Havana, Cuba.- Cuba and the United States were among the top winners at the 60th edition of the Casa de las Americas Literary Prize.
Cuban researcher Reinaldo Funes won the prize in the category of Historical-Social Essay with his text ‘Nuestro viaje a la luna, la idea de la transformación de la naturaleza de Cuba durante la Guerra Fría’.
In the category of Literature for children and youth, popular Cuban folk music improviser Alexis Diaz Pimienta was honored with his book ‘Piel de Noche’ which, according to the jury, stands out for addressing a sensitive issue with a high human sense.
The honorable mention in the category of Studies on Latinos in the United States also went this time to Cuban researcher Lisandro Perez and his writing ‘Sugar, Cigars and Revolution: The Making of Cuban’.
American Chris Cepeda received a special recognition in the aforementioned category with ‘Latino Mass Mobilization, Immigration, Racialization and Activism’.
The greatest prize went to his compatriot Maria Josefina Saldaña, author of ‘Indian Given, Racial Geograpies across Mexico and The United States’, described as an original and creative analysis about the indigeneity in that country.
In the category of Novel, the highest prize went to Argentinean Eduardo Varela with ‘La ruta’, and two repeated mentions between Argentinean Juan Pablo Morales ‘La vida cosida’ and Uruguayan Roberto Montaña ‘La noche en la que nos encontro el pasado’.
The prize in Poetry went to Ecuadorian Jose Rodinas ‘Yaravi para cantar bajo los cielos del norte. Biografía no autorizada de un Bansky sudamericano’, while in the categrory of Brazilian Literature, the winner was Deborah Dornellas with the novel ‘Por cima do amor’.
The mentions in Literature for children and youth went to Mexican Joaquin Casasola and Colombian Martin Doria with ‘En los zapatos de Elvis’ and ‘Melisa entre las hojas’, respectively.
The usual honorary prizes were announced by the President of Casa de las Americas Roberto Fernandez Retamar, in which Chilean Jose Maria Memet won the Jose Lezama Lima poetry prize with ‘Meli Witran Mapu. Tierra de los cuatro lugares’.