CCP to celebrate reading and poetry at Performatura Festival

The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) will celebrate reading and literature during National Reading Month with its Performatura Festival from November 6 to 8.

The three-day event is free; to gain access to the festival's ten performance sites for the day, all a visitor has to do is to bring a book to exchange for a day pass.

The books will be used for the CCP’s Aklatang Bayan program. According to the CCP in a statement, Aklatang Bayan aims to build resource hubs with a variety of books to develop a love for reading and art appreciation among children in poor communities in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.  

The Performatura Festival will feature more than 200 local and international artists. According to a press release from the CCP, attendees will be able to enjoy events such as:

• a day-long summit of performances from young members of groups including the Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas (UMPIL), the Linangan sa Imahen, Retorika, at Anyo (LIRA), Romancing Venus, Words Anonymous, Baguio Writers Guild, and the University of the Philippines Writers Club. Other participating young poets are students of the University of Santo Tomas (UST), the Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU), the De La Salle University (DLSU), the Far Eastern University (FEU), and the Philippine High School for the Arts (PHSA);
• daily workshops on the Balagtasan, speech choir, and ventriloquism;
• daily Park Poetry performances in the early evenings featuring poems on love, gender, and protest by Gemino Abad, Jose “Pete” Lacaba, and Joey Ayala; and
• an Epic Center that will feature epics such as Hudhud and the Darangen as well as animation and works of art about the Sugidanun and the sequels to Dr. Alicia Magos’ study on “Tikum Kadlum and Amburukay,” tol be performed by Federico “Tuohan” Caballero and Teresita “Abyaran” Caballero-Castor. — BM, GMA News

For more information about the Performatura Festival, contact the CCP Intertextual Division at 832-1125 locals 1706 and 1707 or visit the Intertextual Division's accounts on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter and Instagram.