The great Spanish year of Jorge Fernández Díaz

It's certainly a nice anniversary gift to be personally congratulated by the King of Spain. It doesn't happen often, but that's what happened to Jorge Fernández Díaz last Tuesday night.

The Argentine writer collected the Mariano de Cavia Award, one of the most prestigious in Spanish journalism, at the Casa de Abc in Madrid. He was also joined by radio host Carlos Alsina (Luca de Tena Award for lifetime achievement) and photographer Txema Rodríguez (Mingote Award for his images of the Dana).

⁄ Felipe VI praised the Argentine author's sincerity and skill... and congratulated him on his 65th birthday

Jorge Fernández Díaz is a courageous journalist, a defender of rationality and democratic values during the most difficult times in Argentine life. Through his articles and radio programs, he offers one of the most followed and influential opinions in his country. His independent judgment earned him strong attacks from Kirchnerism and, more recently, from circles close to the current president—and even from Javier Milei himself!

He critically addresses situations of this kind in his award-winning article, “Welcome to Right-Wing Populism,” originally published in La Nación of Buenos Aires. He argues that Argentine libertarians have copied formulas from left-wing populists, even drinking like them from the fountain of the late philosopher Ernesto Laclau, and are fueling polarization, distrust in institutions, and the cult of personality, threatening centrism “to choose a trench and fall in line immediately.”

And Jorge Fernández Díaz concludes that "perhaps that's why the president is so angry, and reacts like a classic populist leader who harasses and publicly insults his opponents."

The Abc Cavia Dinner was presided over by the King and Queen. In his speech, Felipe VI emphasized that in a context like the current one, more than ever, "journalism must preserve its essence: reporting truthfully, promoting public debate, and stimulating critical thinking." He praised Fernández Díaz for her "complete sincerity" as an analyst, expressed "with direct, respectful, and straightforward prose." He also took the opportunity to congratulate her on her birthday, having learned that she was turning 65 that day.

Felipe VI also alluded to the fact that the writer's parents, "Marcial and Carmina—Asturians who emigrated to Argentina—would perhaps confirm, even proudly, what their son always believed: that journalism was worthwhile."

The allusion is not accidental and affects another broad dimension of the award-winning author's work: that carried out as a novelist, culminating so far in the work El secreto de Marcial , which won the Nadal Prize from the publishing house Destino last January, thus opening what could well be considered the writer's great Spanish year. At Tuesday's event, he also had the opportunity to dine with Queen Letizia, a renowned reader and defender of the world of books.

Read also The cinema of a life MEY ZAMORA

Marcial's Secret , reviewed in these pages on February 15, offers a glimpse into the family past of a writer whose book, Mamá , dedicated to his mother, became a resounding bestseller in 2002. Now it's his late father, often overshadowed in life by his mother's vitality, who commands his attention. And Fernández Díaz's experience in the mystery genre, from the Holmesian The Dilemma of the Heroes to the Remil spy trilogy, has given him the savoir-faire to advance the family chronicle as a thriller.

Marcial's Secret , which Fernández Díaz presented in Barcelona this week, is also a gift for film lovers, where the relationship between father and son is made visible through the sharing of classic Hollywood films in a journey that would have delighted Terenci Moix. And, like a true cinephile, it has delighted me.