Orlando García Lorenzo Critics’ Prize Awarded.
The books Fray Candil, by Urbano Martínez; A mí también me olvidarán, by Maylan Álvarez and El rumor de un lejano galope de caballos, by Pablo Lleonart, were awarded the Orlando García Lorenzo Critics’ Prize 2024.
The books Fray Candil, by Urbano Martínez Carmenate, A mí también me olvidarán, by Maylan Álvarez and El rumor de un lejano galope de caballos, by Pablo G. Lleonart, were unanimously awarded the Orlando García Lorenzo 2024 Critics’ Prize by the UNEAC in Matanzas, in a ceremony held at the institution’s headquarters.
Urbano Martínez Carmenate.
Of the awards, the essay Fray Candil. La pluma del diablo, written by National History Award winner Martínez Carmenate, stands out for its thoroughness and approach to Emilio Bobadilla (1862-1921), who was a writer, poet, journalist, literary critic and diplomat, a polemic figure of the Cuban intelligentsia. With this text, the researcher from Matanzas was also awarded the City Foundation Prize and the José Luciano Franco Ferrán 2023 National Prize for Historical Criticism.
Maylan Alvarez.
As for the two congratulated poetry books, the one presented by Maylan Alvarez, A mí también me olvidarán, has the gift of moving the reader’s conscience in the face of the woman’s brokenness when she is called «to mature with violence as a being deprived of her legitimate condition». It is a text that also won the Matanzas City Foundation Award, in which the writer’s consolidation in the secrets of the poetic art can be observed.
Pablo G. Lleonart
While the recognized poetry book El rumor de un lejano galope de caballos, by the young Pablo G. Lleonart, bursts before the public with verses where he observes an imaginative position of his familiar environment, of the walk through the streets of his city, with intertextual approaches, exposed in an emotional way, with authentic features of identification of the time in which he lives, which extends to a vision of the country and the universe. Lleonart obtained with this notebook the Red Handle Poetry Prize and has been anthologized in numerous platforms.
The Writers’ Association, presided by Carlos Chacón Zaldívar, also announced the winners of the Review and Minicuentos contests, as part of the Jornada de la Crítica Orlando García Lorenzo.
The jury, made up of Mireya Cabrera Galán, Lucía Cristina Pérez and Jorge Luís Rodríguez Morell, in the Reviews category, awarded the prize to Collage de diapositivas, by Guillermo Morales, for his clear and lyrical approach to the poetry book Diapositivas, by Laura Ruiz, with accurate comments on the values that identify her poetics.
And in the Minicuentos La cola de la serpiente contest, they unanimously awarded the top prize to Las moscas y los inquilinos, by Humberto Fuentes, for its interesting plot and adherence to the technique of this genre, with a surprising closing.
Mentions were also awarded to Solo un día, by Loreley Rebull; La conquista del silencio, by José Germán; El agujero, by María Teresa Tarifa; and Veni, vide, vici , by Juan Fuentes Reyes.
Summing up the awards ceremony, the president of UNEAC Matanzas, José Manuel Espino, praised the participation of writers in these events, because despite the vicissitudes of the economic situation, the literary movement in the province maintains its dynamism and broad creative spirit.
This day is dedicated to essayist Orlando García Lorenzo, because since his first steps in literature, he cultivated that genre and with his talent and powerful unitary exaltation he managed to extend his encouragement to the creators, first as director of the Gener and Del Monte library and above all, in his later responsibility as president of the UNEAC in Matanzas.
He possessed the virtue of communication and a deep understanding of the aspirations and concerns of intellectuals, whose essential objective was to keep the literary and artistic movement active in the Casona on Milanés Street, in the city of Matanzas, during complex historical moments.
Very young, Orlandito joined the first contingent of the Pedagogical Detachment «Manuel Ascunce Domenech», and then worked as an internationalist teacher in Nicaragua. He was awarded the Distinction for Cuban Culture, the Internationalist Worker Medal and the National Vanguard Medal. He was conferred the condition of Distinguished Son of Matanzas. In correspondence with his merits he was elected Deputy to the National Assembly of the Popular Power and president of the organizing commission of the VI Congress of the UNEAC. He was a member of the Provincial Committee of the Party.
He died on May 11th, 1998, when he was on his way to attend a program of conferences in Mexico. He was 41 years old. In his honor was established the annual «Orlando García Lorenzo» Literary Artistic Criticism Day, in which, among its main actions is to recognize the best books of the year.
Written by María Elena Bayón.
