For years the existence of Indira was kept in reserve out of respect for the writer’s wife and “loyalty to Gabo”. The author always wanted to have a daughter.
The Colombian Nobel Gabriel Garcia Marquez He had a daughter out of wedlock named Indira, whose existence, unknown until now, was confirmed this Monday to EFE by relatives and friends of the writer.
The Secret daughter of the 1982 Nobel Prize for Literature with the Mexican journalist and writer Susana Cato has approximately 30 years old and went “the most sacred and intimate secret of García Márquez”, according to the journalist Gustavo Tatis Guerra, who revealed the news in an article published in the newspaper The universal, from Cartagena de Indias.
About, Gabriel Eligio Torres García, the writer’s nephew, confirmed to EFE the existence of his cousin Indira Cato, of which there were only rumors among the closest friends of the author of One hundred years of solitude, Died on April 17, 2014 in Mexico City, at the age of 87.
“She is a bit shy, in fact it has been quite a process. slow her approach to the rest of the family; but yes, of course, Indira, we have a communication with her, very good relations”, revealed Torres García, author of the book The Garcia Marquez house.
The girl was named after Indira, apparently in Tribute to former Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi, who had befriended García Márquez for a trip he made to New Delhi in 1983 to accompany Fidel Castro to a summit of the Non-Aligned Movement.
Indira Cato bears her mother’s surname, since it was Susana Cato who “made the decision not to bear the surname García Márquez”, says Gabriel Eligio Torres García, and adds: “Everything is fine, another cousin”.
Gabriel Garcia Márquez had two sons, Rodrigo and Gonzalo, with his wife, Mercedes Barcha., who also died in Mexico City in September 2020, and according to Tatis, the writer’s family and friends kept for years Indira’s existence was secretly “out of respect for Mercedes Barcha and loyalty to Gabo”.
“Indira is a normal girl and thanks to the fact that her mother never allowed her to be given her last name (García Márquez) she was able to grow up in peace, study in peace and lead a peaceful life”, added his cousin in Cartagena.
A well kept secret
Gerald Martin, author of A life, the biography of Gabriel García Márquez, also briefly commented on the case with EFE from London, where he lives.
“I suspected it 30 years ago and I was almost definitely convinced 10 years ago; It is my rule of conduct not to speak publicly about lovers and/or their children without first speaking personally with the people in question,” he said.
For his part, the Colombian writer Dasso Saldívar, Gabo’s first biographer and author of the book Garcia Marquez. The journey to the seed, said to EFE from Madrid: “I believe that any deepening of the subject carries the risk of touching and hurt deep fibers in the protagonists of this beautiful and delicate love story”.
“Now the floor is up to them, in case they wanted to do it, although I think neither Indira nor her mother nor her brothers are going to do itAt least for now,” he added.
On the reason for having kept secret the existence of Indira, Torres García said: “I suppose, knowing how I met Gabo, that it was a way of not bothering Mercedes, but also to please the decision of Susana, Indira’s mother”.
Susan is the one he did not want them to give him the surname García Márquez to his daughter because Gabo was willing to do it,” he said, adding that as far as he knows, “Mercedes did not object at any time Indira’s care because in the end it was her husband’s blood, I say here”.
Three brothers
Gabo’s nephew explained that the relationship of Indira Cato with the other children of the writer, Gonzalo and Rodrigo García Barcha, “she is very good, she has always been good”. “They have always supported her and they have helped her a lot, they are beyond all this, they have never said anything and they know that this news was going to come to light and it was going to be known at any moment, “he explained.
According to the Nobel nephew, “Gonzalo and Rodrigo always knew of the existence of their sister from the first moments and obviously they have asserted and respected Indira’s rights”.
“I already spoke with Gonzalo and with Rodrigo and they told me to tell the truth and to say what I know, “he said.
A daughter, Gabo’s dream
García Márquez stated publicly on several occasions that one of his dreams was to have a daughter, so Torres García assured that the relationship between them must have been very good. “He would have gone crazy with his daughter; Gabo was always very attached to his feelings, more than anything else, towards his children.”
“I understand that Gabo from the beginning was always in charge of Indira and it continued to be so as long as it endured and left instructions that it be continued that way (doing it), because what Gabo said that was sacred”, added his nephew.
Susana Cato, mother of Indira, wrote with García Márquez the scripts for the films The mirror of two moons (1990) and You don’t play with love (1991).
Perhaps because of that inheritance Indira is immersed in the art world. “I know that he works in cinema, he has done his short films”, said Torres García, who said that a few years before the pandemic she asked him for help to present one of her short films in the Cartagena de Indias Film Festival (Ficci).
“I told him that I could help him, but we agreed that it would be presented completely incognito; like nobody knew her, so it could be done, “he said.
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
