Octavio Paz was born on this day in 1914 in Mexico City and died in 1998. The poet is one of only a dozen Latinos – and the lone Mexican – to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, which he won in 1990.
Paz‘s writings were first published when he was just a teenager. He is known for his poems that “investigate the intersection of philosophy, religion, art, politics, and the role of the individual,” according to poets.org.
His most prominent works are 1957’s Sun Stone, which revolves around the Aztec calendar and was adapted into a play, and 1950’s The Labyrinth of Solitude, which focuses on Mexico.
Paz remains a beloved figure in his homeland, even in these high tech times. His poem, Blanco, is the basis for one of the most popular apps in Mexico.
The Hispanic Reader 