Sara Castro-Klarén
June 9, 1940 ~ September 1, 2026
Born in:
Sabandia, Peru
Resided in:
Great Falls, Virginia
Sara Castro-Klarén, born in Sabandia, Peru in 1940 to Jose Castro Valdivia and Zoila Rosa Castro Rivas, died Tuesday, September 1, 2026 in her home surrounded by her loving family. She is survived by her beloved husband, Peter, daughter Alexandra (and husband Alec Hass) of Great Falls, Virginia. She was the proud grandmother of Eleanora and Theodore Hass (Alexandra and Alec’s children). A private funeral Mass will be held. A Celebration of Life will be held at a date and time to be determined.
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The Owners and Staff at the Money and King Funeral Home, wish to express our sincere sympathy to you. It is our hope that we may be able to make a difficult time more bearable. Please feel free to call us anytime as we are always available to you.
Bob Gallagher
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Thinking of my dear friend and her family.
ay, sarita querida. nos dejas un vacío enorme. sara was a tough and steadfast advisor, who used to sit down with me and read my sentences aloud, questioning the choice of every word. it was infuriating! and it made me a better writer and a better thinker. i wouldn’t be the intellectual i am today without her dedication. she always made time for her students. she would greet me with a hug at her office door and then tell me none of my 60+ pages were any good. (she was right.) that was sara as a mentor: tough but loving, tough because she was loving. it was her way. she was hard on me because she believed in me, which became evident as i went on the market. she supported me thru personal and professional life transitions and always delighted in my accomplishments. this is a tremendous loss! my heart goes out to ali, whom i had the great pleasure of befriending in cusco, and her kiddos. she loved you all so much. as i told ali, so many people know sara as an academic force, but i witnessed throughout our friendship how ali and her family mattered above all else. my condolences to peter, too. sending you all love and fond memories.
La recuerdo en las comidas de Thanksgiving, en su casa en Virginia. Noviembre, el frío de invierno, pero en su casa era como estar en familia calor humano. Gracias Sara por todo. Se te va a extrañar.
Doctora Castro-Klaren was a wonderful and inspiring professor, mentor, and friend. She was quietly brilliant and brought humor and ease to consequential philosophical, social, and political topics. She welcomed debate and discussion from every corner. Some of my fondest memories from Hopkins were our conversations in her class and during office hours, where she was generous with her time, guidance, and wit. She was a big influence on my intellectual life and my understanding of philosophy and language. She encouraged my ideas at a time when I needed help finding direction and focus in my academic career. My sincerest condolences to her family. I will miss her.
SARA CASTRO KLAREN (1940-2026)
Difícil estimar lo que los estudios andinos deben al rigor y al tesón de Sara Castro Klaren, investigadora incansable del periodo colonial y la época moderna, labor complementada por un trabajo pedagógico que guió a un buen número de académicos que siguieron y expandieron su trabajo. De presencia constante durante décadas en simposios y congresos, los aportes de Sara siempre entregaban contribuciones fundamentales, críticas y teóricas, a los temas que tocaba, abriendo nuevas rutas a la interpretación de la cultura. Sus estudios fueron en muchos casos fundacionales. En otras ocasiones, ayudaron a corregir el rumbo de la interpretación, siempre con una base sólida de información erudita y selectiva. Sensible y aguda, la fuerza de su personalidad imprimía un sello singular a sus análisis. Su nombre y su extensa obra seguirán siendo un punto de referencia obligado para las generaciones futuras. A quienes tuvimos la fortuna de conocerla y compartir con ella tantos momentos nos queda, además, el recuerdo cálido de su trato amable y enérgico, de su humor y su pasión por la literatura.
Her generosity extended past the intellectual, too. She opened her network of scholars to us, folded us into her conversations, made us feel like we belonged to this profession. She was warm and welcoming — not just in her office, but in her home and her family life. Celebrating holidays at her table, or meeting the guests who passed through, I felt embraced by her, by Peter, by Ali. And it wasn’t only visiting scholars she welcomed like that: she invited my mother, too, when she came from Argentina.
She had a genuine, abiding interest in us as people, and the joy she took in those human connections was contagious. I will be forever grateful to her — and to Peter and Ali.
Sara was one of the most important persons in my life. I first met her in my hometown in Argentina, Tucuman, for a conference, when I was a student at the university there, three decades ago. A couple of years later, when I came to the US to study my PHD, she and her dear husband Peter picked me from the airport. It was my first time in USA and she knew that I was not ready yet to be left by myself. She welcomed me to her house for a week, and that first night I went to the movies with teenager Ali :). They became my family then. Memories like that speak to her generosity and how much she cared for her students. Throughout these years, I learned so much from Sara. She was an extraordinary mentor in the profession and in life. Among many things, Sara inspired me to learn Indigenous languages, because a language shapes a worldview. Fundamentally, she taught us -in words, her writing, and her own actions- that Latin America has much to contribute to the academic discussion, but it is also place/standpoint from where to see the world wherever a person lives.
Mis mas sentidas condolencias para la familia. Sara fue uno de los pilares de mi vida profesional. Siempre tendrá un lugar en mi corazón.
Mi más sentido pésame. Sara fue una gran influencia en mi vida profesional, y le estoy inmensamente agradecida por apoyo y su calidez. Es una gran pérdida.
Con gran tristeza recibimos la noticia del sensible fallecimiento de nuestra querida maestra y colega Dra. Sara Castro-Klaren a quien homenajeamos en el 2022. Su partida es una gran pérdida para las letras peruanas. QEPD.
Sara Castro-Klarén was emerita professor of Latin American literature and culture at Johns Hopkins University. She specialized in modern Latin American literature, cultural and postcolonial theory, and colonial studies. She was the author or editor of numerous books, including Understanding Mario Vargas Llosa; Women’s Writing In Latin America: An Anthology; A Companion to Latin American Literature; and Culture, and Inca Garcilaso and Contemporary World-Making. In 2017, she received the Order of the Sun of Peru, the highest civilian award conferred by the Peruvian government, for her outstanding scholarly contributions to the study of Peru’s literary and cultural history as well as to the field of Latin American studies at large. – Rocío Ferreira
Querida Sara, siento mucho tu partida. Se te ca a recordar. Dejaste una huella profunda entre los que te conocimos, aún si muy brevemente. Gracias por dejar a nuestro querido Perú tan orgulloso de ti!
Mis condolencias a Peter y a toda tu familia.
Gabriela Vega
As a friend and colleague, Sara was kind and generous. As a scholar, she was one of the most insightful and incisive thinkers in the field of Latin American Studies. Though I was not one of her students, her mentorship over the years was invaluable to me and I will miss her dearly. My thoughts are with her family and friends.
From Carlos A. Jáuregui Didyme-Dôme (LASA Colonial Section Posting on Facebook)
Con gran pesar recibimos la noticia del fallecimiento de Sara Castro-Klarén, profesora emérita de Johns Hopkins University, distinguida intelectual peruana y una de las voces más importantes de los estudios literarios y culturales latinoamericanos.
Autora de trabajos fundamentales sobre José María Arguedas, Mario Vargas Llosa, el Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, la teoría poscolonial y la literatura latinoamericana, su obra se distinguió por un gran rigor intelectual y académico. Fue también una colega generosa con varias generaciones de latinoamericanistas.
Su trabajo sobre canibalismo, género y violencia colonial sigue siendo una referencia imprescindible.
Mis condolencias a su familia, amigos, colegas y discípulos.
My sincere condolences to Sara’s family. Although I was in the department for only a short time, Sara was incredibly kind to me. She was spirited and had a wonderful wit. I will miss her dearly.
Mis condolencias para la familia. Siento mucho la partida de la inolvidable Sarita, su agudeza crítica y sentido del humor eran únicos. Tuvimos la suerte de tenerla de visita un semestre y para un par de eventos en la Universidad de Maryland. Se le echará de menos.
I am deeply grateful for having had the opportunity to accompany you in the new edition of El mundo mágico de José María Arguedas. For me, that process meant much more than the work of editing a book. It was also an opportunity to get to know you, to listen to you, and, through your perspective, to discover new ways of understanding Arguedas.
I will always remember your lucidity, your curiosity, and that very special ability to make us look beyond the words. I will treasure our messages and conversations. Each one allowed me to know you a little better and, at the same time, to come closer to the beauty and depth of Arguedas’s narrative.
I will carry you in my heart, dear Professor. I know that those of us who were fortunate enough to have crossed paths with you will always carry something of your thought, your questions, and everything you taught us to see in a different way.
With much affection and deepest gratitude.
Hilda Bonafon Palomino
From the Fondo Editorial del Instituto de Estudios Peruanos (IEP) via Facebook:
Sara Castro-Klarén fue una destacada académica, crítica literaria e investigadora peruana, cuya obra contribuyó de manera decisiva al estudio de la literatura y la cultura latinoamericana. Su trabajo riguroso abrió nuevas perspectivas para comprender la riqueza de la tradición literaria peruana y andina.
Este año, nuestro fondo editorial publicó la reedición de “El mundo mágico de José María Arguedas”, uno de sus libros más influyentes, publicado originalmente en 1973 y convertido en una referencia indispensable para los estudios arguedianos.
Expresamos nuestras condolencias a su familia, amistades, colegas y a todas las personas que compartieron con ella su vocación por la investigación y la docencia
From the Johns Hopkins University
In Memoriam: Dr. Sara Castro-Klaren
September 4, 2026
With great sadness, we received the news of the passing of Dr. Sara Castro-Klaren, who was an emerita professor of Latin American literature and culture and an affiliated faculty member at LACLxS at Johns Hopkins University.
Sara Castro-Klarén (1942–2026) was one of the most insightful and beloved scholars in the fields of Peruvian and Latin American studies. Born in Peru and educated in the United States, she built bridges between North American academia and the Andean reality, combining uncommon intellectual rigor with profound human sensitivity.
She earned her doctorate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and spent much of her career as a professor of literature and Romance languages at Johns Hopkins University in the United States. Her scholarship ranged from colonial studies, cultural studies, and postcolonial theory to contemporary Latin American literature, with particular emphasis on the work of such foundational authors as the Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, Felipe Guamán Poma de Ayala, José María Arguedas (El mundo mágico de José María Arguedas, 1973), and Mario Vargas Llosa (Understanding Mario Vargas Llosa, 1990), among others.
In 2017, the Peruvian state awarded her the Order of the Sun of Peru at the rank of Grand Officer, the highest distinction conferred on citizens for outstanding contributions to culture and history.
Her intellectual legacy will endure as an indispensable reference for understanding modernity, postcoloniality, and literary identities in Latin America.
En nombre de todos los colegas que aún formamos parte del grupo de los viernes, nuestras condolencias por la pérdida de Sara. Sara fue la que tuvo la idea original y la que reunió a un grupo de latinoamericanistas del área de Washington a leer teoría, trabajar en conjunto y a hablar del campo. Seguimos aún juntándonos. Gracias a Sara que nos convocó.
Para la familia de Sara, mis más sentidas condoloencias. Sara significó mucho para tantos peruanistas y latinoamericanistas que tuvimos el gran privilegio de conocerla, de aprender de ella y de disfrutar de su sabiduría, conocimiento y capacidad analítica. Nos queda su maravilloso legado, que seguirá para siempre con nostros. Descanse en paz.
Solo queda decir: gracias, Sara, por tu generosidad, tu capacidad y el amor que pusiste y derramaste a lo largo de tu vida. Siempre te llevaré en un rincón de mi corazón.
Condolences to her loved ones.
Sara was a wonderful person and colleague. She hired me at Dartmouth, my first job. She guided and trusted me, and incorporated me in all the decisions made in the department. We stayed in touch and worked for the Library of Congess. We also visited at Hopkins. I was fortunate to work under her supervision, and I will never forget her. My condolences to Peter and Alexandra. With much love, William.
It is with sadness and profound gratitude that I extend my condolences to the family of Sara, who lived a long and extraordinary life. I honor her memory with deep appreciation for her remarkable contributions and for the generosity of spirit with which she shared her knowledge and wisdom. Her work bridged cultures, generations, and ways of knowing, leaving a lasting legacy that continues to inspire. My heartfelt condolences go especially to Peter and Alexandra, whose lives she enriched in so many ways.
Crystal Chemris
Con profundo pesar, recibimos la noticia del fallecimiento de la profesora y crítica peruana Sara Castro-Klarén. Tuvimos el honor de trabajar con ella y disfrutar de su conversación y generosidad. Echaremos de menos su obligada visita a nuestro stand de LASA, donde se sentaba con nosotros a compartir ideas, debates y planes.
Nos deja como testimonio de su prolífica actividad intelectual su presencia en varios de nuestros consejos editoriales, así como su libro de teoría poscolonial: The Narrow Pass of Our Nerves. Writing, Coloniality and Postcolonial Theory y otros dos de los cuales fue editora: Latin American Women’s Narrative. Practices and Theoretical Perspectives = Narrativa Femenina en América Latina. Prácticas y Perspectivas Teóricas y Entre Borges y Conrad. Estética y territorio en William Henry Hudson. See less
Querida Sara, your intellect, your wisdom, your warmth, your generosity, your friendship and guidance, your endless support–we remember it all.
When I started my PhD at Hopkins, Sara was still working at the Library of Congress and teaching part-time at JHU. The department chair told me that I would want to meet her and take her graduate class. I remember meeting Sara at the Library of Congress and eating lunch together outside. At one point in the conversation, she made a remark about the garden plots around us, “you would think that if they were going to plant all these flowers, they would throw a little water on them from time to time.” I’ve thought of that remark often over the years as reflecting Sara’s ability to get right to the crux of an issue, her pragmatism, her ability to express things clearly. Over the years, as I was fortunate to be at her house many times, especially as we were both living in northern Virginia and used to commute together to JHU, I got to see her own wonderful garden.
Sara didn’t just care for the green plants. She cared for all of us and helped us to bloom, not just as (sometimes green) students at Hopkins, but also later, wherever we found ourselves planted.
I am so grateful to have been part of her academic garden.
🤍💐un abrazo, Ali
Sara became extended family when our son, Alec, married Ali 8 years ago. She was so accomplished in her own right and had such an interesting story to tell. Loved the years of time and conversation we shared with her. Most importantly, she was a wonderful Ama to our shared grandchildren. She will be greatly missed but our memories with her will stay with us. Rest in peace dear Sara.
Paul A. Hass
Franklin, IN
En memoria de Sara Castro-Klarén
Con profundo pesar despedimos a nuestra querida exalumna Sara Castro-Klarén.
Sara fue una destacada exalumna de los Sagrados Corazones y una académica de prestigio internacional. Su extraordinaria trayectoria en literatura y cultura latinoamericanas dejó una huella imborrable. En 2017 recibió la Orden del Sol del Perú, en reconocimiento a su invaluable aporte.
Para nuestra Asociación, fue también una generosa benefactora del Programa de Becas para hijas de Exalumnas y una verdadera fuente de inspiración. Fue ella quien nos animó a crear el programa “CORAZONES QUE INSPIRAN”, convencida de que las historias y logros de nuestras exalumnas pueden iluminar el camino de las nuevas generaciones.
Hoy la despedimos con profunda gratitud y admiración. Su legado intelectual, su amor por el Perú y su generosidad permanecerán siempre entre nosotros.
Acompañamos con nuestras oraciones y cariño a su esposo, hija, nietos y a toda su familia.
Querida Sara, gracias por ser un verdadero “Corazón que Inspira”. Tu legado permanecerá y seguirá iluminando a nuevas generaciones.
🕊️ Descansa en paz.
Asociación de Exalumnas
Colegio Sagrados Corazones de Arequipa
la tía Sarita fue una gran inspiración para mi vida . Nos vimos pocas veces, pero la conversación fue siempre profunda , no necesitamos decir mucho , nuestras miradas se encontraron entre las sonrisas y los recuerdos.
Te vamos a extrañar mucho querida tia , pero al recordarte estarás entre nosotros siempre .
Besos al cielo .
Luchy y familia
Frankfurt-Alemania