Rafael Rojas wins the first Isabel Polanco International Essay Prize

Cuban writer and historian Rafael Rojas has won the first Isabel Polanco International Essay Prize for his work Repúblicas de aire: Utopía y desencanto en la Revolución de Hispanoamérica (Republics of air: Utopia and disillusionment in the Hispano-American revolution). It was published under the pseudonym Benjamin Constant and the jury's decision was unanimous.

The prize was established by the Guadalajara International Book Fair (Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara - FIL), in collaboration with the the Fundación Santillana, in honor of the late CEO of Grupo Santillana, Isabel Polanco. It is aimed at recognizing and highlighting the importance of the essay genre. The award includes a $100,000 cash prize and a commemorative sculpture by Martín Chirino, and the jury is headed by Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes. Jury members include Natalio Botana, David Brading, Javier Garciadiego, Jordi Gracia, Liliana Weinberg and secretary Gonzalo Celorio.

The jury, which met in Guadalajara (Mexico), praised " the great literary value of the work which takes a keen, vigorous and convincing look at Hispano-American republicanism. With his committed view, the author rescues the republican movement in Hispano-America from traditional historiographical obscurity. The work takes a continent-wide approach, not merely limited to the Spanish-speaking world, but one which also follows the exile of a number of political thinkers of the time in Philadelphia and New Orleans; that is, it sees Hispano-American independence as a global phenomenon and part of world history."

Previously unpublished work was submitted to the jury from  Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Guatemala, Ecuador, the US, Spain, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Venezuela. The theme of this, the first award, was the Bicentenary of Latin American Independence, and writing could be of any methodological or academic approach and could cover any aspect of the the period, the development of the movement, the impact on today's world and the future. In the future, the award will recognize work on other subjects which shed light on history and currents in 21st-century thought.

The award will be handed out at the next Guadalajara International Book Fair in November and the winning work will be published in Spain , the US and throughout Latin America by Taurus.

Further information:

Isabel Polanco International Essay Prize