Lorena Velázquez Wins the 2026 Portus Patris Literary Prize
- Written by Alionuska Vilche Blanco
- Published in Culture
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Writer, editor, and visual artist Lorena Susel Velázquez Fraga won the 2026 Portus Patris Literary Prize for her poetry collection "Danza sobre el puñal" (Dance on the Dagger), according to the jury's decision announced during the closing ceremony of the competition in Las Tunas, an event sponsored by the Hermanos Saíz Association (AHS).
The jury, chaired by poet and editor Luis Yuseff Reyes and composed of Nathaly Hernández and Armando López, unanimously praised the quality of the collection.
According to the minutes cited by Radio Victoria, "in their decision, the evaluators highlighted a symbolic universe where the body, memory, and resistance intertwine through the use of resources and images of high lyrical tension, such as scissors, matryoshka dolls, reliquaries, and the crimson phoenix." Likewise, "the sequential architecture and the ability to combine intimate confession with irony and wordplay made this book the strongest entry in the competition."
The awards ceremony also recognized "All the Cells in the World" by Esteban Daniel García López with First Mention, and "House Shouting to the West" by Oreste Ramón Fuente Martínez with Second Mention. Fuente Martínez also received the "Pedro Verdecie" Collateral Prize awarded by the José Martí Provincial Library.
Lorena Susel Velázquez Fraga, who also holds a degree in Literature, has a distinguished career that includes the 2024 New Voices of Poetry Prize for her collection "Glass with Strawberries," and a mention in the 2025 Calendario Awards for "Self-Portrait with Dagger."
She also recently won the Holguín City Prize in its 40th edition for her poetry collection "Manual of Sad Flowers." With this award, the Holguin-born author consolidates a poetic work that, due to its quality, is projected as a contribution to the Cuban literary scene.
