Bayamo Poet Lucía Muñoz Maceo Wins Environmental Poetry Prize

Lucía Muñoz Maceo, a poet from Bayamo, has been awarded the Samuel Feijóo Environmental Poetry Prize, recognized for her extensive body of work that explores both Cuba’s natural landscape and the inner world of her native city.

The Economic Society of Friends of the Country, through its Culture Section, grants this annual award to honor the lifetime achievements of a Cuban poet whose work significantly addresses environmental themes.

The jury, composed of Alicia Abascal, Virgilio López Lemus, and Emmanuel Tornés Reyes, selected Muñoz Maceo unanimously. In their statement, they highlighted that she has “an extensive poetic output, reflected in over twenty books of poems, many of which speak directly to Cuba’s nature and also to the inner landscape of her hometown, where she has always lived.” They further noted that “even when addressing other topics, her metaphorical references tend to embody elements of the natural environment.”

Known as «The Bride of Bayamo,» Muñoz Maceo was born in the eastern Cuban city of Bayamo in 1953. She is a leading figure in Cuban literature, recognized as both a poet and a children’s author, and the recipient of multiple awards and cultural honors.

Among her most significant works are Calle arriba bajo la lluvia (1982), Sobre hojas que nadie ve (1994), and the widely acclaimed Amargo ejercicio, published in Cuba, Spain, and Mexico.

The Samuel Feijóo Prize has been awarded since 2007, and its previous winners include prominent names in Cuban poetry such as Roberto Manzano Díaz, Dulcila Cañizares, Nancy Morejón, and Virgilio López Lemus.

Lucía Muñoz Maceo will receive the prize on January 9 during the General Meeting of the Economic Society of Friends of the Country in Havana.

Translated by Luis E. Amador Dominguez