CCP stages 'WordJam!'
MANILA, Philippines - Oral tradition, protest poetry, and lesbian-gay-bisexual-transvestite (LGBT) works top bill the “WordJam!” Spoken Word Festival of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) through its Literary Arts Division. “WordJam!” will be on June 10, June 24, and July 1, 6 p.m., at the Barbariba Grill & Bar in Trellis 2, CCP Complex with a P100 entrance fee inclusive of a free drink. A storytelling session for children on July 8 at 8 a.m. at the CCP Main Theater Lobby also forms part of the festival. The storytelling session is open to the public.
“‘WordJam!’ fuses tradition with the contemporary,” says Ed Cabagnot, officer-in-charge of the CCP Visual, Literary and Media Arts (VLMA) Department. “It brings back the pre-Hispanic, oral tradition of Filipino poetry which is spoken or recited in front of an audience. The ‘WordJam!’ poet-performers will create new works on love, which connects with the Brave New Works focus for the June-July events to celebrate CCP’s 40th anniversary.”
He adds, “We have chosen variations of love as the common denominator for the new works. For ‘Bukambibig’ on June 10 and ‘Karinyo’ on July 1, the poet-performers do romantic love. For ‘Angal at Atungal’ on June 24, the writers express their love for our nation.”
“Bukambibig Oral Tradition” kicks off the festival on June 10 with performances from Radioactive Sago Project front-man Lourd de Veyra and drummer Jay Gapasin, members of the writer’s group Linangan ng Imahen, Retorika at Anyo (LIRA) and the Neo-Angono Artists Collective, Khavn dela Cruz, and Angelo Suarez. Multi-awarded poets Teo Antonio, Vim Nadera, and Michael Coroza, the event’s triumvirate hosts, will likewise bring back the Balagtasan tradition in their acts. Njel de Mesa directs “Bukambibig.” For “Angal at Atungal Protest Poetry” on June 24, National Artist for Literature Dr. Bienvenido Lumbera will take the stage with Heber Bartolome, Jesus Manuel Santiago, Axel Pinpin, and members of the Kilometer 64 Poetry Collective and the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP). Mario Miclat and Ruby Alcantara serve as hosts for the night with Bonifacio Ilagan as the director.
In “Karinyo, LGBT Night!” on July 1, J. Neil Garcia, Aida Santos, Roland Tolentino, Nerisa del Carmen Guevara, Mykel Andrada and Roselle Pineda are some of the poet-performers with Ed Cabagnot as the event host.
