- The public filled the Sala Palmanova this Friday for a gala attended by award winners
Calvià Town Hall held the 23rd edition of the Rei En Jaume Awards this Friday in the Sala Palmanova, with a total of 327 entries. Once again, record numbers have been surpassed for participation. The awards ceremony was full for the different categories and the honorary awards, which this year went to businessman Miquel Jaume (Trui); professor and promoter of the choral movement Concepció Oliver; and writer Juan Manuel de Prada.
The gala will soon be broadcast in the Balearic Islands on Canal 4 Televisió. Authorities and personalities from the business, association, and cultural worlds of the municipality and Mallorca were present. The entertainment was provided by comedian Rubén García.
The mayor of Calvià, Juan Antonio Amengual, began the event by addressing those present to defend the freedom of authors and creators: "We are working to ensure that these awards are, above all, more open and plural. We want the culture we represent to be a mirror of the society we are: diverse, rich, and welcoming. Institutional support for culture and its creators should not be based solely on mere subsidies, but on profound respect. Culture must be, above all, free, without political interference that attempts to remote-control it or impose a biased vision. Culture thrives on diversity, debate, and the truth of the creator. On their independence and creative sovereignty."
The winners of this 23rd edition were:
Photography: Silvia Prió won the award with her work, Les trementinaires. The jury selected her work from amongst 59 submissions, highlighting its originality, conceptual depth, and sensitivity in its implementation. Prió has a degree in Fine Arts and has exhibited her work at internationally renowned festivals.
Painting: Doralice Souza Yurramendi was the winner with her work, Somewhere over the rainbow. The piece, chosen from amongst 46 paintings, evokes the mythical journey to Ithaca and the inner search. Souza Yurramendi is an artist with an extensive career and has been awarded multiple painting prizes in the Balearic Islands.
Narrative in Spanish: Santiago Casero González, under the pseudonym "Fructuosa Nakamura, won the prize for his novel La noche de la criatura. The work was chosen from amongst 71 proposals. The jury highlighted its intriguing and reflective beginning, and the use of precise and poetic prose to create a tense atmosphere.
Narrative in Catalan: Antònia Santandreu Servera and Francesca C. Cabot Clar won with their novel No m'en record, which won from amongst 15 works submitted. The jury highlighted the first-person narrative voice and the interior monologue that reflects the confusion and fragmentation of the protagonist 's thinking.
Poetry in Spanish: Manu Ramos Boría was the winner with his collection of poems, Canción de los latidos, which won from amongst 112 works. The jury described it as a work of great emotional intensity and profound lyricism and a direct and moving style. Ramos Boría calls himself a "perpetrator of furiously surreal verses" and dedicates himself to writing in his spare time.
Poetry in Catalan: Víctor Vila Ramírez received the award for his work El món, which was selected from amongst 17 collections of poems. The collection was valued for its lyrical and personal approach to the experience of life, using a free verse style and language rich in sensory imagery.
As a novelty, the Young Narrative award was also presented to Inés Pizarro for her story La colonia de mamá, a moving and profound story. Narrated through the eyes of a boy, Guille, the story addresses the harsh reality of his mother's addiction, exploring trauma and childhood fear when the true "monster" resides in one's own home.
Along with Pizarro, the jury's mention in this category was awarded to Àngela Boixeda. Their stories and those of the finalists have been published in an illustrated volume with the winning work in the Painting category on the cover.
Also receiving special mention from the jury were Aranzazu Miró (Narrative in Catalan), Tatiana Beca (Spanish Poetry), as well as Xesca Martorell, Antonio Crespo and Jorge Cabral, the three in the Painting category.
The Deputy Mayor responsible for Culture, Manuel Mas, had some special words for the honorary winners: "It is a true privilege to have had Miquel Jaume, Concepció Oliver and Juan Manuel de Prada, the 2025 honorary award recipients, with us tonight. Each of them, in their own field, are cultural icons. Their presence honours and enriches the municipality of Calvià. With all the love in the world, I ask you to be ambassadors of this land from today on." The moments of the presentation of honorary awards to Miquel Jaume and Concepció Oliver were especially emotional.
In his speech of thanks, Juan Manuel de Prada chose to mention the poetess Ana María Martínez Sagi, a figure on whom he focused his doctoral thesis, published under the title El derecho a soñar (The right to dream), a text considered by critics to be "monumental."