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Nelson Álvarez Guerra, playwright, actor, and director of the children's theater group Titirivida from Pinar del Río, received an Honorable Mention in the 2026 Hispano-American Prize for Playwriting for New Childhoods in the childhood category for his work "Zapaticos para Rosa," as reported by Radio Guamá this week.
The jury of the competition, which convened in Argentina, made the official announcement on June 30. The Facebook page of the group Titirivida celebrated the recognition with these words: "It is with great joy that we announce that the actor and director of El Mundo de Titirivida, Nelson Álvarez Guerra, has been awarded the Mention of the Ibero-American Award for Dramaturgy for New Childhoods 2026 for his work 'Zapaticos para Rosa.' A great piece of news for the theater of Pinar del Río."
Álvarez Guerra himself expressed his gratitude on his personal Facebook page for the juror's evaluation and described the award as a happy event for him in 2026.
"Zapaticos para Rosa" takes as its starting point the famous poem "Los zapaticos de rosa" by José Martí, published in 1889 in the magazine La Edad de Oro, one of the most widely distributed texts in Cuban and Ibero-American literature for children.
The dramatic work transports that Martian universe into the school setting: it tells the story of two children, Rosa and Ernestico, who meet in third grade. When he discovers that her shoe is broken, they both begin to confront the differences in their realities together, as reported by Periódico Guerrillero and cited by Radio Guamá.
Martí is a recurring influence in Álvarez Guerra's creative journey, who has crafted several of his works based on the work of the Cuban national poet, the source indicates.
The artist trained under the guidance of the late Pinar del Río theater director Luciano Beirán, who entrusted him with leading Titirivida, one of the emblematic children's theater groups in the western province. The group was founded during the Special Period in the 1990s and has over 30 years of experience.
In April, Álvarez Guerra also completed his Master’s degree in Educational Processes in the Teaching of the Arts, with a specialization in Theatre, adding a new academic milestone to a year that already brings him this international recognition, the outlet reports.
As part of the collateral actions of the award, "Zapaticos para Rosa" will be published in digital and print formats before the end of 2026. The Ibero-American Award for Playwriting for New Childhoods is organized by the Institute of Performing Arts "Dr. Raúl H. Castagnino" at the University of Buenos Aires, the María Elena Walsh Documentation Center, and the Latin American Chair of Reading and Writing based in Cuba.
In this edition, the winners in the three competition categories (early childhood, childhood—where Nelson Álvarez participated—and adolescence) were, respectively, playwrights from Peru, Spain, and Argentina.
The award arrives at a time of severe difficulties for Cuban culture. Prolonged blackouts forced the suspension of the Havana Ballet Grand Prix 2026, rescheduled for July 2027. The deterioration of theatrical heritage also became evident when part of the ceiling of the Ismaelillo theater in Holguín collapsed on May 20, fortunately without casualties. Additionally, there is the censorship that has affected figures in theater, such as the ban on director Nelda Castillo during International Theatre Day last March.
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