National Authorities awarded the Rómulo Gallegos International Novel Prize to Vicente Battista

Published at: 02/08/2025 08:11 PM

National authorities awarded the International Novel Prize Rómulo Gallegos, in its 21st edition, to the winner Vicente Battista, for his literary work: “The simulacrum of mirrors”.

During his speech after receiving the award, Battista said that as long as there is a story left to tell, “literature will live on and the international Romulo Gallegos award is proof of this”.

He also emphasized that the beginning of Latin American literature, which began in the 1960s, was completely linked to a fact that was not literary, but political; “to the Cuban Revolution”.

On the other hand, the Argentinian writer Vicente Battista recalled the words of Arturo Uslar Pietri who asserted that the first novel of a global dimension was written by a Venezuelan and is about Doña Bárbara, written by Rómulo Gallegos, who besides being a great writer, “was a good man”.

As part of the tribute, the Minister of Popular Power for Culture, Ernesto Villegas, presented the Argentinian writer, Vicente Battista with an institutional gift that represents “Doña Bárbara”.

Villegas, indicated that President Nicolás Maduro, ordered to turn Venezuela into the largest reading and writing room in all of humanity.

Mazo News Team