Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the Colombian author who put magical realism on the literary map, has died.

A source close to his family said the Nobel Laureate passed away Thursday at his home in Mexico City.

The novelist had just returned home from the hospital last week after what doctors said was a bout of pneumonia.

Garcia Marquez was Latin America's best-known author.

His book "One Hundred Years of Solitude" was an instant success and was dubbed "Latin America's Don Quixote" by late Mexican author Carlos Fuentes.

Garcia Marquez was 87 years old.