CCP hold second Performatura

Performatura Festival will open on March 31 at nine in the morning at the CCP Little Theater, where National Artist for literature Virgilio Almario, who is also the chairman of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and KWF, will deliver a message. The opening program will also be graced by CCP vice president and Artistic Director Chris Millado and Beltran, and will have performances by Jean Ariane Flores, the winner of the seventh Maria Carpena Kundiman Song Festival; Anino Shadowplay Collective; and Kontemporaryong Gamelan Pilipino (Kontra-Gapi), the ethnic music and dance ensemble of the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Arts and Letters.

The opening will also see the launch of Akdang Buhay, a project of the UP’s Institute of Creative Writing which will come out with biographies of National Artists for literature and other major Filipino writers. It will be led by writer and professor Dr. Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo.

This will be followed by opening of the book fair of National Book Development Board (NBDB), Ex Libris: NBDB Book Fair, at the Little Theater Lobby, and will be open until six in the evening of the duration of the festival.

The second day of the festival on April will also have an opening program in the morning called “Paghahasik” (the act of sowing) at the CCP Promenade to be graced by National Artist for literature F. Sionil Jose and highlighted by performances of Sanghabi, a group focused on the use of indigenous musical instruments, and the popularization of the Old Tagalog syllabary and Tausug dance pangalay; poet Nerisa Guevara; and Tupada Action and Media Arts (TAMA), known for “ambush” performances in public spaces.

Festival attendees will also get a chance to hear artists talk on their crafts and interact with them in a series on Gawad CCP awardees, happening from two to three in the afternoon at the CCP’s MKP Hall for the three days. The first day will feature actress Nora Aunor, while writer Leoncio Deriada, who is a leading promoter of Western Visayan literature; and veteran screenwriter Ricardo Lee will be featured on April 1 and 2 respectively.

The festival also provides venue to learn more about the different aspects of literature and performance with its “Literaturo” series, every tenthirty in the morning until noon at the Tanghalang Huseng Batute. The sessions are “Poetry is Our Second Language” on March 31; “Bukanegan” on April 1; and “Sarsuwelang Sangang Nangabali” on April 2. Additionally, the forum “When Writing Contest has Hidden Agenda and Other Horror Stories for the Millenial Writers” and another on the rights of young writers will conducted at Silangan Hall, from nine in the morning until noon, on April 2.

At the Dream Theater, selected films will be shown at the section called “Peliteratura.” The opening day will showcase films by artists Sari Dalena— Ang Kababaihan ng Malolos (2 to 3:45 p.m.) and Komikero Chronicles (4 to 6 p.m.). Giancarlo Abrahan’s Dagitab will be shown on April 1 (2 to 4:30 p.m.) and Jim Libiran’s Tribu on April 2 (2 to 4:30 p.m.)

Performatura will also showcase traditional literatures and performances from selected indigenous ethnic groups of the Philippines in the series called Orature Overture, held every day from three to five in the afternoon at the CCP’s Tanghalang Huseng Batute. On March 31, the Visayan folk song called balitaw will be performed in Cebuano, while the next day, T’boli chants will be performed by chanters from Lake Sebu, South Cotabato. Orature Overture will move to the Silangan Hall on April 2 with performance of the rajji, the Itbayaten version of the Ivatan lyric song called laji, by performers from Itbayat, Batanes.

During the Performatura, poet, teacher and dancer Nerisa Guevara will debut her performance art piece, Elegy 5, at the CCP Aquarium on April 1, 3 to 7 p.m.

On the other hand, the popular spoken-word trend will be presented in the Hugot Monologues series every afternoon (5:30 to 6:30 p.m.) at the Tanghalng Huseng Batute. The title refers to the “hugot,” from the Filipino expression “may pinaghuhugutan,” which refers to emotions drawn out or extracted from past experiences, something bottled up and then let loose. Spoken-word performances have become popular in the country mostly because they focus on “hugot” that often the two—the form or format and subject—are almost one and the same.

The first day will showcase Jann Altea, also known as Binibining Beats, from Zamboanga