May 20, 2025
As part of the 12th National Symposium on Spanish as a Heritage Language 2025, the Creative Writing Contest, organized by UNAM Chicago and Northwestern University, was held with great success. High school and college students from across the United States submitted their written works in Spanish, English, and Spanglish. A total of 60 texts were received: 19 in the essay category, 29 in poetry, and 12 in fiction.
Six of the nine winners are college students, while three are high school students.
"In fiction, we received 12 wonderful short stories, each with its own style, but all connected by a clear thread: Hispanic culture and the experience of being bilingual in a country that often denies them this space," said Julia Oliver Rajan, a professor at Northwestern University and a member of the jury, during the award ceremony.
Regarding the essays, Horacio Molano Nucamendi, from the Centro de Enseñanza para Extranjeros (CEPE-UNAM), commented that “in the award-winning essays, the phenomenon of migration is explored, provoking a process of introspection in which young people reflect on themselves and their origins. With remarkable maturity, the authors guide us through an internal exploration of biculturalism. They make us think and feel biculturalism: we hear it, smell it, see it, touch it.”
At an emotional ceremony held at Northwestern University, the winners received $300, a scholarship for a course at CEPE-UNAM, a book package, and publication of their work in Flores de Nieve, UNAM’s literary magazine, all courtesy of the organizers and jury members.
Carolina Herrera and Maya Piña from El Beisman, Verónica Moraga from The University of Chicago, and María Luisa Parra from Harvard University also served on the distinguished academic jury, along with Erika Erdely, Academic Secretary of UNAM Chicago, and Eréndira Sánchez Castañeda, the contest’s co-organizer.
