The jury recognizes two works ex aequo for the Naval History Research Award

Benidorm City Council and the Frax Foundation announced this morning the sixth edition of the Miquel Llinares Barceló Naval History Research Award, after announcing the award-winning works and their authors, as well as the City Council's prize of 1,500 euros. This was announced today by the city's mayor, Toni Pérez, and the president of the Frax Foundation, Matías Pérez Such, at a press conference held at the city hall.

Also participating in this press conference were Vice Admiral Enrique Torres Piñeyro, director of the Institute of Naval History and Culture; Captain Juan Escrigas Rodríguez, director of the Naval Museum; Captain and Naval Commander of Alicante, Joaquín Vegara Jiménez; Lieutenant Francisco Zaragoza Ivars from Benidorm; and Jaime Llinares Fuster, patron of the Frax Foundation and son of Miquel Llinares. All of them were part of the jury that decided this fifth edition of the "Miquel Llinares Barceló" award, along with the Benidorm City Council members for the Presidency, Culture, and Historical and Cultural Heritage, Juan Díaz, Jaime Jesús Pérez, and Ana Pellicer, respectively, and Dr. Eusebi Chiner.

Toni Pérez invited all Benidorm residents to join the event, which will take place tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. in the Plaça de la Senyoría, "the highlight and core moment of these Jornadas de la Mar" (Sea Days), where "Benidorm's historical connection with the sea and the Navy is highlighted and strengthened."

This morning, the winners of the fifth edition of the Miquel Llinares Barceló Award were also announced. The award ceremony will be held this afternoon in the Town Hall auditorium at 8:00 p.m., followed by the final lecture of the 2nd Jornadas de la Mar (Sea Conference) organised by the Frax Foundation. The conference is entitled "The Flag That Came from the Sea" and will be given by Admiral Enrique Torres Piñeyro.

Thus, for the first time, the jury of the fifth edition of the award has decided to award the Miquel Llinares Barceló Award jointly to the works "A Secular European Heritage: The Cultural Trace of the Great Armada of 1588," by Juan José Oña Fernández and Natalia Mateo Ripoll, both from Huesca; and to the work "The Last Voyages of the Empire: The Epilogue of the Carrera de Indias," by Vicente Ruiz García, a native of Úbeda. This award is endowed with 6,000 euros from the Frax Foundation.

The Benidorm City Council Award, with a prize of 1,500 euros, went to the study entitled "The Charter of Benidorm and the Spanish Navy" by Benidorm professor Antonio Bravo García. Furthermore, the jury decided to award a special mention to the work "The artisanal construction of vessels for subsistence fishing in Alicante. Beaches as a pre-industrial workspace from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century," by Alicante native Javier Vicedo Jover.

Matías Pérez Such, president of the Frax Foundation, highlighted "the enormous quality of the submitted works, all of which had magnificent aspects." This has led to the first time that two submitted works have been awarded jointly, and they will share the recognition.

Tribute ceremonies

For his part, Vice Admiral and Director of the Institute of Naval History and Culture, Enrique Torres Piñeyro, expressed his gratitude for initiatives such as these types of awards for "disseminating our maritime history to future generations" and emphasized the support of the City Council and the city "for everything related to the Navy."

This strong connection between the two is demonstrated by the tribute events taking place tomorrow in the city, which will pay homage to those who fell at sea and to the Submarine Force, starting at 10:30 a.m. in the Plaza de la Senyoria. The Mayor, in this regard, reiterated his invitation to all Benidorm residents to join the representatives of the Navy who will be travelling to the city and participate in the events. Tomorrow's event will be attended by Admiral Antonio Piñeiro Sánchez, Chief of the Naval Staff; Admiral of Maritime Action, Victoriano Gilabert Agote; Admiral Alejandro Cuerda, Chief of the Cartagena Arsenal; the head of the submarine fleet and the School, Pedro Márquez de la Calleja; and Joaquín Vegara Jiménez, naval commander of Alicante, among other positions.