On April 27, 2019, during the celebration of Instituto Cervantes’ Día del Libro at the Ayala Triangle, there will be a poetry recitation of “Mi último adiós” to pay tribute to the Filipino writer and national hero José Rizal.
Seventy participants are needed to recite a stanza from this timeless poem, and each recitation will be video-recorded, compiled and edited. The final video will be uploaded on the website and social media pages of Instituto Cervantes Manila.
If you are interested in participating, come to the Día del Libro and sign up for this activity. Registration starts at 9:30AM and recording will be until 6PM. Participants will be given a rose for their collaboration and a chance to win a free Spanish course!
Apart from the poetry recital, there are a whole lot of other activities that make the Día del Libro one of the most well-attended book-related events in the Philippines. One of the main highlights is the Book Market, in which various bookstores and publishing houses will be selling countless books at a 20% discount. Another is the Rewriting of Don Quijote, wherein commemorate the celebrated Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes, around 500 participants hand-write an excerpt from his novel Don Quijote de la Mancha. After years of contributions from the volunteer writers, once the hand-written book is finished, it will be deposited in the Library of Instituto Cervantes.
Visitors also look forward to the book signing sessions. Among the authors who will be present are José Miguel Arguelles (11AM), Karl de Mesa (11:30 AM), Ferdinand Jarin and Cyan Abad Hugo (2PM), Gabriella Lee (2:30 PM), Francis Quina and Carla Pacis (3PM), Trese creators Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo (3:30 PM), Carlos Malvar (4:30 PM), Ambeth Ocampo (4PM) and Jessica Zafra (5PM).
Other activities include sketching, book signing sessions, film screenings, storytelling for children, and chuta-gol for football fans. At 7:30pm there will be a Posporos concert, featuring Vulk, a Basque punk band from Bilbao, and The Late Isabel, an art rock band from the Philippines. Check out the list of activities during the Día del Libro on this Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/401565707311004/
First introduced in Manila by Instituto Cervantes in 2006, the tradition of Día del Libro began in Barcelona, Spain to celebrate St. George’s Day (23 April), during which men and women exchange roses and books. This date also honors two of history’s greatest writers – Miguel de Cervantes and William Shakespeare – both of whom died on April 23, 1616. These significant incidence prompted the UNESCO in 1995 to declare April 23 as “World Book and Copyright Day” to instill the love of reading among the youth and to promote respect for the rights of authors over their literary and artistic works. April has also been declared by the NCCA as National Literature Month, as it is also the birth month of the renowned Filipino poet, Francisco Balagtas.
Día del Libro is organized by Instituto Cervantes de Manila, the Embassy of Spain in the Philippines, the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports of Spain, Ayala Land Inc. and Make It Makati, in collaboration with Philippine Transmarine Carriers (PTC), Rustan’s Commercial Corporation, Turkish Airlines, La Liga, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the Delegation of the European Commission to the Philippines, De La Salle – College of Saint Benilde, Kyusi Sketchers, La Peñica, Visprint Inc., and the best Manila bookstores.
Admission to all Día del Libro activities is FREE on a FIRST-COME, FIRST-SERVED basis. For more information, please visit Instituto Cervantes’ website athttp://manila.cervantes.es or their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/InstitutoCervantesManila. You may also call 526-1482. Instituto Cervantes de Manila is atAyala Tower One & Philippine Stock Exchange Tower Plaza, Ground Floor, Ayala Triangle, Ayala Avenue, Makati.
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