PETROPERU presented 2018 Copé Award

In a crowded ceremony, held last night, the prizes were awarded to the winners of the XX Biennial of Story and VI Biennial of Essay 2018 Copé Award, the most recognized literary contest in the country, organized by PETROPERU for 39 years.

In this edition, the Gold Copé Award of the XX Biennial of Story was given to the writer Stuart Flores Herrera with the work "La Piel Fría". Meanwhile Gonzalo Enrique Castro Huayna with his work "El Palomar" and Luiz Carlos Reátegui del Águila, with "La Casa Abuela", were awarded with the Silver and Bronze Copé Award respectively.

Additionally, the works "Un Poema, digresiones de E A B" by Edgard Antonio Gómez Aguayo, "Ohio 1912" by Ernesto David Salvatierra Mendoza and "La muerte del Sinsote" by José Luis Villanueva Victorio were declared honorable mentions.

For his part, "Adagios, crítica del presente desde una ciencia melancólica", by Ciro Alegría Varona, received the Copé Gold Award at the VI Biennial of Essay. In addition, honorable mentions will be presented to Salvador Raggio for his work "Sobre lo mutante. El cuerpo variable contemporáneo y la relativización de la figura del monstruo" and Quimit (Pseudonym) for his work "La Lengua de las Huacas: Una introducción al manuscrito de Huarochirí".

The President of the Board of PETROPERU, James Atkins Lerggios, highlighted the contribution of PETROPERÚ to the cultural development of the country. "Soon to reach 40 years, the Copé Award has summoned national literary creators residing in Peru or abroad, making it become an iconic contest of our national literature," he said.

He also acknowledged that the presence of representatives of cities in the interior of the country has been strengthened, highlighting among the winners of this year in story and essay representatives of cities such as Huancayo, Iquitos, Trujillo, Cuzco, Chimbote and Huamanga. "This only confirms the strong creative tendency of regional writers, which motivates us to continue betting on this type of cultural events," he concluded.

For the qualifying jury of the Copé Gold Story Award, the work "La Piel Fría" won by being a narrative that oscillates between reality and dream, with a concise, non-rhetorical language. The story is set in a setting between light and darkness, and recreates an interaction between life and death, written with dialogs that are both plausible and natural.

On the other hand, the judging panel of the Copé Gold Essay Award decided that "Adagios, crítica del presente desde una ciencia melancólica" obtains the first place by exhibiting an original, cultured and safe pen that transits from philosophy to literature and from music to the arts, meditating on his personal experience based on scholarly comments about popular sayings. "The author proposes with his own voice and light a lucid reflection on the depth of human experience."

At the end of the ceremony, the launching of the next edition of the VII Biennial of Story and XIX Biennial of Poetry, 2019 Copé Award, was held.

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