Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the writer Mario Vargas Llosa win the International Don Quijote de la Mancha Award

The King yesterday handed out the Don Quijote de la Mancha Awards to Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the Spanish-Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa. The 2009 prize, co-sponsored by the Fundación Santillana and the regional government of Castilla-La Mancha, went to Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in the category Best Institutional Contribution for her endeavors to introduce the Spanish language into the school curriculum. Meanwhile, the Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa was honored for his 50-year career as a "tireless creator" who has "never ceased to enrich with his talent the creative landscape of the Spanish language" and whose work has become "a prestigious touchstone for culture".

Among those attending the event at the Zarzuela Palace were the jury, presided over by José María Barreda, president of Castilla-La Mancha, and including Víctor García de la Concha, director of the Real Academia Española de la Lengua; María Soledad Herrero, Castilla-La Mancha's culture minister; Gregorio Marañón, president of the Real Fundación de Toledo; the writer Nélida Piñón; Juan Luis Cebrián, CEO of Grupo PRISA; Emiliano Martínez, president of Grupo Santillana, and Basilio Baltasar, head of the Fundación Santillana and jury secretary. They were joined by Ignacio Polano, president of PRISA; Jaime Cáceres Sayán, Peruvian ambassador, and two former Brazilian education ministers, Paulo Renato Souza and Cristovam Buarque.

Each prize is worth 25,000 euros and is accompanied by a Manolo Valdés sculpture, titled The Reader. At the awards' first outing last year, the prizes were awarded to Brazil's president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and the Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes.