Arts & Culture
Three-Day Performance Literature Festival
presented at CCP - Performatura 2019
By: Nil Garces Belar & Philip Ortaleza
T
HE Cultural Center of the Philippines brought back
the Performatura: Performance Literature Festival
last April 5-7, 2019. Free and open to public, it was a
three-day event that will feature performances, poet-
ry readings, literature classes, art talks, chanters from
the regions, slam poetry contest, film screenings,
book fair, art exhibit, and interviews with renowned
writers at various venues in CCP.
Audiences each donated a book that served as
admission ticket, with one book is equal to a whole
day admission. Collected donations will go to the CCP’s partner libraries.
Performatura 2019 was CCP’s way of highlighting the rich tapestry of
Philippine artistic traditions that leap beyond the written word while wel-
coming writers and performers from diverse communities of the country.
It was a performance literature festival celebrating the intersections of
the written word and performance. The word Performatura is a mash up
of the word performance and orature or oral literature. Orature is a term
coined by Ugandan linguist Pio Zirimu who wanted to raise oral literature
to the level of written literature. The festival’s director was poet and per-
former Dr. Vim Nadera, Jr.
Last Line, Lasting Lines
The theme Ang Mamatay Nang Dahil Sa Iyo was an attempt to tackle
the issue of changing the last line of Philippine National Anthem through
literature and performances. The theme also alluded to issues that are
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Chris Millado B.
Millado meeting
the Press
Credit: Philip Ortaleza