On December 10, 1945, the Vicuña-born poet and educator Gabriela Mistral became the first Latin American to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature from the Swedish Academy.
In 1901, the Swedish Academy began the tradition of awarding the Nobel Prize in Literature. Since then, only six Latin American writers have received this prestigious award. Of that select number, only two are Chileans: Gabriela Mistral and Pablo Neruda.
On December 10, 1945, the poet Gabriela Mistral became the first Latin American to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature. She is also one of only 17 women who have been awarded this recognition, while 98 have been awarded to men.
It took 26 years for the Nobel Prize in Literature to return to Chilean hands. In 1971, the poet Pablo Neruda received the highest award in the world of literature.
The poetry of Gabriela Mistral and Pablo Neruda has traveled the world, been translated into many different languages and reached an audience of millions. That is why at Imagen de Chile this year we launched the campaign “Chile, creativity that inspires the world.” It seeks to promote Chile’s cultural heritage through the works of renowned talents from the world of culture and the arts.
Three professional tattoo artists from Spain created a design inspired by the works of Gabriela Mistral, Pablo Neruda and Nicanor Parra, which was tattooed onto the skin of three young Spaniards. In this way, it was possible to cross geographical and generational borders, taking these giants of Chilean literature to a new generation in Spain.
