About the Event
On April 22, Saturday, Instituto Cervantes, the cultural arm of the Embassy of Spain, will once again be abuzz with cultural and fun activities to celebrate the Día del Libro or the International Book Day. Thousands of books will be gathered around its premises in Ayala Triangle. As in previous years, Día del Libro will feature top bookstores and publishing houses that will be selling a wide array of books at a 20% discount. Following the tradition in Spain, every book purchase would entitle one to a free rose.
First introduced in Manila by Instituto Cervantes in 2006, the tradition of Día del Libro began in Barcelona, Spain. To the present, the tradition is commemorated on St. George’s Day (23 April), during which men and women exchange roses and books. This date also honors the deaths of two of history’s greatest writers – Miguel de Cervantes and William Shakespeare – who coincidentally died on the same day, April 23, 1616. These significant occurrences prompted the UNESCO to declare, in 1995, April 23 as “World Book and Copyright Day” to instill the love of reading among the young and to promote respect for the rights of authors over their literary and artistic works. April is also the birth month of classic Filipino poet Francisco Balagtas, and to honor him the NCCA declared April the National Literature Month.
This year’s edition will be held on April 22 (Saturday), from 10 am to 10pm., at Ayala Triangle Gardens.
Apart from the book market, visitors will also be treated to poetry recitals, dance performances, plays, concerts, as well as activities for the children. One of the main features of the day will be the inauguration of the exhibit The Prado Museum in Manila, presented by the Embassy of Spain, Instituto Cervantes and The Prado Museum. Displaying more than 50 life-size reproductions of masterpieces from The Prado Museum in Madrid, this exhibit represents a unique opportunity for passers-by to experience a face-to-face encounter with works of some of the great masters from the 12th to the 19th centuries in the form of high-definition photographic prints.
After its great reception by Makati citizens in 2016, the Pop-up Library “The Book Stop” comes back to Ayala Triangle. The project, designed by WTA Architecture & Design Studio, is a non-profit library for the entire community, where visitors can interact in lively discussions with fellow readers and share their love of books, borrow volumes free and exchange books. The goal here is reinvention - reinvigorating and re-establishing the library in Filipino society.
Instituto Cervantes is challenging visitors to join a Quixotic attempt: to write Don Quixote de La Mancha by hand. Among the events organized by Instituto Cervantes to commemorate the Day of Miguel de Cervantes is the Rewriting of Don Quijote. The Spanish cultural center is in search of 500 book-loving volunteers to take part in a “quixotic” endeavor: to hand-write Cervantes’ novel. Each volunteer will have two minutes to write a few sentences of the novel by hand. The writing-chain will start at 11am and conclude at 10pm. The final hand-written book will be deposited in the Library of Instituto Cervantes. People interested in taking part of the writing of Don Quijote can join on the same day with no prior registration. Participants in the handwriting chain will receive a rose.
Aside from the wide array of books to be sold on DÍA DEL LIBRO, more exciting activities are lined-up for this special day. The Embassy of Chile will present an exhibit on Chilean writer Gonzalo Rojas (1916-201), one of the great Latin American poets of the 20th century.The day will be filled with activities for children --storytelling in both English and Spanish, painting workshops, games, etc.
At 3pm Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino will host a Balagtasan, with the poet-debaters showing off skills in arguing in verses about issues of the day. The bilingual book (in Filipino and Spanish) of the same plays, titled Jose P. Rizal: Konseho ng mga Diyoses; Sa May Pasig, and published by KWF’s Aklat ng Bayan series, will be launched on the same day and sold at discounted prices.
What follows at 4 pm is the presentation of the book The Silver Way, a divulgation of what the Manila Galleon meant for the history of the world. Juan José Morales, one of his two authors, will present the book.
At 5pm, there will be a launching of the book Flora de Filipinas, published by Vibal Foundation.
This year’s celebration will include a twist with La Noche de los Libros (The Night of Books). Through it, the Spanish Cultural Center will provide free entertainment for an entire evening of leisure and activities, including a feast of Spanish food, games, jazz music, a poetry recital, free Spanish classes... Photo buffs may also submit their best photos taken during Día del Libro. Cool prizes await the winners of this contest.
To cap the night off, the Día del Libro will invite visitors to a free concert by the Manila Symphony Orchestra. The concert, scheduled at 7pm, will feature classical pieces from the Spanish and Filipino repertoire.
Join Día del Libro and experience a jam-packed evening of excitement. And for this year’s celebration, Instituto Cervantes will be giving out hundreds of books – for FREE!
Día del Libro is organized by Instituto Cervantes de Manila, the Embassy of Spain in the Philippines, the NCCA, the National Book Development Board (NBDB), in collaboration with Ayala Land, WTA Architecture & Design Studio, the Spanish Agency International Cooperation for Development (AECID), Philippine Transmarine Carriers (PTC), Vibal Foundation, Turkish Airlines, Anaya 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 call 5261482 or visit http://manila.cervantes.es or www.facebook.com/InstitutoCervantesManila. Instituto Cervantes de Manila is at Ayala Tower One & Philippine Stock Exchange Tower Plaza, Ground Floor, Ayala Triangle, Ayala Avenue, Makati.