Carlos Fuentes, Mexico's leading novelist, was born in 1928. In addition to teaching at Columbia, Harvard, Princeton, Brown, and other universities in the United States, he has written essays and screenplays, political journalism and commentary, and has been his country's ambassador to France. He is the author of more than ten novels, including The Death of Artemio Cruz, The Old Gringo, and Diana; one of these—Terra Nostra—won the prestigious Romulo Gallegos Prize in Venezuela. In 1987, he was awarded the Cervantes Prize, the highest honor given to a Spanish-language writer. Mr. Fuentes lives in Mexico City and in London.