Award and prize of the
10. International Contest of Siglema 575
“Say what you mean” 2024
Dear contest participants and general public:
Scriba NYC Integrated Language Solutions, organizer of the 10th International Contest of Siglema 575 “Say what you want to say” 2024 in memory of Alcides Ramón Meléndez, hereby makes public the Award of the 10th International Contest of Siglema 575 “Say what you want to say” 2024.
We dedicate this tenth edition of the Siglema 575 Contest to the memory of our beloved Venezuelan poet Alcides Ramón Meléndez, who passed away in February 2024. Alcides Ramón Meléndez was a man of integrity and generosity; an affable and collaborative person, who could always be counted on, and whom we remember with great affection. In addition, he was a great enthusiast of the siglema 575. Dedicating this 10th International Siglema 575 Contest to him is a small demonstration of our deep gratitude towards him and a humble tribute in his honor.
The siglema 575 is a poetic form that leads us to discover the essence of what inspires us, encouraging us to live our creative freedom without forcing us to follow a particular poetic style. A siglema 575 is a poem that is written based on the letters of the words that define its theme and that constitute its title, which is represented in capital letters, like a kind of acronym.
The 10th International Contest of Siglema 575 “Say what you want to say” 2024 was a meeting point for poets from 21 countries in America, Europe and Asia, who dared to say what they wanted to say. Writers from Puerto Rico, Mexico, the United States, Spain, Venezuela, Argentina, Ecuador, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Uruguay, Germany, Costa Rica, Italy, Peru, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Brazil, France, Indonesia and Canada accepted the challenge of creating siglemas 575, sending 363 entries.
Entries were received by email. Upon receiving each entry, it was assigned a number to identify it and the list of entries was sent to the judges with the numbers, but without the names, age or origin of the authors. In this way, the judges could not know who each entry belonged to and the anonymity of the contestants was guaranteed.
The evaluating jury of the 10th International Contest of Siglema 575 “Say what you want to say” 2024 was made up of four literary professionals from three countries: Jaime Agustín Ramírez (Mexico), winner of the 9th International Contest of Siglema 575 “Say what you want to say” 2023, participant in 14 alternate poetry and literature forums in Guadalajara, selected in six editions of the International Contest of Siglema 575 “Say what you want to say”. María Dávila (Puerto Rico), poet, writer and avid reader, author of the poetry collection Versos de lluvia. Walberto Vázquez Pagán (Puerto Rico), prolific poet and writer, author of the poetry collections Bajo el eco de tus pies, Un viajero con dos entradas and Soba tus labios y olvido mi existencia, and Robert Téllez M. (Colombia), journalist and music researcher, member of the Círculo de Periodistas de Bogotá (CPB), author of the books Ray Barretto, Fuerza Gigante and Willie Rosario, el Rey del ritmo, consultant and lecturer on the appreciation of salsa music.
The selection process included observing the characteristics of the 575 siglemas, the quality, style, lyrics, images and aesthetics, as well as the ability to express the chosen theme in a minimalist way, giving a clear idea of what the poet wanted to say.
Scriba NYC Integrated Language Solutions, committed to excellence in written communication, invited poets from around the world to try out the minimalist poetic concept of the 575 acronym in January 2024 for the tenth consecutive year, to say what they wanted to say. From a total of 363 entries received, the jury of the contest chose a first, second and third place, as well as 7 honorable mentions. In addition, there were 7 outstanding acronyms and 138 acronyms selected to be part of the anthology of the Say What You Want to Say 2024 contest, making a total of 155 poems.
The results of the 10th International Contest of Siglema 575 “Say what you want to say” 2024 were as follows:
First prize: WATER, by Fatima Chavez Juarez (Mexico)
Second prize: IT IS CONSUMED , by Wigberto Méndez García (Puerto Rico)
Third prize: SAL, by María Elena Salinas Cortina (Spain/Puerto Rico)
Honorable mention: WORDS, Maria Del Pilar Reyes (USA/Puerto Rico)
Honorable mention: QUILTING , Jimena Trejos Quesada (Costa Rica)
Honorable mention: SCHOOLS OF FISH, Dora Luz Muñoz de Cobo (Colombia)
Honorable mention: ATZIRI , Martha Sandoval Ramírez (Mexico)
Honorable mention: LAPIS LAZULI, Sofia Jimenez Rodriguez (Mexico)
Honorable mention: DEAD CHILDREN, Elisanne Zabaleta (Venezuela)
Honorable Mention: I AM THE ONE WHO WAITS, Joshua Serrano Maclara (Puerto Rico)
Scriba NYC Integrated Language Solutions congratulates the award-winning poets and those selected to be part of the anthology. It also thanks the jury for their excellent work and all the participants for accepting the challenge of writing acronym 575. The public is invited to write acronym 575 and participate in next year's contest, thus taking advantage of the opportunity to say what they want to say.
Scriba NYC Integrated Language Solutions sponsored this international poetry contest, inviting poets from around the world to say what they wanted to say. Scriba NYC is a company dedicated primarily to the Spanish language, offering editing and proofreading, translations, and book publishing. The “Say What You Want to Say” 2024 contest is part of Scriba NYC’s initiative to encourage the Spanish-speaking public to try minimalist poetry and, in turn, spread good lyrics in an international lyrical meeting that contributes to bringing peoples closer together.
Congratulations to all the participants in the Contest... because each acronym is unique.
We encourage you to write the acronym 575 and to participate next year in our eleventh international lyrical meeting that promotes rapprochement between peoples and that will be convened in January 2025 by this same means. Do not miss the opportunity to say what you want to say.
