Elena Morán San Juan, winner of the ENAIRE Foundation's 4th Short Story Competition

Elena Morán San Juan won the ENAIRE Foundation's "I'll tell you in the air" 4th Short Story Contest for her work entitled “Abbás Ibn Firnás”. The award was presented today, 10 December, on "ENAIRE Day", which is observed on the feast of Our Lady of Loreto, patron saint of aeronauts.

A total of 149 stories were submitted for this fourth edition of the competition. According to the rules, they had to be original stories, written in Spanish, between 2,000 and 2,500 words long, with the additional requirement that the story involve airports, flying, aeronautics, pioneers of the air, air transport or any other related matter.

The ENAIRE Foundation's idea behind creating "I'll tell you in the air" had one clear goal: to help disseminate the world of aviation in order to reflect its influence and importance in society.

This contest awards 1,000 euros to the winning author and €500 to the runner-up (minus the relevant tax withholdings).

Winning story

Title: Abbas Ibn Firnás

Author: Elena Morán San Juan

Summary of the story: while looking out the window and reminiscing, an elderly Abbas Ibn Firnás feels a sharp pain in his back, which has been acting up for 12 years. But it was worth it. He remembers how the curried the favour of the emir, Abderramán II (poetry and astronomy), and later his son, through science. He recalls how he met Hakim, a child thief whom he saved and who inspired him to jump from the mosque tower. Years later, when he was 65 years old, after studying birds in great detail, he built a device on which he flew for a few minutes, although the fall caused him to break both legs and injure his back.

The jury praised the excellent writing and the finely crafted plot, since it has pacing and creates tension, holding the reader's interest while juggling the narrative tempo. It fables a real and historic event while paying tribute to the protagonist, Abbas Ibn Firnás.

This story will be published on the ENAIRE Foundation website.

Runner-up

Title: Nada que declarar [Nothing to declare]

Author: Isabel Chozas Gil

Summary of the story: a woman waits at the airport for a mysterious lady to arrive. She watches her stealthily, hoping she chooses a flight to the right destination, since that way the traveller won't have to endure any more humiliation. The observer returns to her home before her husband wakes up; he, too, abuses her, and she ends up following in the footsteps of the lady she was watching.

The jury was captivated by the exquisite writing in this story on battered women.

This story will also be published on the ENAIRE Foundation website.

1st Artistic Talent & Business Competition

In addition, to keep with the theme of this special day for ENAIRE employees, the prize for the 1st Artistic Talent & Business Competition was also presented, to Marisa Zurita López

The ENAIRE Foundation is also responsible for organising this event, which was created in an effort to recognise, promote and showcase the artistic talent of ENAIRE and Aena employees.

Each employee was allowed to present a maximum of three original and unpublished artistic works on any theme, provided the works had not won any other awards. The categories were: painting, sculpture, photography, engraving, drawing and collage.

A total of 89 works were received in all the techniques from a total of 39 entrants.

With regard to Marisa Zurita, the jury noted the relevance of the work she presented to the competition (2 drawings and 1 photograph), the conceptual modernity and the solid execution of both techniques.

The work or works of the winning artist will be the showpiece of the virtual exhibit that will be held on the ENAIRE Foundation's website in late February to coincide with the Arco Fair. A further 14 finalists were named, who will also be featured in this virtual exhibit.

The names of the 14 finalists are: Ángel Caballero de los Rios, Borja Abos, Carlos Avilleira, Celia Montalvo, Cristina Mora, Hugo Maccanti, Jairo Torres, José María Soria, Luis Alberto Prieto, Mª Antonia Gómez, Mauricio Guisado Redondo, Rafael Rojas Mateos, Santiago Sánchez, Silvia M. Martín.

The ENAIRE Foundation

The ENAIRE Foundation is a cultural institution of the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and the Urban Agenda that, in addition to managing, preserving and exhibiting the ENAIRE Collection of Contemporary Art, engages in a comprehensive annual programme of activities that focus on aeronautical culture.

About ENAIRE

ENAIRE is Spain's air navigation service provider. As a company of the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and the Urban Agenda, it provides en route control services for all flights and overflights from five control centres in Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Gran Canaria and Palma, as well as approach services to every airport in the country. ENAIRE is the official provider of aeronautical information in Spain.