Instituto Cervantes London in collaboration with the Embassy of Peru in London, is organising this tribute event to the writer Mario Vargas Llosa, exploring his life and work through a photographic journey with the writer Renato Cisneros.
One year after the death of Mario Vargas Llosa, the Peruvian writer, journalist and Nobel Prize–winning author, internationally renowned for his novels on politics, society and the human condition in Latin America, this conversation with Renato Cisneros provides an opportunity to reflect on his literary legacy, his impact on contemporary culture and the continuing relevance of his work.
The event is accompanied by a photographic journey that allows audiences to explore his life, his work and his influence. Mario Vargas Llosa (1936–2025) was a Peruvian-born novelist, essayist and journalist, and one of the most influential figures of the Latin American Boom.
Regarded as one of the most important writers of his generation, he achieved international recognition in the 1960s with novels such as The Time of the Hero (1963), The Green House (1966) and Conversation in The Cathedral (1969). His work explores themes such as power, politics, authoritarianism and individual freedom.
In 2010 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature “for his cartography of the structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual’s resistance, revolt and defeat.” The author of more than twenty novels, as well as numerous essays, plays and journalistic writings, he left a lasting mark on contemporary world literature. He passed away in Lima on 13 April 2025.
Renato Cisneros (Lima, 12 January 1976) is a Peruvian writer, journalist, poet and broadcaster. He studied Communications at the University of Lima and completed a master’s degree in Print Journalism at the University of Miami. Throughout his career, he has worked for leading Peruvian media outlets such as El Comercio, Diario 16, La República, Radio Capital and RPP TV. He began his literary career as a poet before turning to narrative fiction. His most notable books include Raro (2012), The Distance Between Us (2015)—an autofictional exploration of his family history—and You Will Leave the Land (2017). The Distance Between Us received numerous international accolades, including the Prix Transfuge for Best Hispano-American Novel and the English PEN Award.
Event organised in collaboration with the Embassy of Peru in the United Kingdom.
