Carlos Fuentes

Born November 11, 1928, Fuentes came up as a novelist and essayist in the decades when Latin American literature exploded into global view. He published The Death of Artemio Cruz and Aura in 1962, then Terra Nostra in 1975, The Old Gringo in 1985, and Christopher Unborn in 1987. He served as ambassador to France and collected the Miguel de Cervantes Prize and the Belisario Domínguez Medal of Honor in 1999. The New York Times called him one of the most admired writers in the Spanish-speaking world; The Guardian named him Mexico's most celebrated novelist. He died May 15, 2012, often mentioned for the Nobel, never awarded it.