The organization challenged everyone who wanted to compete: it was necessary to submit a text containing a maximum of three thousand words, about the uniqueness of the Portuguese origin.
Ribeiro e Castro, President of the Society, reports that 56 entries were submitted for the competition, but only 42 were considered within the required parameters. “The prize was awarded to Benilde Gagnao, a young teacher of Portuguese and English in Elvas.”
The teacher wrote what she called “The Stones of Portugal”, “an allegory that runs through various moments in Portuguese history since the early days of discovery” and in which the identity of what it means to be Portuguese is compared to a pavement that is unique only by the combination of stones.
The prize will be presented this afternoon, and there will also be two honorable mentions: Joaquim Matussa, a Portuguese who lives in Brazil and who spoke about his life experiences not only in this country, but also in Portugal and Mozambique, and young Joana. Ribeiro, who presented the poem in prose.
Ribeiro e Castro believes that 42 of the texts assessed were of high quality. “These are texts that are very rich in their sensitivity and their imagination,” he says. The purpose of this award is to encourage people to “think about who we are, what they have done to us and how we live our identity” so that they have an original vision of what it means to be Portuguese.
