García Márquez, Gabriel

Gabriel García Márquez was born in Aracataca, a small town in the tropical parts of northern Colombia. Here he mainly grew up with his grandfather, a retired colonel, and his grandmother. His father was a poor telegraph operator who later became a homeopathic pharmacist. As a 13 year old, Gabriel García Marquez went to Bogotá to study at the grammar school. Being alone in the capital, he spent his free time familiarizing himself with a good part of world literature. Later on, when a law student, he came into contact with a group of modernist poets. According to himself, it was his contacts with this group that caused him to quit his law studies for journalism and writing.