Instituto Cervantes pays homage to poet Nicanor Parra
MANILA, Philippines - Instituto Cervantes de Manila, in celebration of the 2012 El Día E (Spanish Language Day), celebrates the diverse, compelling and inspiring world of Nicanor Parra’s poetry on June 23 at the Shangri-La Plaza mall in Mandaluyong City.
Parra, a Chilean poet who recently won the Cervantes Prize in Literature, is most famously known for coining the term “anti-poetry” — an art movement which steers away from the conventions of poetry. Not only an accomplished poet, Parra has also published a collection of illustrations that embodies his signature wit and dry humor.
Guests can pay homage to the Father of Anti-Poetry by taking home their very own copies of his poems, published in post cards that one can share with his friends and family, even halfway across the world. They can take part in the festivity by choosing their favorite Spanish word. Interested participants may just visit the mall and write their thoughts in Spanish on creatively designed walls.
A portion of the interactive space will also be allotted as activity area for kids so they can participate in activities such as drawing, painting and storytelling wherein the theme will be of a Spanish legend.
Spanish books will be given as a token of participation in any of the activities. The genre of the books includes photography, philosophy, the arts, biographies and fiction among others. The aim of this is to promote Spanish literature while at the same time encouraging the people to participate in the activities. A henna tattoo artist will also be present all day where people who are interested can have their Spanish word of choice painted on them using temporary ink.
At 4 p.m., renowned Spanish DJ Jesus Bombín will perform. He regularly plays in several well-known clubs such as El Junco, El Contraclub, El Marula, La Boca del Lobo, Calle 54, etc.
El Día del Español is organized by Instituto Cervantes de Manila in collaboration with Shangri-La Plaza, the Spanish Embassy in the Philippines, Spanish International Cooperation Agency for Development (AECID) and the embassies of Argentina, Chile, Cuba, Mexico and Venezuela.
Admission to the event is free on a first-come, first-served basis. For information, call 526-1482 or visit http://manila.cervantes.es.
