After two years of cancellations due to the pandemic, Instituto Cervantes, the cultural arm of the Embassy of Spain, will resume its tradition of celebrating the Día del Libro (International Book Day) on April 23, Saturday. In this edition, aside from its offer of free books and t-shirts featuring poems, the event will present a hybrid format –an online recital of Filhispanic Poetry, and the onsite handwriting of the novel Don Quijote de la Mancha at the Intramuros branch of Instituto Cervantes.
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 two of history’s greatest writers – Miguel de Cervantes and William Shakespeare – who coincidentally died on the very same day, April 23, 1616. These significant incidents 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 is also the birth month of the classic Filipino poet Francisco Balagtas, and to honor him the National Commission for Culture and the Arts declared April as National Literature Month.
Through the online Poetry Recital, Instituto Cervantes has invited poetry lovers to recite verses written in Spanish by Filipino poets. All the recorded recitations are currently being compiled in a video that will be posted in Instituto Cervantes’ social media on April 23, 2022.
The onsite event organized by Instituto Cervantes to commemorate the Day of Miguel de Cervantes is the Hand-Writing of Don Quijote. Instituto Cervantes invites visitors to its Intramuros branch to participate in a quixotic attempt: to handwrite a fragment of Don Quixote de La Mancha. 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. Although prior registration is not mandatory, participants can reserve their slot by filling out the Registration Form.
Día del Libro is organized by Instituto Cervantes de Manila, in collaboration with the Embassy of Spain in the Philippines and Intramuros Administration.
Admission to all Día del libro activities is FREE on a FIRST-COME, FIRST-SERVED basis. For more information, please call 85261482 or visit http://manila.cervantes.es or www.facebook.com/InstitutoCervantesManila.
