From left to right, Óscar de Baltodano, vice president of the Ernesto Cardenal Foundation, Jorge Abascal, cultural attaché of the Mexican embassy, Alejandro G. Roemmers and Carmen Calvo.JUAN PARRA
The Ernesto Cardenal International Foundation, dedicated to the development of cultural activities in the academic and literary field and the promotion of human rights, has presented in Madrid the third edition of its awards, which have gone to the French-Mexican writer Elena Poniatowska and in the Argentine businessman and writer Alejandro G. Roemmers.
The event took place at the National Library of Madrid and It was chaired by the president of the Council of State, Carmen Calvo. The award-winning writer was not able to travel to Spain, but she did send a video in which she showed her excitement at having an award with a name as relevant as Cardenal. Calvo defended poetry and referred to the fact that poets “are the spearhead of a bewildered world.”
The Mexican Poniatovska was grateful to have an award named after a writer as important as Cardenal.JUAN PARRA
The work of Elena Poniatowska is key to understanding the history of Mexico in the second half of the 20th century. The Mexican is also an example of modern feminism, which has led her to rescue classic writers following her theory: “The greatest act of feminism is to talk about other women.” He won the Seix Barral Brief Library Novel Prize, with a novel that details the stormy and passionate life of the surrealist painter Leonora Carrington and Cervantes Award in 2013.
For its part, Alejandro G. Roemmers is an Argentine businessman who addressed the need to humanize the company to reality. He was concerned about helping his workers grow and improve their lives, as well as getting involved in the need for the company to take care of not generating impacts on the environment.
Poet, narrator, playwright and composer, their books The return of the young prince and The young prince They have been international successes. His pedagogical work has been recognized with awards such as San Francesco from the Pontifical University Antonianum. Roemmers combined literature and sustainability in his acceptance speech.
Pedro Almodóvar was awarded in a previous edition.
Carlos Alvarez/Getty ImagesThe Foundation was created after the death of the Nicaraguan poet, priest, theologian and sculptor Ernesto Cardenal, on March 1, 2020. The activities it carries out are based on what Cardenal preached: the literary, human and excellence values that should make people grow.
These distinctions have previously fallen on personalities of art, culture and humanitarian work such as Father Ángel, in the category of Concord and Human Rights, the filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar and Puerto Rican academic Luce López-Baralt, in the literary category.
