Cuban poet wins Neruda Prize

SANTIAGO: Cuban poet and essayist Fina Garcia Marruz has won the prestigious Pablo Neruda Ibero-American Poetry award this year, Chilean Minister of Culture Paulina Urrutia announced.

"I greatly appreciate the award," an emotional Marruz said after she was informed about the honour on Wednesday.

The award will be presented to her by Chilean President Michelle Bachelet during the Ibero-American Summit of Culture Ministers to be held in the Chilean capital in July.

The Pablo Neruda Poetry Award has previously been given to Mexican Jose Emilio Pacheco (2004), Argentine Juan Gelman (2005) and Peruvian German Belli (2006).

Josefina Garcia Marruz was born in Havana, on April 28, 1923. She became interested in literature when she was in adolescence, joining the literary Grupo Origenes along with Cintio Vitier.

She has been a collaborator to numerous Cuban and foreign cultural journals, with her work translated into several languages.