76 years after the Nobel Prize: Complete collection of “Obra Reunida” delivered to the Gabriela Mistral museum in Vicuña

Eight volumes are those that complete the collection of the “Obra Reunida ”by Gabriela Mistral, invaluable material that rescues and puts in value his reflections, letters and poetry, and that the Minister of Cultures, Arts and Heritage, Consuelo Valdés, delivered to the Gabriela Mistral Museum of Vicuña in an emotional ceremony with the community, as part of the activities to commemorate the 76 years of the Chilean poet’s Nobel Prize in Literature.

“With the publication of these eight volumes of the“ Obra reunida ”and its 4,000 pages, his lyrics and talent are finally available to more and more readers. It is for this reason that the complete collection has been distributed throughout the network of public libraries in the country and is also available for free reading in our Digital Public Library “, highlighted the Secretary of State, who also explained that “together with the National Library we wanted to make a symbolic gesture where ´Gabriela gives Gabriela a gift´, because this museum, in this corner of the country, is the best space where we can know part of the life and legacy of Mistral ”.

Rafael Vera, mayor of Vicuña, joined the event with visible enthusiasm, where he stressed that “These 76 years since the Nobel Prize for Literature was awarded have marked the literary history of the world, but particularly that of a commune like ours, which looks with admiration at such a remarkable woman, with ideas that are still valid today. We believe that this region should be named after Gabriela Mistral; may the Region of Coquimbo and Gabriela Mistral be a fair and necessary recognition for the women of the country and for all of us who love their legacy ”.

The ceremony took place in the Poetic Garden of the Museum and included the presentation of the “Botanical Poetry” project, built with stories inspired by texts about nature written by Gabriela Mistral, illustrated in umbrellas that turn into storytellers and narrate the poem in pictures.

The director of the National Library, Pedro Pablo Zegers, one of the promoters of the publication, highlighted that the activity “It was a wonderful closing for a great project that immersed us in Mistraliana work and that today we deliver with sincere happiness to the Vicuña Museum in honor of the great work they do keeping the figure of our great poet alive.”

At the end of the ceremony, the attendees learned about part of the Huerta Mistraliana project developed by the museum, which seeks to provide an educational platform for women Heads of Household of the Vicuña commune through tools derived from Organic Horticulture, an idea inspired by the mission of the Agricultural Schools that the poet sought to promote among children.

In this way, a symbolic closure is made for the work of editing and publishing the “Obra reunida de Gabriela Mistral”, a project developed with the aim of making the work of the Chilean poet, diplomat and pedagogue more widely known, and which is aimed at multiple and diverse readers, both amateurs and specialists interested in his work. The complete collection is available for free download at the National Digital Library Y Digital Public Library.

This work was in charge of a group of renowned Mistralians, coordinated by the expert Jaime Quezada; the academic Magdalena Sepúlveda; the poet Carlos Decap, and whoever was in charge of ordering and classifying the legacy of Gabriela Mistral donated by Doris Atkinson, the poet Gustavo Barrera. All of them under the direction of the Chief of Editions of the National Library, Thomas Harris.

After the activity at the Museum, the minister and a delegation of authorities went to the Gabriela Mistral mausoleum located in the town of Montegrande, in Paihuano, where they read excerpts from Mistral’s poems and laid a wreath.