Cuban Reinaldo Montero Wins Jardiel Poncela 2018 Theater Award

Cuban playwright Reinaldo Montero won the Jardiel Poncela 2018 Theater Award presented by the Spanish foundation SGAE, announced on Friday the Casa de las Américas electronic bulletin.

Montero said he was fortunate to receive this award, which is 'one of the most stable and prestigious references in the panorama of contemporary dramaturgy in this part of the world.'

The writer, who won the Casa Prize for his storybook 'Donjuanes' (1986), won the award with the text 'The dream of love produces monsters,' which will be published in the Teatroautor Collection of the institution.

According to the bulletin, the work evokes the 'Capricho number 43,' an engraving of the series of the Spanish painter Francisco de Goya (1746-1828) and was selected from a total of 165 works submitted to the contest.

With a degree in Philology from the University of Havana, Reinaldo Montero is also recognized for his work as a storyteller, playwright, film screenwriter and theater advisor.

He is the author of thirty books and a dozen plays, which received numerous awards including the Juan Rulfo Prize (1996), Fray Luis de Leon (2007), Alejo Carpentier (2005) and four national criticism prizes in Cuba (2009, 2006, 2002 and 1997).

For his successful career in the world of letters he was also recognized as a member of the Cuban Academy of Language.

The SGAE Prize for Jardiel Poncela Theater has been held for 27 years with the aim of encouraging the creation of new dramatic texts and vindicating the figure of the dramatist.