Alvaro Mutis Jaramillo, Colombian Writer Died at 90

Alvaro Mutis Jaramillo, an award-winning Colombian poet, essayist and novelist influential throughout the Spanish-speaking world, died on 23 September 2013 in Mexico City.

Alvaro Mutis, who was 90, won the prestigious Principe de Asturias award in 1997 and the Cervantes award in 2001, two of the top Spanish language literature prizes.

Alvaro Mutis's best known works include Diary of Lecumberri (1959) about his time in prison; The Araucaima Mansion (1973), The Adventures and Misadventures of Maqroll (1986); and The last stop of the Tramp Steamer (1990).

About Alvaro Mutis Jaramillo

• Born on 25 August 1923, in Bogotá, Alvaro Mutis was the son of Colombian diplomat Santiago Mutis and Carolina Jaramillo. He spent part of his early years in Brussels, Belgium, where his father served as Colombia's ambassador.
• His literary career began in 1948 with the publication of his first volume of poetry, The Balance, followed in 1953 with Elements of the Disaster.
• In 1950s he spent 15 months in Lecumberri prison in Mexico City, accused of embezzlement by the US multinational Standard Oil Co of New Jersey, where he worked as head of public relations.
• His novels include The Manor of Araucaima and The True Story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin.
• Alvaro Mutis Jaramillo had been living in Mexico city since 1956.