At FilBookFest, Filipinos seek to say, 'I am'

In the cultural melting pot that is the United States, one group will be stirring in a little more color come Oct. 1 and 2.

That weekend Filipino writers and book lovers will descend on San Francisco’s downtown for the Filipino American International Book Festival. Organizers bill it as the largest gathering of authors of Filipino heritage outside the Philippines.

Why a book festival and why now?

The organizers believe that in this technology-driven world, the written word remains to be a people’s best weapon against “invisibility.”

“Filipinos live all over the world, yet they hardly know each other… And of course, neither does most of the world,” said Oscar Penaranda, a member of the organizing committee and himself a writer.

He bemoans the Filipino-American community’s lack of access to books published in the Philippines and vice-versa. That’s what FilBookFest, as organizers have dubbed the festival, seeks to address, he said.

“With the richness of [Philippine] culture and the talents of our writers and our artists, we should have started having book festivals a long time ago,” said Marciano Paynor Jr., head of the Philippine Consulate of San Francisco, at the announcement of the event in February.

Slated for Oct. 1 and 2 at the Civic Center in downtown San Francisco are readings by authors, writing workshops and talks on publishing and marketing. Expected to attend are writers, publishers, literary agents, librarians and educators both from the Philippines and those based in the U.S. Some events will be held on Fulton Street, and others will be at the San Francisco Public Library and the Asian Art Museum, located on either side of Fulton.

Attendees also are sure to learn about Filipino culture in general as there will be lectures on Philippine arts, musical performances and cooking demonstrations.

FilBookFest organizers are reaching out to the broader community, too.

“We want this to be a coming together of cultures and generations,” said Gemma Nemenzo, executive director of the Literacy Initiatives International Foundation (LIIF), a San Francisco Bay Area-based nonprofit that promotes cultural literacy among Filipino Americans and other ethnic communities. The LIIF is organizing FilBookFest in cooperation with the Philippine Consulate of San Francisco, San Francisco Public Library, Asian Art Museum, and Philippine Department of Tourism.

And what’s a festival without food? There’ll be plenty of that. In addition to the culinary lectures and demonstrations, FilBookFest will feature vendors offering the best of traditional Filipino cuisine.

But make no mistake, the focal point of the weekend will be the Book.

“We want our stories to be heard,” Penaranda said.

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FilBookFest facts

What: Filipino American International Book festival —
A celebration of Philippine and Filipino-American
culture through literature, visual arts and music

Where: Civic Center in downtown San Francisco.
Outdoor events will be on Fulton Street, indoor events
will be at the San Francisco Public Library and
the Asian Art Museum

When: Oct. 1 and 2, 2011

Info: Call Gemma Nemenzo at 650-384-9721,
email at filbookfest@yahoo.com;

Visit http://filbookfest.info