On April 21, the Instituto Cervantes in Manila will join all the international celebrations on the World Book Day by organising a series of cultural events open to the general public.

A day of books and roses… Although not celebrated in the Philippines, the International Day of the Book is an important event in several European countries, and Instituto Cervantes aims to establish the date as a tradition in the Manila cultural calendar. The International Day of the Book is a yearly event organized every April 23 to promote reading. 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. This 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”. It was unanimously adopted in 1995 and celebrated ever since. The 23rd of April was also considered as it is a symbolic date in world literature. Curiously in the year 1616 on this very day died literary legends Miguel de Cervantes, William Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega.

In celebration of this special occasion, Instituto Cervantes will organize on April 21, 2007 from 10:00 am to 11:00 pm a whole day Open House with many cultural events like Filipino writer's book-signing (Sionil Jose, Greg Brillantes, Marj Evasco and Jessica Zafra among them), jazz shows, concerts, dance performances, film showings, Spanish wine & cheese tasting, free salsa & Latin dance classes, etc. There are also programmed two contests: a poetry reading one and an On-the-Spot Photo Contest The Picture of the Day, open to all visitors. The Day will begin with a Book Market where Instituto Cervantes will offer at token price more than 4,000 brand new books. The market will also include a sale of books by popular Filipino publishing firms like Anvil and leading bookstores like Sionil Jose's La Solidaridad, FullyBooked or A Different Bookstore at 20% off! Also following the tradition during the Day of the Book in Spain, a rose will be gifted to every book buyer! "We are preparing a great fiesta celebrating the joy of reading. For book lovers, it's going to be a must, a not-to-be-missed event", proudly declares Instituto Cervantes' director José Rodríguez.

Guided tours of the Instituto Cervantes building will be organized at different schedules. Visitors can also get the chance to attend a free Spanish class for beginners! A 20% discount off the regular price awaits new students who enrol on this day! (Only valid for certain schedules and full payment).

Special movie screenings with the theme Great Books on the Screen will start at 2 pm. Schedule is as follows:

2:00 pm La colmena Directed by Mario Camus in 1982. (Based on the novel of the same title by Camilo José Cela, La Colmena is a sad composition with the stories of many people in the Madrid of 1942, just the postwar of the Spanish Civil War. The main theme of the film is the contrast between the poets, surviving close to misery under the Franco's regime, and the winners of the war, the emerging class of the people that makes easy money with illegal business. Winner of the Golden Bear in the Berlin Film Festival.)
6:00 pm El método Directed by Marcelo Piñeyro in 2005. (Based on the famous play El método Grönholm, about different job interviews, this film explores the dark inner workings of the corporate world. While the streets of Madrid are filled with anti-globalization demonstrators, candidates are assembled to be put through the final selection process for a single high-level position at a multinational corporation. The humiliation these people are willing to endure or inflict on others for the sake of the job is chilling to witness. Winner of 2 Goya Awards. For Adults Only).

Kids will also have the chance to enjoy 3 Spanish movies for children (at 11 am, 1:30 & 4:30 pm). And in the evening, to top off the entire day, Instituto Cervantes proposes Día del Libro Party with a Latin band, Spanish food… and lots of FUN!