Gustavo Murillo Essay Wins Honduras Weekly's First Writing Contest

By Raine Rivas/Maria Galindo
Honduras Weekly is pleased to announce that, since we announced the creation of our new Youth section earlier this month and encouraged students in Honduras to submit their writing to us for publication, we've had more than a dozen submissions. We've reviewed a total of fifteen essays, letters, and stories from the Brassavola Bilingual School in La Ceiba, the Bilingual School of Siguatepeque, and the International School in La Lima. We selected three of the pieces for publication, including Teresa Isabel Romero's "A Limeña Student Dreams", Gustavo Murillo's "Uniqueness and Originality", and Gisela Aguiriano's "The Fox". (2/28/10)

We thought that these three pieces were especially well-crafted and employed near-flawless English grammar and spelling. Teresa Isabel, who is only in the 6th grade, wrote an extremely compelling letter from the heart to newly-elected President Lobo. We thought it showed an incredibly developed social consciousness. If all Hondurans shared Teresa's sensitivity, Honduras would be so much the better for it.

We thought Gustavo's essay contained a high level of reflection and thoughtfulness. It seems to us that this young 10th grader has a deep love for learning and questioning, and thus shows the seeds of evolving into a uniquely wise and courageous human being.

Gisela's story captivated us and held our attention all the way to the end, which is a sign of a good storyteller. Gisela, a 10th grader, has a special gift for effortlessly transporting one into the world that she weaves through the power of her immense imagination.

We found it difficult to decide which of these three works would receive the additional recognition of an award of Lps 500 to its author from Honduras Weekly for the month of February. It was very close, but ultimately we selected "Uniqueness and Originality". We want to congratulate Gustavo Murillo of the Brassavola Bilingual School for his fine essay. We thank him, Teresa Isabel, Gisela, and all the other students who took the time to submit their writing. We're also grateful to their teachers and their schools for instructing and guiding them so well. Great job!

Honduras Weekly's writing competition is ongoing. We invite everyone who sent us their work in February to continue to share their writing with us. We invite students throughout Honduras to join in this friendly contest so that we can gauge the talent that's out there, help you develop it, and allow others to enjoy it. We're now accepting entries for March, so go ahead and e-mail us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . (3/2/10)