It's time for books and roses at Instituto Cervantes

It’s books and roses time once again as Instituto Cervantes de Manila celebrates Dia Internacional del Libro (International Book Day). This year, the celebration will extend for three days, from April 23 to 25, with readings and lectures, cinema, dance, concerts and other cultural events.

World Book and Copyright Day will be celebrated today, April 23. By celebrating this day throughout the world, UNESCO seeks to promote reading, publishing and the protection of intellectual property through copyright. April 23 is a symbolic date for world literature, for on this same day in the year 1616, Cervantes, Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega all died. It is also the date of birth or death of other prominent authors such as Maurice Druon, K. Laxness, Vladimir Nabokov, Josep Pla and Manuel Mejia Vallejo. The idea of this celebration originated in Catalonia, Spain where on St. George’s Day, males and females traditionally exchange a rose for the gift of a book. The tradition inspired a Spanish delegation to propose to the UNESCO a resolution requesting the proclamation of April 23 of each year as “World Day of the Book”.

UNESCO Director-General Kochiro Matsuura once said that “there can be no book development without copyright and the celebration of the Day has always been closely associated, from its inception, with raising an awareness on the importance of the moral and heritage protection afforded to works of the human spirit and their creators. Books concretize freedom of expression and demonstrate cultural diversity and therefore it is important to safeguard and protect these human works”.

Likewise, Instituto Cervantes Director Jose “Pepe” Rodriguez’ objective for this year’s celebration is to bring back Manila as the cultural capital of Asia by featuring literary works. “The Philippines was once the cultural capital of South East Asia. We are here to showcase our common rich culture and traditions by bringing a gamut of special events,” Rodriguez explained.

The main celebration opens tonight at 7 p.m. with “Writing Letters to Silence”, featuring the poetry of Argentinian poet and 2007 Premio Cervantes awardee Juan Gelman in a recital. Gelman published more than 200 books of poetry since 1956 hence he was awarded the most important award in Hispanic literature. His poems celebrate life at the same time reflect his own painful experiences with the politics of his country. Considered by many as one of the great contemporary poets, Juan Gelman’s work reveals an ambitious search for a transcendent language, either through a critical realism, the intimate or other more experimental forms. The uniqueness of his style and a way of seeing the world makes Gelman a living classic.

Tomorrow at 4 p.m., Raul M. Sunico and the University of Santo Tomas Conservatory of Music will perform a series of 19th century Philippine folk music written and sung in Spanish. Activities thereafter are lecture on the performance, a unique dance performance by the Malachi team, poetry reading at the patio of the Instituto Cervantes with prizes at stake, another riveting dance performance of choreographer-dancers Myra Beltran, Ma. Elena Laniog, Rhosam Prudenciado Jr. and dance group Airdance. The long day will be capped by the showing of selected Filipino and Spanish short films at the Patio at 11:30 p.m.

On the last day this Saturday, the 25th, there will be an open house with a wide selection of books on sale at incredibly low prices. A rose will be given for every purchase made. Other activities for this day are book signing by your favorite Filipino authors, a presentation of a collection of Philippine short stories translated into Spanish called Tesorio Literario de Filipinas, a forum on media piracy and intellectual property rights to inform the public about the danger of exchanging information in this digital age. The film Al Sur de Granda (South of Granada) will also be shown in the afternoon, a European Poetry Recital in collaboration with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the European Commission and embassy. Demonstration classes, and diagnostic tests will also be held for those interested to learn the Spanish language, a storytelling and painting session for children and screening of children’s films. All these enriching activities will be capped with a Latin party overflowing with food, music, drinks and dancing.

Dia del Libros is presented by the Instituto Cervantes de Manila in collaboration with the Spanish Embassy, Ministerio de Cultura de Espana and the Spanish Program for Cultural Cooperation. Other sponsors are the Delegation of the European Commission to the Philippines. Casino Espanol de Manila, Dulcinea, Faber-Castell and Sofitel Luzury Hotels. Instituto de Cervantes is located at 855 T.M. Kalaw St., Ermita, Manila and may be contacted at telephone number 526-1482 or website http://manilacervantes.es

See you there!