Latin America Challenge 3
The Nobel Prizes are awarded in various disciplines such as literature, chemistry, economics, medicine and, of course, peace. How many Nobel Prize winners came from Latin America? The list includes at least 8 Nobel Prizes for Literature and four for Peace.
Today's Challenge: Name a Nobel Prize winner from Latin America, the area for which the prize was awarded, the year and an interesting fact about the person. Include a picture and/or link to more information if you like.
Feel free to use whatever resources are at your disposal to learn about Latin American Nobel Prize laureates. Please post only one winner per response. Every reasonable post will receive at least vote! And you can post more than once if you feel so inclined.
I'll start:
Mario J. Molina of Mexico and two colleagues won the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work quantifying the effect of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) on the Earth's ozone layer.
5 Answers
Poet Pablo Neruda from Chile. Here is my favorite sonnet from "Cien sonetos de amor"
Tengo hambre de tu boca, de tu voz, de tu pelo
y por las calles voy sin nutrirme, callado,
no me sostiene el pan, el alba me desquicia,
busco el sonido líquido de tus pies en el día.
Estoy hambriento de tu risa resbalada,
de tus manos color de furioso granero,
tengo hambre de la pálida piedra de tus uñas,
quiero comer tu piel como una intacta almendra.
Quiero comer el rayo quemado en tu hermosura,
la nariz soberana del arrogante rostro,
quiero comer la sombra fugaz de tus pestañas
y hambriento vengo y voy olfateando el crepúsculo
buscándote, buscando tu corazón caliente
como un puma en la soledad de Quitratúe.
Gabriel García Márquez (Columbia). Nobel Prize in Literature in 1982.
Rigoberta Menchú Túm, a Quiche Indian from Guatemala, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992 for publicizing the exploitation of indigenous peoples in her country and crusading for the human rights of the poor. The book describing her life makes interesting reading, even though some of her facts have been disputed.
Mario Vargas Llosa, a Peruvian writer who won Nobel Prize in Literature in 2010. He stands out due to his strong political ties and ran for president of Peru in 1990.
Oscar Arias Sánchez, Costa Rica. Awarded Nobel Peace Price in 1987 for his efforts to end civil wars then raging in several Central American countries.link text
