Eduardo Mendoza considers himself "a promising young man in Spanish fiction."

BarcelonaFor the jury of the Princess of Asturias Award for Literature, Eduardo Mendoza (Barcelona, ​​​​1943) is "a provider of happiness." This Friday, Mendoza himself acknowledged during the award ceremony in Oviedo that it is "the best compliment" he has ever received. The writer's acceptance speech was an example of the humor that characterizes many of his novels. "For me, this award has been a surprise, an honor, a joy, and an incentive, because if I don't look in the mirror, I still consider myself a promising young Spanish writer," Mendoza stated during the speech. "The last thing that is lost in life is not hope but vanity," he emphasized. Among the thanks, he remembered his friends, teachers, and the people he loves, and his readers, the latter for "their loyalty, complicity, and affection." "If I have given them any happiness, they have returned it to me in spades," he said.

The author of The city of wonders He has acknowledged that his work is the sum of many factors, among which is "the good fortune of being born surrounded by books" and having family and friends who encouraged his reading habit by making their libraries available to him. "I received a strict, tedious, and oppressive education," Mendoza said. "Stubbornly, they instilled in me the virtues of work, thrift, and decorum, thanks to which I came out lazy, wasteful, and somewhat foolish, three things that are bad in themselves, but good for writing."

Another factor that has shaped Mendoza's literature is Barcelona, ​​​​which he has described as "a warm and sunny city, calm and hardworking, but also a port, vicious, and scoundrel." On a more serious note, he warned that he does not like the world as he currently sees it. "I've been fortunate enough to have lived through a long, exceptional period of relative peace, stability, and well-being. At my age, I'd rather enjoy what there is and not complain about what's missing, but I don't think that's possible," he lamented.

The eight award winners

In addition to Mendoza, this year's Princess of Asturias Award winners are South Korean philosopher Byung-Chul Han (communications and humanities), American sociologist specializing in migration Douglas Massey (social sciences), Mexican photographer Graciela Iturbide (art), American geneticist Mary-Claire King (scientific and technical research), economist and former president of the ECB Mario Draghi (international cooperation), and the National Museum of Anthropology of Mexico (concordia). Each award is worth 50,000 euros.

After Mendoza's speech, Byung-Chul Han warned that his work consists of "waking up" society. "My writings are a denunciation, sometimes very energetic, against today's society," he asserted, considering that "something is not right." He also warned that modern self-exploitation is "more effective than external domination, because it generates a false sense of freedom." And he attacked digitalization and AI, which, in his opinion, threatens to turn humans into "slaves of their own creation." "It is thesmartphone what uses us, and not the other way around," she said, before warning about the "growing loss of respect" in today's democracies.

The winners of the Princess of Asturias Awards came from 354 candidates from 60 different nationalities. After Han, "a citizen of the world" arrived and she made a firm defense of "mixing." "Fortunately, photographic art knows no borders, nor does it have a passport, nor does it need visas, no matter how much some powerful men try to limit free movement between countries and restrict the freedom to think and create," said Iturbide. two cultures" that are "two almost always opposing visions" of the world.

The last of the winners to speak was Mario Draghi, who argued that "the future of Europe must be a journey towards federalism." This federalism must be "pragmatic, flexible" and "capable of acting independently." that the political conditions for such federalism do not currently exist and that "coalitions of people willing to do so around shared strategic interests are needed, recognising that the diverse strengths that exist in Europe do not require all countries to move at the same pace"

.