By Anna Valmero
MANILA CITY, METRO MANILA-- Originally a Spanish tradition, Dia Del Libro is also celebrated locally encouraging Filipinos to indulge their literary passion.
"Reading makes you understand culture and while Filipinos have their Malayan lineage like other countries in Asia, there is also a Latin, Hispanic part in Philippine history," says Jose Rodriguez, director of Instituto Cervantes Manila.
Dia Del Libro originated from Barcelona. On St. George’s Day, people would exchange roses for books. Instituto Cervantes is conducting this tradition in the Philippines for five years now.
"In this era of electronic books, I believe that the traditional book is still incomparable. It brings the total experience in reading as it triggers all your senses," says Rodriguez.
Local publishing houses such as Vibal Publishing have also embraced the digitization of reading making available an electronic version of Francisco Baltazar' classic tale Ibong Adarna.
Still, widespread isn't expected to happen soon given the high cost of electronic readers like the iPad. For Rodriguez, it's a welcome hindrance because Filipinos can enjoy traditional books and have a "more personal reading experience".
To further enjoy reading, Rodriguez urges Filipinos to learn another language such as Spanish to enjoy more books. He noted that some 20,000 words in Filipino came from the Spanish language and often used daily.
Yet, few Filipinos have enrolled in language classes, he says.
Dia Del Libro is an annual event when bibliophiles can avail of books in English, Filipino and Spanish for as low as P20 each. Entrance is free and some 4,000 titles are available at the language center from 10a.m. to 5p.m. on April 16.
Other activities include poetry reading, photography contest, free Spanish food and wine tasting, games and free language classes.
"Reading makes you understand culture and it is important to learn lessons and gems from the past because it is part of who we are today," says Rodriguez.
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