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Havana, August 1 (RHC) -- The winners of the emblematic "David Award" of the UNEAC Writers' Association were presented this Monday at the Villena Hall of the organization's national headquarters in Havana, a ceremony attended by UNEAC President Luis Morlote Rivas, writer and ethnologist Miguel Barnet and National Literature Prize winner Nancy Morejón.

For her clarity of exposition, elegant and fluent writing and personal and emotional involvement, Cynthia Vargas Sarmiento was awarded the David 2023 Prize in essay for her book "La historia de la canción trovadoresca: crónica de una Revolución dentro de la Revolución" (The history of the troubadour song: chronicle of a Revolution within the Revolution). This was announced by Marlene Vázquez, head of the jury in this category, who together with Enrique Ubieta and Pablo Argüelles decided to award it unanimously. The award-winning author emphasized how essential it is to carry out this type of research because it connects cultural issues with politics, with the economy, "how from culture there is a dialogue towards these issues that matter to society".

In the short story category, Nelson Pérez Espinoza was recognized for his work "Allí donde el fuego arde", a look at the rural environment, but incorporating premises from the fantastic and science fiction. The jury integrated by writers Martha Acosta Álvarez, Souleen Dell' Amico and chaired by Raúl Aguiar, considered that the author reactivates and pays homage to the work of Onelio Jorge Cardoso.

"The book is mostly about tales of rural realism, where I'm going to revisit all those fishing villages, all those peasants who are a bit forgotten in contemporary Cuban literature and I think they still have stories worth telling. And that is where I am going to nourish myself, drinking mainly from the source of Onelio Jorge Cardoso, but also from Juan Rulfo, García Márquez, from all these writers who went to look for their stories in the humble people", said the winner of the Short Story category.
In this category, two mentions were also awarded to the titles "Leavin la Habana" by Pedro Luis Azcuy Flores and "La recuerdo y vuelvo a ser la misma niña" by Lisandra López Méndez.

The award in poetry went to Joel Herrera Acosta from Villaclare with the booklet entitled "Las estancias del aire", a proposal that stands out for its experimental language, plays with the consternation of the time and brings together both the urban and the rural. According to the jury, chaired by Carlos Augusto Alfonso, the author shows an evocative message, full of allusions, coherence and lucidity.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, the poet laureate acknowledged how essential it is to continue creating and writing literature "and above all to know that a jury will determine that your work has literary value, that is always appreciated, but the most important thing is that it reaches, that people read it, and that the rest of the writers also read, and that we read each other, the contemporaries who influence each other so much."

The mentions in Poetry went to "La numeración y el ojo" by Tomás Eugenio Escobar Ávila, "Metástasis" by Octavio Castillo Quesada, "Despierta" by Mariana Gil Jiménez and "33 de amor y otra guerra" by Enrique Carmenate Rodríguez.

As every year, the award ceremony was held in the context of the anniversary of the fall of Frank País, whose pseudonym in hiding was precisely "David", from which this prestigious award takes its name since its creation in 1967. On this occasion, more than 50 works were submitted and a call was made for the next edition of one of the most important contests for new writers in the Cuban literary panorama.