Instituto Cervantes brings renowned Spanish writer García Jambrina to discuss with Filipino Novelist Alfar at the International Literary Festival Benengeli 2024

Wazzup Pilipinas!?



On June 11, at 2 p.m., at UP Vargas Museum, renowned Spanish author Luis García Jambrina will meet Filipino novelist Dean Francis Alfar to explore how the fusion of genres like science fiction, fantasy, and history can craft literature that captivates readers and delves into the human condition. Titled "Genres to Depict Chaos," this discussion will serve as the Philippine contribution to BENENGELI 2024, a literature festival spanning 12 cities worldwide.

Organized by the Instituto Cervantes, Benengeli 2024-International Week of Literature in Spanish stands as the sole literary festival spanning five continents. From June 10 to 14, over a hundred writers from 30 countries will convene across 12 Instituto Cervantes centers globally: Sydney, Manila, Budapest, Utrecht, Brussels, Toulouse, Manchester, Madrid, Casablanca, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and Belo Horizonte.

The Manila leg's discussion, "Genres to Depict Chaos," will feature insights from Luis García Jambrina and Dean Francis Alfar, moderated by editor Andrea Pasion-Flores. Free registration here: https://forms.office.com/e/QFAXyqrFsh

Luis García Jambrina was born in Zamora (Spain) in 1960 and studied Hispanic literature. He now works as a literary critic and professor at the University of Salamanca. He has written short stories, novels, essays and plays. His debut work was El manuscrito de piedra, for which he won the Zaragoza City International Prize for Historic Novel in 2009. His other works include En tierra de lobos, La corte de los engaños, Así en la guerra como en la paz and El primer caso de Unamuno, plays such as Una noche en la picota and Noche oscura del alma and essays including De la ebriedad a la leyenda and La vuelta al Logos (Introducción a la narrativa de Miguel Espinosa).

Playwright and novelist Dean Francis Alfar is the President of the Manila Critics Circle and defender of Philippine speculative fiction. His books include the novel Salamanca; the short fiction collections The Kite of Stars and Other Stories, How to Traverse Terra Incognita, A Field Guide to the Roads of Manila and Other Stories, and Stars in Jars; and the children's book How Rosang Taba Won A Race. His literary accolades include 10 Don Carlos Palanca Literature Awards - including the Grand Prize for Novels for Salamanca - as well as the National Book Awards, the Philippines Free Press Literary Award and the Gintong Aklat Award.

Luis García Jambrina will have a second activity in Manila. As part of the collateral activities of the exhibition "Nebrija en Filipinas", on June 13, at Instituto Cervantes, the Spanish writer will give a talk on his novel “El manuscrito de niebla”, a work that traces the steps of the humanist Antonio de Nebrija, fighter against barbarism. Free registration here: https://forms.office.com/e/e1qCrctaCW

These events are organized by Instituto Cervantes de Manila, in collaboration with the Embassy of Spain in the Philippines and the University of the Philippines, with the support of PTC-Philippine Transmarine Carriers. Admission to them is on a FIRST-COME, FIRST-SERVED basis. For more information about these events, visit Instituto Cervantes’ website ( http://manila.cervantes.es) or its Facebook page: www.facebook.com/InstitutoCervantesManila.

Over 200 Leaders Meet for National Coastal and Inland Fisheries Summit

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

To celebrate National Fisherfolks’ Day, over 200 people attended the National Coastal and Inland Fisheries Summit (NCFIS) last 31 May 2024 at the Radisson Park Inn Hotel in Quezon City.

First staged in 2019, the summit examined the past five years’ developments and passed fresh resolutions to strengthen local government capacities on five key themes: marine protected areas, climate change solutions, coastal and fisheries enforcement, sustainable financing and preferential rights for municipal fishers.

Organized by the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and international nonprofit organization Rare, the summit brought together representatives from the national and local government, civil society, fisheries groups and the academe.

An international delegation drawn from seven nations – Indonesia, Palau, Brazil, Guatemala, Honduras, Mozambique and the Philippines – also visited. “The Coastal 500 – mayors and other government leaders who have pledged to protect their coastal waters – embodies the best in network-building,” says Aya Silva, vice-president of Rare Philippines, introducing the delegates. “Hailing from different countries and diverse communities, they’re all linked by a promise to protect the one thing that surrounds us all – the sea.” 

The Philippines is among the world’s largest archipelagos, with 70% of its municipalities lying along the coast. However, coastal communities remain among the poorest in the nation. 

“Around 80% of our 2.2 million fishers are artisanal, among the poorest of the poor. The question is: how can we help them?” asks Lope Santos III, secretary of the National Anti-poverty Commission. “Perhaps we don’t realize it, but it is our fishers and farmers who put food on our tables. They’re our everyday heroes,” says Lilia Macrohon Nuño, BFAR’s national fisherfolk director. Filipino fishers earn a paltry PHP5000 to PHP10,000 monthly, which is barely enough to cover basic needs, adds BFAR OIC director Isidro Velayo, Jr.

For the first time, the summit included inland fisheries – seafood caught or farmed in Philippine rivers, lakes, ponds and streams. Indigenous fishers and their important traditional fisheries contribution were also highlighted. “Our ancestors have fished long before the coming of modern fishing boats,” recounts Fredel Mued, a native Tagbanua tribesman from Palawan. “You use GPS, sonar, radar – but we simply triangulated a coral reef or fishing spot’s location using landmarks like boulders, trees and distant mountain peaks.” 

“The most effective way to protect the world’s most vibrant and productive coastal resources is to equip local communities with the proper tools to care for them,” says Lara Williams of Bloomberg Philanthropies. “What we need is strong local leadership for a collective impact.” The daylong summit tackled some of the most pressing challenges to coastal conservation. 

COMBATTING ILLEGAL FISHING, BRACING FOR CLIMATE CHANGE 

A top issue was Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) fishing. “IUU fishing threatens the lives and livelihoods of fishing communities,” says BFAR undersecretary Drusila Bayate. “We need to fine-tune our recently amended Fisheries Code (RA-10654) to better combat IUU fishing.”

IUU fishing encompasses a whole range of illegal and destructive fishing methods: fishing in no-take zones, blast and cyanide fishing, using overly efficient fishing gear like fine mesh nets and illicit business practices like high-seas fish smuggling or mislabeling imported seafood products.

“We shall intensify our anti-illegal fishing efforts,” promises brigadier general Jonathan Cabal, director of the PNP’s national maritime group, which has so far arrested 774 fishing violators. “As it is difficult for our 3000 maritime group members to cover the entire archipelago, we shall first concentrate on our most productive areas.”

“Many of our fishers are informal settlers, their rights easily trampled by more powerful players,” reveals Ruperto ‘Ka Uper’ Aleroza, vice-chair for the national anti-poverty commission’s basic sector. 

“Commercial fishing vessels keep entering our municipal or coastal waters – waters within 15 kilometers from the coastline – to fish illegally. The sea has no fences, so we should learn to respect invisible boundaries.” 

As coastal communities and fishers are among the most vulnerable to climate change, climate solutions were discussed. “Yesterday at the related Galing Pook event, we launched an innovative programme to help protect our fishers from increasingly unpredictable weather,” shares Dr. Israel Cruz, department manager of the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation, which revealed that just 85,000 out of 13 million Filipino farmers and fishers have insurance.

“Our parametric insurance system uses weather index data such as rainfall, wave height and wind speed. Tranches of PHP1250 shall be credited to registered fishers when certain weather parameters are met. This is much faster than physically checking and calculating actual losses. Payouts can be available two weeks after the end of each month. The system is currently being fine-tuned and will be rolled out by October 2024,” says Cruz. 

Philippine waters are among the richest on Earth. Forming the apex of the Coral Triangle, the country hosts 27,000 square kilometers of coral reef, hosting over 3000 fish species like whale sharks and manta rays, plus iconic sea critters like marine turtles and dugongs. Recent published studies however, revealed that over 90% of Philippine reefs are classified as either poor or fair – curtailing fisheries productivity. 

“Perhaps a root cause of many of our challenges is hunger and poverty,” shares Del Carmen mayor Alfredo Corro II, who earlier toured members of the Coastal 500 around the island of Siargao, a surfer’s paradise and tourism hub smashed by Typhoon Odette in December 2021. 

“For their lives to improve, we should see our fishers not as ‘the poorest of the poor’ – but as equals. 

They are fellow businessmen and women, entrepreneurs just like us. Perhaps when they reach the ripe age of 65, when their kids have all graduated, they can finally fulfill the dreams of their youth. Maybe they want to travel, to see more than where their old bancas have brought them. This is why we need social protection to improve their lives. This is why we’re all here.” 

‘Lumpia Queen’ Abi Marquez Wins People's Voice Award at The 28th Annual Webby Awards, Dedicates Win to the Philippines

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

"Philippines, this is for you!": Abi Marquez is the First Filipino independent content creator to win a Webby Award. 

Abi Marquez, known as the "Lumpia Queen," won the People's Voice Award for Social - Food and Drink at The 28th Annual Webby Awards, becoming the first Filipino independent content creator to secure this award. 

During the ceremony at Cipriani Wall Street in NYC, she proudly wore a custom terno by Filipino designer Santi Obcena and delivered a heartfelt 5-word acceptance speech: 

"Philippines, this is for you!" 

Represented by NYMA, part of Kroma Entertainment, Marquez is also a nominee for the 2024 James Beard Media Award, further recognizing her excellence in culinary social media. Her journey from a student to an international culinary sensation highlights her dedication to showcasing Filipino cuisine globally, inspiring food lovers everywhere with her creativity and passion.

In a historic victory for Filipino talent, Abi Marquez clinched the People's Voice Award for Social - Food and Drink at The 28th Annual Webby Awards, making her the first Filipino independent content creator to win the prestigious accolade. 

This momentous occasion is not only a personal milestone for Marquez but also a significant cultural achievement, being the first time an individual entry from the Philippines has secured this category.

Dressed in a custom terno by Filipino designer Santi Obcena and styled by Pam Ricarte, Marquez took the stage at the iconic Cipriani Wall Street in New York City, where she accepted her award. In her poignant 5-word acceptance speech, she dedicated her victory to her homeland: "Philippines, this is for you!"

Known affectionately as the “Lumpia Queen,” Marquez has captured the global food scene with her vibrant and innovative culinary content, predominantly featuring iterations of the beloved Filipino dish, lumpia or spring rolls. 

Abi flanked by her mentors at NYMA: General Manager Kat Bautista and Head of Talent Karen Tumbali. This award underscores her significant impact on the digital food community.

Within the Lumpia Queen’s radius: Harry Potter star James Phelps who accepted the Webby for mobile game Harry Potter Hogwarts Mystery, place card of culinary legend and one of Abi’s heroes Ina Garten, and fellow Webby winner and content creator Madison Tevlin whom Abi met at a prior Webbys function.

Marquez is also officially nominated for a 2024 James Beard Media Award, recognizing excellence in food-related social media accounts. The James Beard Awards are among the most prestigious honors in the US culinary and food media industries, highlighting leaders and innovators across the food system.

Represented by NYMA, the talent management arm of Kroma Entertainment, Marquez has found robust support in her professional endeavors. Kat Bautista, General Manager of NYMA, expressed her pride: "We are incredibly proud of Abi and her groundbreaking achievements. Her success at The Webby Awards and her nomination for a James Beard Media Award reflect her exceptional talent and our commitment at NYMA to support outstanding Filipino creators on the global stage."

Marquez’s journey from a Hotel Restaurant and Institution Management student at the University of the Philippines to an international culinary sensation highlights her dedication and passion for bringing Filipino cuisine to the global stage. As the world continues to embrace diverse food cultures, her win at The Webby Awards serves as a beacon of inspiration and pride for the Philippines, showcasing the richness of its culinary heritage and sharing the Filipino culinary narrative worldwide.

Above cover photo is a B/W portrait courtesy of The Webby Awards 

Follow Abi's ongoing journey across various social platforms as she continues to inspire food lovers everywhere with her creativity and passion:

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@abigailfmarquez

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abigailfmarquez/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abigailfmarquez

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lumpiaqueen

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lumpiakween