The great British historian Arnold Joseph Toynbee once affirmed in one of his works that, in his opinion "the Philippines are a Latin American country that was transported to the Orient by a gigantic marine wave". In a commoners/outsider's opinion, of all of Spain's ex-colonial possessions, the Philippines - being the sole Spanish possession in Asia - endured lesser ties and influence by Spain than any of Spain's other colonies in the New World. The Philippines was also the only colony to have retained relatively intact its pre-Hispanic ways of life; customs, indiginous languages, demography, and more importantly Filipinos' identity to any one of the various native ethnic groups (Tagalog, Ilokano, Cebuano, etc). On another account, an article published by Austen Craig at the University of the Philippines, Manila on March 11, 1916 indicated that Jose Rizal’s judgment that his countrymen were more like backward Europeans than Orientals was based on scientific studies of Europe's rural districts and Philippine provincial conditions as well as of oriental country life, so that it is entitled to more weight than the commoner opinion to the contrary which though more popular has been less carefully formed.

Though one could say that the few decades of American occupation have left a greater and more visible legacy in the Philippines, than the three hundred years of Spanish colonial rule, many Spanish and Mexican elements have been incorporated into the native core of the culture of the Philippines. It is for this reason that many modern-day Filipinos feel they are part of two mostly different cultures put together. While Filipinos ethnically identify as Asian, and rightly so, they still acknowledge that the Hispanic influence forms an important part of their history, and to a some extent to their culture, thus a part of who they are.

Contents

1 History 2 Language 3 People 4 Catholic religion 5 Fiestas and religious holidays 6 Arts, Literature and Music 7 Cooking 8 Business

History

Main article: History of the Philippines

The Philippines were administered as a colony of New Spain (Mexico) from 1565 to 1781, as a province of Spain until 1898 .

In the past years the Philippines has also began to establish closer ties to its other former colonizer, Spain. The King and Queen of Spain attended the Centenial celebration of Philippine Independence from Spain on June 12, 1998 in recognition of a shared colonial history and cultural ties.

Language

Main article: Spanish in the Philippines

Since the 20th century, the use of Spanish has dramatically declined, but most Filipino languages have significantly assimilated aspects of the Spanish language and contain generous quantities of loan words.

People

One of the more obvious marks left by Spanish rule in the Philippines is a prevalence of Hispanic names and surnames among many, if not most, christianized Filipinos. One aspect of this unusual naming custom is that it is much in contrast to those of other Asian peoples where names are commonly associated to their historic languages and related to their regions of residence. Another interesting aspect of this naming custom is that unlike the peoples of the Hispanic world, and to the exclusion of around 1% of the Philippine population which is comprised of Spanish-mestizos, among Filipinos a Spanish surname does not indicate Spanish ancestry.

On November 21, 1849 Governor General Narciso Clavería ordered a systematic distribution of family names for the use of the natives. The "Catálogo alfabético de apellidos" [Alphabetic Catalogue of Surnames] was produced collecting surnames mostly from Spain, though many were also native Filipino words of flora and fauna and Hispanicized Chinese numerals. Certain restrictions on the surnames to be used explicitly excluded Spanish surnames of nobility, as well as preventing the use of those surnames belonging to the Spanish colonial administrators in the Philipipnes, which had acquaried connotation of prestige in the archipielago.

Approved names were then assigned to families in all towns. Name distribution was so systematic that civil servants assigned family names in alphabetical order causing some small towns with only a few families to end up with all names starting with the same letter. This interesting situation has remained until fairly recent times when people became more mobile and started seeking mates from other towns.

For those many who had already previously adopted an unapproved (not on the list) Hispanic surnames for themselves, the sole possiblity of exemption to the decree was available only if they could prove the use of the surname by all members of the extended family for more than four consecutive generations, and that they were known amongst the community by such surname. Those already possesing Chinese and native words as appelations who met the same criteria could also challenge the decree and apply for exemption.

The colonial authorities implemented this decree mainly because many early christianized Filipinos named themselves after religious instruments and saints so much so that it caused consternation among the Spanish authorities. Apparently, christianization worked much too well that there were soon too many people surnamed de los Santos, de la Cruz, del Rosario, San José, San Antonio, etc, difficulting the administration efforts. Another unacceptable custom was that siblings took on different last names like they had always done before the Spaniards came. All these "problems" resulted in a less efficient system of collecting taxes.

With the Calveria Decree, the Spanish colonial administration compelled every male head of familiy to choose a surname from the list. Those who lived in more remote areas, and were not subjugated, escaped this fate. Many people in the mountain areas of Luzon, Mindanao, Mindoro, Palawan, and other places retained their way of life, their culture, and their way of naming themselves.

Another result of the Hispanization of Filipino names was the change in the way traditional names were pronounced. Since Hispanic names were just sounds that didn't mean much, names like "Dimalantá" became "Dimalanta" with the accent shifting to the penultimate syllable, and "Julag-ay" became "Júlagay" with the accent shifting from the penultimate to the first and the glottal catch disappearing. This tended to hide the meanings of the names and made them more of an abstract entity just like Hispanic names. At the same time, the new pronunciation sounded more Hispanic and this step completed the transformation of some families, at least in their own minds, to an ersatz class of pseudo-Spaniards. It is for this reason that many Filipino surnames cannot be found among the peoples of the Hispanic world, as many of these surnames are merely Hispanic in sound.

Many famous people from the Philippines have Hispanic-sounding names, such are the cases of former Presidents Ferdinand Marcos and his wife Imelda, former world boxing champions Frank Cedeno and Gabriel Elorde, writers Mayo Rectofic, José Rizal and Pedro Paterno, as well as others.

Catholic religion

The Philippines is predominantly a Catholic country with 83% of the population baptized with the rites of the Roman Catholic Church.

In the Philippines Catholicism was introduced by the Spaniards. Friars and priests were in charge of converting the entire Filipino population from the previously practiced Islam and the many local native spiritual traditions to Catholicism. The Philippine culture and psyche has significant Spanish Catholic influence.

Many Filipinos at home set up altars in Hispanic Catholic fashion , adorned with flowers, etc. This tradition can be seen in various Hispanic countries. On feast days, various barrios host processions in honor of their patron saint. Many young girls are chosen as the 'queen' of the procession.

Except for the Muslim minority in the southern Philippines, concentrated mainly in Mindanao, conversion was almost universal. Filipinos, though angered by clergy abuses, widespread church corruption and hypocrisy, nevertheless maintained the religion even after Spanish and Mexican political decline.

With the Hispanic governing minority withdrawal from the islands, Filipinos were able to hold more and higher positions in church life - positions that had been previously reserved for the Spaniards and Mexicans, and strictly prohibited to natives - leading to the fortification of the Filipino relationship with the faith and allowing for its continued position as the country's mainstream religion.

Fiestas and religious holidays

All major Roman Catholic holy days are observed as official national holidays.

Spanish Catholicism has significantly influenced the culture and traditions. Every year on October 31 to about November 2 or within the week , for example, Filipino families spend much of the evening visiting their ancestral graves, showing respect and honor to their departed relatives by feasting and offering prayers. In contrast, in the U.S. October 31 is Halloween, celebrated by going house to house and asking for treats.

Arts, Literature and Music

Early Hispanic borrowings, although highly hybridized into a Filipino culture that is essentially based on native Filipino foundations, are plenty and varied and have given the national Filipino culture a distinctive twang.

There do exist, however, a few folk dances and music that have remained relatively uninfluenced by native elements, that were introduced either from Spain or Mexico, and can be regarded as largely Hispanic in constitution which have remained in the Philippines even after the Hispanics who introduced it returned to the new world.

Cooking

ensaymadas

natilla,

dulces de membrillo

Business

In the business community, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) plays an integral role in the economic, political and social development of the nation. Historically, the chamber can be traced back as early as the 1890s with the inauguration of the Camara de Comercio de Filipinas. This organization was composed mainly of Spanish companies such as the Compania General de Tobacco de Filipinas, Fabrica de Cervesa San Miguel and Elizalde Y Cia, among others mandated by Spain under a Royal Grant.

During the first half of twentieth century, commerce with the hispanic world declined due to the American administration of the country, however the resurgence of trade between Spain and Latin American countries had risen toward the closing of the century. The year 1998 marked the centenial of the end of imperial Spain, however it also opened a new opportunity for both Spanish and Filipino businesses to reconnect their historic ties as trade between east and west continue to rise during the 21st century.