This year, get ready to celebrate with the rest of the world as Instituto Cervantes brings back the DÍA INTERNACIONAL DEL LIBRO (International Book Day) to the streets of Manila. Celebrated annually by Instituto Cervantes centers all around the globe, DÍA DEL LIBRO has in its roots the centuries-old Catalan traiditon of exchanging books for roses. For every book purchased, each buyer will receive not only a 20% discount but a long-stemmed rose courtesy of the participating bookstores. This year’s edition will be held on April 20, 2013 at Bonifacio High Street from 1pm to 8pm. Apart from the book market, visitors will also be treated to poetry recitals, dance performances and a flamenco guitar show.
It is widely believed that DÍA DEL LIBRO was originally celebrated every third week of April to commemorate the death of two of Western literature’s most well-known writers—William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, author and creator of the most iconic character in Spanish literature—Don Quixote de la Mancha. It is said that not only did these two die on the same year (1616), they also died on the same day—April 23rd.
Normally held within the grounds of Instituto Cervantes in Kalaw, Manila, DÍA DEL LIBRO will be celebrated for the very first time in Bonifacio High Street, one of today’s leading destinations for art and leisure. Participating in the book market are some of the country’s most popular bookstores such as National Bookstore and Fully Booked as well as specialized bookshops such as the Ortigas Foundation, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines and the La Solidaridad Bookshop, owned by National Artist F. Sionil Jose. The book market will be open from 1pm to 8pm.
Apart from the wide array of books to be sold on DÍA DEL LIBRO, more exciting activities are lined-up for this special day. The award-winning Spanish contemporary dance duo of Álvaro Esteban and Elías Aguirre are set to perform their routine called ENTOMO in Manila only on DÍA DEL LIBRO. Esteban and Aguirre will also be participating as the delegates of Spain in the “DANCE XCHANGE FESTIVAL” hosted by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) from April 11-14, 2013 in Palawan.
Also part of the line-up is the 5th edition of BERSONG EUROPINOY, organized in collaboration with the Delegation of the European Union to the Philippines. Bersong Europinoy is a poetry recital in which representatives of the cultural offices within the EU recite poetry in their native language alongside Filipino authors reading their own works. This poetry recital marks the beginning of May as “European Month” in the Philippines and has been acknowledged in previous years by award-winning bodies such as the Commission of the Filipino Language for “its continuous support and contribution to the awareness and growth of the Filipino language and literature, culture and the arts”.
Another highlight to watch out for is the formal hand-over ceremony of Spanish books to be donated to public libraries in the country as part of the online book campaign “MÁS LIBROS, MÁS LIBRES”. For every “Like” that the page (http://is.gd/maslibrosmaslibres) receives, Instituto Cervantes pledges a Spanish book to be donated to a public school library where Spanish is currently being taught as a foreign language subject. The campaign will formally close on April 20 at 4pm and the books will be handed over to the library representatives by the Spanish Ambassador to the Philippines, H.E. Jorge Domecq.
DÍA DEL LIBRO is organized by Instituto Cervantes, the Embassy of Spain – Spanish Agency for Cultural Development Cooperation, and Acción Cultural Española (AC/E) in collaboration with Bonifacio Art Foundation, Inc., Bonifacio High Street and Bonifacio Global City, with the support of its major sponsor Manila Contemporary and partner sponsors Ayala Land Premier, Calata Corporation, Creamy Delight Yogurt, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and with special thanks to Mercedes-Benz and the Delegation of the European Union to the Philippines.
For more information on the schedule of activities and the online book campaign “MÁS LIBROS, MÁS LIBRES”, please visit www.manila.cervantes.es or “LIKE” our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/InstitutoCervantesManila.
