France on Tuesday handed the remains of Guatemalan author and Nobel laureate Miguel Angel Asturias to his son, who has said his home country is now ready for his father's return.
The lawyer, writer and diplomat -- who was awarded the literature prize in 1967 -- lived in Paris before he died in Spain aged 74 in 1974, during the last years of the the Franco dictatorship.
He was buried in Pere Lachaise cemetery in the French capital, which also houses the tombs celebrities including Irish playwright Oscar Wilde and US singer Jim Morrison.
Miguel Angel Asturias Amado, 85, hugged an urn containing his father's ashes at a handover ceremony in Paris.
"It was very difficult for me, as a son, to take the decision for my father to return to his homeland," he said, as it meant "leaving this country he loved so much".
But he had told AFP he decided it was time for his father to travel back to Guatemala after Bernardo Arevalo, a social democrat, became president in 2024.
The writer's remains were exhumed and cremated last month, Guatemalan Culture Minister Luis Mendez has said.
They are due in Guatemala on November 12, with a national funeral planned two days later.
Among the author's best known works are 1946 novel "The President", inspired by the dictatorship of Manuel Estrada Cabrera from 1898 to 1920.
He was fascinated by the mythology of the indigenous people of Guatemala, retelling some in his 1930 book "Legends of Guatemala".
His 1949 work "Men of Maize" is considered to be a precursor to magic realism.
Guatemala has produced two Nobel laureates. The other was human rights activist Rigoberta Menchu for peace in 1992.
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