Catalan literature, gastronomy, music, art win 2019 National Culture Award

Catalonia’s yearly National Culture Awards were revealed on Wednesday, given out to some of the more notable local names in a variety of fields.

The recipients for the 2019 recognition were announced as writer Jaume Cabré, editor and translator Maria Bohigas, chef Carme Ruscalleda, composer Clara Peya, artist Josep Ponsatí, and art historian Josefina Matamorosos.

This will be the 44^th edition of the awards, which aim to recognize “exponents of popular culture and also of the artistic avant-garde” as well as to “vindicate the fundamental role of women in cultural life.”

Institutions awarded as well

But the prize isn’t just for people – institutions get their due appreciation as well, and this iteration saw the award go to the Lleida Museum, the Col·legi d’Arquitectes de Catalunya architecture group (COAC), the ‘Ateneus’ cultural spaces Federation of Catalonia , and the literary fair Litterrarum Móra d’Ebre.

The ceremony for the most prestigious awards given out in the field by the Catalan government, announced by the National Council for Culture and the Arts (CoNCA), is to be held on July 4 at the Teatre L'Artesà in Hospitalet de Llobregat, just south of the capital.