Juan Garcia Ponce, 71; Mexican Art Critic, Author, Translator

Juan Garcia Ponce, 71, a renowned art critic, translator and prize-winning novelist, died Saturday in Mexico City of complications from multiple sclerosis, which he had suffered from for more than three decades.

The author of at least 50 books, Garcia Ponce wrote novels, plays, screenplays and essays, and was considered one of Mexico's best art critics. In 2001, he received the Juan Rulfo Literature Prize, one of Latin America's and the Caribbean's top writing awards.

Born in Merida, the capital of Yucatan state, Garcia Ponce dedicated part of his career to editing magazines, including the Mexican Literature Magazine and Vuelta, founded by the late Nobel Prize-winning Mexican author Octavio Paz.