The Philippines' tarsier was chosen as the mascot for this year’s Asian Summer Film Festival which will be held from July 15 to July 20 in the Catalan city of Vic in Spain.
The cute and tiny primate from Bohol, Philippines - aptly named "Gwapo" - will be gracing the event’s posters to represent the focus country of this year’s Festival—the Philippines.
According to the Festival website cinemaoriental.com, the mascot was conceived in honor of the country and named "Gwapo" to demonstrate the Spanish legacy in the Southeast nation--Filipino word "gwapo" came from the Spanish word "guapo" which both mean handsome.
One of the organizers of the Festival, Eva Clota, said that they always look for a typical animal or a symbol from the focus country to be the mascot. The mascot was drawn by Estudi Xevidom and designed by Valdrada.
"The consul (of the Philippines) from Barcelona proposed the tarsier because of his popularity in the Philippines and because they're endangered. We thought they are really cute; also they have night habits, as (we have) our nights of dinner and cinema. And because of his big eyes, (which will help us not to) miss anything from the festival," Clota added.
Philippine Honorary Consul to Barcelona Jordi Puig Roches said that they had had to choose among three animals: the butanding (whale shark), the Philippine eagle and the tarsier.
"Tarsier's big eyes are good to observe Philippine filmography. The mascot also represents well the Philippine cinema--it might be small but it has big potential and great quality," Puig said in Spanish.--Source: ABS-CBN News