Just ten days after the high-profile launch of Isabel Preysler’s memoir “Mi verdadera historia” at the Ritz Hotel, the eldest son of Nobel laureate in literature Mario Vargas Llosa gave a widely discussed interview. Álvaro Vargas Llosa shared his thoughts on the latest stage of his famous father’s life, and his comments could be interpreted as a veiled jab at the writer’s former lover.
The heir to the Marquisate of Vargas Llosa painted an emotional picture of his father’s final days. Although the conversation with the 58-year-old Álvaro took place strictly in a literary context—during the 6th Vargas Llosa Biennial in Cáceres—the publication that featured the interview chose a headline worthy of glossy magazines. Perhaps it’s just a coincidence that the son of Patricia Llosa, the writer’s legal wife, decided to raise the topic of his parents’ reconciliation at this moment. However, many saw it as a direct hint at Isabel Preysler, with whom the author of “Conversation in the Cathedral” spent several years in her mansion in Puerta de Hierro. Their life together was filled with happy moments, but the breakup was far from amicable.
Álvaro explained that his father’s last months were devoted to a journey across Peru. Together, they visited places that had served as the backdrops for the writer’s most significant works. It was a nostalgic and deeply emotional pilgrimage, with the son trying to revive his father’s memories through the settings of his novels and personal experiences.
The key point in his account was the claim that the reunion with his mother became the most beautiful event at the end of the writer’s life. Álvaro admitted that his father was no longer the same physically or mentally, but this did not diminish the value of their mutual gestures of reconciliation. For Patricia Llosa herself, this was also a great comfort. At the same time, Álvaro does not hide his aversion to the ‘yellow press’, noting that such outlets lack restraint and tact, although he does admit there are exceptions.
Mario Vargas Llosa himself, however, managed to interact quite well with such media, generally keeping amicable relations with them. His life in the public eye began long before his romance with Preysler. Just recall the stir that the news once caused when his son Gonzalo dated Genoveva Casanova, and their joint appearance in Stockholm at the Nobel Prize ceremony. No less legendary was his feud with Gabriel García Márquez, though it always remained within literary circles. Álvaro’s interview is deeply moving, especially knowing that during his father’s final days he himself was going through a difficult breakup. His desire to help his father leave with dignity, accompanying him on his final steps, comes across as both a painful and healing process.
