For three days at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, literature takes center stage as Performatura Festival 2023—a festival of the written word and performances—happens from March 31 until April 2, 2023. The three-day event starts at 10:30 a.m. at the Tanghalang Ignacio B. Gimenez (CCP Black Box Theater). It coincides with the celebration of Women’s Month (March) and Araw ni Balagtas 2023, the 149th birth anniversary of Francisco Baltasar, one of the greatest Filipino poets. Here is a rundown of the events under this year’s theme, “Performatura Goes Pop.”
On the first day, March 31, vlogger and entrepreneur Carlo Ople will be launching his book, “Suweldo is Not Enough.” There will be a panel of speakers, a shoe auction, and a poetry performance by Hannah Leceña—all of this happens in the morning. After lunch, the session shifts its focus to women with the turnover of the printed copies of the book “In Certain Seasons: Mothers Write in the Time of Covid” and the launch of “Lila: Mga Tula,” a book of poems written by women from Linangan sa Imahen, Retorika at Anyo (LIRA). There will also be talks by women writers and literary performances. And finally, at around 6:00 p.m., the film “Brutal,” directed by National Artist for Film Marilou Diaz Abaya and written by National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts Ricky Lee, will be screened. Lee will lead a talkback session afterward.
On April 1, the festival will focus on the spoken word, with the Ampalaya Monologues, a spoken word collective, and Mark Ghosn, Ampalaya founder, headlining the celebrations. National Artist for Literature Gemino Abad will deliver a talk on performing poetry. At the Spoken Camp, a page-to-stage writing workshop, participants will get the chance to develop their writing skills. There will also be performances by spoken word artists, backed by indie musicians. And finally, an open mic session is happening in the evening.
On its last day, April 2, the festival pays tribute to Francisco Balagtas with a talk by Chris Mooney Singh on Balagtasan and World Literature. The Makatas along with Ingay Likha battle rap artists (flip-toppers) Tulala, Zantasa, and D.O.C. will also perform in the morning. At around 2:00 p.m. National Artist for Literature Virgilio Almario will speak about the significance of Bataan in the life of Balagtas. This will be followed by performances of some teachers and students from Bataan High School for the Arts and workshops on music, dance, and visual arts.
Capping the festival will be KamPerformatura’s offering of poetry and performances by the youth participants, which will kick start the competition Tanghal-Makata 2023. Spoken word expert Mark Ghosn, poet performer Kooky Tuason, and mambabalagtas from Bulacan Melandro Pascual will be part of the panel of judges. Librarian Juireo Abela of Lucena City, Tanghal-Makata 2021 winner, will present a Sam Peñaso trophy and laurel sculpture by poet Raul Funilas to this year’s winner. The closing segment will be presented by GSIS Museum, LIRA, and Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas.
The festival director is Dr. Vim Nadera Jr. Performatura Festival 2023 is open to the public. And while entrance to the events is free, guests are encouraged to donate a book to serve as an admission ticket to each segment. The collected books will go to CCP’s partner libraries. For inquiries, send e-mail to ccpintertextualdivision@gmail.com or call 8832-1125 local 1706 or 0919-3175708.