Spanish Filipinos

Spanish Filipinos
Hispano Filipinos

A native Filipina woman of mixed White European Spanish ancestry, wearing the traditional Maria Clara gown of the Philippines during the colonial era.
Total population
Historical Spanish colonial statistics: 5% of the Philippine population during the 1700s. 2014-2024 statistics: Combined total of 430,744 world-wide
Regions with significant populations
Spain	200,000 (2018 census)
Australia	128,693 (2021 census)
United States	0.4% (2021 census)
Puerto Rico (US)	91,620 (2014 census)
Latin America	5,479 (2024 census)
Philippines	4,952 (2020 census)
Languages
Spanish (Philippine • Castilian) Spanish creole (Chavacano) English (Philippine) Filipino (Tagalog • Indigenous Philippine languages)
Religion
Christianity • Roman Catholic
Related ethnic groups
White (Spanish • Latin • American) Black (Hispanic • Latin • American) Asian (Filipino)

Spanish diaspora

Flag of the Hispanic people
Regions with significant populations
Metro Manila, Zamboanga City, Cebu City, Vigan, Iloilo City, Bauang
Languages
Spanish (Philippine), Filipino, other Philippine languages, English and Chavacano
Religion
Roman Catholic

Spanish Filipino or Hispanic Filipino (Spanish: Español Filipino, Hispano Filipino, Tagalog: Kastílâ Filipino, Cebuano: Katsílà Filipino) are an ethnic and a multilingualistic group of Spanish descent and Spanish-speaking individuals and their descendance native to Spain, the United States, Latin America and the Philippines. They consist of local and overseas citizens that includes Peninsulares, Insulares or White Criollos, Filipino mestizos and people via South America who are descendants of the original Spanish settlers during the Spanish colonial period who form part of the Spanish diaspora worldwide and who may or may not speak the Spanish language.

Many of their communities in Spain, the United States, Australia, Latin America and the Philippines trace their ancestry to the early settlers from Europe and Southeast Asia during the Spanish colonial period and in recent overseas migration in the 1900s.

In the Philippines depending on the specific provinces, in the late 1700s to early 1800s they formed as much as 19% in the capital city of Manila at formerly named Tondo province, and about 1.38% of the Ilocos region, 2.17% of Cebu or 16.72% of Bataan and other parts of the country.

Spaniards, Latin Americans and Spanish-speaking Filipinos are referred to by native Filipinos as "Kastila", a word for "Castilian" which means the region and language of Castile, or an individual of Spanish heritage. Native Filipinos in historical terms are referred to by the Spaniards as "gente morena" (brown people) or "Indio" (a word for "Indian" or native people). Those Filipinos of Peninsular, Criollo and Latino backgrounds number about 4,952 people, while those Filipinos who look or have mixed physical appearances from indigenous and white, are descendants from European or American settlers, or those of mixed ancestries from marriages from White people, are called "Tisoy", a Filipino slang word for "Mestizo" (a Spanish word for "mixed", or a person of mixed indigenous and white ancestry). This mixed ethnic group comprises about 5% of the Philippines' population during the 1700s.

The abrupt decline of Spanish Filipinos as a percentage of the population is due to the events of the Philippine Revolution during the Philippine Republic in the late 1800s, as Filipinos of Spanish heritage choose to identify themselves as pure native Filipino, as part of establishing a united national identity in the country, or some have relocated back to Spain, or have migrated to other countries during that period.

During and after the Philippine Revolution, the term "Filipino" included people of all nationalities and race, born in the Philippines.

Today, Hispanic Filipinos are found in all social class worldwide, from upper wealthy to lower poor disadvantage backgrounds, and from high profiled individuals to ordinary unknown people. They have long integrated into the native communities living their lives as ordinary citizens. However most of the successful individuals are present in economics and business sectors in the Philippines and a few sources estimate companies which comprise a significant portion of the Philippine economy like International Container Terminal Services Inc., Manila Water, Integrated Micro-Electronics, Inc., Ayala Land, Ynchausti y Compañia, Ayala Corporation, Aboitiz & Company, Union Bank of the Philippines, ANSCOR, Bank of the Philippine Islands, Globe Telecom, Solaire Resort & Casino, and Central Azucarera de La Carlota, to name but a few are owned by Hispanic Filipinos.

Terminology

Hispanic is a Latin word that describes the Roman province of Hispania, a name given to the Iberian Peninsula, by the Ancient Romans.

Definition

• "Spaniard - a White European person from Spain.
• "Hispanic" - a person of Spanish descent, a person from a Spanish-speaking background living in the former colonies of Spain, or a culture relating to Spain.
• "Latino" - a person of Spanish or Portuguese heritage living in the South American regions of Latin America.

History

Main articles: History of Spain, History of Latin America, History of the Americas, and History of the Philippines (1521–1898)

The Italian explorer Christopher Columbus was the second European to discover the American continent in 1492, the first being Leif Erikson, a Norwegian Viking in the late 900s. The Viking presence in North America failed and they abandoned their settlements.

Columbus's second discovery of the New World made Spain the first European country to permanently colonized the American continent in 1492.

The history of the Spanish Philippines covers the period from 1521 to 1898, beginning with the arrival in 1521 of the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan sailing for Spain, which heralded the period when the Philippines was an overseas province of Spain, and ends with the outbreak of the Spanish–American War in 1898.

The Spanish discovery of the American continent by the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus in 1492 laid the foundation of settlements and explorations in the New World. In 1541, Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos was commissioned by Antonio de Mendoza, the viceroy of New Spain and first colonial administrator in the New World, to send an expedition to the Philippines to establish a larger Spanish presence there as a base for trade with the Spice Islands and China and to extend Spanish control over the Moluccas in the Portuguese East Indies. The expedition ultimately failed, with Villalobos dying in a Portuguese prison on Ambon Island in 1546.

In 1564, conquistadors led by Miguel López de Legazpi, prompted the colonization of the Philippine Islands that lasted for 333 years. The Philippines was a former territory of New Spain until the grant of independence to Mexico in 1821 necessitated the direct government from Spain of the Philippines from that year. Early Spanish settlers to the Philippines were mostly explorers, soldiers, government officials, religious missionaries, and among others, who were born in Spain or in Mexico called "Peninsulares" (Spanish migrants living in the colony). Their succeeding generation known as "Criollos" (Spaniards of pure White blood, born and raised in the colony) contributed to the population's development.

A Filipina "Criollo" woman in the 1890s.

For centuries several hundreds of White Spaniards settled in the islands along with their families to start a new beginning in the New World, to take advantage of the rich and exotic resources the colony had to offer. Some of these individuals married or inter-bred with the indigenous Filipino population while most married only other Spaniards. Their descendance that consisted of "Criollos" or "Insulares" and "Mestizos" (those of mixed-blood individuals), became part of the island's indigenous society, some became town officers, farmers and others became ordinary citizens.

Government officials and those of high ranks were granted with haciendas (plantation estates) by the Spanish government. In some provinces like, Vigan, Iloilo, Cebu, Pampanga, and Zamboanga, The Spanish government encouraged foreign merchants from Southeast Asia and the Asian continent to trade in the colony, along with the European and indigenous population, but they were not given certain privileges such as ownership of land.

Contacts with White Europeans, social intercourse between foreign merchants, and indigenous people resulted in a new ethnic group. These group were called Mestizos (mixed-race individuals), who were born from intermarriages from White European Spaniards and indigenous Austronesian-speaking Filipino natives. Some of their descendants, emerged later as an influential part of the ruling class called the "Principalía" (Nobility) class.

The Spanish implemented incentives to deliberately entangle the various races together in order to stop rebellion. According to a historical colonial conversation that was published, stated by a government official explains: "It is needful to encourage public instruction in all ways possible, permit newspapers subject to a liberal censure, to establish in Manila a college of medicine, surgery, and pharmacy: in order to break down the barriers that divide the races, and amalgamate them all into one. For that purpose, the Spaniards of the country, the Chinese mestizos, and the Filipinos shall be admitted with perfect equality as cadets of the military corps; the personal-service tax shall be abolished, or an equal and general tax shall be imposed, to which all the Spaniards shall be subject. This last plan appears to me more advisable, as the poll-tax is already established, and it is not opportune to make a trial of new taxes when it is a question of allowing the country to be governed by itself. Since the annual tribute is unequal, the average shall be taken and shall be fixed, consequently, at fifteen or sixteen reals per whole tribute, or perhaps one peso fuerte annually from each adult tributary person. This regulation will produce an increase in the revenue of 200,000 or 300,000 pesos fuertes, and this sum shall be set aside to give the impulse for the amalgamation of the races, favoring crossed marriages by means of dowries granted to the single women in the following manner. To a Chinese mestizo woman who marries a Filipino shall be given 100 pesos; to a Filipino woman who marries a Chinese mestizo, 100 pesos; to a Chinese mestizo woman who marries a Spaniard, 1,000 pesos; to a Spanish woman who marries a Chinese mestizo, 2,000 pesos; to a Filipino woman who marries a Spaniard, 2,000 pesos; to a Spanish woman who marries a Filipino chief, 3,000 or 4,000 pesos. Some mestizo and Filipino alcaldes-mayor of the provinces shall be appointed. It shall be ordered that when a Filipino chief goes to the house of a Spaniard, he shall seat himself as the latter's equal. In a word, by these and other means, the idea that they and the Castilians are two kinds of distinct races shall be erased from the minds of the natives, and the families shall become related by marriage in such manner that when free of the Castilian dominion should any exalted Filipinos try to expel or enslave our race, they would find it so interlaced with their own that their plan would be practically impossible".

Mexicans, Indigenous Americans and some Black-Africans were also brought to the Philippines to work on plantation settlements, as slave workers or settlers working in the colony. Between 1565 and 1815, both Filipinos and people from Latin America and Spain sailed to, and from the Philippines in the Manila galleon trade to Acapulco, assisting Spain in its trade on the colony.

Hispanic native Filipinos in Cabildo Street, Intramuros, Manila in 1890.

Population

Main articles: Demographics of Spain, Demographics of Latin America, and Demographics of the Philippines

Colonial statistics

In the late 1700s to early 1800s, Joaquín Martínez de Zúñiga, an Agustinian Friar, in his Two Volume Book: "Estadismo de las islas Filipinas" compiled a census of the Spanish-Philippines based on the tribute counts (Which represented an average family of seven to ten children and two parents, per tribute) and came upon the following statistics:

Data reported for the 1800 as divided by ethnicity and province

Province	Native Tributes	Spanish Mestizo Tributes	All Tributes
Tondo	14,537-1/2	3,528	27,897-7
Cavite	5,724-1/2	859	9,132-4
Laguna	14,392-1/2	336	19,448-6
Batangas	15,014	451	21,579-7
Mindoro	3,165	3-1/2	4,000-8
Bulacan	16,586-1/2	2,007	25,760-5
Pampanga	16,604-1/2	2,641	27,358-1
Bataan	3,082	619	5,433
Zambales	1,136	73	4,389
Ilocos	44,852-1/2	631	68,856
Pangasinan	19,836	719-1/2	25,366
Cagayan	9,888	0	11,244-6
Camarines	19,686-1/2	154-1/2	24,994
Albay	12,339	146	16,093
Tayabas	7,396	12	9,228
Cebu	28,112-1/2	625	28,863
Samar	3,042	103	4,060
Leyte	7,678	37-1/2	10,011
Caraga	3,497	0	4,977
Misamis	1,278	0	1,674
Negros Island	5,741	0	7,176
Iloilo	29,723	166	37,760
Capiz	11,459	89	14,867
Antique	9,228	0	11,620
Calamianes	2,289	0	3,161
TOTAL	299,049	13,201	424,992-16

The Spanish-Filipino population as a proportion of the provinces widely varied; with as high as 19% of the population of Tondo province (The most populous province and former name of Manila), to Pampanga 13.7%, Cavite at 13%, Laguna 2.28%, Batangas 3%, Bulacan 10.79%, Bataan 16.72%, Ilocos 1.38%, Pangasinan 3.49%, Albay 1.16%, Cebu 2.17%, Samar 3.27%, Iloilo 1%, Capiz 1%, Bicol 20%, and Zamboanga 40%. According to the 1893 data in the Archdiocese of Manila which administers much of Luzon under it, about 10% of the population was then Spanish-Filipino. Overall the whole Philippines, even including the provinces with no Spanish settlement, as summed up, the average percentage of Spanish Filipino tributes amount to 5% of the total population.

Historical terms

Gaspar de la Torre y Ayala, the Governor-General of the Philippines was a "Peninsulares" Filipino.

Prominent Filipino Political figure, José Rizal was a Filipino "Torna atrás" of mixed indigenous, Spanish and oriental ancestry.

These are historical Spanish termsused to identify the different types of names given to the people living in the colony.

They are:

• "Español" - A pure White European person from Spain.
• "Peninsulares" - A pure White Spaniard born in Spain but is also a settler and a citizen, living on the islands.
• "Criollo"/"Insulares" - A White Filipino of pure Spanish ancestry, born on and a citizen of the islands.
• "Mestizo"/"Mulatto" - A native Filipino or an Indigenous American Indian person of mixed Spanish ancestry, and an African person of mixed Spanish descent.
• "Indio" - A native Filipino or an Indigenous American Indian person, or an individual belonging to a tribal group, native to the islands.
• "Negrito"/"Negro" - A indigenous Black Filipino person, and an African person brought to the colony to work on plantation.
• "Islas Filipinas" - The name of the islands.
• "Felipinas" - The name given to the islands in 1543 by explorer Ruy López de Villalobos in honor of Prince Felipe II, who later became King of Spain in 1556. This name initially referred to just the islands of Leyte and Samar. It was later on expanded to include the entire archipelago.
• "Hispano América" - The Spanish colonies in the Americas.

Present-day 21st century Filipinos

Prominent Filipino businessman, Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, a Filipino "Mestizo" of mixed Spanish ancestry.

This category is about a term used to identify the different types of Filipino ethnic groups living on the islands.

They are:

• "White Filipino" - People of White European, White American, White Latin American, White Middle Eastern and other White ethnic backgrounds living on the islands.
• "Hispanic Filipino" - People of mixed native Filipino and Spanish or Latino ancestry, or a Spanish-speaking Filipino, Hispanicized Filipino, Peninsular, Criollo, or a person of Latin American descent living on the islands.
• "Mestizo Filipino" - A Filipino person of mixed White ancestry.
• "Native Filipino" - People of un-mixed or a Filipino person of pure ancestry from the islands.
• "Oriental Filipino" - People from another Asian background living on the islands, or a Filipino mixed with other oriental backgrounds, or a person of South Asian descent living in the islands.
• "Black Filipino" - People of Black African, African American and Black Latin American backgrounds, living on the islands, or a Filipino person of mixed Black ancestry.
• "Polynesian Filipino" - People of Polynesian backgrounds living on the islands, or a Filipino person of mixed Polynesian ancestry.
• "US/Native American Filipino" - A person of White American-native descent, living on the islands.

Religion

Main articles: Religion in Spain, Religion in Latin America, and Religion in the Philippines

The majority of Spaniards, Latinos and Hispanic Filipinos are Christians, with most adhering to Catholicism.

Language

Main articles: Languages of Spain, Spanish language in the Philippines, and Latin Union

"La Mestiza Española" (The mixed Spanish), a literature and art works by Justiniano Asuncion.

Spanish, Spanish creole (Chavacano), English, Tagalog and other Indigenous Filipino languages are spoken in their community.

Philippine Spanish

Main articles: Philippine Spanish and Instituto Cervantes

Philippine Spanish (Spanish: Español Filipino, Castellano Filipino) is a Spanish dialect and variant of the Spanish language spoken in the Philippines. Philippine Spanish is very similar to Mexican Spanish due to the contribution of grammar and vocabulary spoken by Mexican settlers in the country, during the Galleon trade. A constitution ratified in 1987 designated Filipino and English as official languages. Also, under this Constitution, Spanish, together with Arabic, was designated an optional and voluntary language.

Spanish is now spoken mostly by Hispanic Filipinos, educated Filipinos and Filipinos that choses to speak the language. Most Spanish Filipinos speak Spanish as their first, second or third language as they have shifted to communicating in English and Tagalog and/or other indigenous Filipino languages in the public sphere.

Legacy

Public communication in the Philippines

In 1899, the First Philippine Republic promulgated a constitution that designated Spanish as the nation's official language. The Philippines was the only Spanish speaking country in Asia, from the beginning of colonial rule in the 1500s until the first half of the 20th century. It held official status for over four centuries and was redesignated as an optional language in 1987. The Philippine government deliberately suspended the use of Spanish language for some unknown political reasons. Discourteous and hypocritical Filipino politicians influenced by third world Southeast Asiancorruption, political agendas, a failed government and economic system, extreme poverty and years of bleak uncertain future that still surrounds the Philippinesto this day, led to the People Power Revolution in 1986. The government Constitution of the Philippines without conducting a proper western-style election protocol, was controversially changed in 1987.

This disrupted the development of the language, which led the Philippines to be an incomplete Spanish-speaking country.

Tagalog and English remained as the official languages of the country as they have been in previous constitution. In 1987, the Tagalog language which was called Filipino was promoted as the main language, a language that was chosen by the former Philippine president Manuel L. Quezon in 1935, who himself was of mixed Spanish ancestry.

Spanish still remains and continues to be spoken by educated Filipinos, Spanish Filipinos and native Filipinos who chose to speak the language in public. However, it is mostly spoken and used in universities and in Hispanic communities. The Philippines is a member of the Latin Union where the language is used for education in the Instituto Cervantes, in the capital city of Manila.

In 2010, the former Philippine president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, a fluent Spanish speaker, re-instated the language as a compulsory subject to be taught in schools and universities. One of the reasons of change was that she wanted to the Philippines to return to traditional way of life, be bilingual, competitive, wealthy and respected, who can compete in the world economy. The other was for global employment demands such as in call center and business process outsourcing industries.

Most Spanish-speaking Filipinos also use English in the public sphere and may also speak Tagalog and other Philippine languages. In addition, Chavacano (a creole language based largely in the Spanish vocabulary) is spoken in the southern Philippines and forms the majority of Zamboanga Peninsula and Basilan region.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Spain

Flamenco in Sevilla, Spain, is popular among Spaniards.

Hispanic Filipinos share some similarities to cultural practices from people in Latin America and Spain, including a shared history, tradition, names, arts and literature, music, food, religion and language.

They have also taken some influences from the United States, as evidenced by their admiration for Anglo-American Popular culture.

The National Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated in the United States by individuals of Spanish Heritage. While in Spain, the Running of the Bulls is a traditional celebration.

Literature

Cover of the Doctrina Christiana featuring Saint Dominic with the book's full title. Woodcut, c. 1590.

Pages of the Doctrina Christiana, an early Christian book in Spanish and Tagalog. The book contained Latin and Baybayin suyat scripts (1593).

"Literatura Filipina en Español"

Philippine literature in Spanish (Spanish: Literatura Filipina en Español) is a body of literature made by Filipino writers in the Spanish language. Today, this corpus is the third largest in the whole corpus of Philippine literature (Philippine literature in Filipino being the first, followed by Philippine literature in English). It is slightly larger than Philippine literature in vernacular languages. However, because of the very few additions to it in the past 30 years, it is expected that the latter will soon overtake its rank.

Cuisine

Main articles: Spanish cuisine, Latin American cuisine, and Filipino cuisine

Spanish cuisine is traditionally of European origin. Filipino cuisine is a blend of European and Asian influences.

Sport

Main articles: Sport in Spain, Sport in South America, and Sports in the Philippines

A football match between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona in La Liga, Spain.

NBA basketball match between Chicago Bulls and New Jersey Nets, United States.

Football is the most watched and played sport in Spain and in Latin America. In the Philippines football is also popular particularly among the Hispanic communities and fans of the sport.

Tennis, Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Volleyball, Baseball, Boxing, UFC, Cycling, Motor sports and Water sports are also widely appreciated in the Spanish community.

The game of Basketball is one of Spain's most popular sports and is second only to football, played at professional level, while in the Philippines it is considered its national sport.  

Traditional and cultural sports such as Bullfighting were popular among Spaniards and in Latin America in the early 1900s but has recently declined in popularity in the 2000s due to the violent nature of the sport.

The Philippines in the past has produced major sporting stars in football such as Paulino Alcántara and Carlos Loyzaga in basketball.

Notable Spanish Filipinos

Main article: List of Spanish Filipinos

Queen Letizia of Spain

Enrique Iglesias, Latin and pop-music singer

Bruno Mars,r&b (hip-hop) and pop-music singer

Cassie Ventura, r&b singer

Joe Bataan Latin and r&b soul singer

Princess Leonor of Spain

Paulino Alcántara, football legend

Pilita Corrales, singer and actress

This is a list of famous Hispanic Filipinos who are recognized internationally for their achievement.

Sport

• Paulino Alcántara - Football
• Eduardo Teus - Football
• Juan Torena - Football
• Manuel Amechazurra - Football
• Santiago Rublico - Football
• Carlos Loyzaga - Basketball
• Leylah Fernandez - Tennis

Art

• Juan Luna - Artist

Music

• Enrique Iglesias - Singer
• Bruno Mars - Singer
• Joe Bataan - Singer
• Julio Iglesias Jr. - Singer
• Asia Nitollano - Singer
• Pilita Corrales - Singer
• Chanty - Singer
• Jasmine V - Singer
• Cassie Ventura - Singer

Films

• Gloria Romero - Actress
• Delia Razon - Actress
• Amalia Fuentes - Actress
• Marian Rivera - Actress
• Fernando Poe Jr. - Actor
• Eddie Garcia - Actor
• Janine Gutierrez - Actress and fashion model
• Tamara Falcó - Aristocracy and tv personality

Fashion

• Arianny Celeste - Model
• Katarina Rodriguez - Beauty pageant
• Stella Araneta - Beauty pageant
• Gloria Diaz - Beauty pageant
• Celeste Cortesi - Beauty pageant

Literature

• Fernando María Guerrero - Writer
• Lourdes Castrillo Brillantes - Writer

Economics

• Enrique K. Razon - Businessman
• Zóbel de Ayala family - Business family
• Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala - Businessman
• Jon Ramon Aboitiz - Businessman

Monarch

• Letizia of Spain - Queen of Spain
• Leonor, Princess of Asturias - Princess of Spain
• Infanta Sofía of Spain - Princess of Spain

Journalism

• Isabel Preysler - Journalist

Religion

• José María of Manila - Catholic saint
• Juan de Plasencia - Priest
• Manuel Rojo del Río y Vieyra - Priest

Politics

• José Rizal - National hero
• Marcelo Azcárraga - Prime minister
• Emilio Aguinaldo - President and Revolutionary leader
• Isidoro Montes de Oca - Revolutionary leader
• Alejandro Gómez Maganda - Governor
• Felipe Calderón - Revolutionary leader
• Gloria Macapagal Arroyo - President
• Manuel L. Quezon - President
• Marcelo Fernán - Chief Justice / National hero

See also

• Spanish people of Filipino ancestry
• Immigration to Spain
• Mexican settlement in the Philippines
• Filipino immigration to Mexico

Sources

• The Conquest of Paradise: Christopher Columbus and the Columbian Legacy, Kirkpatrick Sale (1990-1991)
• Conquistadors: The Rise and Fall (Documentary Series, 2023)
• Antonio García, Spanish Settlers in the Philippines 1571-1599, Universidad de Córdoba España, www.uco.es
• Francisco de Sande, Juan de Ovando, "Spanish Settlers in the Philippines (1571-1599)," President of the Council to the Indies New Spain, 1574

External links

• Ethnicity in the Philippines (2020) Census of Population and Housing Republic of the Philippines - Philippine Statistic Authority, www.psa.gov.ph
• Filipino Migration in Spain (Province of Origin) Office of the President of the Philippines, www.cfo.gov.ph
• Filipino Migration in Spain (Overview) Office of the President of the Philippines, www.cfo.gov.ph
• Spanish Settlers in the Philippines (1571-1599) Universidad de Córdoba España, www.uco.es
• The genetic legacy of the Manila Galleon Trade in Mexico The Royal Society Publishing, www.royalsocietypublishing.org
• Ethnohistory - Philippine Indios in the Service of the Empire: Indigenous Soldiers and Contingent Loyalty, 1600-1700 University of Cambridge United Kingdom, www.api.repository.cam.ac.uk