 In 1989, Padilla received the Alfonso Reyes literary award for his work "Subterráneos", and in 1994 the Juan de la Cabada literary award for his children's story "Las tormentas del mar embotellado", the Juan Rulfo Literary Award for a first novel, "La catedral de los ahogados", and the Malcolm Lowry Literary Award for his literary essay "El dorado esquivo