Prolific Colombian writer and poet Alvaro Mutis Jaramillo died in Mexico’s capital Sunday. He was 90 years old.

The cause of death couldn’t immediately be confirmed, though Mexican media quoted his wife, Carmen Miracle, as saying he died at a cardiac hospital from a cardio-respiratory problem.

Mutis enjoyed wide popularity outside Colombia and was considered by critics as one of the most outstanding poets and storytellers of his generation, after his good friend, Nobel laureate Gabriel García Marquez.

Despite the difficulties he faced, including time in a Mexican prison, Mutis produced an extensive collection of novels and poetry that earned major international honors such as the Xavier Villaurrutia, Prince of Asturias and Cervantes prizes.

Mexico’s National Commission for Culture and the Arts lamented the death of the literary giant via its Twitter account.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos sent his condolences after Mutis’ death was confirmed by the cultural commission Sunday night.

“The millions of friends and admirers of Alvaro Mutis profoundly lament his death,” Santos wrote. “All of Colombia honors him.”

Colombian writer Gustavo Alvarez Gardeazabal called him “a remarkable narrator, remarkable poet and remarkable friend.”

Mutis was a witty man with a great sense of humor, Mexican poet Hugo Gutierrez Vega said in a recent interview with the cultural commission commemorating Mutis’ 90th birthday.

“He describes a lost world, the old Colombia of rural ownership, like the family Mutis,” Gutierrez said, noting that he spent part of his childhood the family coffee and sugar cane farm in Coello.

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