Comments on: Response to the post “Filipinos Are Not Hispanic”

By: L.A.

L.A. — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:44:38 +0000

It’s really hard for any Filipino to embrace it’s Hispanic heritage when most Filipinos do not travel to Latin America. They only see the negative stereotypical images of “Mexicans”, which unfairly translates to all Hispanics, when visiting the United States.

I think one of the things that make it difficult for Filipino or Filipino Americans to identify with being Hispanic is because they do not want to be affiliated with being;

1) illegal and undocumented,

2) undeducated and no professional ambitions,

3) gang members and criminals,

and other negative stereotypical images prompted by the powerful American media.

Likewise, it is easier for them to embrace thier “geographic” location of Asia, and not thier cultural affiliation with Latin America, and identify themselves of how Asians, the Model Minority, are perceived in the U.S.

Sad, but true…

By: De AnDA

De AnDA — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:45:51 +0000

@ Gundam – Those are the right questions that needs to be answered. Agoncillo in his book already said its imposible but I say, if we base our historical definition of what “Filipino” truly is, only then would we begin to understand how we became “Filipinos”. Problem is that some people feel that the more “aboriginal” they get, the more “Filipino” they become.

By: Ako Si Gundam

Ako Si Gundam — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 11:45:30 +0000

Ah, a tagalista. You do know that we’re experiencing colonization as we speak: Tagalog colonization. The mere use of the word “dialects” smacks of racist condescension.

Let me ask you? What is a Filipino, then? Does it refer to our pre-Hispanic heritage? Does it include all ethnolinguistic groups (Tagalos, Ilonggos, Ivatans, Tausuga)? Is it inclusive of all native languages or just Tagalog? And does everybody have to be animist or Muslim?

By: matanglawin

matanglawin — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 02:03:11 +0000

I would like to comment on FILIPINO ARE NOT HISPANIC. The writer was so confused with his litany of facts that went wayward. He admits of Hispanic influence but refuse to admit the influence of spaniards and the drops of bloods that dominate most part if not all of the philippine island. We had been colonized by spain for more than 400 hundred years and sold to the americans for $35M. Maybe the writer doesnt know how to speak tagalog or any of its dialects or maybe he dont even have the droplets of blood in his veins. I envy him he survived the mixes of race. I understand him to be aeta, mangyan, ibatans, and other ethnic race of this country. I do not deny that i am a FILIPINO but to say completely that I have no roots from HISPANIC influence is hypocricy and BASURA (the word we borrowed from spanish language). Maybe he doesnt know how to say KUMUSTA (Como esta?). Being a Filipino serves our flag of identity but to say we are not hispanic, chinese, american, etc. of origin is a pride concealed in waters a half-inch deep. – let us stop glorifying ourselves with reasons that runs out of logic.

By: nold

nold — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 19:14:25 +0000

@ Eleuterio Masera – Thank you for visiting the site, you’re right that much of what has been removed was the making of the Politicos who submitted to the US. People argue that since we no longer use Spanish we no longer have the right to claim that we are Hispanics, this is a shallow analogy, we not only adapted the Spanish ways, in time it evolved and became uniquely Filipino. Just like what you said, Hispanization is “la cultura hispana es idioma, tradiciones, sangre, genética”. Not because I celebrate my Hispanic identity and tradition, like many of us, means I’m less of a Filipino, people who brand hispanistas as unpatriotic could not even define what Filipino means, because its very definition is the result of a process that made it identifiable today, remove it and you’ll no longer identify the Filipino.

By: Eleuterio Masera

Eleuterio Masera — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 11:58:11 +0000

cuanto daño ha hecho la americanización de Filipinas a todos los Filipinos……
La cultura hispana es la que creó Filipinas como nación, la cultura hispana es idioma, tradiciones, sangre, genética y todo eso está dentro de Filipinas….así que Filipinas es el “primo tonto” de los pueblos Hispánicos ,,, digo tonto porque sus políticos decidieron (claramente pagados por los americanos) dejar de hablar español.

By: nold

nold — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 05:48:40 +0000

Language plays an important role in defining nationality, l think this is also the reason why nationalist started to call the national language Filipino-Pilipino, so the language and the national is one – this is what they wanted people to accept. There is a confusion with these two, anyway, I don’t agree with your point because Spanish, although was never widespread, it permeated with all the major languages. I like what the Jesuit Arcilla said about our Hispanic identity, that if you would take all that we got from it we would not recognize the Filipino. The American historian Leddy-Phelan was accurate when he described the Filipino as being fully Hispanized.

By: Ruben

Ruben — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 10:15:37 +0000

they also look somewhat like the people of southeast Asia. It maybe a mistake to categorize people by what continent they live in. Some Russians, certainly Arabs, and Japanese would be lumped into the same category. I think of Hispanics as people who speak Spanish as a native tongue even when it was forced upon them as in the case of the peoples of Southern North America of aztecs of Mayan decent what about the South American Incas they too are Hispanic as are the blacks in Cuba or Puerto Rico that were also Spanish colonies. Once you cease to speak the language I think you are no longer Hispanic as I think someone with the name like Wagner who lost touch with his ancestors language would no longer be German.

By: observer

observer — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 22:38:01 +0000

pelotillo…

it is true. however;

1) as the spanish language is reintroduced to selected secondary schools and re-emphasized at the university level,

2) with the assistance and moral support of “all” of spain’s former colonies,

3) the aggressive p/r by “istituto cervantes of the p.i.,”

4) the 300,000 chavacano speakers,

5) president Arroyo’s vision of the growing importance of spanish worldwide aka globalization,

= the philippines could finally experience a long deserved hispanic-renaissance. Lets hope and see…

By: Gina Mexicoo

Gina Mexicoo — Sat, 30 May 2009 12:29:14 +0000

I hate filipino wanna-bes that say that they are “half spanish” or shit. Why don’t they say that they are American or Indonesians when they also colonized the Philippines not just the Spaniards. People like these are not proud to be Filipino. They say that they are spanish when their last name is spaniards. FYI, last names were given by the Spaniards to filipinos since they mostly had common names. That girl is more a slut than a singer or an artist. SLUT SLUT SLUT! Viva Espana! Every country is mixed with different races in theire history and got much influence!!!! But only philippines cant accept them selves as asian and searching a culture how dumb and poore. sorry but thats the thruth u guys didnt make a own a culture ur talking others. Lot of Latinos dislike filipinos bout that!