Does Latin America accept Filipinos as part of a much wider Latino world? But first, What is Latino? Do they need to speak Spanish to be part of this world? Do they need to be a son or a daughter of a Mexican or a Puerto Rican perhaps, but do not know how to speak the language?The Colonial History of the Philippines is as colorful as our Currency, the Philippine "PESO". When Ferdinand Magellan discovered our country on March 16,1521, it was the rise of a new era. Since then most of the Filipino people became Catholics. Spanish and Mexican dishes became part of our lives ( Tamales, Arroz Caldo, Chicharones, Leche Flan, etc.)
Celebrations and events like El Dia de todos los Santos, El Dia de los Muertos, where we go to the cemetery and offer candles and flowers to the dead, Three Kings (signaling the end of Christmas season where we give gifts), and the Fiestas of the Saints, like in my place we celebrate the Fiesta of San Isidro Labrador every May 15; Fiesta de San Juan, where we celebrate it by splashing waters at passers by.
For almost 400 years of Spanish rule in the Philippines,even our language was not spared with what I call semi-hispanizations. To begin with, The Philippines have more than 80 languages, 7 of them are considered major languages. Tagalog, Hiligaynon, Cebuano, Ilocano, Pangasinense, Waray and Kapampangan, each of these languages are sprinkled with Spanish verbs, nouns and adjectives. And we are not yet finished with that, we also have the Chavacano, the Philippine Creole Spanish, being spoken by more than 600,000 Filipinos in Mindanao mostly in Zamboanga, and in the north in Cavite province and said to be one of the oldest Creole in the world.
Lastly, the People. Some Filipinos living today have Mexican or Spanish Ancestry (try researching on this). Nowadays, most Filipinos consider themselves just Asians probably because of our location. There's nothing wrong about that it's also true. What is wrong is that they have forgotten history and heritage, or maybe they just don't care about it anymore. The word Filipino itself is Spanish, after FELIPE or King Philip ll of Spain whom the Philippines is named after (FILIPINAS in Spanish). I'm just curious. Going back to the question, Does Latin America accept FIlipinos as part of a much wider and bigger Latino world? What do you think? VIVA FILIPINAS!, VIVA HISPANOS DEL MUNDO!Try these links: The Missing Latinos in America , With One's Past's Post- "Soy Latina tambien", Ever tried dancing in a Karakol?, Mexicans of Filipino Descent, The Spanish Settlement in the Philippines, Antonio Miranda Rodriguez, the Filipino who founded Los Angeles and Que Queda de Espana en Filipinas?
