Albert Altés wins the first Ricard Torrents Bertrana Essay Prize with a text that highlights the value of science

Albert Altés is the winner of the Ricard Torrents Bertrana Essay Prize, with the work entitled Va de virus [It's about a virus]. The prize, awarded by the University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC) with the publishers Eumo Editorial, aims to foster the cultivation and dissemination of this genre in the Catalan language, and the winner receives five thousand Euros, in addition to the publication of their work.

The decision was announced today at the Palau Robert in Barcelona, at an event chaired by the rector of UVic-UCC, Josep Eladi Baños, the director of Eumo Editorial, Montse Ayats, and Ricard Torrents, who the prize is named after, in recognition of his leadership in the restoration of higher education in the city of Vic and in the founding of Eumo Editorial. The sociologist Marina Subirats also acted as spokesperson for the jury at the event.

Viruses as driving forces of evolution

In his prizewinning essay, Va de virus, the author explains the role of viruses from the origin of life to the present day in an easily understandable and simple way, and the role they have played as driving forces of evolution, as creators of new genes, and as generators of diversity. "It is true that we initially discovered viruses because of the harm they caused, but we know today that they have brought us infinitely more benefits than the damage they have done to us in the past," says the author, who wanted to pay tribute "to the collaborative and universal system we call science."  At today's event, he said that he decided to enter his work for the essay prize "because this is the most democratic literary form there is." In addition to the subject matter, the jury took into account that the essay highlights the contributions that women have made to science throughout history.

Albert Altés Hernàndez holds a doctorate in Medicine from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. He is a haematologist, head of the Haematology and Haemotherapy Service at the Althaia Foundation, and a lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine at UVic-UCC. This is his first general interest essay, which he wrote during the bleakest months of the pandemic, when he decided to find out about the good things that viruses bring, in the face of the misfortunes related to Covid-19.

A large number of entrants

According to the jury's spokesperson, the lecturer and sociologist Marina Subirats, 36 works were submitted in this first edition of the prize. They were all written by a single author, of whom 7 were women and 29 men. The subject matter of the essays submitted was mainly related to literature and philosophy, but they also focused on ethics, feminism, political thought, ecology and science.

The jury, consisting of Jordi Amat, Pilar Godayol, Xavier Antich, Marina Subirats, Francesc Codina, Cristina Pujades and Blanca Llum Vidal, also decided to recommend the publication of Pau Torner Jolonch's essay Del reggae al trap: nous messianismes sota el beat [From reggae to trap: new messianisms under the beat, a cultural study of black and urban music].

A tribute to Ricard Torrents

This prize pays tribute to Ricard Torrents, the essayist, translator and literary critic, who specialises in the work of the poet Jacint Verdaguer and has been a key figure at the University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia, of which he was the first rector, as well as the founder of the publishers Eumo Editorial. Torrents has emphasised that his intellectual commitment to national construction is reflected in this award, "which calls on researchers to address issues related to the humanities, science, education and the university itself," and he added that "a culture does not move forward without research and without education."

Meanwhile, the director of Eumo Editorial, Montse Ayats, highlighted the presence of the essay form on the literary scene, and said that "there is a literature of ideas in Catalan which is worth dedicating space to," as Eumo Editorial has been doing for over forty years.

The rector of UVic-UCC, Josep Eladi Baños, explained the desire to use this prize to pay tribute to the person who led the team that founded the University of Vic (today known as the University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia) "in an area that has always been very close to his heart and to which he has dedicated part of his life: publishing and essays." He concluded the event by announcing the second edition of the prize.