Relatives of Miguel Ángel Asturias, Nobel Prize for Literature, prepare to fulfill the last wish of the Guatemalan writer: to be buried in his homeland, five decades of his death in Spain.
The remains of the illustrious writer and journalist will be transferred from the Père Lachaise cemetery, in Paris, France, towards Guatemala in the coming months, according to the Deputy Minister of Culture and Sports, Rodrigo Carrillo. The process has the support of the French authorities and with the shelter of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINEX).
The advances in its repatriation occur after the current Government of Guatemala declared, last June, the commemorative year of the Nobel Prize for Literature, a period that will culminate next June, when the remains of the Nobel are already expected to be in Guatemalan territory.
It was on June 9, 2024 when Miguel Ángel Asturias Amado, a minor son of the writer, publicly confirmed the decision to return his father’s remains to Guatemala, as he had expressed in life.
Investigating his poetry, my father expressed his desire to be buried in Guatemala, Asturias shared loved on that occasion.
“Life has given me the opportunity for 50 years after having made a decision, today decides that their remains return to Guatemala and fulfill their wishes expressed in their litanies,” Asturias shared loved the afternoon of this June 9 at the National Palace of Culture.
Advances in the repatriation of the remains of Asturias
It was the Deputy Minister of Culture and Sports, Rodrigo Carrillo, who notified the advances in the repatriation process established in the Government Agreement 92-2024, signed by President Bernardo Arévalo and Miguel Ángel Asturias Amado.
Carrillo explained that Miguel Ángel Asturias’ family has continued with the process of repatriation of the remains, while the Ministry assumed the task of convening a national sculpture contest for the creation of the mortuary monument that will accompany its remains.
The official said that the procedures for repatriation began in Paris, where the writer’s remains currently rest in the Père Lachaise cemetery.
Carrillo stressed that the Paris family and authorities have already carried out the verification procedure of the writer’s remains, with the aim of ensuring that the right remains are repatriated to Guatemala. Subsequently, a property succession process was carried out so that your child could legally dispose of the remains.
With this ending procedure, the French authorities granted the legal facilities to authorize the transfer, which will allow the remains and bring them to the country.
No established date
The vice minister explained that the date of repatriation has not yet been defined, since it must be carefully coordinated. In addition, he indicated that the remains may remain up to six months at the provisional destination site, while the construction of the mortuary monument is concluded.
Act of honor during repatriation
Another of the novelties that the Deputy Minister stressed was that the authorities of the Mayor’s Office will hold an official farewell ceremony, in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINEX) and the Ministry of Culture and Sports (MCD), prior to the exit of the remains of the Nobel Prize for Literature to Guatemala.
In the Père Lachaise cemetery a commemorative plaque will be left as a show of thanks of the family, for having housed for 50 years the remains of the Guatemalan Nobel Prize, said Carrillo.
Commemoration of Asturias continues
Rodrigo Carrillo stressed that currently the commemoration activities of the 125th anniversary of the birth and the 50th anniversary of the death of Miguel Ángel Asturias, under the framework of the year of Miguel Ángel Asturias.
The president entrusted the Ministry of Culture and Sports to organization a series of cultural and artistic activities in honor of the Legacy of the Nobel Prize for Literature, Carrillo emphasized.
Among the promoted actions, the Ministry of Culture highlights the production and distribution of 48 thousand pocket books with author works, as well as the theatrical assembly of Mr. President and a series of concerts offered by different musical groups, including the concert marimba and the National Symphony Orchestra.