Filipino immigration to Mexico
San Diego Fort in Acapulco | |
Total population | |
---|---|
1,200 Filipino nationals residing in Mexico | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Jalisco, Michoacán, Guerrero and Colima | |
Languages | |
Spanish, Tagalog, English, Philippine languages | |
Religion | |
Predominantly Roman Catholicism | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Other Filipino diasporas |
Filipino Mexicans (Spanish: Mexicanos Filipinos) are Mexican citizens who are descendants of Filipino ancestry.[1] There are approximately 1,200 Filipino nationals residing in Mexico.[2] In addition, genetic studies indicate that about a third of people sampled from Guerrero have Asian ancestry with genetic markers matching those of the populations of the Philippines.[3]
History
Filipinos first arrived in Mexico during the
During the early period of the
Filipinos were also pressed into service as sailors, due to the native maritime culture of the Philippine Islands. By 1619, the crew of the Manila galleons were composed almost entirely of native sailors, many of whom died during the voyages due to harsh treatment and dangerous conditions. Many of the galleons were also old, overloaded, and poorly repaired. A law passed in 1608 restricted the gear of Filipino sailors to "ropa necesaria" which consisted of a single pair of breeches, further causing a great number of deaths of Filipino sailors through exposure. These conditions prompted King Philip III to sign a law in 1620 forcing merchants to issue proper clothing to native crews. During this period, many Filipino sailors deserted as soon as they reached Acapulco. Sebastian de Piñeda, the captain of the galleon Espiritu Santo complained to the king in 1619 that of the 75 Filipino crewmen aboard the ship, only 5 remained for the return voyage. The rest had deserted. These sailors settled in Mexico and married locals (even though some may have been previously married in the Philippines), particularly since they were also in high demand by wine-merchants in Colima for their skills in the production of tubâ (palm wine).[5][9]
Christianized Filipinos comprised the majority of free Asian immigrants (chino libre) and could own property and have rights that even Native Americans did not have, including the right to carry a sword and dagger for personal protection.[4] They often owned coconut plantations in Colima, an example from 1619 was Andrés Rosales who owned twenty-eight coconut palms. Others were merchants, like Tomás Pangasinan, a native of Pampanga, who was recorded to have paid thirteen pesos in taxes for the purchase of Chinese silks from the Manila galleons in the 17th century. The cities of Mexico, Puebla, and Guadalajara had enough Filipino neighborhoods that they formed segregated markets of Asian goods called Parián (named after similar markets in the Philippines).[4]
The descendants of these early migrants mostly settled in the regions near the terminal ports of the
Influence
The Filipinos introduced many cultural practices to Mexico, such as the method of making palm wine, called "
Filipino words also entered Mexican vernacular, such as the word for
Various crops were also introduced from the Philippines, including
, rice, and bananas.A genetic study in 2018 found that around a third of the population of Guerrero have 10% Filipino ancestry.[3]
Historical records
Colonial-era Filipino immigrants to Mexico are difficult to trace in historical records because of several factors. The most significant factor being the use of the terms indio and chino. In the Philippines, natives were known as indios, but they lost that classification when they reached the Americas, since the term in New Spain referred to Native Americans. Instead they were called chinos, leading to the modern confusion of early Filipino immigrants with the much later Chinese immigrants in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Intermarriage and assimilation into Native American communities also buried the true extent of Filipino immigration, as they became indistinguishable from the bulk of the peasantry.[5][24]
Another factor is the pre-colonial Filipino (and Southeast Asian) tradition of not having last names. Filipinos and Filipino migrants acquired Spanish surnames, either after conversion to Christianity or enforced by the Catálogo alfabético de apellidos during the mid-19th century. This makes it very difficult to trace Filipino immigrants in colonial records.[5]
Notable Mexicans of Filipino descent
- Ramón Fabié - Lieutenant Colonel commander of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla
- Luis Pinzón - Military commander of José María Morelos
- Isidoro Montes de Oca – Mexican General and Lieutenant commander of Vicente Guerrero
- Romeo Tabuena – painter and printmaker
- Alejandro Gómez Maganda – Governor of Guerrero (1951–1954)
- Lili Rosales – Representative of Mexico in the Reina Hispanoamericana 2011 beauty contest
- Miguel A. Reina - Mexican filmmaker, screenwriter and film producer.
See also
- Mexico–Philippines relations
- Manila galleon
- Mexican settlement in the Philippines
- Mestizos in Mexico
- Filipino mestizo
References
- ^ "Filipinos in Mexican history". www.ezilon.com. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- ^ ":: Welcome to Manila Bulletin Online ::". Manila Bulletin. Archived from the original on 2009-02-09. Retrieved 2017-02-15.
- ^ a b Wade, Lizzie (12 April 2018). "Latin America's lost histories revealed in modern DNA". Science. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f Carrillo, Rubén. "Asia llega a América. Migración e influencia cultural asiática en Nueva España (1565-1815)". raco.cat. Asiadémica. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
- ^ JSTOR 41888470.
- ISBN 0521245168.
- ISBN 978-0816599875.
- ISBN 0822384078.
- .
- ^ "Cultural exchanges between Mexico and the Philippines". Geo-Mexico. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
- PMID 30967846.
- ISBN 9780748630271.
- ISBN 9789715425292.
- ^ Arranz, Adolfo (27 May 2018). "The China Ship". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
- ISBN 9780195182040.
- ISBN 9781462906987.
- ^ Tellez, Lesley. "The Spicy, Sour, Ruby-Red Appeal of Chamoy". Taste. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
- ^ Armario, Christine (30 June 2004). "Guayabera's Origin Remains a Puzzle". Miami Herald. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
- .
- doi:10.2307/209973.
- hdl:1885/62987.
- .
- ^ Adams, Lisa J. (19 June 2005). "Mexico tries to claim 'Manila mango' name as its own". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on 11 October 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
- JSTOR 40542720.
External links
- Color Q World: Asian-Latino Intermarriage in the Americas
- Filipinos in Mexican History
- Afro-Filipino Mongoys (Photo of General Francisco Mongoy's descendants in the State of Guerrero)
- Insurgent Leaders during Mexican War of Independence against Spain