Gabriel García Márquez was honoured at the International Spanish Language Congress in Cartagena, Colombia over the weekend in honour of his 80th birthday. Kings, Presidents, and thousands of adoring fans showered him with admiration for his work, particularly Cien Años de Soledad (100 Years of Solitude), which was called the most important novel in Spanish since Don Quixote. The Real Academia Española presented Gabo with a new annotated 40th anniversary edition of Cien Años. (The only other book they've published in this way is, you guessed it, Don Quixote).
You can read his address here, that is, if you can read Spanish. Since this is also the 25th anniversary of his Nobel Prize, Anglophones may enjoy reading his address at that august occasion. There are also photos of the festivities in Cartagena, and may I say, I hope I am in that kind of shape at 80!
UPDATE: I forgot to mention that Amazon has the Real Academia Española editions of Don Quijote de la Mancha and Cien Años de Soledad at insanely low prices. When was the last time you got a 1300 page hardcover critical edition for ten (US) bucks? Even with my shaky Spanish it's too good to pass up.
