LIMA, Peru, OCT. 8, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani, the archbishop of Lima, expressed his “joy” upon receiving news Thursday that the Nobel Prize in literature was awarded to Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa.
The cardinal expressed his sentiments of admiration for the writer and explained that Vargas Llosa is “a man that preaches liberty, democracy, and he preaches it with a valiant and open spirit.”
The 66-year-old cardinal added that he thought the prize was “deserved” and that the “Christian spirit” inspires the thought of Vargas Llosa.
L’Osservatore Romano, the semi-official newspaper of the Holy See, underlined that Vargas Llosa has always put the person at the center of his works.
“Capable in the use of the most varied narrative techniques, Vargas Llosa knew how to pass in his novels from the closed and degraded spaces of the big cities to the great open scenes of the Peruvian landscape, manifesting always a great creative capacity, and always placing the human person at the center of his works,” the newspaper said.
Vargas Llosa, 74, is the author of more than 30 novels, plays and works of nonfiction. He is most know for novels such as “The Green House” and “Conversation in the Cathedral.”
According to a statement from the Nobel Prize committee, Vargas Llosa was awarded the prize “for his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual’s resistance, revolt, and defeat.”
