 Model of the shipSan Pedro de Cerdeña on display at theSan Diego Fort in Acapulco | |
| Total population | |
| 1,200 Filipino nationals residing in Mexico | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| New Immigrants:Guadalajara,Tapachula,Coatzacoalcos,Juchitán andMexico City.Descendants:Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Coastal regions ofJalisco,Colima,Michoacán,Guerrero,Oaxaca, andChiapas | |
| Languages | |
| Mexican Spanish,Tagalog,English and otherPhilippine languages | |
| Religion | |
| Roman Catholicism minority ofIslam andIrreligion. | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Overseas Filipino,Asian Mexicans |
Filipino Mexicans (Spanish:Mexicanos Filipinos) areMexican citizens who are descendants ofFilipino 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 fromGuerrero have Asian ancestry with genetic markers matching those of the populations of thePhilippines.[3]
Filipinos first arrived in Mexico during theSpanish colonial period via theManila-Acapulco Galleon. For two and a half centuries, between 1565 and 1815, many Filipinos and Mexicans sailed to and fromMexico and thePhilippines as sailors, crews, slaves, prisoners, adventurers and soldiers in theManila-Acapulco Galleon assistingSpain in its trade betweenAsia and theAmericas.[4] The majority of the Asian migrants to Mexico during this period were Filipinos, and to a smaller extent, other Asian slaves bought from thePortuguese or captured through war.[5][6][7][8]
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During the early period of theSpanish colonization of the Philippines, Spaniards took advantage of the indigenousalipin (bonded serf) system in the Philippines to circumvent theLeyes de las Indias and acquire Filipino slaves for the voyage back toNew 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 inAcapulco 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 alsopressed 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 ofbreeches, further causing a great number of deaths of Filipino sailors through exposure. These conditions prompted KingPhilip 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 galleonEspiritu 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 inColima for their skills in the production oftubâ (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 inColima, an example from 1619 was Andrés Rosales who owned twenty-eight coconut palms. Others were merchants, like Tomás Pangasinan, a native ofPampanga, 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 ofMexico,Puebla, andGuadalajara had enough Filipino neighborhoods that they formed segregated markets of Asian goods calledParián (named after similar markets in the Philippines).[4]
The descendants of these early migrants mostly settled in the regions near the terminal ports of theManila galleons. These includeAcapulco,Barra de Navidad, andSan Blas, Nayarit, as well as numerous smaller intermediate settlements along the way. They also settled the regions ofColima andJalisco before the 17th century, which were seriously depopulated of Native American settlements during that period due to theCocoliztli epidemics and Spanish forced labor.[5] They also settled in significant numbers in thebarrioSan Juan ofMexico 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 isCoyuca de Benítez along theCosta Grande of Guerrero, which at one point in history was called "Filipino town".[10]
The Filipinos introduced many cultural practices to Mexico, such as the method of making palm wine, called "tubâ",[11][12][13] themantón de Manila,[14][15][16] thechamoy,[17] and possibly theguayabera (calledfilipina inVeracruz and theYucatán Peninsula).[18]Distillation technology used by bootleggers for the production ofmezcal 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 toColima withtubâ.[19][20]
Filipino words also entered Mexican vernacular, such as the word forpalapa (originally meaning "coconut palm leaf petiole" inTagalog), which became applied to a type of thatching using coconut leaves that resembles the Filipinonipa hut.[4]
Various crops were also introduced from the Philippines, includingcoconuts,[21] theAtaulfo andManilita mangoes,[22][23]abacá, and bananas.
A genetic study in 2018 found that around a third of the population ofGuerrero have 10% Filipino ancestry.[3]
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 termsindio andchino. In the Philippines, natives were known asindios, but they lost that classification when they reached the Americas, since the term inNew Spain referred toNative Americans. Instead they were calledchinos, 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 theCatálogo alfabético de apellidos during the mid-19th century. This makes it very difficult to trace Filipino immigrants in colonial records.[5]
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