The jury of Reward Ibero-American Short Story Julio Cortázar awarded this Friday in Havana the award corresponding to this year to the writer and journalist Laura Restrepo, from Colombiaaccording to official media on the island.
The jury made up of the Argentine Oliverio Coelho and the Cubans María Elena Llana and Abel Prieto, considered for its decision that in his work handlesthe author exposed “in a masterful way the violence and cruelty that tragically mark the area”, according to a office of the Prensa Latina (PL) agency.
The Julio Cortázar Ibero-American Short Story Award was for the narrative “Mangos”, by Colombian Laura Restrepo, for masterfully exposing the violence and cruelty that tragically mark our region. pic.twitter.com/kR2jwTRvK4
— House of the Americas (@CasAmericas) August 26, 2022
The media outlet recalls that in his country, Restrepo was part of the M-19 guerrilla, along with the current president Gustavo Petro. Her novels have been translated into more than 25 languages, in addition to deserving important distinctions such as the Alfaguara Prize, the Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, the Prix France Culture, a critics award for the best foreign novel published in France.
Recently, the Bogota writer released her novel old lovers songa work of fiction based on the author’s trips with Doctors Without Borders to Yemen, Ethiopia and the Somali border, the source says.
Exceptionally, this time an Honor Award was given to the Argentine painter and sculptor Julio Le Parc, since his story The Vizcachaand First Mention went to the story The damby Matías Dalvarade, also from that South American nation.
On this occasion, the jury valued 1098 storiesfrom 28 countries, and decided to grant several mentions. Among the literary pieces that received recognition were We love Meme so muchfrom Argentina’s Natalia Milocco, and storm anatomyby the Cuban Rubén Rodríguez.
This afternoon, celebrating the birthday of Julio Cortázar, the results of the Ibero-American Short Story Prize that bears his name were unveiled. Check them here ? https://t.co/RAkhFoxnaF#IberoamericanStory AwardJulioCortázar pic.twitter.com/bPOO6qIxYP
– Dulce María Loynaz Cultural Center (@centrodmloynaz) August 27, 2022
According to the agency, the texts also deserved mentions that Belgian womanby Argentina’s María Marta Ochoa; The return of the catbirdby Cuban Ricardo Alberto Pérez; Trash manby Colombian Wilfrido Pabón and The girl with the dragon tattooby the writer Raúl Flores Iriarte, from Cuba.
Due to the imagination, creativity and use of language by their authors, they added to the list of recognized stories Ravens fly at dawnby Cuban Emerio Medina; christmas traditions, by Colombian Miguel Castillo Fuentes; as well as And they call you dog killerby the Spanish Miguel Ángel González, specifies the publication.
The event that pays tribute to the famous Argentine writer, and which is now in its twentieth edition, has become one of the most internationally recognized spaces for literary appreciation and creation.
Behind its annual call is the support of several cultural institutions, such as the Cuban Book Institute, the House of the Americas and the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (Uneac), with the collaboration of the Ministry of Culture of the Argentine Nation and the ALIA Foundation.