Colombian journalist and fiction writer, Gabriel Garcia Márquez, has passed away at the age of 87, a representative from his family confirmed.
The seasoned novelist who introduced magical realism and incorporated oppression and social justice as story themes died due to complications brought by pneumonia. He died at his Mexico home after being hospitalized for days.
Garcia Márquez' family has yet to issue a statement, while the two family members who announced his death refused to give details on his death to respect the family's privacy.
Gabriel Garcia Márquez is hailed as one of the most important icons of South American literature. His critically acclaimed works include One Hundred Years of Solitude, Love in the Time of Cholera, The General in His Labyrinth, and The Autumn of the Patriarch, among many others. His works have been translated into different languages.
His 1985 novel, Love in the Time of Cholera was adapted into film in 2007 by New Line Cinema with Mike Newell as its director.
Garcia Márquez won has won several awards for his works in fiction including the prestigious Nobel Prize in 1982, where he said during his acceptance that the Latin America is filled with immeasurable violence and pain that serves as a "source of insatiable creativity, full of sorrow and beauty."
"Poets and beggars, musicians and prophets, warriors and scoundrels, all creatures of that unbridled reality, we have had to ask but little of imagination, for our crucial problem has been a lack of conventional means to render our lives believable," he said during the ceremony.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez has also been known to be friends with Cuba's leader, Fidel Castro.
The world mourned for Garcia Marquez' death, with leaders and artists alike, expressed their admiration and respect to the late writer.
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos tweeted: "A thousand years of solitude and sadness at the death of the greatest Colombian of all time. Solidarity and condolences to his wife and family ... Such giants never die."
US President Barrack Obama offered condolences to his family and friends for the loss of "one of the world's greatest visionary writers". "Gabo's work will live on for generations to come," he said in a statement.
"Gabo" as he was popularly known, was born on March 6, 1927 in Colombia. He studied law and pursued a career in journalism. He is sruvived by his wife, Mercedes and his two sons.
Gabo's family said that they will hold a private ceremony. His remains will be cremated after the funeral service, which has yet to be disclosed.
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