Gabriela Mistral died of pancreatic cancer at Hempstead General Hospital in Hempstead, New York, at age 67.
Gabriela Mistral died on January 10, 1957, at Hempstead General Hospital in Hempstead, Long Island, New York, succumbing to pancreatic cancer at the age of 67. At the time of her death she had been living in the United States, having spent much of her later life abroad in consular and diplomatic postings for the Chilean government, including periods in the United States, Europe, and Latin America.
Her death was met with an outpouring of grief in Chile, where she was regarded as a national treasure and cultural icon. The Chilean government declared three days of national mourning, and her body was returned to Chile for a state funeral, an extraordinary honor reflecting her stature as the country's most celebrated literary figure. She was ultimately laid to rest in Montegrande, in the Elqui Valley near her childhood home, per her own wishes.
Mistral's death marked the end of a remarkable life that took her from a childhood in a remote Chilean valley to global literary fame as the first Latin American Nobel laureate in Literature. Her legacy endured through her poetry, her advocacy for children's and women's education, and her lasting influence on generations of Latin American writers. Chile continues to honor her memory through currency, postage stamps, schools, and cultural institutions bearing her name.