Granada was the chosen setting to pay tribute to the Mexican poet Coral Bracho, who received the XXI Federico GarcĂa Lorca International Poetry PrizeThe event, held at the Huerta de San Vicente —the summer residence of the Granada poet—, brought together cultural and political authorities along with poetry lovers to recognize the career of an author whose Lyrical language has built bridges between the intimate and the social.
Bracho, born in Mexico City in 1951, expressed her surprise and excitement at the award., which considers a tribute not only to his work but also to poetry as a vital tool for understanding the world and connecting with people. During her presentation, the writer shared her vision of poetic language as a territory that allows for exploring the human with a depth difficult to achieve through other means.
A recognition with a Lorca flavor
The ceremony had a special symbolic character It was held for the first time in the gardens of the former home of poet Federico GarcĂa Lorca, reinforcing the emotional significance of the event. The Mayor of Granada, Marifrán Carazo, emphasized the importance of the award as a tool to consolidate Granada as a cultural epicenter in the Spanish-speaking world. Also present were the Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, and the Andalusian Minister of Culture, Patricia del Pozo, both of whom emphasized the universal and ethical dimension of Bracho's work.
The jury valued Bracho's lyrical and sensorial richness., highlighting his ability to fuse elements of nature with a nuanced language, ranging from neo-Baroque to a contemporary sensibility. His style has been described as a balance between the tangible and the abstract, between the body, emotion, and politics.
During her speech, the poet paid tribute to GarcĂa Lorca, highlighting his ability to express human brotherhood and his constant defense of the most disadvantaged classes, with a poetic approach that integrated the traditional and the avant-garde.
Poetics as a tool for connection
Bracho defined poetry as a way of dealing with the ambiguity of the modern world.In his words, it is a constant and vital search, a language that allows us to glimpse the invisible and feel what is shared. The poet also recalled that Lorca's legacy It remains valid in times marked by inequality and the loss of collective sensitivityHe claimed the ethical function of art and its role in social transformation, ensuring that If there is a time when we need Lorca's sensitivity, it is now..
The event concluded with a performance by guitarist Juan Habichuela Nieto, who played several pieces in homage to Lorca, closing the day with a moving musical tribute under the trees of the Huerta de San Vicente.
An award with history and projection
Created in 2004, the Federico GarcĂa Lorca International Poetry Prize of the City of Granada It seeks to highlight the work of Spanish-speaking authors whose work has significantly contributed to the literary heritage. The award includes a cash prize of 20.000 euros, a commemorative sculpture and a diploma, as well as a series of tributes and cultural activities in the city.
Coral Bracho thus joins a prestigious list of winners, including authors such as José Emilio Pacheco, Blanca Varela, Ida Vitale, Rafael Cadenas, and Raúl Zurita. Her inclusion reinforces her commitment to building bridges between geographies and poetic generations.
During the days prior to the official delivery ceremony, Granada hosted a special program in honor of the poet, including roundtable discussions, public readings, and anthology presentations, served to bring Bracho's work to a wider audience and foster interest in contemporary poetry. Highlights included an intimate discussion at the Federico GarcĂa Lorca Center, during which Bracho spoke with local readers and writers, and a special visit to the Garden of the Martyrs, where a plaque bearing her name was unveiled, joining the "poetic route" of previous awardees.
The choice of Bracho, whose work is characterized by a fusion between the sensorial and the ethical, reflects the award's commitment to poetry that does not shy away from social themes or formal beauty, and which follows in the footsteps of Lorca himself: a poem alive, restless and deeply human.
With a career that began in 1977, more than a dozen published titles, collaborations with visual artists and translations into multiple languages, Coral Bracho has established herself as one of the most influential voices on the Spanish poetry sceneIts inclusion in the Lorca Prize list represents recognition of a body of work that continues to illuminate the complexities of the present through the transformative power of verse.
