Vargas Llosa Awarded the Grand Cross of Alfonso X the Wise

The Government agreed on Tuesday to posthumously award the Grand Cross of the Civil Order of Alfonso X the Wise to the writer and academic Mario Vargas Llosa, who passed away on Monday in Lima at the age of 89. This high honour is granted at the proposal of the Minister of Education, Vocational Training and Sports, Pilar Alegría. Other cultural figures distinguished with the Grand Cross of this order include writer Jorge Edwards, singers Joan Manuel Serrat and María Dolores Pradera, actress Concha Velasco, and filmmaker Carlos Saura.

Established in 1939, the Civil Order of Alfonso X the Wise honours individuals and entities for their "merits in the fields of education, science, culture, teaching, and research or for outstanding services in any of these areas in Spain or internationally." The Grand Master of the Order is the King, and the Grand Chancellor is the Minister of Education.

Vargas Llosa (Arequipa, 1936 – Lima, 2025) was a powerful figure in contemporary literature, authoring some of the landmark works of Spanish literature over the past half-century, such as 'The Time of the Hero', 'Conversation in the Cathedral', 'The Feast of the Goat', 'Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter', and 'Captain Pantoja and the Special Service'. A member of the Royal Spanish Academy since 1994, he held the L chair in the learned institution.

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The award adds to accolades such as the Nobel Prize in Literature awarded in 2010, the last given to a Spanish-language author; the Rómulo Gallegos Prize in 1967 for his novel 'The Green House'; the Prince of Asturias Award for Literature in 1986, and the Cervantes Prize in 1994.