On 23 April 2018, the “Miguel de Cervantes” award ceremony took place at the auditorium of University of Alcala and was attended by King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain. This achievement is considered one of the most esteemed literacy awards in Spain and Latin America. Shaped in the form of a gong, the award was given to Nicaraguan author Sergio Ramirez for his creative work in Spanish and Latin American culture.
Upon their arrival, Their Majesties were greeted by the President of the Government, Mariano Rajoy and Head of the General Air Command, Jose Alfonso Otero. As the royal couple arrived, Queen Letizia looked radiant in her pale pink ensemble alongside her husband, King Felipe.
When King Felipe took the stage for his speech, he began by saying, “Today we recognise an ambassador of Cervantes and the homeland of Darío who, with you, has returned home, to this house that is the language of all.”
© Casa de S.M. el Rey
He continued by emphasizing that “Sergio Ramírez represents, in the literature that is made in America, the continuity of a tradition that houses names of enormous relevance and decisive influence in the different literary generations in the Spanish language, from the sixteenth century to the present” and that “Cervantes embraces, then, the literature of Latin America and today embraces Sergio Ramírez, the first compatriot of Rubén Darío who receives this recognition and who today enters this academy of distinguished with the highest award of our letters”.
In his early years, Ramirez received a PhD in Law from the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua, which set the foundation for the great work he would do in the future. During the 1960s he founded the Central American University Press, which created the Ventana Magazine. Currently, Sergio directs Caratula Magazine and has his work published in the literary blog Boomerang of the newspaper El País. Throughout his incredible lifetime of achievements, Sergio Ramirez has impacted politics, writing, Spanish and Latin American culture through his creative vision.
