Elena Poniatowska Receives Rómulo Gallegos Prize

by Laura K. Galos -- Críticas, 8/15/2007

Mexican author and journalist Elena Poniatowska was awarded the prestigious Premio Internacional de Novela Rómulo Gallegos (Rómulo Gallegos International Literary Prize) for her novel El tren pasa primero ("The Train Passes First"; Alfaguara, 2006) August 2 in Caracas, Venezuela. Her work as a journalist in Mexico is the foundation of this tale of blue-collar rail worker Trinidad Pineda Chiñas, who becomes embroiled in the struggle for labor rights.

The author of numerous novels and stories, Poniatowska is best known for her "testimonial narratives"—works that lend voice to marginalized groups that are not generally well-represented in the media. Her celebrated 1971 book, La noche de Tlatelolco ("The Night of Tlatelolco"), treats the violent repression of a student protest by the army and police ten days before Mexico was to hold the Olympic Games.

Poniatowska, 75, said she sees this honor as "a reward, a recognition in my case of all the work, because I'm a journalist and writer. It is an award for all Latin America...and an enormous pleasure."

The Gallegos prize was created in 1964 to honor Rómulo Gallegos, a Venezuelan writer and politician, and has been awarded to such luminaries as Gabriel García Márquez and Mario Vargas Llosa. It went to Spain's Issac Rosa in 2005, a year during which controversy ensued when Chavez's opponents claimed literary critics in support of the Venezuelan president, and maybe even Chávez himself, persuaded organizers to award only "Chavista" authors. Poniatowska's recent visit to Venezuela further heated the debate when she appeared on Chávez's television program, ¡Alo Presidente!, during which he praised the Mexican author and even serenaded her. Poniatowska returned the gesture by explaining that in her country, "when someone fails, we say 'the train left him,' but here in Venezuela, the train left neither Rómulo Gallegos nor you."

The $100,000 prize is awarded by the Venezuelan government every two years for the "best" Spanish-language novel.