The Embassy of Mexico in the United Kingdom deeply laments the recent passing away of Mexican writer and diplomat Carlos Fuentes. In this sense, the Embassy expresses its sincerest condolences to his wife, Silvia Lemus and daughter Cecilia Fuentes, as well as to his family members and friends for the sad loss of one of Mexico´s most illustrious cultural exponents and truly universal figure.

Due to this sorrowful occasion, this Embassy has opened a book of condolences, available to the public from 10:00 till 17:00 during the next working days.

In regards to the news of his death, Ambassador Eduardo Medina Mora stated: “we are profoundly sad due to Carlos’ death. Carlos found in London a refuge in which he could write. He reconciled us with the world and with ourselves. He made us aware that all Spanish speaking people are bound by the common citizenship of language. We have lost a universal and extraordinary man.”

Son of Mexican diplomat, Rafael Fuentes Boettiger, who was Ambassador of Mexico to the Netherlands, Panama, Portugal and Italy, Mr. Fuentes had the chance from an early age to witness firsthand the intense activity that Mexico´s diplomats must undergo.

In addition to his prolific literary career, Carlos Fuentes became a member of Mexico´s Foreign Service, in which he came to fulfill important duties, such as Director of the Ministry´s Cultural Relations Office, as well as becoming Ambassador of Mexico to France from 1975 to 1977.

Carlos Fuentes became part of the universal literary canon thanks to works such as Aura, The Death of Artemio Cruz, Gringo Viejo (The Old Gringo), Where the Air is Clear among many others, as well as being awarded the Cervantes Prize of 1987 and the Prince of Asturias Award of 1994.

His cosmopolitan nature strongly connected him to the United Kingdom, where he not only received a Honoris Causa Doctorate by the University of Cambridge, but became a leading reference of Mexican literature to British readers.

Thanks to his ceaseless intellectual curiosity, Carlos Fuentes bequeathed the world an opus comprised by more than 60 works, including, novels, essays, short stories and plays. Readers from all over the world will be able to find in these works one of the most profound examinations both of Mexico and the human condition.