The prestigious 2025 National Literature Prize has been awarded to writer Gustavo Laterza Rivarola. The prize was awarded by Paraguayan president Santiago Peña during a ceremony, while also honouring three other distinguished Paraguayan authors with honourable mentions. The event took place at the Government Palace in Asunción, where the president praised the award as one of the Republic’s most esteemed cultural honours.
“This prize celebrates those whose talent enriches our country’s cultural heritage and preserves our collective memory,” President Peña declared in his address. He described the National Literature Prize as a recognition of excellence that underscores the vital role of literature in safeguarding Paraguay’s historical identity.
Gustavo Laterza Rivarola receives top honour
Gustavo Laterza Rivarola was awarded the 2025 National Literature Prize for his epic poem Doña Mencia y Don Hernando, a work that transports readers to the 16th-century origins of the Paraguayan nation. The president commended the poem for rescuing from oblivion the achievements of the women and men who laid the foundations of modern Paraguay.
“This historical novel demonstrates that Paraguay has an extraordinary history that deserves to be told, studied, and above all, celebrated,” President Peña said.
Three writers granted honourable mentions
Joining Laterza Rivarola in recognition were three additional authors:
- Juan Ramírez Biedermann for Mango;
- Delfina Acosta for Universo, Poesía y Otros Versos (Universe, Poetry and Other Verses);
- Milton Siegfred for La Montaña de Plata (The Silver Mountain).
The president described the four laureates as “representatives of the finest contemporary Paraguayan literature”, noting that they form part of a broader constellation of literary talent actively building the nation’s cultural heritage.
“Literature as guardian of national memory”
President Peña emphasised that when Paraguayan writers invest years researching and reconstructing episodes of colonial history, they perform a service far beyond literature. “They are safeguarding our memory, interpreting our present and projecting our identity into the future,” he stated.
He expressed confidence that Paraguayan literature possesses the potential to shine internationally, rooted as it is in a unique history and rich cultural identity.
“The Paraguayan people are ready for great things,” the president affirmed. “When one of our artists, writers, or researchers shines in their field, they are writing another chapter in the resurgence of the giant we once were and are destined to be again.”
Read more: Recently, Paraguay’s Secretariat of Linguistic Policies (SPL) announced the launch of Poapu’apy ñe’ẽyvoty (A Handful of Poetry in Guaraní language).
