Havana, April 18 (RHC) -- Cubans today are mourning the death of Nobel-winning Colombian author, Gabriel García Márquez, a great friend of this Caribbean nation and its leader Fidel Castro. García Marquez passed away on Thursday at the age of 87 in Mexico City.

The author of "One Hundred Years of Solitude" was very popular and loved here in Cuba, not only as a writer but also as a friend.

Described by Fidel Castro as "a man with a child's kindness and a cosmic talent,” 'Gabo', as he was affectionately called, maintained a close friendship with the Cuban leader since the “dawn of the Revolution,” when he came to the island as a journalist to cover the victory of the rebel army that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in 1959.

Cuban President Raul Castro lamented the death of the Colombian writer in a letter sent Friday to his family. “The world, and especially the Peoples of Our America, have literally lost a paradigmatic intellectual and writer,” declared the Cuban head of state in the text.

Meanwhile, in this morning's edition of the daily Granma, an obituary was published entitled "Latin American culture is in mourning. Gabriel Garcia Marquez has died."

Soon after hearing about García Marquez' passing, Cuban author and essayist Miguel Barnet said: "Cuba suffers from this death, as do all readers of a writer who was an icon."

With his writings, Gabriel Garcia Marquez brought Latin America's charm and teaming contradictions to life in the minds of millions of people.