"She is the first Spanish author to receive this award and the second one not born in the US," said Mexican writer Luis Alberto Urrea.

The Chilean writer Isabel Allende has become the first writer in the Spanish language to receive the medal of honor of the National Book Award for her contribution to the world of American literature.

"She is the first Spanish author to receive this award and the second one not born in the US," said Mexican writer Luis Alberto Urrea, in charge of delivering the award, during a ceremony held in New York. In an emotional speech, Allende, who highlighted her situation as a foreigner throughout her life, described the award as an "unexpected honor" and added that she accepted it "with humility, on behalf of millions of people like me who have come to this country looking for a new life.” "Being a chronically uprooted person has given me some advantages. Most of my writing comes from nostalgia, loss and separation, from my incurable desire to belong to a place. I look like a Chilean and I dream, cook, make love and write in Spanish,” said the writer, who has sold more than 70 million copies of her novels.

Read more here: ABC CULTURA