If you are a lover of the work of Gabriel García Marques, and, furthermore, you will soon have the opportunity to travel to Cartagena de Indias, surely your dream is to visit the house of the writer of One Hundred Years of Solitude.
But are you sure that visiting the home of the Colombian Nobel Prize winner is a real tourist destination?
In Cartagena, in 1991, it was made public that the house that was being restored behind the Hotel Santa Clara was owned by the writer.
The news was leaked locally, even though the same writer had later stated that he had gone to great lengths to keep the acquisition of that property a secret.
It must be taken into account that Gabriel García Márquez lived permanently in Mexico City from 1961, until the day of his death.
His visits to Cartagena were occasional. On these occasions, he preferred to spend the night in a family apartment located in the exclusive sector of El Laguito.
So it is known that the writer never lived for long periods in the house in the historic center. Inside this house, there are no events that were recorded in any of his books, and there is no room that romantically displays a window with an old typewriter.
And the tourist information you receive is totally misleading. You imagine that you will arrive at the house and have a guided tour. That, for sure, an expert will show you the corners where Gabriel García Márquez walked to find the inspiration and tranquility necessary to write a new book.
But it won't be like that. They will put it in front of the house, and they will recite some passages from his novels, or comment on some urban legends about the history of the Colombian Nobel Prize winner. And you will only be able to see the facade.
You will feel disappointed. You will feel that your trip was not complete and that someone owes you an explanation. But no one will give it to you. No one will tell you that it is a private place, that it is another property of the Nobel Prize winner's family, and that that house was a desire to become the owner of a corner in the historic center of the city.
At the moment García Márquez's house is a place closed to tourism. It is a long wall that encloses the illusions of the unsuspecting visitor. But perhaps, over time, it will become the literary sanctuary that readers dream of.
It is best to focus your expectations on the multitude of experiences that the city offers. Like history, restaurants, hotels or festivals. And very close to this house, in the Plaza de la Merced, you will find next to the Heredia theater, the site where Gabo's relatives decided to definitively locate his remains.
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