The solemn marble columns inside the Madrid palace where Philip V once lived, the Neptune Palace, They have witnessed the revival of the Blanquerna Prize, awarded by the Generalitat (Catalan government) to individuals from various fields for their "contribution to promoting Catalonia." But also for having forged "ties between Spanish and Catalan society in general, and Madrid society in particular," in the words of Salvador Illa. As of Tuesday, the list of recipients from the past nineteen editions, from Adolfo Suárez in 1994 to Esther Koplowitz in 2008, now includes the poet, critic, professor, and current director of the Cervantes Institute, Luis García Montero. Visibly moved when it was his turn to accept the prize, García Montero mentioned all those writers—the vast majority of them men—who have helped him to love and understand Catalan literature and culture. He acknowledged that it has been difficult for him to "accept" the use of mother tongues to politically "inflame" bilingual territories. "I understand the ill intentions behind wanting to reopen wounds and create distance; words have often been used to insult or prohibit."

The poet, critic, professor, and current director of the Cervantes Institute, Luis García Montero, has been awarded the twentieth Blanquerna Prize, the Catalan government announced Tuesday. This is an honorary recognition that the Generalitat (Generalitat) has revived after seven years without awarding it and that recognizes the careers of individuals or entities that have contributed to projecting Catalonia at the state level. For the government, it is an award that "helps forge ties between Catalonia and Spanish civil society in general and that of Madrid in particular." In fact, it will be presented by President Salvador Illa on November 18 at the Neptuno Palace in Madrid.