On the 91st birth anniversary of Gabriel García Márquez, Google honored the renowned novelist with the most impeccably designed doodle, brimming with magical realism.
The Colombian writer, who gave us angels falling on Earth and levitating priests, had battled lymphatic cancer for 12 years before being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2006. In 2014, he suffered a bout of Pneumonia and after eight days in the hospital, he passed away at the age of 87, from an infection and dehydration.
The man who is referred to as 'the greatest Colombian that ever lived' and affectionately called 'Gabo', made magic seem like a completely plausible occurrence through his writings. Born in Aracataca, Colombia on March 6, 1927, he developed a passion for writing at a very young age.
García Márquez had quit law school to become a journalist. Following a long stint as a reporter, columnist, foreign correspondent and editor, he tried his hand at writing novels after he moved to Mexico with his family.
He said he was inspired by the Latin American history, and credited his grandfather for the gift of storytelling, while his fascination with the supernatural stemmed from his grandmother's belief in ghosts.
In his acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize in Literature, which he won in 1982, he had said: "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."
Yet his charm and magic in the form of words continued flowing into his other prominent works like 'Love in the Time of Cholera' and 'Of Love and Other Demons'.
'Ultimately, literature is nothing but carpentry. With both you are working with reality, a material just as hard as wood ' #Gabo #Gabriel #García #Márquez #Love #Literature #Life #LoveHim pic.twitter.com/dWS8YDYOKV
— Huma Qureshi (@humasqureshi) February 17, 2018
To honor the man who blessed us with 'One Hundred Years of Solitude', Tuesday's Google doodle showcased the vibrant Amazonian jungle and the magical city of Macondo that we come across in the book.
Elements from the book such as — the city of mirrors, mysterious gypsies, and fish made of pure gold – are seen in the doodle.