Mexico (Pampanga, Philippines)

Mexico is a 1st class municipality in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 109,481 people in 20,382 households.

The town was named after Mexico, the name of the country in North America. It has seen such significant economic progress since it became home to large commercial malls, such as SM City Pampanga and Robinsons Starmills. It is a home of residential, commercial and recreational developments.

Mexico is administratively subdivided into 43 barangays.

• Acli
• Anao 
• Balas
• Buenavista 
• Camuning 
• Cawayan 
• Concepcion 
• Culubasa 
• Divisoria 
• Dolores (Piring) 
• Eden 
• Gandus 
• Lagundi 
• Laput 
• Laug
• Masamat 
• Masangsang (Sto. Cristo) 
• Nueva Victoria 
• Pandacaqui 
• Pangatlan 
• Panipuan 
• Parian (Pob.) 
• Sabanilla 
• San Antonio 
• San Carlos 
• San Jose Malino 
• San Jose Matulid 
• San Juan 
• San Lorenzo 
• San Miguel 
• San Nicolas 
• San Pablo 
• San Patricio 
• San Rafael
• San Roque 
• San Vicente 
• Santa Cruz 
• Santa Maria 
• Santo Domingo 
• Santo Rosario 
• Sapang Maisac 
• Suclaban 
• Tangle (Tanglay)

 History

In the 16th century, the place we now call Mexico sat as a crossing point between the Áitâ Mag-Anchî and Áinu (Abûrlin) nations at the upper reaches of the Ábakan River and the international port cities of Bétis and Lúbao to the south. Upland products such as deerskins and beeswax became important commodities to the 16th century Japanese who made candles out of beeswax and samurai armours out of deerskins. Plying their goods down the Ábakan River, these upland traders would have had no choice but to slow down and dock at the place "where the river bends" (nung nú ya másíku ing ílug) or "where the river has an elbow" (nung nú ya makisíku ing ílug) before continuing their trip downstream. From there, the river is matúlid (straight) all the way to its mouth at Uáuâ. Enterprising merchants from the elsewhere in Luzon, and perhaps even from Japan and China formed a trading base at this natural checkpoint known as Makisíku or Másíku.

In 1571, Mexico became the capital of the new colonial province of Pampanga at a place called Masangsang.[1] It was named "Mexico" in honour of the place where the first Spanish Governor General Miguel López de Legazpi founded his new life, Mexico City. Subsequently Toltecs, Aztecs and Mayans migrated here as by-product of the Manila Galleons' trade between New Spain and the East Indies. The capital of Pampanga was moved further downstream to Bacolor after the widespread Kapampangan Revolt of 1660 led by Don Francisco Maniago. Mexico's town fiesta is celebrated every May 4 in honor of its patron saint, Santa Monica.

Source: Wikipedia

Mexicans of Filipino descent

The Mexican Flag

Mexicans of Filipino descent refers to Mexican citizens who are descendants of Filipino origin. There are currently 200,000 Mexican peoples who have mixed Filipino ancestry. They form around (0.2%) of the population and its communities are found in Michoacán, Guerrero, and Colima.

Most of their Filipino ancestors arrived in Mexico during the Spanish colonial period. For two and a half centuries, between 1565 and 1815, many Filipinos and Mexicans sailed to and from Mexico and the Philippines as sailors, crews, slaves, prisoners, adventurers and soldiers in the Manila-Acapulco Galleon assisting Spain in its trade between Asia and the Americas. Some of these sailors never returned to the Philippines. Most settled in and integrated into the Mexican society. In the late 19th and early 20th century many Filipinos came to Mexico as refugees from Spain during Francisco Franco’s dictatorship. These Filipinos from Spain were descendants of Filipino and Filipino mestizo settlers who entered Spain after the Spanish-American war.

Smaller waves of Filipino migration to Mexico took place in the late 19th and 20th centuries after the Philippines was annexed by the U.S. during the Spanish American war of 1898-1900. About 20,000 Filipino farm laborers and fishermen arrived to work in the Mexican west coast. These areas included the Baja California, Sonora and Sinaloa, while some had awaited to enter the United States to reunite with family members in Filipino American communities in California, and elsewhere. Mexican immigration law continues to grant special status for Filipinos, and from 1970 to 2005 about 100,000 Filipino immigrants came to Mexico.

In modern times, Mexicans of mixed Filipino ancestry had lived in Mexico for many centuries; their descendance are found in large communities particularly in the state of Guerrero, and Colima. Most of these individuals are mixed blood peoples, and trace half or a quarter of their ancestry and origin back to the Philippine Islands, and the Manila-Acapulco Galleon period. Today, newly arrived Filipinos are overseas or contract workers who came to Mexico to obtain employment. Most of these individuals speak both Filipino, and other Philippine languages.

Related Stories: Filipino Clan Thrives in Mexico, Philippine Alcoholic Drink "TUBA" in Mexico?, Tijuana on my mind and Beyond Pacquiao and De la Hoya, A Cultural History.

Source: Wikipedia

The Philippine alcoholic Drink TUBA, In Mexico?!

Would you believe this, Tuba in Mexico?!, I know the stories behind Empanadas, Tamales and Chicharones but TUBA?, How did it ever get there?

For two and a half centuries, between 1565 and 1815, many Filipinos and Mexicans sailed to and from Mexico and the Philippines as sailors, crews, slaves, prisoners, adventurers and soldiers in the Manila-Acapulco Galleon assisting Spain in its trade between the Asia and Mexico or otherwise known as the Barter Trade. Some of these sailors never returned to the Philippines and Vice versa. And also many Filipinos came to Mexico as refugees from Spain during Francisco Franco’s dictatorship these were Filipinos from Spain who were descendants of Filipinos and Filipino mestizo settlers who entered Spain after Spanish-American war. Most Filipinos who migrated to Mexico during that time were already settled and integrated in the Mexican society.

Today, Mexicans with Filipino ancestry form around 0.2% of the population, there are currently around 200,000 mexicans with Filipino ancestry in Mexico, and their community can be found in Colima and Guerrero and some few other places in Mexico.

These Filipinos carries with them their skills and one of these skills is Tuba making, an alcoholic drink from the sap of coconut trees. Tuba is being used here also to make Lambanog, a distilled alcoholic drink in the Philippines, like Gin (Ginebra). Until now, Filipinos have preserved this tradition, and still continue to make Tuba and Lambanog, especially in regions and provinces where coconuts are abundant, like Laguna, Cavite, Batangas, in Bicolandia and in the Visayas region like Cebu and Leyte.

In Mexico, people there are now getting creative with their Tuba, sometimes they are mixing Tuba with beet juice to make it reddish in color, adding bits of fruits and putting crushed peanuts on top. Tuba Fresca is sold by street vendors in Acapulco.

Iriga, Camarines Sur, Philippines

If you want to know more about Tuba in Mexico, click The Philippine - Mexico Connection, Central Mexico West Coast History and Mexico Descocido (en Espanol).

Source: Wikipedia

Accepting Filipinos In A Much Wider Latino World?

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?