed power to his brother Raul after falling ill in 2006, once described Garcia Marquez as a man with "the goodness of a child and a cosmic talent."
"He is a man of tomorrow whom we thank for having lived this life to tell it," the Cuban leader said.
"Our friendship is the fruit of a relationship cultivated over decades, formed by hundreds of conversations that were always enjoyable for me," Castro said when greeting the author and his wife Mercedes in 2008.
Castro's 'power of seduction'
The author of "One Hundred Years of Solitude" had a home in Havana, where Castro would sometimes pop in in the middle of the night for a chat.
The writer praised the famously garrulous Castro for "his love of verbs, his power of seduction."
"When he is tired of talking, he rests by talking," Garcia Marquez said.
But this coziness between the pair irked some fellow intellectuals.
Peru's Nobel-winning writer Mario Vargas Llosa called his former friend Garcia Marquez "a courtesan writer of Fidel Castro," accusing him of turning a blind eye to abuses committed by the government against dissidents.
US writer Susan Sontag had voiced disappointment that Garcia Marquez had kept quiet after three men who tried to hijack a ferry to the United States were executed in April 2003.
The Colombian novelist countered that he condemned the death penalty anywhere in the world, and that he had quietly secured the release of dissidents over 20 years.
Garcia Marquez's list of friends included Bill Clinton, the former president of Castro's eternal bogeyman, the United States.
The writer acted as a special envoy for Castro to discuss with Clinton a bilateral migration agreement in 1994 to deal with the thousands of Cubans who crowded into boats to Florida.
Three years later, Garcia Marquez handed a message from Castro to Clinton, offering Cuban cooperation against terrorism. But the US-Cuban cooperation was short-lived.
AFP
Fri Apr 18 2014
Colombian novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez who died in Mexico City on Thursday aged 87. -AFP Photo
[TERKINI] KKM pantau lonjakan kes COVID-19 di Singapura
Kementerian Kesihatan (KKM) sedang memantau dengan teliti trajektori gelombang peningkatan dua kali ganda kes COVID-19 yang dilaporkan oleh Singapura baru-baru ini.
Lee Zii Jia melangkah ke akhir terbuka Thailand
Pemain perseorangan lelaki nombor satu Malaysia Lee Zii Jia selangkah untuk memenangi gelaran pertamanya tahun ini.
Ia selepas zii jia layak ke perlawanan akhir Terbuka Thailand dengan menewaskan pemain pilihan kelapan kejohanan dari Taiwan Chou Tien Chen.
Ia selepas zii jia layak ke perlawanan akhir Terbuka Thailand dengan menewaskan pemain pilihan kelapan kejohanan dari Taiwan Chou Tien Chen.
Negara perlu 84 balai bomba baharu - KPKT
Sebanyak 84 balai bomba baharu diperlukan dalam usaha meningkatkan kualiti, kemampuan dan kecekapan Jabatan Bomba dan Penyelamat Malaysia (JBPM) menyalurkan perkhidmatan kepada masyarakat di seluruh negara.
Kestabilan politik bawa kemajuan di Sarawak - Zahid
Timbalan Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi berkata kestabilan politik telah membawa banyak pembangunan dan kemajuan di Sarawak.
Tiada cadangan tarik balik laporan polis - Naim Daniel
PENYANYI Naim Daniel menyerahkan segala urusan kepada pihak polis selepas individu yang mengugut bunuh ibu bapanya ditahan baru-baru ini.
[TERKINI] Mayat pemancing hilang di Tasik Pedu ditemui
Mayat Ooi Swee Hin berusia,41 tahun, ditemui pada jarak 1 kilometer dari lokasi dilaporkan terjatuh pada jam 8.05 pagi.
KKM pantau lonjakan kes COVID-19 di Singapura
KKM akan terus memantau keadaan tersebut dan sistem kesihatan ketika ini bersedia untuk menghadapi sebarang lonjakan kes.
Afrika Selatan seru tindakan global hukum Israel
Usaha berterusan Afrika Selatan di Mahkamah Keadilan Antarabangsa (ICJ) dalam kes genosid terhadap Israel menekankan pendekatan undang-undang antarabangsa yang berterusan ke arah menamatkan krisis kemanusiaan di Gaza.
AWANI Ringkas: Ribuan peserta berarak di ibu kota Kuala Lumpur
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
UAE sumbang 100 tan bantuan makanan, perubatan untuk mangsa banjir di Brazil
Dua lagi pesawat dijadual dihantar dalam tempoh dua hari lagi membawa 200 tan bantuan.
Ribuan warga Colombia bantah reformasi di bawah pimpinan Gustavo Petro
Ribuan penduduk berarak di bandar-bandar besar di Colombia sebagai protes membantah reformasi politik, ekonomi dan sosial yang disokong Presiden Gustavo Petro.
Colombia usir duta Israel
Kementerian Luar Colombia pada Isnin menuntut duta Israel "meminta maaf dan keluar" selepas beliau mengkritik Presiden Gustavo Petro kerana kenyataannya mengenai konflik Israel-Palestin.
Piala Dunia Wanita: Colombia, Perancis ke suku akhir
Colombia menewaskan Jamaica dalam pusingan 16 Piala Dunia wanita untuk mencongak perhitungan suku akhir dengan England sambil Perancis pula menamatkan cabaran Maghribi.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
Tiga maut letupan lombong arang batu di Colombia
Insiden berlaku pada awal pagi di lombong arang El Roble dan El Manto 6 di Cucunuba, utara ibu negara Bogota.
Lelaki bakar bekas teman wanita hidup-hidup ditahan
Seorang lelaki yang didakwa membakar bekas teman wanitanya hidup-hidup ditahan di Colombia pada Rabu.
Colombia naikkan tahap amaran kemungkinan letusan gunung berapi Nevado del Ruiz
Letusan gunung berapi itu pernah mencetuskan bencana alam terburuk dalam sejarah negara pada November 1985, menyebabkan lebih 23,000 orang terkorban.
Bertahan dengan sos tomato di lautan, syarikat Heinz mohon bantuan jejaki kelasi ini
Syarikat pemprosesan makanan, Heinz kini dalam proses menjejaki seorang kelasi yang selamat selepas hilang berminggu di laut pada Januari lalu.
Colombia: Hakim guna AI ChatGPT untuk buat keputusan
Padilla berkata penggunaan alat itu tidak bercanggah dengan undang-undang Colombia dan membantu menjimatkan masa hakim.
Penyerang Colombia berusia 34 tahun, taruhan terbaharu Selangor FC
Selangor FC hari ini mengumumkan penyerang dari Colombia, Ayron Del Valle menjadi pemain import ketiga skuad Gergasi Merah untuk menghadapi saingan Liga Malaysia (Liga-M) 2023.