The 15th Edition of the Excelencias Awards Delivered at FITUR 2020
The EXCELENCIAS AWARDS were created 15 years ago by the Excelencias Group to promote Excelencias in different fields related to tourism, gastronomy and culture in Latin America.
These awards have become a benchmark in the field of tourism and gastronomy in Latin America. Once again, the event took place on the first day of the FITUR International Fair in Madrid (Spain), coinciding with its 40th anniversary. A total of 38 projects were awarded prizes at this 15th edition.
Representatives from 17 (Uruguay, Peru, Ecuador, Cuba, Panama, Mexico, Costa Rica, United States, Spain, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Canada and Brazil), attended the event. On this occasion, several international personalities attended the Excelencias Awards:
Mr. Edgar Vásquez, Minister of Tourism of Peru; Mr. Juan Carlos García Granda, Minister of Tourism of Cuba; Mr. Jorge Mario Chajón, Minister of Tourism of Guatemala (outgoing); Mr. Mynor Cordón, Minister of Tourism of Guatemala (incoming); Ms. Nicole Marrder, Minister of Tourism of Honduras; Ms. Shantanny Anasha Campbell, Minister of Tourism of Nicaragua; Ms. Karen Bevans, Director of Tourism of Belize; Mr. Iván Eskildsen, Minister of Tourism of Panama; Mr. Eduardo López-Puertas, Director General of IFEMA; Ms. Rosi Prado de Holguin; Minister of Tourism of Ecuador; Mr. Miguel Torruco, Minister of Tourism of Mexico; Mr. Rafael Ansón President of the Royal Academy of Spanish Gastronomy and the Ibero-American Gastronomy Academy; Mr. Javier Hidalgo, CEO of Globalia; Mr. Juan Corvinos, Vice President of Development for Caribbean and Latin American with Hilton International, among others.
The winners of the 15th edition of the Excelencias Awards are:
SPIRIT OF EXCELENCIA AWARD
SPIRIT OF EXCELENCIA TURÍSTICA AWARD
Kichwa Añangu Community - Napo Cultural Center Ecuador
Working for the preservation of the Amazons and its ancestral culture.
DELIVERED BY: Mr. José Carlos de Santiago. President of the Excelencias Group
PICKED BY: Gabriel Minas Amaya, Marketing & Alliances Delegate with the NAPO Cultural Center
EXCELENCIAS GOURMET AWARDS 2019
EXCELENCIAS CONFECTIONER
Alejandra Rivas
DELIVERED BY: Mr. José Carlos de Santiago. President of the Excelencias Group and D. Rafael Ansón, President of the Royal Spanish Gastronomy Academy
PICKED BY: Alejandra Rivas (Rocambolesc)
EXCELENCIAS CHEF
Jordi Cruz
DELIVERED BY: Mr. José Carlos de Santiago. President of the Excelencias Group and D. Rafael Ansón, President of the Royal Spanish Gastronomy Academy.
EXCELENCIAS SOMMELIER
María José Huertas
DELIVERED BY: Mr. José Carlos de Santiago. President of the Excelencias Group and D. Rafael Ansón, President of the Royal Spanish Gastronomy Academy
PICKED BY: Mrs. María José Huertas (Terraza del Casino de Madrid)
EXCELENCIAS HEAD WAITER
Xavier Alba
DELIVERED BY: Mr. José Carlos de Santiago. President of the Excelencias Group and D. Rafael Ansón, President of the Royal Spanish Gastronomy Academy
PICKED BY: Mr. Xavier Alba (Director General of elBarri)
YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR
Javier Alvarado
DELIVERED BY: Mr. José Carlos de Santiago. President of the Excelencias Group and D. Rafael Ansón, President of the Royal Spanish Gastronomy Academy
PICKED BY: Javier Alvarado, founder of Fresh Co Zumos Saludables Panamá
EXCELENCIAS PERSONA
Inés Páez (Chef Tita)
for: Her invaluable contributions to the growth and projection of Dominican gastronomy at the international and national level
DELIVERED BY: Mr. José Carlos de Santiago. President of the Excelencias Group and D. Rafael Ansón, President of the Royal Spanish Gastronomy Academy
PICKED BY: Chef Tita
SPAIN
Radio Nacional de España
for: "Laboratorio gastronómico", a unique radio talk show devoted to Ibero-American gastronomy.
DELIVERED BY: Mr. José Carlos de Santiago. President of the Excelencias Group and D. Rafael Ansón, President of the Royal Spanish Gastronomy Academy
PICKED BY: Mr. Javier de la Fuente, Director of Laboratorio Gastronómico and Mr. Antonio Buitrago, Director of Radio Exterior de España
LID Editorial
for: First dictionary of Ibero-American gastronomic terms in both printed and digital platforms
DELIVERED BY: Mr. José Carlos de Santiago. President of the Excelencias Group and D. Rafael Ansón, President of the Royal Spanish Gastronomy Academy
PICKED BY: Mr. Marcelino Elosua, CEO of LID Editorial
Pullmantur Cruises
for: the Gastrolab Project, a gastronomic platform developed with Chef Jordi Cruz
DELIVERED BY: Mr. José Carlos de Santiago. President of the Excelencias Group and D. Rafael Ansón, President of the Royal Spanish Gastronomy Academy
PICKED BY: Mr. Guillermo Muro, Senior Corporate F&B Manager
Museo Provincial del Vino de Peñafiel - Valladolid
for: Becoming the centerpiece of wine tourism in the province.
DELIVERED BY: Mr. José Carlos de Santiago. President of the Excelencias Group and D. Rafael Ansón, President of the Royal Spanish Gastronomy Academy
PICKED BY: Mr. Víctor Alonso Monge, Deputy Vice President of the Valladolid Administrative Council
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Vicini Foundation
for: Its efforts in developing Dominican gastronomy
DELIVERED BY: Mr. José Carlos de Santiago. President of the Excelencias Group and D. Rafael Ansón, President of the Royal Spanish Gastronomy Academy
PICKED BY: Mr. Luis Ros, President of the Dominican Gastronomy Academy
MÉXICO
Mexico’s Federal Tourism Secretariat and Chef Jorge Orozco
for: The book entitled “Los 121 pueblos mágicos de México" and its importance as a means of fostering the destination.
DELIVERED BY: Mr. José Carlos de Santiago. President of the Excelencias Group and D. Rafael Ansón, President of the Royal Spanish Gastronomy Academy
PICKED BY: Lic. Miguel Torruco, Tourism Secretary of Mexico and Chef Jorge Orozco
State of Jalisco
for: Appellation of Origin to raicilla as a drink distilled from agave.
DELIVERED BY: Mr. José Carlos de Santiago. President of the Excelencias Group and Mr. Miguel Torruco, Tourism Secretary of Mexico
PICKED BY: Lic. Germán Ernesto Ralis Cumplido, Tourism Secretary of Jalisco
EXCELENCIAS TURÍSTICAS 2019 AWARDS
URUGUAY
Montevideo Tourism Division
for: Montevideo, from tourist city to travel destination
DELIVERED BY: Mr. José Carlos de Santiago. President of the Excelencias Group
PICKED BY: Mrs. Elizabeth Villalba, Chief of the Tourism Division of Montevideo
PERU
Cámara Nacional de Turismo de Perú (CANATUR)
For: "San Martín Region". Alternative to deconcentrate and diversify the Machu Picchu offer.
DELIVERED BY: Mr. José Carlos de Santiago. President of the Excelencias Group
PICKED BY: Mr. Edgar Vásquez, Minister of Tourism of Perú and Mr. Carlos Canales, President of CANATUR
INKATERRA
for: Solid waste management program "Sustainable Machu Picchu"
DELIVERED BY: Mr. José Carlos de Santiago. President of the Excelencias Group
PICKED BY: Mr. Edgar Vásquez, Minister of Tourism of Perú and Mrs. Liza Masias, Marketing chief with Inkaterra
CUBA
CUBANACAN and Cuba’s Tourism Minister
for: "Club 15 años menos". A welfare and life-quality project through healthy tourism for adults.
DELIVERED BY: Mr. José Carlos de Santiago. President of the Excelencias Group
PICKED BY: Mr. Juan Carlos García Granda, Minister of Tourism of Cuba and Mrs. Yamily Aldama, President of the Cubanacan Group
PANAMA
Panama Tourism Authority (ATP)
for: Master plan of sustainable tourism to achieve regional development, as well as the preservation of culture and the protection of the environment.
DELIVERED BY: Mr. José Carlos de Santiago. President of the Excelencias Group
PICKED BY: Mr. Iván Eskildsen, Minister of Tourism of Panamá and Mrs. Liriola Pitti, Directora General of Promtur Panamá
MEXICO
Tamaulipas Administration
for: Innovative, competitive and sustainable policies.
DELIVERED BY: Mr. José Carlos de Santiago. President of the Excelencias Group
PICKED BY: Fernando Olivera, Tourism Secretary of Tamaulipas, Government of the State of Coahuila
for: "Four swamps: the origins of life "
DELIVERED BY: Mr. José Carlos de Santiago. President of the Excelencias Group
PICKED BY: Mrs. Mª Guadalupe Oyervides, Secretary of Tourism of Coahuila
COSTA RICA
Costa Rica Tourism Institute (ICT)
for: "one designer, one princess and one destination".
DELIVERED BY: Mr. José Carlos de Santiago. President of the Excelencias Group
PICKED BY: Mrs. Ireth Rodríguez Villalobos, Head of Advertising for ICT
CENTRAL AMERICA
Central America Tourism Agency (CATA)
for: "CAITT", a strategic tool to achieve tourism integration in Central America.
DELIVERED BY: Mr. José Carlos de Santiago. President of the Excelencias Group
PICKED BY: Mrs. Carolina Briones, Secretary General of CATA, Mr. Jorge Mario Chajón, Minister of Tourism of Guatemala (outgoing), Mr. Mynor Cordón, Minister of Tourism of Guatemala (incoming), Mrs. Nicole Marrder, Minister of Tourism of Honduras, Mrs. Shantanny Anasha Campbell, Minister of Tourism of Nicaragua, Mrs. Karen Bevans, Director of Tourism in Belize and Mr. Iván Eskildsen, Minister of Tourism of Panamá.
UNITED STATES
Hilton International
for: ITS 100th anniversary and its outstanding presence in Latin America.
DELIVERED BY: Mr. José Carlos de Santiago. President of the Excelencias Group
PICKED BY: Mr. Juan Corvinos, Vice President Development for Caribbean and Latin America
SPAIN
NH Hotel Group
for: "Cork 2 Cork", the reuse of bottle corks in the making of isolated walls for new guestrooms.
DELIVERED BY: Mr. José Carlos de Santiago. President of the Excelencias Group
PICKED BY: Mrs. Ana Pinedo, Corporate chief of Environmental Protection
IFEMA
for: the flawless planning of COP25 in record time.
DELIVERED BY: Mr. José Carlos de Santiago. President of the Excelencias Group
PICKED BY: Mr. Eduardo López-Puertas, Director General of IFEMA
FITUR
for: 40 years of successful editions.
DELIVERED BY: Mr. José Carlos de Santiago. President of the Excelencias Group
PICKED BY: Mrs. María Valcarce, Directora of FITUR
Alejandro Rubín
for: a professional career focused on the international promotion of Galicia in both the thermal and gastronomic fields.
DELIVERED BY: Mr. José Carlos de Santiago. President of the Excelencias Group
PICKED BY: Mr. Alejandro Rubín, Chancellor of the Orden del Camino de Santiago
ARGENTINA
INPROTUR Argentina
for: its strategies in positioning and promoting of outbound-market countries.
DELIVERED BY: Mr. José Carlos de Santiago. President of the Excelencias Group
PICKED BY:
SUSTAINABLE AWARDS
Organización de Palangreros Guardeses (ORPAGU)
Category: BLUE
for: creating gourmet preserves of swordfish for the sake of sustainable fishing.
DELIVERED BY: Mr. José Carlos de Santiago. President of the Excelencias Group
PICKED BY: Mrs. Laura Baz, Marketing & Sales chief
PressReader and Iberia Airlines
Category: GREEN
for: offering publication in the PressReader platform aboard Iberia flights
DELIVERED BY: Mr. José Carlos de Santiago. President of the Excelencias Group
PICKED BY: Mr. Carlos Martínez, Senior Manager of PressReader and
SPECIAL EXCELENCIAS AWARDS 2019
ARTE POR EXCELENCIAS AWARD
El Casco Art Hotel - Argentina
DELIVERED BY: Mr. José Carlos de Santiago. President of the Excelencias Group
PICKED BY: Mr. Carlos Fernández-Prida, former president of Telefónica Argentina
CARIBBEAN NEWS DIGITAL AWARD (CND 2019)
Javier Hidalgo
DELIVERED BY: Mr. José Carlos de Santiago. President of the Excelencias Group
PICKED BY: Mr. Javier Hidalgo, CEO of Globalia
RAMÓN ÁLVAREZ EXCELENCIAS AWARD
QUITO TURISMO
DELIVERED BY: DELIVERED BY: Mr. José Carlos de Santiago. President of the Excelencias Group and Mrs. Charo Trabado, CEO of GSAR Marketing
PICKED BY: Mrs. Norma Cristina Bock, MICE Head with Quito Turismo
NICOLÁS MUELA EXCELENCIAS AWARD
Down Madrid Foundation
DELIVERED BY: Mr. José Carlos de Santiago. President of the Excelencias Group and D. Rafael Ansón, President of the Royal Spanish Gastronomy Academy and Mr. Alfonso Marín Caffarena, Secretary General of the Ibero-America Gastronomy Academy
PICKED BY: Mr. Ignacio Egea, President of Patronage of the Síndrome Down Madrid Foundation
SILVIA ZORZANELLO EXCELENCIAS AWARD
Province of Sao Paulo
DELIVERED BY: Mr. José Carlos de Santiago. President of the Excelencias Group and Mr. Eduardo Zorzanello, Mrs. Zorzanello’s son
PICKED BY: Mr. Vinicius Lummertz, Tourism Secretary of Sao Paulo
