For the third time, Ronel González Sánchez, from Holguín, won the "Cucalambé" Written Décima Contest, this time with his poetry notebook Resurrection of the Mask. The result was announced at the "Catauro de la Décima" on June 29, in the presence of the Minister of Culture Alpidio Alonso and other prestigious personalities of the literary world.
Las Tunas, Cuba.- The jury composed of writers Pedro Péglez, Jorge García Prieto, and Jorge Luis Peña, after reviewing the 18 poems in competition, unanimously awarded the prize for being "a work of consistency in the literary corpus.... It suggests a dismantling of the simulation, starting from the simulation itself; and addresses its stridencies and complexities, as an evil of the current Cuban society and the contemporary world, with artistic skill and the use of various resources, among which irony is not lacking..., and preserves an effective inciting atmosphere.”
In dialogue with the press, Ronel expressed: "This is a different book to my other creations. It is very intellectualized, it has to do with simulation but is seen from a cultural point of view. There are present, for example, the characters of The Metamorphosis, by Kafka. It has to do with cinema, plastic arts, art in general, and -of course- with me. It is about those masks that one puts on in certain spaces. It has almost 100 décimas, divided into three parts".
An emotional moment was lived d in the “Catauro” when Ronel dedicated the award to Renael Gonzalez, sadly deceased, but unforgettable. The multi-award-winning poet -who began writing at the age of nine- also confessed: "This result is also a challenge. One wonders: What am I going to do now? But the joy of being awarded is undeniable. I'm always in the décima.”
Ronel has published several books, including El mundo tiene la razón (co-authored with José Luis Serrano) and Atormentado de sentido, with which he previously won the Cucalambé Prize, in 1995 and 2006, respectively.
OTHER LAUREATES
The jury also considered awarding mentions in the contest that bear the pseudonym of the greatest bucolic poet of the 19th century in Cuba, which were given to Alejandro Muñoz Aguilera, from Camagüey; and Carlos Téllez Espino with the notebooks Simulacro del éxodo and Testimonio personal de la esperanza (Exodus Simulacrum and Personal Testimony of Hope), respectively.
"Poetry can be a lucid interpretation of the realities being lived. The poet's obsession is to give himself to poetry, not vice versa. But you have to make a reading of reality, whether it is social, love, economic, philosophical... In my book, for example, there are all possible hopes. I hope it will be published someday because, for me, the best jury in the world is time since it decides what transcends or not," said Téllez, radio and television producer, about those muses that inspire him.
The young Alejandro, who debuted in the contest, and the “Cucalambeana,” confessed to feeling happy. With only 25 years, he achieved the merit with his first book. "I feel proud of this result because many writers I admire hold this award and I had dreamed of someday being in their place. My notebook speaks a little of our country, the context we are in, the concerns... It is a kind of social catharsis, but based on respect. Before graduating from Medicine, I liked literature. Once I graduated, I was sure that I would also cultivate the field of literature, there is a common point between both professions and that is sensitivity. That's where my muses are," he argued.
Thus, the Ruins, in El Cornito, witnessed once again the impulse that, from Las Tunas, is given to the national stanza, a beautiful way to honor, albeit from more contemporary codes, Juan Cristóbal Nápoles Fajardo, El Cucalambé.
