Buenos Aires, Argentina—Winners of the eighth International Poetry Contest, organized each year by UPF-Argentina, were announced on September 20, 2016. “Entonces… Sólo entonces…” and “La casa grande,” by Cecilia María Labanca (Martín Coronado, Buenos Aires province) and Irma Droz (Santa María de Punilla, Córdoba province), respectively, were awarded first prize. This year’s motto was “Peace as the Protection of Creation.”
Participants and Statistics
The contest is held every year before the International Day of Peace and had 310 participants from 31 countries, including Algeria; Armenia; Australia; Bolivia; Canada; Germany; Honduras; Israel; Italy; Palestine; Romania; Switzerland; and Uzbekistan. The nations with the most entries after Argentina were Spain (31 participants or 10 percent of the total), Mexico (17), Colombia (15), Uruguay (13), Chile (10), Peru (8), Venezuela (7), Brazil (5), Cuba (5), Ecuador (3), and the United States (3). There were two entries each from El Salvador, France, Greece, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic.
Argentina had 168 participants from 17 provinces, in addition to those from the city of Buenos Aires (28). The province with the most entries was Buenos Aires (69), followed by Santa Fe (21), Córdoba (12), Chubut (6), Entre Ríos (5), Mendoza (5), Tucumán (4), Neuquén (3), Chaco (2), Corrientes (2), Jujuy (2), Misiones (2), Río Negro (2), and San Juan (2). There was one entry each from the provinces of Catamarca, Salta, and Santiago del Estero.
The greatest number of participants were from the Americas (265), where the majority of countries are Spanish-speaking (language of the poem), followed by Europe (39), Asia (4), and Africa and Oceania, each with one participant.
“Building Peace” Anthology Cover
In addition to choosing the winning poems, the jury also selected a number of poems that will be included in the Anthology’s themed sections, “Testimony,” “Hope” and “Search and Prayer.” These poems were “Oración de un niño sirio,” by Adrián Narváez (Rivadavia, Mendoza province, Argentina); “Colombia herida,” by Jorge Fernando Montenegro Ballesteros (Bogotá, Cundinamarca, Colombia); “Regreso a Tombuctú,” by Alberto Arecchi (Pavía, Italy); and “El sueño de Nezahualcóyotl,” by Emilio Barraza Durán (Viña del Mar, Chile).
In this eighth edition of the contest, plastic artists were invited to submit a drawing, painting or design to be considered for the cover or as an illustration for the interior of the publication that will comprise all the winning and selected poems. “Building Peace” (“Construyendo paz”), by Carina Cecilia Ianni (Centenario, Neuquén province) was the winning piece of artwork for the cover. It is an oil painting on canvas.
Of the 28 pieces of artwork received, the following were selected as illustrations for the Anthology:
“Mundo iluminado,” by Martha Laroche (Buenos Aires city); “Paz,” by Graciela Surani (Villa Ballester, Buenos Aires province); “Abrazo de paz,” by María Fernanda Macimiani (Tres de Febrero, Buenos Aires province); and “Catedral,” by Claudia Parral (Buenos Aires city).
Jury and Patrons
This year, the jurors were the writer and plastic artist Mabel Fontau, member of the Hispanic Cultural and Literary Institute (ILCH) and Gente de Letras; writer and plastic artist Martha Edith Candioti, curator and member of the Argentine Society of Writers (SADE) and vice president of the Almafuerte literary group; poet and narrator Graciela Licciardi, member of the ILCH and the A.L.E.G.R.I.A. Group; poet Donato Perrone, coordinator of Café Tortoni’s Lyrical Space and a representative of the Poets Livres group of Santa Catarina, Brazil; and Miguel Werner, secretary general of UPF-Argentina.
The patrons were the writer and poet Juana Alcira Arancibia, founder and president of the ILCH and director-editor of the prestigious international literary magazine, “Alba de América;” Brazilian poet Marina Fagundes Coello, a member of various literary groups in the Americas; and writer and poet Nélida Pessagno, vice president of the SADE and senior advisor of El Libro Foundation (The Book Foundation).
8th International Poetry Contest – UPF-Argentina
“Peace as the Protection of Creation”
Supporting the International Day of Peace 2016
“Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed.” Preamble of UNESCO’s Constitution (1945)
FIRST PRIZE (Shared)
ENTONCES… SÓLO ENTONCES…
Cecilia María Labanca
Martín Coronado, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina
LA CASA GRANDE
Irma Droz
Santa María de Punilla, Córdoba Province, Argentina
HONORABLE MENTIONS
PIDO LA PAZ
Raquel Graciela Fernández
Villa Domínico, Avellaneda, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina
HOMBRES DE PRODIGIO
Carlos Alberto Boaglio
Vicuña Mackenna, Córdoba Province, Argentina
MANIFIESTO
María Soledad Salazar Valenzuela
Santiago de Chile, Chile
QUÉ TE HEMOS HECHO, MADRE TIERRA
Federico Miguel Nieto
San Salvador de Jujuy, Jujuy Province, Argentina
SPECIAL MENTIONS
LA PAZ PROTECTORA DE LA CREACIÓN
Amparo Bonet Alcón
Valencia, Spain
UN BLANCO VELERO
Teresa Rubira Lorén
Alicante, Spain
BUSCA LA PAZ
María Alicia Gómez de Balbuena
Goya, Corrientes Province, Argentina
LA CREACIÓN, EN PAZ
Stella Maris Zamora
Lanús Oeste, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina
LA PAZ EN TU MESA
Verónica Baeza Yates
Santiago Metropolitan Region, Chile
MENTIONS
¡CUÁNTO CUESTA REVIVIR LA ROSA!
Elena Nilda Pahl
Río Cuarto, Córdoba Province, Argentina
RENOVAR LA TIERRA - ROTURAR LA PAZ
Elbis Gilardi
Brinkmann, Córdoba Province, Argentina
VERBO EN EL OLIVO
Carlos Camilo Torres
Bogotá, Colombia
LOS SURCOS COMO ALTARES
Esteban Conde Choya
Cerdanyola del Vallés, Barcelona, Spain
HERMANO, EXTIENDE TU MANO
Norberto Rubén Calul
Wilde, Avellaneda, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina
SELECTED POEMS
TESTIMONY Section
ORACIÓN DE UN NIÑO SIRIO
Adrián Narváez
Rivadavia, Mendoza Province, Argentina
COLOMBIA HERIDA
Jorge Fernando Montenegro Ballesteros
Bogotá, Cundinamarca, Colombia
REGRESO A TOMBUCTÚ
Alberto Arecchi
Pavía, Italy
EL SUEÑO DE NEZAHUALCÓYOTL
Emilio Barraza Durán
Viña del Mar, Chile
HOPE Section
ODA A LA PAZ
Carlos Alfredo Martino (seudónimo escritor Carlos Martian)
Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Argentina
LA PAZ COMO CUIDADO DE LA CREACIÓN
Frederick Thomas Ashby
Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Argentina
LOS HORTELANOS
Víctor Hugo Hernández Rosas
Chalco, State of México, México
DE LAS TINIEBLAS A LA PAZ
Carlos Luján D’Andrea
Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Argentina
LA PAZ
Martha Laroche
Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Argentina
SEARCH and PRAYER Section
LA PAZ COMO CUIDADO DE LA CREACIÓN
Ana Navone
Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina
LA PAZ, ESE ANHELO, ESA URGENCIA
Verónica Stockmayer
Montecarlo, Misiones Province, Argentina
UNA BANDERA BLANCA
María Rosa Rzepka
Florencio Varela, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina
PLEGARIA
Daniel Horacio Brondo
Villa Udaondo, Ituzaingó, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina
VOCES POR LA PAZ
Blanca Lilia Mendoza Hidalgo
Guatemala City, Guatemala
ILLUSTRATIONS
COVER
CONSTRUYENDO PAZ
Carina Ianni
Centenario, Neuquén Province, Argentina
INSIDE
MUNDO ILUMINADO
Martha Laroche
Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Argentina
PAZ
Graciela Surani
Villa Ballester, Buenos Aires, Argentina
ABRAZO DE PAZ
María Fernanda Macimiani
Tres de Febrero, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina
CATEDRAL
Claudia Parral
Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Argentina