Alen Garagic, from Bosnia-Herzegovina, obtained the first prize in the 16th H.R.H. Princess Cristina International Guitar Competition held by the Jacinto & Inocencio Guerrero Foundation. The award comprises a cash prize of €10,000, a Contreras guitar valued at €9,450, a studio recording sponsored by the Radio Clásica service of Spain's national radio station (Radio Nacional de España) plus a promotional CD, concert appearances and a diploma.

The second prize, consisting of €6,000, concert appearances and a diploma, went to Anders Clemens Øien from Norway. The third prize of €1,200 and a diploma was awarded to Fernando Espí Cremades of Spain, who also received the special prize for the best interpretation of Spanish music, consisting of €1,500 and a diploma.

A total of twenty contestants from thirteen different countries took part in this edition of the H.R.H. Princess Cristina International Guitar Competition, the final round of which was held in the Concert Hall at the Conde Duque Cultural Centre. All three finalists played a concerto for guitar and string orchestra, accompanied by the Chamber Orchestra of the Madrid Senior Conservatory of Music (Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid), conducted by Manuel Guillén.

The programme for the final round was as follows: Anders Clemens Øien played the Concierto mudéjar by Antón García Abril, Fernando Espí Cremades the Concerto No. 1 in A, Opus 30 by Mauro Giuliani, and Alen Garagic the Concierto del agua by Tomás Marco.

Aside from the outcome of the final round -which, for the very first time in the competition's history, included the performance of a concerto for guitar and orchestra- attention should be drawn to the increased number of CONCERT APPEARANCES that will be offered to prizewinners thanks to the different collaboration agreements entered into by the Jacinto & Inocencio Guerrero Foundation with organisations in America, Africa and Europe. Special mention must be made of a series of scheduled performances in the USA at the Universities of Toulane (New Orleans) and Indiana (Bloomington), appearances at international music festivals, ranging from the Fabrizio Caroso Festival (Latina) and Agimus Music Association (Catania) in Italy, to the Andrés Segovia Festival in Madrid, the Radiotelevisión Española Symphony Orchestra's Young Performing Artists Cycle, the Toledo and Segovia Summer Music Festivals, as well as other events sponsored by various bodies, such as the Friends of Silos Association (Asociación Amigos de Silos), the Madrid Atheneum, the Canal Foundation, Jeunesses Musicales (Juventudes Musicales) in Seville, the Cervantes Institutes at a number of venues across Africa and Europe, different cultural centres around the Madrid Region, the Conde Duque Concert Hall and the Puertollano Town Council.

The JURY of the 16th H.R.H. Princess Cristina International Guitar Competition was chaired by the composer, Antón García Abril, and formed by guitarists Nuccio D'Angelo and Mauricio Díaz Álvarez, composer Tomás Marco, and flautist and musicologist Álvaro Marías.

Alen Garagic was born in Tuzla (Bosnia and Herzegovina) in 1978. He studied at leading schools, namely, the Rotterdam Conservatory of Music (Holland) under Dick Hogeveen, the Hague Royal Conservatory of Music (Holland) under Zoran Dukic, the Sabadell Conservatory of Music under Fernando Rodríguez and the Barcelona Senior School of Music (L'Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya -ESMUC) under Alex Garrobé, achieving maximum marks for both guitar and choral conducting, a specialisation which he studied under Roelof van Driesten.

Since 1995, Alen has been professionally active as a concert artist and teacher. Currently, he teaches at the Sant Vicens del Horts School of Music and the American College of Barcelona. He has performed in different countries around Europe, with highlights including a concert tour of Holland and recitals at the Ljubljana International Summer Festival (Slovenia), Amsterdam International Guitar Festival (Holland) and José Tomás International Festival here in Spain. In addition, he has attended master classes with the likes of Manuel Barrueco, Oscar Ghiglia, Eduardo Isaac, Marco Socías, Carlo Marchione, Joaquín Clerch and Pablo Márquez.

Alen Garagic has a number of international prizes to his credit, namely: the prize for the best interpretation of an obligatory piece at the 1998 TROMP International Competition in Eindhoven, Holland; third prize at the 2000 Kutna Hora International Guitar Competition in the Czech Republic; first prize at the 1st José Tomás International Guitar Competition in Petrer in 2002; first and third prizes at Barcelona's 2002 L'Arjau Competition; first prize at the 2002 Dolores Sendra National Competition in Pego; first prize at the 2003 César Aira Competition in León; first prize at the City of Elche National Competition in 2003; joint second prize at the 2004 Andrés Segovia International Competition in La Herradura; and second prize at the 2004 René Bartoli International Competition in Aix-en-Provence.