Mexican Writer Elena Poniatowska Receives the Cervantes Literary Prize from the King of Spain

Mexican journalist and writer Elena Poniatowska received the top prize to Hispanic letters from the hands of King Juan Carlos of Spain, in an act celebrated in the University of Alcalá de Henares, a community located 20 km from Madrid.

With this prize, Poniatowska becomes the fouth woman to win the Cervantes Literary Prize and the first to get on the podium to pronounce a speech, according to Fox News Latino.

Wearing a dress with the colors of the Spanish flag, which was made by the native people of Juchitán, in Oaxaca, México, the Mexican writer highlighted in her speech the difficult situation in which thousands of Mexicans live in, especially those who are poor, and the important role women have played in the country's history.

Moments before, King Juan Carlos of Spain said that Elena Poniatowska has always had a commitment to humanity, especially to women and that she has given "a voice to the most unfortunate," reported Fox.

"Humanity is the center of gravity of Elena Poniatowska's work. The need to provide a voice for the most unfortunate, to shed light on the contradictions of progress, to denounce social discrimination and all forms of injustice, constitute the spirit of her literature," said the King, according to Fox.

Daughter of French and Polish immigrants, Poniatowska began her career writing for Mexican newspaper Excélsior, work she carried out for many years and which led her to interview great figures of Mexican culture such as Mario Moreno "Cantinflas" or Diego Rivera, who called her an "inquisitive little Pole", according to Los Angeles Times.

Elena Poniatowska is the author of over 40 books which comprise essays, novels, tales, and journalistic testimonials, which have been translated to over 20 languages. Among her extensive work are "Hasta no verte, Jesús mío", "Tinísima", and "La noche de Tlatelolco", non-fiction work which challenged the official version of the events of October 2, 1968 in Tlatelolco square, in Mexico City.