A Surreal End For An Unforgettable Queen: Pedro Lemebel, 1952-2015

A Surreal End For An Unforgettable Queen
In this May 31, 2001 photo, Chilean writer Pedro Lemebel poses for a portrait before a presentation at a local theater in Santiago Chile. Lemebel died after a bout with larynx cancer on Friday, Jan. 23, 2015, at a Santiago clinic. He was 62. (AP Photo/Luis Hidalgo)
In this May 31, 2001 photo, Chilean writer Pedro Lemebel poses for a portrait before a presentation at a local theater in Santiago Chile. Lemebel died after a bout with larynx cancer on Friday, Jan. 23, 2015, at a Santiago clinic. He was 62. (AP Photo/Luis Hidalgo)

Pedro Lemebel, the Chilean writer, artist, activist, and provocateur, died last Friday morning of laryngeal cancer. By the afternoon, newspapers in Latin America and Spain teemed with tributes. In his native Santiago, hundreds gathered for his funeral on Saturday, and celebrities and politicians competed to offer the most extravagant praise. “Pedro Lemebel is an essential figure of Chile, a great artist who leaves an enormous void in the country,” said Claudia Barattini, the minister of culture. Chile’s socialist President, Michelle Bachelet, called him “a tireless creator,” “a fighter for social justice and defender of freedom.”

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