Holguin writer Emerio Medina Peña, winner of the Julio Cortázar Ibero-American Short Story Award, received an acknowledgement from the Provincial Book and Literature Center of Holguin for his important contributions to Cuban literature, within the framework of the 32nd International Book Fair.
At Electa Arenal Hall of the Provincial Center of Fine Arts, this Saturday, during the space La Hora Tercia, the award that honors the more than 15 years of literary work of the author, a personality to whom this edition of the reading festival in the province was also dedicated, was delivered.
The honoree explained that his best writings come from daily life, from anecdotes he heard or lived, since these are the most faithful to show the life of the Cuban, a being who struggles tirelessly in current times.
“I would prefer to be remembered as the writer who writes for children and teenagers, in them imagination has no limits and magic emerges quickly, and from the position of the author it is impossible not to love such a demanding public, because it demands to improve day after day,” said the storyteller.
Medina Peña added that he feels grateful for having received the Julio Cortázar Award twice, once in 2009 with Los días del juego and in 2023 with El hombre que vino a leer, opportunities that few writers get in their lives, a fact that still impacts him and fills him with strength to move forward with his passion, literature.
During the award ceremony, poet Eugenio Marrón Casanova described the laureate as sharp in devising memorable stories with dramatic twists, courageous in facing the danger of the blank page, versatile in constantly crossing the line that separates storytelling and narrative and immortal, since in each of his texts he hides an alter ego.
The event was enlivened by the presentation of the Oral Narration Company Palabras al Viento, which made an approach to children’s literature published by the Holguin-born Emerio Medina Peña and the Cubamar Quartet, from the municipality of Mayari, the land where the man they call “the man who came to win” was born.
Emerio Medina Peña has won several distinctions throughout his extensive work and prolific life, including the UNEAC Luis Felipe Rodriguez Short Story Award in 2009 for Café bajo sombrillas junto al Sena, the Casa de las Americas in 2011 for “La bota sobre el toro muerto” and the Alejo Carpentier Award, also in the short story genre, for La línea en la mitad del vaso (The line in the middle of the glass).
With information from ACN / Transalted by Radio Angulo
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