Carlos Fuentes Prize Introduces Mexican Author's Work to Youths

Mexico's fourth annual Carlos Fuentes International Prize for Literary Creation in the Spanish Language, which takes place November 11, will this year focus on introducing the author's work to young people, the organizers have announced.

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The National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and the Mexican Secretary of Culture, jointly organizing the event, say this year's celebration is geared towards educating young people about Fuentes' work. Up-and-coming authors are being invited to take part in the award ceremony.

"In Carlos Fuentes, we have a writer that took in the social and cultural phenomena of his time that looked in the mirror of society and proposed possible worlds," Maria Cristina Garcia, from the Secretary of Culture, told a press conference on Wednesday:

So far, the award – launched two years after Fuentes' death in 2012 – has been given to famed Nicaraguan author Sergio Ramirez, and Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa, among others.   

Fuentes, born in Panama the son of a Mexican ambassador, was part of the 1960s and 1970s El Boom: an explosion of Latin American writers, publishing in Spanish, who became known on the world stage.

Luminaries included Colombian Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Mario Vargas Llosa and Julio Cortazar.

Fuentes published such novels as 'The Hydra Head' and 'The Old Gringo,' the latter the first Mexican novel to become a U.S. bestseller. Gregory Peck and Jane Fonda later starred in the film version.

The Ministry of Culture says the award is for those who rigorously promote the "education and culture of Spanish literature" in the form of "narration, poetry and essays." Institutions have until July 17 to cast eligible nominations.