Miguel Ángel Asturias returned to Guatemala. The authorities announced the arrival of the remainders of the Nobel Prize for Literature on 12 November, and then their burial on 15 November at the cultural centre bearing his name. Prior to these ceremonies, an archive exhibition is scheduled to open in Guatemala on November 3. The programme thus combines repatriation from France with the transmission of the work.
The return of Miguel Ángel Asturias, from transfer to archives
According to the calendar of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, the exhibition planned at the National Palace of Culture brings together historical documents, correspondence and plays related to the literary journey of the writer. They come from the family fund held by the Central American General Archives. Open at 6 p.m. local time.
The main tributes are due from 12 to 15 November. After welcoming to La Aurora International Airport, the programme includes stages in the La Candelaria district and at the Popular University, a Maya ceremony in Kaminaljuyú and state funeral honours. The burial is planned at the Miguel Ángel Asturias Cultural Centre. Access to the monument for the public is announced from 16 November.
A Family Decision Becomes a Public Project
The process did not start with the announcement of this calendar. According to the official account published in August, the writer’s son, Miguel Ángel Asturias Amado, and his grandson, Sandino Asturias, had communicated their decision to President Bernardo Arévalo on 9 June 2024. Guatemala then organized the coordination between the family, the ministries of culture and external relations and the foundation bearing the author’s name.
The government agreement 104-2026 provided a framework for this preparation. Another agreement between the Ministry of Culture and the Family Foundation provides for cooperation in publishing, teaching, research and museum projects. It is not only a matter of organizing a burial place. The aim of the authorities is to extend the tribute by activities that make texts and archives accessible to new readers.
A route between Guatemala and Europe
Born in Guatemala in 1899 and died in Madrid in 1974, Asturias practised as a writer, journalist and diplomat. His passage through Paris was also a time of training. The notice of the Spanish Archives recalls his studies of anthropology and indigenous mythology, as well as a work nourished by magical realism and surrealism. After his death, he was buried at Père-Lachaise in Paris.
The U.S. Library of CongressLeyendas de Guatemalapublished in 1930,El señor presidentepublished in 1946, andDark maízof 1949. To these titles add the trilogyViento fuerte,El Papa VerdeandLos ojos de los enterrados. Awarded by the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1967, the author was also Ambassador of Guatemala to France. His journey thus links literary creation, political life and circulation between several countries.
After the exhibition on 3 November, the program must therefore continue with the arrival of the remains on 12 November, followed by public tributes and burial three days later.
Cover : tomb of Miguel Ángel Asturias at Père-Lachaise, Paris, archive of 20 March 2023, prior to the announced repatriation. Photo:ManoSolo13241324 / Wikimedia Commons,CC BY-SA 4.0. Boxing, resizing and dressing Libnanews; adaptation under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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