The Taboan 2013 Experience
What exactly is Taboan ? Well, literally, taboan is the Visayan word for market and according to cebu.sandayong.com , it is a marketplace where farmers and fishermen meet together to sell their harvests and other goods; it is a barter area. But, this word has come to have a new meaning after the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), as part of the celebration of National Arts Month , used it to refer to one of the country's biggest literary festivals. It is, indeed, an event where writers, artists, teachers, students, and lovers of literature from all over the country converge and exchange ideas about issues and concerns of and in the world of Philippine literature. Taboan as Philippine Writers Festival started in 2009 and it has been held annually since. It has gone around the Philippines as it has been held in Manila in 2009, Cebu in 2010, Davao in 2011, Pampanga in 2012, and Dumaguete this year. Hopefully, it will be brought back to Mindanao next year.