International
Argentine Jorge Fernández Díaz wins the 81st Nadal Award with ‘El secreto de Marcial’
The Argentine writer and journalist Jorge Fernández Díaz has won the 81st edition of the Nadal Novel Award, endowed with 30,000 euros, with his autobiographical work ‘El secreto de Marcial’, which the winner of the award, Editorial Destino, will publish on February 5.
In the proclamation ceremony, Fernández Díaz, who had presented himself to the award under the pseudonym of Daniel Ocampo, has won the Nadal with a novel that had the provisional title of ‘Marcial’.
Previously, in the same evening, the winner of the 57th edition of the Josep Pla Prize for Catalan Prose was announced, endowed with 10,000 euros, which has fallen to the scientific popularizer and educator David Bueno, hidden behind the pseudonym of ‘Carro de Foc’, for ‘L’art de ser humans’, an essay that proposes a fascinating journey through the arts, neuroscience and education, which he had presented with the fictional title ‘Quan l’esser humà despierta’.
After the jury’s verdict was made public, Fernández Díaz, whose name coincidence with the former PP Minister of the Interior has not prevented any jokes, recalled that Nadal “is one of the world’s great prizes.”
“I am the son of two Asturians who emigrated to Argentina in the midst of hunger and fear of the post-war period after the Spanish Civil War and who built an epic emigrant in an immense Spanish community, forgotten and today in the process of extinction,” confessed the Argentine journalist, who wants to dedicate the winning novel precisely to “that forgotten community in which I grew up.”
A few years ago, in 2001, Fernández Díaz wrote the successful novel ‘Mamá’, which he dedicated to his mother Carmina, an Asturian who was sent to Argentina at the age of 15 to flee poverty in the post-war period of Francoism.
The author now focuses on ‘El secreto de Marcial’ on “the most mysterious person”, his father, Marcial Fernández, who in ‘Mamá’ was “a secondary character, a chapter, because for some reason he was a hermetic person, who was present in an exceptional way.”
For the winner of the dean of the Hispanic literary awards, “there is only one mother, but every father is an enigma” and, for that reason, he decided to solve it: “My father did not have the tools to communicate with me, and his only way, the only sentimental education he bequeathed to me was to watch together some of the classics of old Hollywood, some films that I have later revisited.”
Since Marcial Fernández died in 2005, his father became “a kind of literary ghost” who challenged him to try to write about him.
“My father gave me for lost when he found out that I wanted to be a writer and it is an ironic turn that my father returns to Spain in the form of a novel and tonight,” he said excitedly.
In Fernández Díaz’s opinion, his father was the archetype of “those tough men not trained for the paternal-child relationship, a facet that he left exclusively in the hands of the mother.”
Although he tells the life of Marcial, the writer has also wanted to narrate the life of the Spanish community in Argentina, which “had great importance at the time and is on the verge of extinction with some of its members already in the ages.”
The novel, the author points out, takes place in a different Buenos Aires from that of Marcial, where a family investigation takes place looking for the secrets of this enigmatic man, a research that takes the reader to Asturias.
In the same evening, previously, the 57th Josep Pla Prize for Catalan prose was presented to the biologist, researcher and science popularizer David Bueno, for his work ‘L’art de ser humans’.
After knowing the verdict, Bueno said that “this award is not the end of anything” and about the award-winning work he commented that it is “a fascinating journey through the arts, neuroscience and education, which redefine the way we perceive the world and ourselves.”
In the usual evening that opens the literary course of the year every January 6 in Barcelona, which this year has remembered the centenary of Ana María Matute, personalities from the cultural, political and economic world have attended, headed by the president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, and the Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun.
International
Salvadoran National Arrested in New Jersey with Over 70 Machine Gun Conversion Devices
The U.S. Department of Justice announced the arrest of 21-year-old Salvadoran national Erick Márquez Cruz after authorities allegedly discovered more than 70 machine gun conversion devices and other firearm-related components during a search of his residence in North Bergen, New Jersey.
According to the Justice Department, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant on June 25 at Cruz’s home, where they recovered a 3D printer that was allegedly being used to manufacture firearm components. Investigators also seized 17 3D-printed firearm frames, magazines, and more than 70 machine gun conversion devices (MCDs).
Federal authorities explained that the conversion devices, which are classified as machine guns under U.S. law, are designed to convert semiautomatic firearms into fully automatic weapons capable of firing multiple rounds with a single pull of the trigger.
Cruz has been charged with unlawful possession of a machine gun. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the gross financial gain resulting from the offense, whichever is greater.
International
Venezuela Earthquakes Spark Diplomatic Thaw With Former Critics
The devastating earthquakes that struck Venezuela have triggered an unprecedented diplomatic thaw between Caracas and several governments that had maintained strained relations with the country, raising hopes that the humanitarian response could pave the way for broader international engagement under the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.
The United States, Chile, Argentina, El Salvador and Israel were among the first countries to announce humanitarian assistance, deploy search-and-rescue teams or establish direct contact with acting President Delcy Rodríguez to coordinate relief efforts in the hardest-hit areas.
Canada also joined the international response by announcing humanitarian aid while opening a domestic debate over the importance of maintaining diplomatic representation in countries such as Venezuela to better respond to emergencies and assist its citizens abroad.
The wave of international cooperation marks a sharp contrast to the diplomatic tensions that followed Venezuela’s disputed presidential election on July 28, 2024, in which Nicolás Maduro was declared the winner.
In the aftermath of that vote, the governments of Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay publicly questioned the official election results, triggering one of the region’s most significant diplomatic crises in recent years.
The Venezuelan government responded by withdrawing its diplomatic personnel from several of those countries and demanding the departure of their representatives, further deepening the country’s international isolation.
The humanitarian emergency created by the twin earthquakes has now prompted renewed communication between Caracas and governments that had previously suspended or significantly reduced diplomatic engagement, underscoring how major natural disasters can temporarily reshape international relations despite longstanding political disagreements.
International
Venezuela Earthquake Death Toll Surpasses 1,700 as Search for Survivors Continues
Venezuelan authorities have raised the death toll from last week’s twin earthquakes to more than 1,700, as rescue teams continue searching for survivors in the country’s hardest-hit coastal region.
According to the latest official report released on Sunday, the powerful earthquakes, measuring magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, have claimed at least 1,719 lives. National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez also reported that 5,034 people were injured, while 15,866 have been displaced and another 22,619 are receiving medical care.
The United Nations has expressed growing concern over the scale of the disaster, estimating that as many as 68,000 people could still be missing.
La Guaira bears the brunt of the disaster
The coastal state of La Guaira has suffered the greatest loss of life and the most extensive damage. The Venezuelan government has declared the area a disaster zone and placed it under military control as emergency operations continue.
Five days after the earthquakes struck, search-and-rescue teams remain on the ground, supported by additional heavy equipment and international rescue crews. However, hopes of finding more survivors beneath the rubble continue to diminish with each passing day.
One of the most dramatic rescue operations unfolded Monday in Catia La Mar, where emergency teams from El Salvador, Mexico, and Venezuela worked together to reach a 21-year-old man who has remained trapped inside a collapsed building since the earthquakes struck.
The twin earthquakes hit Venezuela on June 24, with the epicenter located between San Felipe and Yumare in the country’s northern region. The first quake, measuring magnitude 7.2, struck at 6:04 p.m. local time. Just 39 seconds later, a second and stronger magnitude 7.5 earthquake occurred farther to the southeast. Combined, the seismic activity lasted nearly three minutes, causing widespread devastation across several regions of the country.
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Venezuela Earthquakes Spark Diplomatic Thaw With Former Critics
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