“José Rizal is a link between our two countries”

The Philippines is the Guest of Honour Country of this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair, the largest Book Fair in the world. Consisting of 7641 islands with about 180 languages, this Southeast Asian country will present its rich and diverse literary and cultural heritage.  BUSINESS & DIPLOMACY talked to Ambassador Irene Susan Natividad about Philippines’ literature and the deep cultural ties between her country and Germany in history and today.

What does the status as Guest of Honour country of the Frankfurt Book Fair mean to the Philippines?

It’s a great honour for the Philippines to be selected as Guest of Honor for this year’s Frankfurter Buchmesse. This role allows the Philippines to present the country, its literature and culture before an international audience.  We first participated in the Frankfurt Book Fair in 1998, with about 40 publishers and 300 titles. We had no participation from 2000 to 2014. But in 2015, with the support of Senator Loren Legarda, our National Book Development Board returned to the book fair. 

How did the Philippines succeed to become a Guest of Honour country?

Senator Legarda was the visionary and driving force behind our return to the fair in 2015 and our quest to become Guest of Honour. She met with Juergen Boos, the Director of the Frankfurt Book Fair, in 2017. She encouraged our National Book Development Board to work with Mr. Boos’ team to prepare whatever was needed for one to be considered for the role of Guest of Honour. The objective was to provide a platform for our authors and illustrators, the publishing industry and our creative sector to showcase their craft and gain international exposure through the Book Fair.  Their efforts over the years culminated in the signing of an agreement with the Frankfurter Buchmesse designating the Philippines as Guest of Honour for 2025.   Since then,  the National Book Development Board , the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, our Department of Foreign Affairs and the Office of Senator Legarda have worked together to mount a year-long  literary and cultural programme to inform the German public about the many facets of Philippine history, art, cuisine and literature..

Do you expect that Philippine literature will get a boost in Germany and Europe?

Certainly. Since the turnover from the previous Guest of Honour country Italy to the Philippines last year we have translated over 50 book titles into German. Now, there are about 170 Philippine titles that have been translated into various languages. That shows the increased interest in Philippine books from foreign publishers.  I believe that after this book fair, the interest of foreign publishers and the reading public in Philippine books will continue.

Many people here do not have the Philippines as a country of literature on the map. This is why the National Book Development Board worked hard in the last ten years to inform Germans about Philippine literature through the book fair. We have 7641 islands, about 180 languages and a rich culture. This diversity translates to a wealth of stories and perspectives meant to be shared.

That means the Philippines will not only showcase its literature?

Literature of course is the main focus at the book fair. But we also want to showcase our culture, plus the stories of the diaspora of ten million Filipinos overseas. We will present a wide genre of titles from books tackling social and political issues, to romance, young adult and children’s books. According to our National Book Development Board, Germans have taken a keen interest in our graphic novels and comic titles.  They generate great interest among young readers nowadays. So, aside from literary events, we will also have a cultural program - exhibits, film showing, choral concerts and other events featuring other artists - in Frankfurt, Heidelberg and other places in Germany including Berlin.

How is the interest in literature and reading in your country?

The National Book Development Board holds book fairs, book launches and book readings around the country. We host the Manila International Book Fair and several small fairs in the different provinces to encourage reading and appreciation for literature.

You mentioned lots of different cultures and languages in the Philippines. In which language are most books published?

Mostly in English. But we now have publishing houses printing books written in the national language, Filipino, and the other local languages like Bisaya and Ilokano.  Filipino, mainly derived from the Tagalog language, is spoken by most of our population. Another widely spoken language is Bisaya. As the Philippines was  under Spanish colonial rule for 333 years and 50 years under American rule, there are words in Tagalog and the other native languages that are derived from Spanish and English words and expressions and which have been “Filipinized” and found their way into our books. 

Will the Frankfurt Book Fair also be an opportunity to present the National Hero José Rizal who is hardly known in Germany?

Yes. José Rizal is a link between our two countries. Germans are fascinated to learn about Rizal. He was an ophthalmologist by profession. When he came to study in Germany in 1886, he met German scientists and doctors. He interned at Charité in Berlin and met Rudolf Virchow who became his friend. Rizal called Germany his scientific motherland. Based on his writings, he enjoyed his stay in Germany. He was part of a group of progressive thinkers during the Spanish colonial period. His family sent him to study abroad for his safety. He stayed in the house of Pastor Ullmer, which still exists in Wilhelmsfeld near Heidelberg. The street right across the house where he lived is called José-Rizal-Strasse. He then came to Berlin and stayed at Jägerstrasse 71 to finalize the last chapter of his famous novel “Noli me tangere”.  The novel was first printed in Spanish in Berlin in 1887 in a printing shop run by women. The theme of our Guest of Honor program is “The Imagination Peoples the Air,” a line lifted from the “Noli me tangere”.

Who will represent the Philippines at the opening ceremony of the Frankfurt Book Fair?

Senator Loren Lagarda will represent the Philippines at the Opening Ceremony. She and Secretary of Education Sonny Angara will lead our delegation of about 400 writers, publishers and artists at the Book Fair.

Will the Frankfurt Book Fair be an opportunity to stress the Philippine-German relations?

Definitely. Last year we celebrated our 70 years of diplomatic relations with the Federal Republic of Germany with our national hero José Rizal as a point of historical and literary connection between the Philippines and Germany. Our national hero lived and studied in Germany. This exchange continues through the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD), which brings Filipino scholars to Germany.  Bilateral cooperation has also developed in other areas such as climate, environment, rule of law, human rights, issues which will figure in various conversations with authors and artists during the Book Fair. The Frankfurt Book Fair presents an opportunity for greater literary, cultural and people-to-people exchanges between the Philippines and Germany. It will provide the space for conversations with writers and artists on many other issues that Germany, the Philippines, and the rest of the world confront today.

Interview: Rainer Schubert

Weiterführende Informationen:

Zum Kulturprogramm (auch in Berlin): Die Philippinen – Ehrengast der Frankfurter Buchmesse 2025 – präsentieren ein vielfältiges Kulturprogramm in Berlin, Frankfurt am Main und Heidelberg | Frankfurter Buchmesse
Zur Ehrengast-Website: Veranstaltungskalender | Frankfurter Buchmesse

Buchtipps:

José Rizal: Noli me tangere; Roman, 542, S.; 1. Auflage, Insel Verlag, Berlin 2025; 28,00 €; die Übersetzung wurde vom philippinischen National Book Development Board gefördert

José Rizal: Die Rebellion; Roman; 432 S.; Morio Verlag, Heidelberg, erscheint im Oktober 2025; Überarbeitung der 1. Auflage 2016; 28,00 €

2025-09-30