Shouting ‘long live literature’ and throwing into the air a handful of confetti that he had taken out of his pocket, like the one he found in his jacket after returning from a night of partying and which made him think that they were “the crumbs of yesterday’s happiness in the face of an uncertain tomorrow”, he celebrated Jordi Puntí this Tuesday, on the stage of the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya (TNC), get the 64th Sant Jordi Novel Prizeone of the most prestigious of Catalan literature, during the traditional literary gala of the Night of Santa Llúcia-Festa Òmnium de les Lletres Catalanes. The reason was clear: ‘Confetti’ is the title of the award-winning novel, in which turns the real figure of Xavier Cugat into a literary characterwith the legend that accompanied the popular Catalan musician, always surrounded by chihuahuas and married to young and beautiful womenin orchestras of New York, Hollywood, Havana or Barcelonawhere he lived in the Ritz Hotel.
“It is not a biography, but rather the antithesis of a biography, a tribute to the fiction that governs our lives”, emphasizes Puntí (Manlleu, 1967) about his second novel, 13 years after the celebrated ‘Perdudes suitcases’ (Lletra d’Or, Llibreter and National Critics awards). In ‘Confetti’, to Cugat, “a great storyteller who wanted to be a character”helps him in this fabulation of his life, “as in a game of mirrors”, a narrator, entertainment journalist.
Safe passage
“Cugat was born on January 1, 1900 and thought he would live to be 100 years old, I thought I was immortal, something that gave him safe passage to go through life doing whatever he wanted. But he had many moments of unhappiness and to overcome it he felt the need to build a life on screen, as if it were a movie,” considers Puntí about a not at all glorified Cugat, who was married four times, although he said it was five, and that ” enjoyed success and happiness.” Hence ‘Confetti’ reflects on to what extent we deceive ourselves when we want to be happy at any price.
The winner of the Premi Sant Jordi, one of the best gifted in Catalan literature (60,000 euros), according to the jury, “is an exuberant, detailed and very well-documented and fabled work”, which reflects the world of entertainment and show business. ‘ and portrays the 20th century, with “its dramas and turbulence, but also with fantasy and evolution” through the journey of Cugat, whose family moved to Cuba when he was 5 years old and to the United States when he was 15, points out Puntí, collaborator of EL PERIÓDICO, He is the author of the autobiographical fiction ‘Els castellans’, of stories such as ‘Pell d’armadillo’ and ‘Això no és Amèrica’ or books such as ‘Everything Messi and more’, sample of the author’s other great passion along with literature, football.
Rodoreda Short Story Prize
During the gala, with the presence of the president of Òmnium, Xavier Antich, the ‘president’, Pere Aragonès, and the ‘councillor’ of Culture, Natàlia Garriga, the 26th Mercè Rodoreda Award of stories (endowed with 6,000 euros), which has gone to the Mallorcan actress Carme Serna (Palma, 1981) thanks to ‘Perdona’m per desitjar-ho tant’some stories that reflect the theme of abuse, sexuality and painstarring strong women who try to get out of the hostile environment that surrounds them, “who have an enormous desire inside, as much as the one that moves me to write,” the author has pointed out, very Rodoreda fan, but also of Irene Solà and Vivian Gornick’s ‘Fierce Attachments’with a style that she links with magical realism by García Márquez.
The poetry of Mireia Calafell
He Carles Riba Poetry Prize (endowed with 3,000 euros) has been for the Barcelona native Mireia Calafell (1980) with ‘Si una emergència’. His poems, very short and without punctuation marks, according to the jury, “avoid imposture and grandiose rhetoric” giving a double meaning to the word ’emergency’: on the one hand, that which calls for immediate action and, on the other, the of the action of emerging. The poet, winner of the 2014 Lletra d’Or Award for ‘Tantes mudes’, investigates the idea of end of the world. The author wants to imagine that the world that is ending is “that of climate change, sexist violence, the rise of the extreme right or genocides like that of Palestine” and to think that light can emerge from pain.
Children’s with Paf, the ‘magic drac’
Lluís Prats (Terrassa, 1966) is the third time he has won the Josep M. Folch i Torres for children’s literature (endowed with 4,000 euros). He has done it with ‘Wen i Long’, inspired by the mythical song ‘Paf era un drac màgic’, which he sang when he was a child, for this story of a wise dragon who adopts an innocent girl. Together they travel through legendary China on a journey in which the dragon undertakes the mission of finding a good family for the girl.
He Joaquim Ruyra as a youth player (endowed with 6,000 euros) has won it the philologist Raquel Casas (Vilanova i la Geltrú, 1974) with ‘Ferida’, his debut in narrative for young people. A novel, according to the jury, “intelligent and biting about the less luminous side of adolescence and about the healing power of literature”, starring a 16-year-old girl who is a liar and who feels guilty for being one.
Aitana Bonmatí and ‘Cavall Fort’
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The winning works from Sant Jordi, Rodoreda and Carles Ribas will be published by Proa in February. La Galera will publish Folch i Tor, and the Elastic books imprint Joaquim Ruyra, both imprints of the Enciclopèdia Group.
During the Santa Llúcia Night, two previously announced prizes were awarded: the International Joan B. Cendrós (endowed with 3,000 euros), to the footballer and Barça player Aitana Bonmatí, Golden Ball 2023 and winner of the 2023 World Cup with the Spanish team; and the Muriel Casals Communication Award to Cavall Fort Editions, which publishes the magazines ‘Cavall Fort’ and ‘El Tatano’.