A Conversation With Author Carlos Fuentes

Carlos Fuentes, one of the most influential writers in the Latin American world, died Tuesday at a hospital in Mexico City. He was 83. A prolific writer, Fuentes wrote novels, short stories and plays, as well as political nonfiction and essays that criticized the Mexican government during the 1980s and '90s.

Along with Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Mario Vargas Llosa and Julio Cortazar, he helped spread Latin American literature to a wider international audience throughout the 20th century, with novels like The Death of Artemio Cruz and The Old Gringo, which became the first Latin American novel to make it to The New York Times best-seller list.

Fuentes appeared on Fresh Air twice, first in 1987 and then again in 1994. We'll listen back to highlights from 1987.