In the last months of his life, before his death on April 13, Mario Vargas Llosa He lived a series of very special tours in Lima, a city that was the protagonist in many of his novels. His son, Álvaro Vargas Llosa, revealed in an interview with the Argentine media The nation How the family organized these walks, which became a final tribute to the literature and memories of the writer.
“We went to the stages of his novels in the city, because it was difficult to go to other places further away”Said Álvaro. These tours were not only an opportunity to relive literary moments, but also to help his father reconnect with his memories at a stage in which memory was failing him.“ On the way we were talking about the novel, of the significance he had, and that allowed him to remember things he had forgotten, which generated a mixture of surprise and joy, ”added the author’s son.
One of the destinations on this tour was the emblematic Lurigancho prison, mentioned in the last chapter of Mayta’s storyone of the author’s most representative novels. They also visited the La Cathedral bar, located in the heart of Conversation in the cathedrala place that, although it no longer exists as such, remains a reference in the collective memory of readers. “Now there is a very ugly warehouse, very neglected, with a poster that says ‘is sold’, in a very chaotic area,” he recalled Álvaro con nostalgia.
However, these walks were not public. The family of Vargas Llosa He took all the necessary precautions to prevent his father from being recognized by his followers.
“These walks were almost in underground. We chose hours, clothing, all kinds of details so that people did not realize, because where they went and recognized, people swirled, and that for their health was very bad,” Álvaro explained. Sometimes, you even have to resort to costumes to maintain anonymity.
Through these intimate moments, the Vargas Llosa family lived a farewell full of emotions and shared memories. “Each of us, my mother, my brothers and I, was living this final stage in a very intimate way with him, in farewell dialogues,” Álvaro said, implying that these walks were not only a way of paying tribute to the scenarios of the author’s works, but also an opportunity for father and children to share a last time together, in a lime that is still alive in their books.
Mario Vargas Llosa returned to Peru in his last months of life due to its deteriorated state of health, which included extreme fatigue and reduced mobility. According to his eldest son, Álvaro Vargas Llosa, “He was already very fatigued and needed the proximity of the family, as well as the comfort of his home.” This return not only responded to a medical need, but also emotional, since the writer sought the support of his loved ones, who mostly resided in Lima. For him, being close to his family was fundamental in that moment of his life.
The return to Lima also allowed him Vargas Llosa Reonnect with the city that was essential in his literary work. In Álvaro’s words, his father found comfort in his “family environment and in his emblematic personal library.” In addition, he was able to relive the memories of the Lima scenarios that inspired several of his best known novels. “It represented a reunion with its most intimate roots and the scenarios that shape many of their works,” His son added, highlighting how these walks through the city fed his memory and his literary genius.
