The Peruvian novelist was unanimously selected as the recipient of this year's Cadiz Cortes Ibero-American Freedom Prize for his "untarnished defense of liberty, both of the press and in politics, and his efforts to maintain the perfection of the Spanish language through his literature," according to a statement from the city of Cadiz.

“In a letter sent to Cadiz's municipal council, which conferred the award, Vargas Llosa said the city's name was 'intimately associated with the aspirations for democracy and freedom of all Spaniards and Latin Americans since the 19th century'” Global Post reports. Read the complete story here.