Ministry of Culture Presents the Annual Literature Awards 2014

Ministry of Culture Presents the Annual Literature Awards 2014
Santo Domingo, October 7 2015

The Ministry of Culture (MINC) presented the “Annual Literary Awards 2014,” which included a cash prize of RD$250,000 and a diploma of honor, at a ceremony that was presided over by the Minister of Culture José Antonio Rodríguez, which took place in the Juan Bosch Auditorium of the Pedro Henríquez Ureña National Library.

During the ceremony, Minister Rodríguez was accompanied by Basilio Belliard, Director of Literary Management; Luis O. Brea Franco, Advisor to the MINC, and Valentín Amaro, Director General of the Reading Book. The cash prizes that were awarded totaled RD$3,380,000 pesos.

Also in attendance were Cayo Claudio Espinal, Vice Minister of Decentralization and Territorial Coordination, and Carlos Santos, Vice Minister of Institutional Development, in addition to other government officials.

The winners were: Miguel Antonio Decamps Jiménez, who won the José Gabriel García National History Award in the category Investigative and Interpretative Essay, for his work: “El Criollo, de Antonio Sánchez Valverde. Su época, su vida, su obra.”

Héctor Pastor Vásquez Frías won the José Gabriel García National History Award, in the category Collection of Historical Documents, for his work: “Misiones Dominicanas en Haití.”

Writers Mu-Kien Adriana Sang Ben and José Felipe Cruz Chez Checo won the José Gabriel García National History Award, in the category Testimonials, for their work “Conep: 50 Años del Consejo Nacional de la Empresa Privada. Su Historia Institucional.” Jesús Elías Michelén Embarek won the Pedro Henríquez Ureña National Essay Award, in the Socio-political Essay category, for his work: “Capital Social Comunitario.”

Ramón Leonardo Díaz Díaz won the Pedro Henríquez Ureña National Essay Award, in the Scientific Essay category, for his work: “Las Tensiones de Thomas Kuhn. Una Perspectiva Crítica para los Estudios Sociales y Culturales de la Ciencia.”

Academic Jesús Nino Feliz, on behalf of intellectual Miguel Aníbal Perdomo Jiménez, received the Pedro Henríquez Ureña National Essay Award, in the Literary Essay category, for his work “Ensayos al Vapor.”

Carlos Esteban Deive González won the Manuel de Jesús Galván National Novel Award, for “Sherlock Holmes y el Misterio de los Restos de Colón.” María Elizabeth Ovalle Jerez won the Cristóbal de Llerena National Theatre Award, for her play “A la Espera.”

Gisela Nolasco Peña won the Aurora Tavárez Belliard National Award for Children and Youth Literature, for her play “La Cigua Palmera y Madam Sagá.” Poet Manuel Salvador Gautier received, on behalf of José Alberto Acosta, the Salomé Ureña de Henríquez National Poetry Award, for his work “Viaje al Día Venidero.” While Miguel Aníbal Perdomo Jiménez won the José Ramón López National Short Story Award, for “Los Violines Gemelos.”

In his speech, Basilio Belliard congratulated each of the winners and, at the same time, he briefly referred to each of the works and their authors.

He then said that: “as part of its public cultural management policy, the Ministry of Culture organizes this event every year, in order to encourage and promote the nurturing of literature and the importance of literary careers in the Dominican Republic.”

He said that these works are carried out in compliance with a constitutional right, a moral duty and a social mission, and in accordance with Decree 111-05 of the Executive Branch, dated March 23, 2005.

In addition, he expressed his appreciation to the awards committee for the professionalism and fairness with which it carried out its hard work and for its dedication to rigorous reading prior to the selection of the winners.

The Minister of Culture, José Antonio Rodríguez, after clarigying that he had not planned to speak at the event, underscored the importance of the National Cultural Consumption Survey, conducted by the Ministry in association with the Central Bank, which showed that Dominicans acquired cultural goods worth RD$11.5 million pesos.

He said that this figure shows that Dominicans purchase not only books but also other cultural goods, such as movies and the theater. Young people aged 15 and older participated in the survey. He pointed out that those numbers reflect the work undertaken in the field of cultural policies. He added that “culture is another name for investment.”

In turn, in his words of thanks, Dr. Ramón Leonardo Díaz said: “I know that I convey the feelings of all those who have been honored tonight, in the expectation that the works that have been recognized this evening by the Ministry of Culture will become an incentive for new literary, socio-political, historical and scientific works.”

Finally, he said that “the spiritual future of society, its ability to continue to increase its prospects for self-understanding and successful growth together with the other communities on the planet, depend from the creation of these new works.”

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