The Premio Zóbel is a Philippine

literary award A literary award or literary prize is an award presented in recognition of a particularly lauded Literature, literary piece or body of work. It is normally presented to an author. Organizations Most literary awards come with a corresponding award c ...

conferred on Filipino writers in the

Spanish language Spanish () or Castilian () is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a world language, gl ...

. 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 Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

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 The Philippine Academy of the Spanish Language (, abbreviated AFLE; ) is the language regulator for Philippine Spanish, the variant of the Spanish language spoken in the Philippines. A founding member of the Asociación de Academias de la Lengu ...

. 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.Alt URL
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History

The Premio Zóbel was founded by businessman and philanthropist

Enrique Zóbel de Ayala Enrique Jacobo Pedro Luis Plácido Zóbel de Ayala (October 9, 1877 – February 17, 1943) was a Spanish-born industrialist and philanthropist who became the first patriarch of the Zóbel de Ayala family. He was also one of the leaders in the P ...

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 InterContinental Manila (colloquially Intercon/ICM) was a five-star InterContinental hotel located on Ayala Avenue in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines. At the time of its closure, it was the longest operating international chain hotel in the Phi ...

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 The Philippine Centennial was a series of celebrations by the Philippine government to primarily commemorate the 100th anniversary of the proclamation of Philippine Independence on June 12, 1898. Background The Philippine Centennial primarily c ...

List of winners

Below is the list of awardees through the years.

References

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

Mechanics

History

Present

List of winners

Further reading

References