Chronology

1927 Gabriel García Márquez is born on March 6 in Aracataca, Colombia to Gabriel Eligio García and Luisa Santiaga Márquez Iguarán.

Lives with Nicolás Márquez and Tranquilina Iguarán Cotes, his maternal grandparents.

• Studies in Barranquilla.

1946 Completes his high school studies at the Liceo Nacional de Zipaquirá to which he had won a scholarship.

1947 Enters the Universidad Nacional of Colombia at Bogotá to study law.

Publishes “La tercera resignación” in El Espectador.

Publishes within the next five years fifteen short stories in El Espectador and several in Crónica and El Heraldo.

1948 Moves to Cartagena, enters the Universidad de Cartagena to continue his law studies.

Works as a journalist at El Universal

1950 Discontinues law studies, resigns from El Universal and moves to Barranquilla.

Begins working for El Heraldo.

Publishes several stories in Crónica and El Heraldo.

Writes his first novel, La casa, which he began at age 17, and later became the seed of Cien años de soledad.

1954 Returns to Bogotá to work for El Espectador as a movie critic and reporter.

1955 Wins competition sponsored by the Association of Artists and Writers of Bogotá for his story, “Un día después del sábado.”

Writes “Monólogo de Isabel viendo llover en Macondo” and also the account of Velasco’s survival at sea after a shipwreck.

Travels to Geneva as a reporter for El Espectador, and then to Italy and Paris. El Espectador is closed down by the Colombian government.

Publishes La hojarasca (Leaf Storm).

1956 Lives in Paris, unemployed, and works on manuscripts, La mala hora and El coronel no tiene quien le escriba.

1957 Travels to Eastern Europe, lives about two months in London and returns to Caracas at the end of the year as an editor for the newspaper Momento.

1958 Marries Mercedes Barcha.

Publishes El coronel no tiene quien le escriba

Resignes from Memento to work for Venezuela Gráfica

1959 Works for Prensa Latina in Bogotá, Cuba, and New York.

1961 Goes to México after resigning from PrensaLatina to become a movie script writer

Writes “El mar del tiempo perdido.”

Publishes El coronel no tiene quien le escriba (No One Writes to the Colonel) and La mala hora (In Evil Hour).

Wins the Esso Literary Prize for La mala hora.

Works as editor for two magazines, La familia and Sucesos.

1962 La mala hora, published in Spain, is denounced by Márquez.

Los funerals de la Mamá Grande is published in México.

1963 Leaves La Familia and Sucesos to work for the Thompson Publicity Agency and begins writing film scripts.

1964 Writes film scripts Tiempo de Morir and H.O.

1965 Goes into seclusion to begin writing Cien años de soledad.

1966 Publishes second edition of La mala hora.

1967 Cien años de soledad (One Hundred Years of Solitude) is published by Editorial Sudamericana in Buenos Aires.

Publishes Isabel viendo llover en Macondo (Isabel Watching it Rain in Macondo).

1968 In collaboration with Mario Vargas Llosa publishes La novela en América Latina: Diálogo.

Also publishes the stories: “El ahogado más hermoso del mundo,” “Blacamán el bueno, vendedor de milagros,” “Un señor muy viejo con unas alas enormes,” and “El último viaje del buque fantasma.”

1969 Wins the Chianchiano Prize for Cien años de soledad in Italy.

Cien años de soledadis proclaimed Prix de Meilleur Livre Etranger (Best Foreign Book in France).

1970 Harper and Row of New York publishes an English translation of Cien años de soledad, which American critics choose as one of the twelve best books of the year.

1971 Awarded honorary doctorate in literature from Columbia University.

Mario Vargas Llosa publishes the first book length study of García Márquez: García Márquez: Historia de un deicidio.

1972 Wins the Rómulo Gallegos Prize in Venezuela

Is awarded the Neustadt International Prize by Books Abroad.

Publishes La incredible y triste historia de la cándida Eréndira y de su abuela desalmada.

Without García Márquez’s approval, Los ojos de perro azul is published in Argentina.

Nabo, el negro que hizo esperar a los ángeles is published in Uruguay.

1973 Travels to France, Spain and México.

Publishes Cuando era feliz e indocumentado: Un reportaje.

Arrives in the United States in Oklahoma to receive the Neustadt Prize.

1974 Organizes Alternativa, a news magazine, in Bogotá.

1975 El otoño del patriarca and Todos los cuentos de Gabriel García Márquez are published in Barcelona.

Retuns to Latin America

Continues as editor and editorial consultant for Alternativa

Takes up residence in Cuernavaca, México and Bogotá.

1977 Publishes Operación Carlota about Cuba’s participation in the Angolan revolution.

1978 Periodismo militante, a book of García Márquez’s opinions and political writings is published.

1979 In the process of writing a book about Cuba.

Establishes the Cuban Press Agency and Fundación Habeas.

1980 Is honored with the Commonwealth Award for Literature from the Bank of Delaware.

1981 Receives the medal of the French Legion of Honor presented by François Miterrand

Crónica de una muerte anunciada (Chronicle of a Death Foretold) is published simultaneously in Colombia, Argentina, México and Spain.

Requests political asylum to Mexico and leaves Colombia.

1982 Awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.

1983 Returns to Colombia for the first time after self-imposed exile to México.

Nominated for Los Angeles Times Book Prize for fiction for Chronicle of a Death Foretold.

1985 Publishes El amor en los tiempos del cólera(Love in the Time of Cholera).

Establishes the New Latin American Cinema Foundation in Havana, Cuba and is named president.

1986 La aventura de Miguel Littín clandestine en Chile (The Adventure of Miguel Littín Underground in Chile) is published in Madrid: Ediciones El País.

1988 Love in the Time of Cholera is chosen by the Book of the Month Club for its members.

On The New York Times’ bestseller list for several weeks.

Awarded Los Angeles Times Book Prize for fiction for Love in the Time of Cholera.

1989 El general en su laberinto (The General in his Labyrinth) is published simultaneously in Argentina, Colombia, México and Spain.

Amores difíciles (Dangerous Loves), a series of six films are produced based on some of his short stories.

1990 The General in His Labyrinth’s first published American editions is listed in The New York Times as a best seller.

1992 Doce cuentos peregrinos (Strange Pilgrims) published simultaneously in Argentina, México, Colombia and Spain.

1993 Creates and directs the Escuela de Nuevo Periodismo in Cartagena de Indias.

1994 Del amor y otros demonios (Of Love and Other Demons) is published.

Becomes active in a favor of the legislation of drugs and the end of the Colombian guerrilla warfare.

García Márquez, William Styron, and Carlos Fuentes arrange a meeting with Bill Clinton.

1996 Noticia de un secuestro (News of a Kidnapping) is published.

Edipo Alcalde premiers with screenplay written by García Márquez and directed by Jorge Alí Triana.

1998 García Márquez celebrates his 70 th birthday.

1999 El Tiempo de Bogotá names García Márquez “the most important person of the twentieth century.”

2000 Interviewed by El Tiempo (Bogotá), García Márquez reflects on his illness and states “he tenido tiempo para escribir más... hoy me sorprendo yo mismo de la enorme lotería que ha sido este tropiezo en mi vida.”

2001 Pas de letter pour le colonel premiers in Paris, France in DVD Format

2002 Vivir para contarla is published simultaneously in Argentina, Colombia, México, New York, and Spain. Also translated to German.

2004 Memoria de mis putas tristes is published in New York, México, and Argentina by Knopf, Vintage en Español, Diana, and Sudamericana.