Mexican composer Mario Lavista died on Thursday, Nov. 4 at the age of 78. Although the cause of the artist's death has not been specified at this time, Lavista leaves behind an outstanding career as a composer and reference in music.

"Today we bid farewell to maestro Mario Lavista, an enormous figure of art and teacher of generations. Mexico and Latin America lose one of the most outstanding composers of the last century. A warm embrace to Claudia, his friends, students and family," wrote Mexico's Secretary of Culture Alejandra Frausto.

The secretary announced, through the same platform, that a posthumous tribute would be held in the Palacio de Bellas Artes building.

"We will bid farewell to one of the most influential figures in the shaping of the contemporary music scene in Mexico and other latitudes," Frausto said.

Institutions and personalities of the Mexican cultural world lamented the composer's death. Lavista received the National Prize of Sciences y Arts in 1991, and was also a member of El Colegio Nacional and a teacher at the National Conservatory of Music.

His friend and colleague, linguist Luis Fernando Lara, wrote an emotional letter in tribute to Mario, in which he remembers him as "a generous, open, cultured friend, and always in a good mood."

He was awarded multiple prizes such as "Emeritus Creator" by the National Council for Culture and the Arts (Conaculta) in 1995, and the "Commemorative Medal of the Palace of Fine Arts" in 2006. In 1998, he was admitted to the Colegio Nacional and was an honorary member of the Seminario de Cultura Mexicana. He was also recognized by the SGAE with the Ibero-American Music Tomás Luis de Victoria award. 

The musical and cultural world is in mourning for his loss.