Juan Goytisolo wins National Letters

A career, a life surrendered to the floor, to literature, it is recognized that the National Literature Prize (awarded by the Ministry of Culture and endowed with 40,000 euros), who yesterday was awarded to Barcelona writer Juan Goytisolo. Accustomed to the warmth of the climate of Marrakech where he lived for many years, the inclement cold yesterday to thrash cute in Madrid, the author of "Signs of Identity" appeared to leave icy, icy, almost as much as the valuation of the prestigious award given to made before a large group of journalists who had mounted guard (with the guys in the press pink) at the door (well, at the hall, thanks to the kindness of the employees) the centrally located hotel they were staying. "It is a story, nor good nor bad, just a story. At my age, any prize-ago illusion drew resounding Goytisolo. I have given period. Like I would feel if he had been the Cervantes prize. I am not rude, nor want to be rude, but I did not cause any excitement receive a prize. I just got back from Mexico, and what they really wanted me to sleep at this time was a couple of hours and give me a good swim. " After some initial steps but forthright with titles like "Games of hands' (1954) and" To live here '(1960), in 1966, Goytisolo began publishing one of the most demanding works of contemporary Spanish literature, the trilogy Alvaro Mendiola including three of the most disruptive and influential narrative of the post-Spanish Civil War: "Signs of Identity" (1966), "Claiming the Count Don Julian (1970) and" John Landless "(1975 ). In them, Juan Goytisolo (also the brother of novelist and poet Luis Goytisolo Jose Agustin Goytisolo, who died years ago) reconstructs a fresco of our contemporary history, innovative and unorthodox in the way in the back, through a prose of great human and literary. Life and work of the second of Goytisolo not always been received with enthusiasm in his own country, which has stayed away (physically and geographically) for more than half his life. "When a work is alive, always arouses resistance-assured yesterday. I always I have taken the attacks as confirmation that he was on the right track. The truth is that if you give me an award, the first reaction is to doubt myself now, if I declare persona non grata, I'm not misguided about what I am doing. " "I have learned so much from the diversity and cultural mix of Miguel de Cervantes', underlines the creator of" Makbara " The work of Juan Goytisolo has not only run through the fields of the novel, has also been a prolific author of books of travel, of thin nose and clean sight as "Fields of Nijar" (1954), "Snapshots from a trip to Cuba "(1962) and" Book of Sarajevo "(1993). Equally, has already been registered as an important piece essays with titles like "Problems of the novel" (1959), "van tail" (1967) and "The saga of Marx" (2005), among others. An extensive and varied work of an author who says that live quite outside the literary life, its promotions cenacles and its, 'because I believe that culture is one thing and cultural life quite another. In addition, I have never considered a national asset, I am horrified any nationalism. " Away, then, the circuits and their literary stabbing, Goytisolo lives, as he himself says, "surrounded by people who do not speak Spanish ', which does not prevent the creator of" Makbara "(1980) observed with considerable concern" the rightist of European societies and persecution of immigrants ", since it shows absolutely sure that" culture is a mixture of external influences that have been receiving over the years. And I, personally, of the cultural mix I've learned as much as Cervantes. " Nor does the exercise of amnesia Juan Goytisolo (who lost her mother during a bombardment on Barcelona's aviation Franco) and brought before the much carried historical memory "law on this may lead to lost, but we can not forget that while the victims of the anarchy of the early days of the Civil War are in the glory, the rest of persecution and missing must continue rotting in mass graves. " Then, between ironic and solemnly said that "I am not a chicken laying birth books all day, every novel of mine is a literary completely different. I think that's the mission of a writer, returned to society a cultural legacy than the one that received ". Finally, Juan Goytisolo said that "more than ever, in these difficult times and crises, the culture is a handle to the people. There are many causes worthy of being defended, could be listing all night. " It is assumed that nobody is a bitter sweet, even literary, but Goytisolo, rather than leaving him bitter cold. Ice cream. Luckily, Marrakech cure everything.