The Pablo Neruda Order of Artistic and Cultural Merit ( es, Orden al Mérito Artístico y Cultural Pablo Neruda) was created in 2004 by the

National Council of Culture and the Arts The National Council of Culture and the Arts (CNCA) was the Chilean government agency responsible for arts and cultural policy. The council was founded in 2003 and amalgamated arts and cultural policy under a single agency. It was a cabinet-level ...

of the government of

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

, as part of the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Chilean poet

Pablo Neruda Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto (12 July 1904 – 23 September 1973), better known by his pen name and, later, legal name Pablo Neruda (; ), was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician who won the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature. Nerud ...

(12 July 1904). It is granted by the Minister of Culture to those national and international figures who have stood out for contributions made in the field of art and culture. The Pablo Neruda Order of Merit was delivered for the first time on 5 July 2004 to the mayor of Barcelona,

Joan Clos Joan Clos i Matheu, GCIH (; born 29 June 1949) is a Spanish politician who was mayor of Barcelona, Spain from September 1997 to September 2006. He took over from Pasqual Maragall in 1997. In 1999 he was elected to a four-year term, and was the ...

, and about 15 Ibero-American artists—among them,

Miguel Bosé Luis Miguel González Bosé (born 3 April 1956), usually known as Miguel Bosé, is a Spanish pop new wave singer and actor. Early life Bosé was born in San Fernando Hospital in Panama City, Panama, the son of Italian actress Lucia Bosè (19 ...

Joan Manuel Serrat Joan Manuel Serrat i Teresa (; born 27 December 1943) is a Spanish musician, singer and composer. He is considered one of the most important figures of modern, popular music in both the Spanish and Catalan languages. Serrat's lyrical style h ...

Víctor Manuel Víctor Manuel San José Sánchez (born July 7, 1947) is a Spanish singer-songwriter. He has been married to the Spanish singer and actress Ana Belén since 1972. He and his wife are considered symbols of the Spanish Transition, and his songs ...

Ana Belén María del Pilar Cuesta Acosta (born 27 May 1951, Madrid), known professionally as Ana Belén, is a Spanish actress and singer. Life/career Born in 1951, Ana Belén is the oldest of three children. Her father was a cook in Hotel Palace, and ...

Jorge Drexler Jorge Abner Drexler Prada (born September 21, 1964) is a Uruguayan musician, actor and doctor specializing in otolaryngology. In 2004, Drexler won wide acclaim after becoming the first Uruguayan to win an Academy Award, which he won for compos ...

Julieta Venegas Julieta Venegas Percevault (; born November 24, 1970) is an American-born Mexican singer, songwriter, instrumentalist and producer who sings pop-rock-indie in Spanish. She went on to join several bands including Mexican ska band Tijuana No!. Ven ...

, and —who participated in the musical tribute that took place at the

Palau Sant Jordi Palau Sant Jordi (, en, St. George's Palace) is an indoor sporting arena and multi-purpose installation that is part of the Olympic Ring complex located in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Designed by the Japanese architect Arata Isozaki, it was ...

, Barcelona. Many national and international personalities have received this decoration since it was created.

Recipients

2005

* Carmen Beuchat, choreographer (5 March 2005 –

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wom ...

) * Isidora Aguirre, dramatist and writer (5 March 2005 – International Women's Day) *

María Elena Gertner María Elena Gertner (1926 – 25 January 2013) was a Chilean actress, author, and television screenwriter. Biography María Elena Gertner began her literary career with the 1950 poetry collection ''Homenaje al miedo''. In this way, she was clas ...

, screenwriter, dramatist, and actress (5 March 2005 – International Women's Day) *

Roser Bru Roser Bru Llop (15 February 1923 – 26 May 2021) was a Spanish-born Chilean painter and engraver associated with the neo-figurative art movement. Biography Roser Bru was born in Barcelona in 1923. The following year her family went into exil ...

, visual artist (5 March 2005 – International Women's Day) * , Bishop of

Ancud Ancud () is a city in southern Chile located in the northernmost part of the island and province of Chiloé, in Los Lagos Region. It is the second largest city of Chiloé Archipelago after Castro. The city was established in 1768 to function as ...

(1 April 2005 – launch of Project SISMO) *

Roberto Parra Roberto Parra Mateo (born 6 April 1976 in Socuéllamos, Ciudad Real) is a Spanish middle distance runner. He specialized in the 800 and 1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the forem ...

, popular singer-songwriter; awarded to his widow Catalina Rojas (21 April 2005) * Hernán Baldrich, dancer and choreographer (28 April 2005 – Day of the Dance) *

Tito Beltrán Ernesto Beltrán Aguilar better known as Tito Beltrán (born 1 July 1965), is a Chilean-Swedish tenor. In October 2008, an appellate court in Sweden sentenced Beltrán to 2.5 years in prison for rape and sexual molestation of an underage child. Be ...

, Chilean tenor (25 July 2005) * , choreographer (28 August 2005 – 2nd National Culture Convention) * Tomás Chotzen, President of ANDES Foundation (28 August 2005 – 2nd National Culture Convention) * , film critic (28 August 2005 – 2nd National Culture Convention) *

Patricio Guzmán Patricio Guzmán Lozanes (born August 11, 1941) is a Chilean documentary film director. He is most known for his films ''The Battle of Chile'' (1975-1979) and ''Salvador Allende'' (2004). Career Guzmán also teaches documentary film classes in ...

, filmmaker (31 August 2005 – Chilean premiere of documentary ''

Salvador Allende Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens (, , ; 26 June 1908 – 11 September 1973) was a Chilean physician and socialist politician who served as the 28th president of Chile from 3 November 1970 until his death on 11 September 1973. He was the fir ...

'') *

Carmen Brito Carmen Brito Alvarado (born 4 August 1947) is a Chilean filmmaker, restorer, and editor. She is best known for rescuing important works of Chilean cinema. Career Brito studied at the Film Institute of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chil ...

, filmmaker and restorer (17 October 2005 – National Film Inauguration Day) * , film editor and director (17 October 2005 – National Film Inauguration Day) * , filmmaker and documentalist (17 October 2005 – National Film Inauguration Day) *

Delia Domínguez Delia Domínguez Mohr (11 August 1931 – 7 November 2022) was a Chilean poet, a member of her country's literary Generation of '50. Biography A descendant of German settlers, Delia Domínguez lost her mother when she was five years old; Amali ...

, writer (14 December 2005 – Closing Quixote Reading Program) * Marta Cruz-Coke, cultural manager (14 December 2005 – Closing Quixote Reading Program) *

Margot Loyola Margot Loyola Palacios (September 15, 1918 – August 3, 2015) was a musician, folk singer and researcher of the folklore of Chile and Latin America in general. Loyola was active as a musician and musical ethnographer/anthropologist for many dec ...

, folklorist (29 December 2005 – Valparaíso Cultural Carnival)

2006

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Born and raised in Dublin, he attended M ...

(Paul David Hewson), U2 vocalist (26 February 2006 –

La Moneda Palace Palacio de La Moneda (, ''Palace of the Mint''), or simply La Moneda, is the seat of the President of the Republic of Chile. It also houses the offices of three cabinet ministers: Interior, General Secretariat of the Presidency and General Secret ...

) *

Alejandro Jodorowsky Alejandro Jodorowsky Prullansky (; born 17 February 1929) is a Chilean-French avant-garde filmmaker. Best known for his 1970s films '' El Topo'' and '' The Holy Mountain'', Jodorowsky has been "venerated by cult cinema enthusiasts" for his wor ...

, writer and filmmaker (27 April 2006 – La Moneda Palace) *

Rubén Blades Rubén Blades Bellido de Luna (born July 16, 1948), known professionally as Rubén Blades (, but in Panama and within the family), is a Panamanian musician, singer, composer, actor, activist, and politician, performing musically most often in th ...

, musician and Minister of Tourism of Panama (27 December 2006 – La Moneda Palace)

2007

Pina Bausch Philippine "Pina" Bausch (27 July 1940 – 30 June 2009) was a German dancer and choreographer who was a significant contributor to a neo-expressionist dance tradition now known as . Bausch's approach was noted for a stylized blend of dance mov ...

, German choreographer (11 January 2007 – La Moneda Palace) *

Luis Alarcón Luis Alfonso Alarcón Mansilla (born 23 October 1929), popularly known as Lucho Alarcón, is a Chilean actor, theater director, and activist with a distinguished film, television, and stage career. In 1957, Alarcón began working as a stage actor ...

, Chilean actor (26 September 2007 – La Moneda Palace) *

Julio Bocca Julio Adrián Lojo Bocca (born March 6, 1967) is an Argentine ballet dancer. Bocca spent twenty years as a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre. From 2010 to 2018 he served as artistic director of the National Ballet of Uruguay, administ ...

, Argentine dancer (24 November 2007 – La Moneda Palace) *

Leo Brouwer Juan Leovigildo Brouwer Mezquida (born March 1, 1939) is a Cuban composer, conductor, and classical guitarist. He is a Member of Honour of the International Music Council. Family He is the grandson of Cuban composer Ernestina Lecuona y Casado. ...

, Cuban composer and musician (1 December 2007 – La Moneda Palace)

2008

Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone (; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpeter who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as more than 100 classica ...

, Italian film score composer (19 March 2008 – La Moneda Palace)

2009

* Isaac Frenkel, benefactor of music in Chile, ex-President of the Beethoven Foundation (27 August 2009 – La Moneda Palace)

2010

Laura Esquivel Laura Beatriz Esquivel Valdés (born September 30, 1950) is a Mexican novelist, screenwriter and politician, serving in the LXIII Legislature of the Mexican Congress in the Chamber of Deputies for the Morena Party from 2015 to 2018. Her first n ...

, Mexican writer (21 January 2010 – La Moneda Palace) *

Cristina Gallardo-Domâs Cristina Lourdes Gallardo-Domâs Tudezca is a soprano, born in Santiago, Chile, who frequently performs in operas by Puccini. Gallardo-Domâs made her debut as Madama Butterfly in 1990 at the Municipal Theatre of Santiago and, three years later, ...

, lyrical singer (23 September 2010 –

Los Angeles Opera The Los Angeles Opera is an American opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth-largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, part of the Los Angeles Music Center. Leadersh ...

Theater, California) *

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French, ...

, Spanish singer and opera director (23 September 2010 – Los Angeles Opera Theater, California) *

Daniel Catán Daniel Catán Porteny (April 3, 1949 – April 9, 2011) was a Mexican composer, writer and professor known particularly for his operas and his contribution of the Spanish language to the international repertory. With a compositional style ...

, Mexican composer and musician (23 September 2010 – Los Angeles Opera Theater, California) *

Antonio Skármeta Antonio Skármeta (born Esteban Antonio Skármeta Vranicic on November 7, 1940) is a Chilean writer, scriptwriter and director descending from Croatian immigrants from the Adriatic island of Brač, Dalmatia. He was awarded Chile's National Lit ...

, writer (23 September 2010 – Los Angeles Opera Theater, California)

2012

* Miguel Castillo Didier, scholar of Greek culture (27 March 2014 – Sala América,

Biblioteca Nacional Biblioteca Nacional (Spanish or Portuguese: ''National Library'') may refer to: *Biblioteca Nacional de Chile, in Chile *Biblioteca Nacional de España, in Spain *Biblioteca Nacional del Perú, in Peru * Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal, in Portugal ...

) *

Lucho Gatica Luis Enrique Gatica Silva (11 August 1928 – 13 November 2018),
''The New York Times''. Retriev ...

, singer (25 November 2012 – Chile Pavilion at the Guadalajara Book Fair, Mexico)

2013

Los Jaivas Los Jaivas is a Chilean musical group who perform in folk, rock, psychedelic, and progressive rock styles formed in 1963 in Viña Del Mar, Chile. They are considered one of the most important and influential artists of all time in Latin America. ...

, experimental rock band (30 September 2013 - Muelle Prat, Valparaíso)

2014

Raquel Barros Raquel Barros Aldunate (2 December 1919 – 11 August 2014) was a Chilean folklorist, noted for her studies and dissemination of . Biography In 1952 Raquel Barros founded the Folkloric Association of Chile, of which she was the director for many ...

, folklorist, researcher, and academic (30 January 2014 - Severín Library, Valparaíso) * Matilde Pérez, visual artist (30 January 2014 - Severín Library, Valparaíso) *

Paz Errázuriz Paz Errázuriz (born 2 February 1944 in Santiago, Chile) is a Chilean photographer. Errázuriz documented marginalized communities such as sex workers, psychiatric patients, and circus performers during the military dictatorship of Chile. Errázur ...

, photographer (30 January 2014 - Severín Library, Valparaíso) *

Alejandro Sieveking Alejandro Sieveking Campano (5 September 1934 – 5 March 2020) was a Chilean playwright, theatre director and actor. Career Sieveking was born in the Chilean city of Rengo (in the O'Higgins Region) on 5 September 1934. He performed as an actor ...

, dramatist (30 January 2014 - Severín Library, Valparaíso) * Luis Cárdenas, circus trapeze artist (30 January 2014 - Severín Library, Valparaíso) *

Themo Lobos Themístocles Nazario Lobos Aguirre (December 3, 1928 – July 24, 2012), better known as Themo Lobos, was a Chilean cartoonist. He created the characters ''Máximo Chambónez'', ''Ferrilo'', ''Nick Obre'', and ''Alaraco'', with his most famous wo ...

, writer; posthumous decoration (30 January 2014 - Severín Library, Valparaíso) *

Cuarteto Latinoamericano Cuarteto Latinoamericano is one of the world's most renowned string quartets and, for forty years, the leading proponent of Latin American music for the genre. Founded in Mexico in 1982, the Cuarteto has toured extensively throughout Europe, Nort ...

, musical group (30 January 2014 - Severín Library, Valparaíso) * Fernando Garcia, learned music composer (30 January 2014 - Severín Library, Valparaíso) * Gabriel Valdés, diplomat and politician; posthumous decoration (30 January 2014 - Severín Library, Valparaíso) * Los Blue Splendor, musical group (30 January 2014 - Severín Library, Valparaíso) * Arturo Navarro, manager of the Mapocho Station Cultural Center (30 January 2014 - Severín Library, Valparaíso) * Nicola Schiess, executive director of the Teatro del Lago, Frutillar (30 January 2014 - Severín Library, Valparaíso)

2015

Quino Joaquín Salvador Lavado Tejón, better known by his pen name Quino (; 17 July 193230 September 2020), was an Argentinian cartoonist. His comic strip ''Mafalda'' (which ran from 1964 to 1973) is popular in many parts of the Americas and Europe ...

, Argentine writer and cartoonist of

Mafalda ''Mafalda'' () is an Argentine comic strip written and drawn by cartoonist Quino. The strip features a six-year-old girl named Mafalda, who reflects the Argentinian middle class and progressive youth, is concerned about humanity and world peace, ...

(15 January 2015 - Gabriela Mistral Cultural Center)

2016

* Valentín Trujillo, Chilean musician *

Vicente Bianchi Vicente Bianchi Alarcón (January 27, 1920 – September 24, 2018) was a Chilean composer, pianist, conductor, and orchestra and choir director. He received the Premio Nacional de Artes Musicales de Chile in 2016. He is remembered for composing mu ...

, Chilean musician * Bélgica Castro, Chilean actress * , Chilean painter, dramatist, and cultural advisor * Alicia del Carmen Cáceres, Chilean goldsmith *

Joan Turner Joan Turner (24 November 1922 – 1 March 2009) was a British comedian and singer, born in Belfast and brought up in London. She appeared on stage and TV and had her own radio show, becoming the highest-earning female singer in Britain. She was ...

, Chilean-British dancer

2017

* Jorge González, Chilean musician, singer, and composer; leader of the band

Los Prisioneros Los Prisioneros ("The Prisoners") were a Chilean Rock music, rock/synth-pop, pop band formed in San Miguel, Chile, San Miguel, Santiago Province, Chile, Santiago, in 1983. They are considered one of the most important Chilean bands, and arguably ...

(7 January 2017 - Summit of Chilean Rock, Estadio Nacional) * Humberto Duvauchelle, Chilean actor and academic (11 July 2017 -

University of Concepción A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

Theater) *

Juan Allende-Blin Juan Allende-Blin (born 24 February 1928) is a Chilean composer and academic teacher who lives in Germany. Career Born in Santiago de Chile, Allende-Blin studied first with his uncle, Pedro Humberto Allende, and with , a pupil of Anton Webern. ...

, composer (9 September 2017 -

University of Chile The University of Chile ( es, Universidad de Chile) is a public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

Theater)

2018

* Mauricio Celedón, Chilean theater director *

Mario Vargas Llosa Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquess of Vargas Llosa (born 28 March 1936), more commonly known as Mario Vargas Llosa (, ), is a Peruvian novelist, journalist, essayist and former politician, who also holds Spanish citizenship. Vargas Ll ...

, Peruvian writer, politician, and college professor *

Gustavo Dudamel Gustavo Adolfo Dudamel Ramírez (born 26 January 1981) is a Venezuelan conductor and violinist who is the music director of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Paris Opera. Early life Dudamel was bor ...

, Venezuelan conductor and violinist

2021

* Sylvia Soublette, Chilean composer

References

{{Reflist, 30em 2004 establishments in Chile Visual arts awards Awards established in 2004 Orders, decorations, and medals of Chile Pablo Neruda