Which Guatemalan Nobel laureate wrote 'Men of Maize'?

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Which Guatemalan Nobel laureate wrote 'Men of Maize'? Miguel Ángel Asturias wrote it.

Asturias published Men of Maize, or Hombres de maíz, in 1949. The novel draws on Maya cultural traditions and examines the conflict between Indigenous communities who regard maize as sacred and outsiders who treat land and corn as commercial resources.

Its structure is mythic and experimental. The story includes Gaspar Ilom’s resistance to plantation interests and Nicho’s search for his missing wife, during which he becomes associated with a coyote guardian spirit. These elements reflect the Maya concept of nahualism and help explain the novel’s magical-realist atmosphere.

Asturias received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1967, making him the first Latin American writer to win the award. He is sometimes confused with Pablo Neruda or Octavio Paz, but those writers were Chilean and Mexican respectively, not Guatemalan.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026

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