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Albert Rose
Every day that Andrés passed in front of the National Library, he imagined what the day would be like when the jury of the Adonai Poetry Award He would announce the winners of this year's edition, number 75. That day came with the good news that his work and his passion for literature had led him to be one of the two second prizes of this prestigious award.
Influenced by literary figures such as Luis Alberto de Cuenca or Jorge Luis Borges, among others, Andrés García Cuevas (Murcia, 1999) became interested in literature when he finished his high school studies in his hometown. A few years later, already in Madrid and thanks to important friends who cross his path, he falls into the world of poetry and begins to read and write verses.
The result of these verses is 'The Cities', the work with which the URJC Journalism and Audiovisual Communication student has won second prize in the Adonáis Award 2021. The recognition is one of the most prestigious poetry awards in the world, which has Its objective is to give a voice to emerging poets who write in the Spanish language.
García's collection of poems is divided into two parts: one dedicated to love in all its aspects, under the name of 'The city on'; and another with a darker theme, linked to death or absence, 'La ciudad arrasada'. On the conception of the work, the poet explains that he does not seek to reinvent anything and prefers to take refuge in the traditional: “What excites me is that universality of the themes. Common spaces such as love and death, themes that determine the life of any person, whether from this time or another"
The young man says that with this work he also intends to vindicate urban life. “Many times there is a tendency to idealize the ascetic life of being retired in the countryside or in the mountains. I'm not saying that's bad, but in the end I've always lived in the city and that's what I like”, he maintains.
Image and visual resources are very present in his work. “There is some cinematic touch in the work. The image helps a lot to bring credibility and veracity to the poem, which in the end is a pact of truth”, she explains.
Andrés assures that poetry needs more vindication, since it is a great “unknown”. "I really think that everyone likes poetry, but they don't know it," he says. To the golden question about whether poetry can change things, the young man replies that "without a doubt, it helps to contribute to it." "Poetry gives rise to empathy, understanding and a common space in which coexistence is much more friendly," he concludes.