MANILA, Philippines — Instituto Cervantes de Manila (ICM) brings back the celebration of the Día Internacional del Libro (International Book Day) on April 16, 10 a.m to 8 p.m

Around 4,000 book titles will be sold for the sixth edition of the Día del libro, to include children and young adult titles, dictionaries, novels, fiction and non-fiction titles — for as low as P20. And following the tradition in Spain, for every purchase you make you will be given a rose.

First introduced by ICM in Manila in 2006, the tradition (related to an old legend involving chivalry) of Día del Libro began in Barcelona, Spain, where, on St. George’s Day, gifts are exchanged between sweethearts: men buy roses for women, and in return, women buy books for men. This tradition encourages book lovers from all walks of life to gather and indulge their literary passion.

This date also commemorates the deaths of two of history’s greatest writers — Miguel de Cervantes and William Shakespeare – who coincidentally died also on the same year in 1616.

The Día del libro starts with an online contest where photo enthusiasts just have to take a picture of them or anybody reading a book in the most creative way and the winner will get a Kindle™. ICM will stage an all-day feast of Spanish food with free wine tasting, film showings, games, poetry recital and free Spanish classes.
Children can have an opportunity to delve into their creative side with the Pintura para Niños, a coloring activity for the young artists. It will then be followed by screening of the Spanish animated film El lince perdido (The Missing Lynx). Visit the Instituto Cervantes library and see the vast collection of books, videos, periodicals and audio CDs. Membership only costs 770 pesos but students and senior citizens can get it for almost half the price.

Demonstration classes for the Spanish language course will be held at 10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. while diagnostic tests will also be conducted at 11:45 a.m. and 3:45 p.m. for those who want to know the extent of their Spanish language proficiency. Interested applicants may get a discount if they enrol on that day.

Those who are into poetry may watch the Bersong EuroPinoy — a unique poetry chain of Filipino and European poems which was recently awarded the Gawad Jayme C. de Veyra by the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino — 2 p.m., at the Salon de Actos. Photo buffs may also submit their best photo shots taken during Día del Libro.

Then at 6 p.m., the Argentinean crime thriller- drama and winner of the Best Foreign Language Film at the 82nd Academy Awards, El secreto de sus ojo (The Secret in their Eyes) screens at the Salon de Actos.

Meg turns turns the heat up in latest issue
Meg Magazine brings the hippest happenings this April. Swimsuits and other summer essentials like beach bags, hats, cover-ups and flip-flops are hot on the radar.

Eyeshadow and sunscreen are also essential before leaving the house. The April issue also rounds up the top 10 local beaches, as well as a lineup of guys emerging in the showbiz and modeling scenes.

Summer internship tips are also in this month’s issue.