During the ceremony this morning and within the framework of the National Day of Traditional and Popular Chilean Culture, the award was received by Sylvia Gutiérrez Barrales, Prefiterio Mena Méndez, Schmeling Salas Sepúlveda and the Quilquico Rural School.
The awards ceremony took place this morning in the Montt Varas Hall of La Moneda Palace. Margot Loyola Palacios Lifetime Achievement Award in Culture 2023 an award with which the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage annually recognizes individuals, representatives of groups or groups with an outstanding career in the fields of creation, training and research in the field of traditional culture and intangible heritage.
This year the award was in the hands of researcher, teacher and cultural manager Sylvia Gutiérrez Barrales (Bío Bío Region); the peasant musician from the family tradition, Prefiterio Mena Méndez (Los Lagos); the Andean and traditional music cultivator Schmeling Salas Sepúlveda (Arica and Parinacota); and the Quilquico Rural School (Los Lagos), an institution that has become a local reference in promoting learning based on heritage, art and the environment.
The laureates of this eighth edition received the award from the Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage, Carolina Arredondo, who was accompanied by the Undersecretary of Culture and Arts, Noela Salas, and of Cultural Heritage(s), Valentina Latorre. The award was presented as part of the National Day of Traditional and Popular Chilean Culture, celebrated every year on September 15th.
“The Margot Loyola Prize represents the commitment of the State and the Ministry of Culture to protect, disseminate and transmit the enormous diversity of expressions and practices that make up the traditional and popular culture of our country. But these efforts don’t end there. For example, the Register of Intangible Cultural Heritage, the Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage and the Living Human Treasures program will be added to this recognition,” the minister said. Carolina Arredondo.
Osvaldo Cádiz, academic director of the Margot Loyola Palacios National Academy, also commented: “Margot has always dreamed of this. That this hidden and secret Chile that we don’t always see or know about would have a place in this space. Through the Minister, I thank the entire Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage that every year we all select those who deserve to be recognized with this award and who represent different parts of the country.”
Since its first award in 2016, the Margot Loyola Prize has honored 20 outstanding individuals and groups. Among them, the Cuncumén Folkloric Ensemble, the Madariaga family, Rodomiro Huanca, Alfredo Tuki Pate and Ruth Chavarría stand out. In 2022 the award went to: Ernesto Antonio Bravo Valdivia, María Ester Zamora and José Eleazer Muñoz Contreras.
The recognized ones
- Sylvia Gutierrez Barrales: Outstanding researcher, teacher and cultural manager from the municipality of Santa Juana, in the Biobío region, with a 48-year track record in the promotion of intangible cultural heritage and traditional culture.
- Prefiterio Mena Méndez: Remarkable peasant musician with family tradition, originally from the municipality of Fresia in the Los Lagos region. With a career spanning more than 50 years, a famous accordionist, bearer of traditional music and the old Toquío of the button accordion, connoisseur of the popular songbook of the 40s and 50s, he was a Mingacos and Mendantes musician in Chiloé.
- Schmeling Salas Sepúlveda: The well-known supporter of Andean and traditional music has his roots in the town of Mocha in the Tarapacá Gorge. Creator and composer of Andean music for ceremonial and popular occasions.
- Quilquico rural school: Over the course of more than a hundred years of history, it has evolved into an innovative project that integrates local knowledge and knowledge and promotes education with cultural and territorial relevance.
