Poet's pants fall to knees just before royal award ceremony

Apr 23, 2010, 14:09 GMT

Alcala de Henares, Spain - A ceremony at which Mexican poet Jose Emilio Pacheco received the top Spanish-language literature prize lost a bit of its solemnity on Friday, when the award winner's pants fell to his knees shortly before he stepped on the podium.

The incident occurred in the university of Alcala de Henares near Madrid while Pacheco was being accompanied by university representatives on his way to receiving the Cervantes Prize from King Juan Carlos.

The 70-year-old poet, however, did not mind being seen in his underpants.

'I was not wearing suspenders,' he said, describing such an incident as 'a very good cure against vanity.'

At the ceremony, Pacheco praised Don Quixote author Miguel de Cervantes, who was born in Alcala de Henares and after whom the Cervantes Prize is named.

Writers still belong to the 'order of beggars' like Cervantes, who experienced financial difficulties in the 16th century, Pacheco said.

Regarded as one of Mexico's major 20th-century poets, Pacheco is also a novelist, short-story writer, critic and translator.

His poetry books include Los Elementos de la Noche (The Elements of the Night, 1963), El Reposo del Fuego (The Sleep of the Fire, 1966) and No Me Preguntes Como Pasa el Tiempo (Do Not Ask Me How the Time Goes By, 1969).

The Cervantes Prize, which is worth 125,000 euros (187,500 dollars), is awarded annually by the Spanish Culture Ministry.