Xàbia Negra concludes its fourth season after two year absence
The 2021 edition featured the award of the first-ever “Premio La Criminala” to recognize the contributations of writers in the black “noir” literary genre.
Tuesday 2nd November 2021 – ÁLVARO MONFORT with Mike Smith
The fourth edition of the Xàbia Negra cultural festival, the town council’s main cultural commitment for the Todos los Santos “puente” weekend, has left a great impression on its return after two years absence with a totally renewed work team.
Closing last Sunday, the festival acknowledged the well-known Barcelona writer Víctor de Árbol with the award of the first ever “La Criminala” prize, an award that seeks to recognize the contribution of writers to genre literature. The internationally-renowned author stated that he received the trophy with “joy and modesty“, adding that “awards teach you to value the work you do, but also to respect the opinion of readers, colleagues and critics.”
The winner wanted to praise Xàbia as a source of inspiration to address isolation or loneliness in a novel: “I like the fact that the festival is held in such a touristy town, but in autumn. For me, the coastal towns in winter have a melancholic air, a nostalgic atmosphere that is very inviting for creation”.
Throughout the weekend, 15 activities were carried out within the framework of Xàbia Negra. Among them, the high schools of Antoni Llidó and No.1, received writers Fernando Marías and Rosa Masip and Silvestre Vilaplana. In addition, the two educational centres held contests of black stories, the winners being Hugo Fernández (IES Antonio Llidó) with “Que se salve el alma” and Stella Mayans (IES No.1) with “El asesinato de Claudia”.
Another of the competitions that also gave rhythm to the festival was the short film competition organized by La Escola de Cinema Riurau, which mobilized seven amateur film crews to build a complete audiovisual work in a hectic 38 hours. The short film “La sutileza” by Marta Lorenzi was the winner.
The festival also held different talks and meetings with writers (the journalists specialized in events, Vanesa Lozano and Luis Rendueles, the writer and old friend of the festival Vicente Garrido and the writer Rosa Arribas), two reading clubs in the two libraries ( with de Árbol and Joan Carles Ventura), a battle of writers in situ with four writers of the genre, a monologue by the author of Fernando Marías and a small acoustic concert by the creator Rosa Masip, amongst others.
The current director of Xàbia Negra and València Negra, Santiago Álvarez, was confident in the growth of the local proposal for the next editions: “With the support and disposition shown by the Xàbia Council, we will surely experience many more editions , and with increasing quality”.
