Classic cinema, enduring poetry at Instituto Cervantes

MANILA, Philippines - Instituto Cervantes holds screenings of classic movies as well as poetry readings for the month of April.

Antonio del Amo’s Sierra maldita (Cursed Mountain) — which will be shown on April 4, at 6 p.m. — deals with enduring superstitions that make people believe in the sterility of women from a remote mountain village. 

Antonio Román’s Los últimos de Filipinas — on April 18, 6 p.m. — is the first Spanish film about the Philippines.

Juan Gelman, the renowned Argentinian poet, will share his poetry in a recital on April 23, 7 p.m., at Instituto Cervantes. Gelman started with a teaching career but later on abandoned it to devote himself to journalism, politics and poetry. He has published more than 20 books on poetry since 1956.

Gelman’s poems celebrate life but are also tempered with social and political commentary and reflect his own painful experiences with the politics of his country. Gelman’s work reveals an ambitious search for a transcendent language, either through the “critical realism” and the intimate, first, and then moving towards other forms. The uniqueness of a style and a way of seeing the world, the combination of a verbal adventure that does not preclude the social and political as a form of poetry tuned to the great issues of our time.

Canciones del folclore Filipino en Español will be held on April 24, 4 p.m., at Instituto Cervantes.  

Among the many testaments to the close cultural ties between Spain and the Philippines is a little-known genre of Philippine folksongs with Spanish lyrics that emerged in different parts of the country. This lecture-concert presented by Tawid Publications will feature a selection of such songs (circa 1860s to 1890s) from the Luzon region, specifically Manila, Laguna, Cavite, Batangas, Bulacan, Quezon, and Rizal. A brief overview of these songs’ social, cultural, and musical aspects will be presented by Raul M. Sunico, PhD, Dean of the University of Santo Tomas Conservatory of Music. The songs will then be performed by artists from the faculty of the UST Conservatory of Music: Raul M. Sunico, international concert pianist; Lemuel dela Cruz, international opera singer (tenor); Nenen Espina, soprano; and Naomi Sison, soprano.

As part of the International Book Day, Instituto Cervantes hosts the “La Noche de los Libros (Night of Books),” a night party with poetry, cinema, dance and music on April 24, 8 p.m. onward.

The Feria del Día del Libro celebration will be for three days, with conferences and lectures, dance, concerts and other cultural activities. Overflowing Spanish food, and festive Latin music cap off Día del Libro. The event aims to promote the love for reading and the written word. Regularly observed on the 23rd of April, International Book Day was inspired by a tradition from Barcelona, Spain that celebrates St. George’s Day, where men and women exchange a rose for the gift of a book.

Instituto Cervantes is at 855 Kalaw St., Ermita, Manila. For information, call 526-1482 and 526-1449, or visit http://manila.cervantes.es.