Nicaraguan poet and writer Gioconda Belli was awarded, this Monday, May 29, with the Reina Sofía Prize for Ibero-American Poetry, considered one of the most important in the world.
The prestigious award is accompanied by 42,100 euros, whose purpose is to reward the poetic work of an author who, due to its literary value, constitutes a relevant contribution to the common cultural heritage of Latin America and Spain.
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The president of the National Heritage, Ana de la Cueva, pointed out that the jury, “unanimously”, has valued its creative expressiveness, its freedom and poetic courage, its significance in contemporary culture in Nicaragua “and how it reinforces the prestige of one of the great countries of Spanish-American lyric».
He also said that the prize, in addition to the economic endowment, consists of the publication of an anthological collection of poems by the winner, “with the study and note by a prominent professor of literature from Salamanca and is completed with the celebration of academic conferences about the prize-winning poet».
“Gioconda is the author of an extensive work, both poetic and narrative, and her career has also been worthy of the Jaime Gil de Biedma award (…)”, highlighted de la Cueva.
For her part, Belli, chosen among 49 candidates for the award, told Article 66 feel happy because this is a recognition of his work as a poet «which has been long and with a great will to improve and to be able to be better every day; in addition to enhancing the identity and beauty of Nicaragua.”
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He stressed that he has admired this award “because it has been given to very important poets in Latin America; So I feel in illustrious company with Ernesto Cardenal, Claribel Alegría, Gonzalo Roja, Rafael Cadenas».
“Happy to be Nicaraguan”
Referring to the stripping of her nationality, together with more than 300 citizens, the writer, recently nationalized Chilean, stated that she felt very happy “because this award is given to a Nicaraguan, since Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo will never take away my nationality.” .
«In that sense I feel very happy to say that I am Nicaraguan; I have won this award as a Nicaraguan,” added the poet, who pointed out that the award is dedicated to Nicaragua “which is my source of inspiration, my country that I always carry in my heart, a portable country that is always with me.”
Referring to the attacks by the Ortega dictatorship, the 74-year-old writer affirmed that the repression will continue “because this is a dictatorship that is very afraid of the Nicaraguan people and that the only way it feels it can control and maintain its power is scaring us and repressing people.”
«What is clear is that they – the Ortega regime – have a deep weakness and need to be showing their repressive muscle, for this reason I salute the Catholic Church; I am very sorry for what is happening to them (…) I really believe that the discrediting work that the government of Rosario Murillo and Daniel Ortega is trying to do with the Church is unfortunate”, he concluded.
