Luces Awards 2023: Meet the jury in charge of rewarding excellence

This year, the Lights Awards They introduce not just one, but three special awards: the Lifetime Achievement Award, intended to honor an outstanding figure with an extensive and fruitful career in the cultural world; the Breakthrough Artist award, designed to recognize the emerging and promising talent of a creator who has recently arrived on the artistic scene; and the Initiative of the Year award, which seeks to highlight those projects, workshops or proposals that have generated a positive social impact. In the case of these three awards, public voting is not involved.

To choose the winners in these three categories, a jury was selected made up of an amalgam of prominent personalities from the Peruvian cultural scene, including the Peruvian dancer and choreographer, Vania Masias; the writer and journalist Rafaella León; the literary critic of El Dominical, José Carlos Yrigoyen; the member of the board of directors and the editorial advisory board of El Comercio, Manuel García Miró; and the actor, musician and host of the El Comercio web program “Cuenta la Historia”, Gonzalo Torres.

“Each nomination, beyond winners, is an implicit recognition of people and the various artistic and cultural manifestations of the environment. Furthermore, the fact that people can vote for their favorites is notable because it opens up to the world of what is popular and what is accepted by a wide group, especially in those categories that attract the most attention from people.” Gonzalo Torres mentions about this edition of the Luces Awards that broke a record with more than 61,000 people who voted for their favorite nominees.

Along with Torres, Yrigoyen also highlights the importance of this award ceremony on the threshold of its twentieth anniversary. “That the Luces Award is about to celebrate two decades serving as a spokesperson for the public’s opinion and appreciation regarding our artistic and cultural manifestations is a fact to celebrate. First, because initiatives of this type do not usually enjoy consistency in our environment. Second, because today more than before it is necessary for people to be able to declare their position in the face of the dissimilar aesthetic and entertainment expressions that emerge in an increasingly rich and numerous way, although many times without a clear order that allows us to appreciate this abundance of proposals and options.”

Likewise, Vania Masías emphasizes the relevance of the awards from her expert perspective. “I have been working on the personal and social development of young people through art for more than 18 years. I have been able to see how their lives and their environment have changed thanks to art and culture. What we need most are incentives that motivate and attract more people to invest in culture. The lights award is an incentive, recognition and visibility that the social system in Peru does not provide.”

For her part, Rafaella León agrees with her colleague on the jury. “Peru needs to recognize itself in the faces of those who, against all odds, continue making art and betting on culture. Cultural initiatives and projects function as a refuge of freedom for ideas, and are a vehicle for reflection on what happens to us or where we are going as a country. The Luces section of El Comercio understood this almost two decades ago, when there was no award that, hand in hand with the audience, recognized the talent and perseverance of people linked to the arts and entertainment. The famous spotlight of the Luces Awards will now also serve to honor exemplary careers, revelation artists and initiatives with great social impact.”

Finally, Manuel García Miró encompasses the purpose of this great recognition of culture and entertainment. “It has been twenty years and we must highlight the collaboration that El Comercio, through the Luces awards, has given all these years to the recognition of national talent, covering a wide spectrum of arts and entertainment. Bringing the public closer and giving them access to choose their favorites in the different categories has helped keep the local scene alive and promote new projects. “We invite and thank the public to continue participating in the voting.”he concludes.