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The Premio Zóbel is a Philippine literary award conferred on Filipino writers in the Spanish language. It was established to revivify the Spanish language and to promote the best writing created by Filipino authors in the language. Founded in 1920, it is the only literary prize in Asia that promotes Spanish-language literature, and is also the oldest literary award in the country.

Mechanics

The primary objective of the Premio Zóbel is to give recognition Filipino writers in and advocates for Spanish language. The candidate must possess Spanish fluency. Awardees are judged members of the Philippine Academy of the Spanish Language. In recent years, the criteria in selecting the winners had broadened. They may or may not need to have written a body of work, as the recognition can be given to anyone who champion the Spanish language.

History

The Premio Zóbel was founded by businessman and philanthropist Enrique Zóbel de Ayala in 1920, considered to be the oldest literary award in the Philippines and the only literary prize in Asia dedicated to promoting the Spanish language. Zóbel advocated for the preservation of linkage between the Philippines and Spain through culture and the cultivation of Philippine literature in Spanish. He established the award amidst the American colonization in the first few decades of the 20th century, the rise of the English language as medium of instruction in schools, and the waning of the use of the Spanish language as lingua franca in government and the elite. He was quoted to have said, "No quiero que el español muera en Filipinas. ("I don’t want Spanish to die in the Philippines.")" The award was continued by his daughter, Gloria Zóbel de Padilla, after his demise.

The awarding ceremony had been previously held at the Casino Español de Manila. It was later moved to the InterContinental Manila hotel. At its height, it was a literary and social event covered extensively in the media.

Present

Currently, the award is organized under the leadership of the children of Gloria Zóbel de Padilla - Georgina Z. Padilla de Mac-Crohon and Alejandro Z. Padilla.

The history of Spanish language in the Philippines, history of the Zóbel de Ayala family, history of the Premio Zóbel, and short biographies of past winners as well as excerpts of their work are contained in the book, "81 Years of Premio Zóbel: A Legacy of Philippine Literature in Spanish". Written by the 1998 awardee professor Lourdes Brillantes, it was supported by Spanish Ambassador Delfín Colomé Pujol and the Fundacion Santiago for the Philippine Centennial.

List of winners

Below is the list of awardees through the years.

Further reading

• Brillantes, Lourdes Castrillo. 81 Years of Premio Zóbel: A Legacy of Philippine Literature in Spanish, Filipinas Heritage Library (2006)

References

1. ^ "81 Years of Premio Zobel book". shop.ayalamuseum.org. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
2. ^ Enriquez, Marge C. (June 17, 2001). "The saga of the Premio Zobel". filipinokastila.tripod.com. Archived from the original on March 16, 2002. Retrieved 2019-05-23. Alt URL
3. ^ "BusinessWorld | Premio Zobel winner finds new audience with translation". archives.bworldonline.com. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
4. ^ Armando, Babiera (August 10, 2013). "A Book Launch Befitting the Premio Zobel". The Freeman through Pressreader. Retrieved 2019-05-23 – via PressReader.
5. Picornell, Jaime (2013-08-04). "Long-lost Philippine 'War & Peace' novel reissued in handsome bilingual edition". Inquirer Lifestyle. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
6. Litton, Johnny (February 18, 2007). "Premio Zobel". philstar.com. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
7. Arcache, Maurice (June 21, 2001). "Premio Zobelââ'¬â"¢s grand 81st anniversary bash". philstar.com. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
8. Tatler, Philippine (2019-02-28). "Georgina Padilla-Mac-Crohon". Philippine Tatler. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
9. "Premio Zobel Awardees". Archived from the original on June 12, 2010. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
10. ^ Utzurrum, Chinggay V. (2013-09-04). "Utzurrum: El Premio Zobel and Fr. Jerry's visit". Sunstar. Retrieved 2019-05-23.

• 1920 establishments in the Philippines
• Awards established in 1920
• Philippine literary awards
• Spanish language in the Philippines
• Spanish-language literary awards