Mexicans have been paying their last respects to novelist and essayist Carlos Fuentes, whose death at age 83 was announced on Tuesday.

Hundreds of Mexicans lined the streets of Mexico City to see the coffin being taken to the wake.

Mr Fuentes' wake was held at the imposing Fine Arts Palace.

Friends and family gathered to see him off and comfort his wife, Silvia Lemus.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon was among the many political and cultural figures attending the wake.

But many of those who came to the Palace of Fine Arts were Mr Fuentes' readers.