Filipino immigration to Mexico

Last updated
Filipino Mexicans
Flag of the Philippines.svg Flag of Mexico.svg
SanPedroCerdena.JPG
Model of the ship San Pedro de Cerdeña on display at the San Diego Fort in Acapulco
Total population
1,200 Filipino nationals residing in Mexico
Regions with significant populations
New Immigrants: Guadalajara, Tapachula, Coatzacoalcos and Mexico City. Descendants: Coastal regions of Jalisco, Michoacán, Guerrero, Oaxaca, Isthmus of Tehuantepec and Colima
Languages
Mexican Spanish, Tagalog, English and other Philippine languages
Religion
Roman Catholicism minority of Islam and Irreligion.
Related ethnic groups
Overseas Filipino, Asian Mexicans

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]

Contents

History

Filipinos first arrived in Mexico during the Spanish colonial period via the Manila-Acapulco Galleon. 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. [4] The majority of the Asian migrants to Mexico during this period were Filipinos, and to a smaller extent, other Asian slaves bought from the Portuguese or captured through war. [5] [6] [7] [8]

Embassy of The Philippines in Colonia Veronica Anzures, Mexico City Embassy of the Philippines in Mexico City (Avenida Thiers 111).jpg
Embassy of The Philippines in Colonia Veronica Anzures, Mexico City

During the early period of the Spanish colonization of the Philippines, Spaniards took advantage of the indigenous alipin (bonded serf) system in the Philippines to circumvent the Leyes de las Indias and acquire Filipino slaves for the voyage back to New Spain. Though the numbers are unknown, it was so prevalent that slaves brought on ships were restricted to one per person (except persons of rank) in the "Laws Regarding Navigation and Commerce" (1611–1635) to avoid exhausting ship provisions. They were also taxed heavily upon arrival in Acapulco in an effort to reduce slave traffic. Traffic in Filipina women as slaves, servants, and mistresses of government officials, crew, and passengers, also caused scandals in the 17th century. Women comprised around 20 percent of the migrants from the Philippines. [4] [5]

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 Manila galleons. These include Acapulco, Barra de Navidad, and San Blas, Nayarit, as well as numerous smaller intermediate settlements along the way. They also settled the regions of Colima and Jalisco before the 17th century, which were seriously depopulated of Native American settlements during that period due to the Cocoliztli epidemics and Spanish forced labor. [5] They also settled in signiciant numbers in the barrio San Juan of Mexico City, although in modern times, the area has become more associated with later Chinese migrants. [4] A notably large settlement of Filipinos during the colonial era is Coyuca de Benítez along the Costa Grande of Guerrero, which at one point in history was called "Filipino town". [10]

Influence

The Filipinos introduced many cultural practices to Mexico, such as the method of making palm wine, called "tubâ", [11] [12] [13] the mantón de Manila , [14] [15] [16] the chamoy , [17] and possibly the guayabera (called filipina in Veracruz and the Yucatán Peninsula). [18] Distillation technology for the production of tequila and mezcal was also introduced by Filipino migrants in the late 16th century, via the adaptation of the stills used in the production of Philippine palm liquor ( lambanog ) which were introduced to Colima with tubâ. [19] [20]

Filipino words also entered Mexican vernacular, such as the word for palapa (originally meaning "coconut palm leaf petiole" in Tagalog), which became applied to a type of thatching using coconut leaves that resembles the Filipino nipa hut. [4]

Various crops were also introduced from the Philippines, including coconuts, [21] the Ataulfo and Manilita mangoes, [22] [23] abacá, 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

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palm wine</span> Alcoholic beverage made from tree sap

Palm wine, known by several local names, is an alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm trees such as the palmyra, date palms, and coconut palms. It is known by various names in different regions and is common in various parts of Africa, the Caribbean, South America, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Micronesia.

The Manila galleon refers to the Spanish trading ships that linked the Philippines in the Spanish East Indies to Mexico, across the Pacific Ocean. The ships made one or two round-trip voyages per year between the ports of Manila and Acapulco from the late 16th to early 19th century. The term "Manila galleon" can also refer to the trade route itself between Manila and Acapulco that was operational from 1565 to 1815.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinese Peruvians</span> Ethnic group

Chinese Peruvians, also known as tusán, are Peruvian citizens whose ancestors came from China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sangley</span> Archaic terms used in the Philippines

Sangley and Mestizo de Sangley are archaic terms used in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era to describe respectively a person of pure overseas Chinese ancestry and a person of mixed Chinese and native Filipino ancestry. The Sangley Chinese were ancestors to both modern Chinese Filipinos and modern Filipino mestizo descendants of the Mestizos de Sangley, also known as Chinese mestizos, which are mixed descendants of Sangley Chinese and native Filipinos. Chinese mestizos were mestizos in the Spanish Empire, classified together with other Filipino mestizos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Immigration to Mexico</span>

Immigration to Mexico has been important in shaping the country's demographics. Since the early 16th century, with the arrival of the Spanish, Mexico has received immigrants from Europe, Africa, the Americas, and Asia. Today, millions of their Indigenous mixed descendants still live in Mexico and can be found working in different professions and industries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ginataan</span> Filipino dish made with coconut milk

Ginataan, alternatively spelled guinataan, is a Filipino term which refers to food cooked with gatâ. Literally translated, ginataan means "done with coconut milk". Due to the general nature of the term, it can refer to a number of different dishes, each called ginataan, but distinct from one another.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palapa (structure)</span> Open-sided dwelling with a palm leaf thatched roof

A palapa is an open-sided dwelling with a thatched roof made of dried palm leaves. It is very useful in hot weather and, therefore, very common on Mexican beaches and deserts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mexican settlement in the Philippines</span> Mesoamerican peoples in the Southeast Asian country

Mexican settlement in the Philippines comprises a multilingual Filipino ethnic group composed of Philippine citizens with Mexican ancestry. The immigration of Mexicans to the Philippines dates back to the Spanish period.

Lambanóg is a traditional Filipino distilled palm liquor. It is an alcoholic liquor made from the distillation of naturally fermented sap (tubâ) from palm trees such as sugar palm, coconut, or nipa. Lambanog is well-known for having a strong alcohol concentration and can be used as a base liquor for various flavored spirits and cocktail creations. The most popular variety is the coconut lambanog which is commonly described as "coconut vodka" due to its clear to milky white color and high alcohol content. It originates from Luzon and the Visayas Islands. During the Spanish colonial period, it was also known as vino de coco in Spanish. It is particularly potent, having a typical alcohol content of 80 to 90 proof after a single distillation; this may go as high as 166 proof after the second distillation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asian Peruvians</span> Peruvians of Asian ancestry and heritage

Asian Peruvians, primarily referring to those of Chinese and Japanese descent. Around 36,000 constitute some 0.16% of Peru's population as per the 2017 Census in Peru. In the 2017 Census in Peru, only 14,223 people self-reported tusán or Chinese ancestry, while only 22,534 people self-reported nikkei or Japanese ancestry. However, according to the 2009 census, it was estimated that 5% of the 29 million Peruvians in 2009 had Chinese roots and ancestry, while 160,000 Peruvians in 2015 had Japanese roots and ancestry. Today it is believed that the Asian population in Peru would be from 3 to 10% of the population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Philippines (1565–1898)</span> Spanish colonial period of the Philippines

The history of the Philippines from 1565 to 1898 is known as the Spanish colonial period, during which the Philippine Islands were ruled as the Captaincy General of the Philippines within the Spanish East Indies, initially under the Viceroyalty of New Spain, based in Mexico City, until the independence of the Mexican Empire from Spain in 1821. This resulted in direct Spanish control during a period of governmental instability there.

Filipino Cubans are Cubans of Filipino ancestry. Filipinos have been settling in Cuba since the 16th century and they are one of the earliest Asian communities in the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacific Coast of Mexico</span>

The Pacific Coast of Mexico or West Coast of Mexico stretches along the coasts of western Mexico at the Pacific Ocean and its Gulf of California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mexico–Philippines relations</span> Bilateral relations

Mexico–Philippines relations are the bilateral relations of Mexico and the Philippines. Mexico and the Philippines share a common history dating from when the Viceroyalty of New Spain ruled the Spanish East Indies for the Spanish Crown. Formal relations between the modern countries were established in 1953. Both nations are members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, Forum of East Asia–Latin America Cooperation and the United Nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuba–Philippines relations</span> Bilateral relations

Cuba and the Philippines were both former Spanish colonies. Spanish rule on both countries was ended by the victory of the United States in the Spanish–American War as provisions of the Treaty of Paris giving Cuba independence and the Philippines becoming a new possession of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asian Mexicans</span> Ethnic group of Asian-descending Mexicans

Asian Mexicans are Mexicans of Asian descent. Asians are considered cuarta raíz of Mexico in conjunction with the two main roots: Native and European, and the third African root.

Latin American Asians are Asian people of full or partial Latin American descent.

Spanish slavery was introduced to the Philippines through the encomienda system which was instituted throughout the Indies by Nicolás de Ovando, governor of the Indies from 1502 to 1509.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peru–Philippines relations</span> Bilateral relations

Peru–Philippines relations refers to the bilateral relations between the Republic of Peru and the Republic of the Philippines. Both countries are predominantly Roman Catholic and were ruled by the Spanish Empire for centuries. Neither country has a resident ambassador. The Philippines has a non-resident ambassador in Chile and Peru has a non-resident ambassador in Thailand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tubâ</span> Filipino alcoholic beverage

Tubâ is a traditional Filipino palm wine made from the naturally fermented sap of various species of palm trees. During the Spanish colonial period, tubâ was introduced to Guam, the Marianas, and Mexico via the Manila galleons. It remains popular in Mexico, especially in the states of Colima, Jalisco, Michoacán, Nayarit, and Guerrero. Tubâ was also introduced to the Torres Strait Islands of Australia in the mid-19th century by Filipino immigrant workers in the pearling industry.

References

  1. "Filipinos in Mexican history". www.ezilon.com. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  2. ":: Welcome to Manila Bulletin Online ::". Manila Bulletin . Archived from the original on 2009-02-09. Retrieved 2017-02-15.
  3. 1 2 Wade, Lizzie (12 April 2018). "Latin America's lost histories revealed in modern DNA". Science. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Carrillo, Rubén. "Asia llega a América. Migración e influencia cultural asiática en Nueva España (1565-1815)". raco.cat. Asiadémica. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Guzmán-Rivas, Pablo (1960). "Geographic Influences of the Galleon Trade on New Spain". Revista Geográfica. 27 (53): 5–81. ISSN   0031-0581. JSTOR   41888470.
  6. Bethell, Leslie, ed. (1984). The Cambridge History of Latin America. Vol. 2 of The Cambridge History of Latin America: Colonial Latin America. I-II (illustrated, reprint ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 21. ISBN   0521245168.
  7. López-Calvo, Ignacio (2013). The Affinity of the Eye: Writing Nikkei in Peru. Fernando Iwasaki. University of Arizona Press. p. 134. ISBN   978-0816599875.
  8. Hoerder, Dirk (2002). Cultures in Contact: World Migrations in the Second Millennium. Andrew Gordon, Alexander Keyssar, Daniel James. Duke University Press. p. 200. ISBN   0822384078.
  9. Machuca, Paulina (2019). "To make tuba in Mexico and the Philippines. Four centuries of shared history". EncArtes. 2 (3): 214–225. doi: 10.29340/en.v2n3.82 .
  10. "Cultural exchanges between Mexico and the Philippines". Geo-Mexico. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  11. Astudillo-Melgar, Fernando; Ochoa-Leyva, Adrián; Utrilla, José; Huerta-Beristain, Gerardo (22 March 2019). "Bacterial Diversity and Population Dynamics During the Fermentation of Palm Wine From Guerrero Mexico". Frontiers in Microbiology. 10: 531. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.00531 . PMC   6440455 . PMID   30967846.
  12. Veneracion, Jaime (2008). "The Philippine-Mexico Connection". In Poddar, Prem; Patke, Rajeev S.; Jensen, Lars (eds.). Historical Companion to Postcolonial Literatures – Continental Europe and its Empires. Edinburgh University Press. p. 574. ISBN   9780748630271.
  13. Mercene, Floro L. (2007). Manila Men in the New World: Filipino Migration to Mexico and the Americas from the Sixteenth Century. UP Press. p. 125. ISBN   9789715425292.
  14. Arranz, Adolfo (27 May 2018). "The China Ship". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  15. Nash, Elizabeth (13 October 2005). Seville, Cordoba, and Granada: A Cultural History. Oxford University Press. pp. 136–143. ISBN   9780195182040.
  16. Maxwell, Robyn (2012). Textiles of Southeast Asia: Trade, Tradition and Transformation. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN   9781462906987.
  17. Tellez, Lesley. "The Spicy, Sour, Ruby-Red Appeal of Chamoy". Taste. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  18. Armario, Christine (30 June 2004). "Guayabera's Origin Remains a Puzzle". Miami Herald . Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  19. Zizumbo-Villarreal, Daniel; Colunga-GarcíaMarín, Patricia (June 2008). "Early coconut distillation and the origins of mezcal and tequila spirits in west-central Mexico". Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution. 55 (4): 493–510. doi:10.1007/s10722-007-9255-0.
  20. Bruman, Henry J. (July 1944). "The Asiatic Origin of the Huichol Still". Geographical Review. 34 (3): 418. doi:10.2307/209973.
  21. Gunn, Bee F.; Baudouin, Luc; Olsen, Kenneth M. (22 June 2011). "Independent Origins of Cultivated Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) in the Old World Tropics". PLOS ONE. 6 (6): e21143. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0021143 . hdl: 1885/62987 .
  22. Rocha, Franklin H.; Infante, Francisco; Quilantán, Juan; Goldarazena, Arturo; Funderburk, Joe E. (March 2012). "'Ataulfo' Mango Flowers Contain a Diversity of Thrips (Thysanoptera)". Florida Entomologist. 95 (1): 171–178. doi: 10.1653/024.095.0126 .
  23. 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.
  24. Slack, Edward R. (2009). "The Chinos in New Spain: A Corrective Lens for a Distorted Image". Journal of World History. 20 (1): 35–67. ISSN   1045-6007. JSTOR   40542720.