The Colombian Congress approved after a third reading of a bill that the nation’s Central Bank – Banco de la República – should emit a bank note next year in honor of the country’s Nobel Laureate, Gabriel García Márquez.
The proposed new Colombian bank note could be in banks as early as the middle of next year and would be the first with a $100,000 peso emission. Currently, the highest bank note circulating in the country is the $50,000 peso bill, and which also depicts a literary icon, Jorge Isaacs, novelist of the classic 19th century work, María.
Márquez died on April 17th 2014 in Mexico City at age 87 and received the the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982 for his novels set in the fictional “magic realism” landscape of Macondo. Among his greatest masterpieces are One Hundred Years of Solitude, The Autumn of the Patriarch and Love in the Time of Cholera.
Congressman Carrillo Durán stated to the press that along with the bank note honouring García Márquez, the government should start restoring and preserving important cultural landmarks which have a direct relationship with the writer and his works; such as the village where he was born Aracataca (Magdalena), the family home ‘Casa-Museo Gabriel García Márquez,’ the town church where he was baptized ‘Church of St. Joseph the Camellón de los Almendros’, and Aracataca’s Railway Station which is mentioned often his works, including One Hundred Years of Solitude.
The representative recommended that in Barranquilla, where ‘Gabo’ began his career as journalist, the sites which should be includes in the patrimony listing are the Caribbean Cultural Park and Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, Caribbean Film Library, as well as the Cultural Centre of the literary tavern, ‘La Cava.’ The politician suggested that the restoration of some of these buildings and their historical importance could be overseen and cordinated with the Foundation for New Ibero-American Journalism (FNPI).
The prospect of a $100,000 peso bill circulating next year, has also generated debate on whether the Colombian government will push through a plan to eliminate three zeros from the currency. Finance Minister Mauricio Cardenas said the idea of ??removing three zeros was still a possibility, but that it would have to be approved by Congress and have the support of both the government and Central Bank.
