Galleon, Guadalupe, Kamote, Palenque: The Philippine-Mexican Ties
By Robert Pérez De Tagle, artempoNY@gmail.com
The Philippines, the only Spanish colony in Asia, first registered in European annals in 1521 with the circumnavigation of the world by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, sailing under the Spanish flag. In 1542, Spanish navigator Ruy López de Villalobos, who had sailed from Mexico, named them Las Islas Filipinas, in honor of then heir to the Spanish throne and later King, Philip or Felipe.
Thus began over 300 years of Spanish rule over the Philippines, as Spain sought to reap the riches of the spice trade and counteract Portuguese naval power, in the process establishing the continent’s only predominantly Christian, and Catholic, nation. Religious affiliation is about 84% Catholic, 10% other Christian and 5% Muslim, the latter mostly in the southern part of the Philippines near Malaysia and Indonesia.
March 16, 1565 marked the Blood Compact of Bohol, between a native chief, Sikatuna, and Spanish explorer Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, whose fleet was forced to seek shelter on the island from bad weather on the way to Mindanao. This was most notable, as it is considered the first accord of people of different races and cultures, based on equality, not subjugation.
Guadalupe, Missions, Puebla and Teotihuacan
Just as the missions in California defined the El Camino Real, the churches in the Philippines (and in Mexico) were strategically located to enable both evangelization and political rule, according to the patronato real, or royal patronage of the Catholic Church, with regions being parceled out to religious orders such as the Augustinians, Dominicans, Franciscans and Jesuits.
One has to marvel at these churches’ architectural strength, edifices that have stood securely over the centuries, and been home to so much of the social fabric of its cities and towns, such as the baroque San Agustin Church in Paoay, Ilocos Norte, a UNESCO world heritage site. (These are edifices, cities or other “properties forming part of the cultural and natural heritage which the UNESCO World Heritage Committee considers as having outstanding universal value.”)
Looking at Puebla City, Puebla, one is immediately reminded of Vigan, the former royal capital of the Spanish Philippines. The historic center of Puebla and the ‘town’ (or city) of Vigan are both UNESCO-recognized heritage sites (and so is the centro historico of Mexico City, or Distrito Federal, shortened to D.F. and pronounced “de-efe”).
Puebla is one of the most renowned colonial cities in Mexico (Taxco is another), a city created de novo by the Spaniards and not on top of existing indigenous cities or temples. It is crammed with churches, including its cathedral that has what is considered the most beautiful interior of any in all of Mexico, located at the zocalo or plaza mayor or main square, just by the political administration; the Rosario de Capilla, an opulent gold-filled chapel in the Santo Domingo Church, and convents that produce the famous dulces of Puebla. Puebla is also the home of the world-famous Talavera poblana tiles or azulejos. A visit to Museo Bello y Gonzalez reveals a priceless baul or arcon (chest) with a priceless drawing of old Manila within.
The Guadalupe Basilica three miles northeast of Mexico City is the home to one of the world’s most visited religious shrines, in an area called by locals as La Villa, the result of the apparition of the Virgin Mary to a native named Juan Diego. While Guadalupe (or Guadalupe Nuevo) is a district in the Makati City in Metro Manila and a church in Cebu, Philippines, Our Lady of Guadalupe was declared in 1935 the secondary patroness of the Philippines, and is the patroness of Mexico and also of the Americas. Pilgrims come from all over the world, and on foot from various parts of Mexico itself. Pope John Paul II, whose Popemobile is displayed on the shrine grounds, proclaimed December 12th as a Liturgical Holy Day for the whole continent.
Actually the complex includes the new and old basilicas, as well as the Capilla del Cerrito, Capilla del Pocito, Parroquia de Capuchinas and Parroquia de los Indios buildings, wonderful landmarks of architecture and interior décor. The old basilica tilted over the centuries – historically, many parts around Mexico City were built over lakes -- and was deemed too small for the number of pilgrims. When there, note the huge wooden doors at each of the older churches and the murals and santos. At the new basilica, make sure you look for the Philippine flag on the way to viewing the venerated Guadalupe cloth. You will be overwhelmed not only by the number of faithful, but the different ethnicities and nationalities. It truly is a spectacle and an experience.
Another UNESCO heritage site is the marvelous Teotihuacan (sometimes translated as the City of the Gods), an ancient Mesoamerican city inhabited not just by the Aztecs but also many other indigenous groups over hundreds of years, including, according to different researchers, the Olmec, Totonac, Zapotec, Mixtec and even Mayan peoples. Excavated and restored (unlike the Cholula ruins in Puebla which include what are considered the largest pyramids in the world, by volume), Teotihuacan is dominated by the Pyramids of the Sun and of the Moon and the Avenue of the Dead. Be ready with sunblock, a hat, and bottled water, as the walk on the huge grounds, and the sometimes steep climb atop the pyramids, will be a healthy exercise. Look for the guayaberas, the Panama-shirt or polo barong lookalike shirt, among the commercial stalls lining the entrance of the grounds.
The very Filipino tradition of the novena of Masses called Simbang Gabi from December 16 to 24 follows the institution of the Misas de Aguinaldos in Mexico, coupled with the tradition of posada (Spanish for "inn), similar to the block rosary custom, recalling Mary and Joseph's difficult search for room to stay in Bethlehem. This is documented at the special Augustinian church and museum near Mexico City proper, in the place where creating the piñata is a tradition.
While Mexico City itself may be affected by much pollution (vehicular access is coded by day, just as in Manila), nonetheless it is home to the grand Palacio de Bellas Artes (Fine Arts Museum) and the 3rd largest square in the world, the Plaza de la Constitucion or zocalo (the only ones larger are Moscow’s Red Square and China’s Tiananmen Square). Moreover, in the city center are the country’s largest cathedral, the Metropolitan, multiple other churches, former homes of condes and marqueses with intimate courtyards, and gems such as the Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso, an ex-Jesuit novitiate that is now an oasis of art in the midst of a commercial district, with murals by Diego Rivera and Orozco, near the awe-inspiring Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Enseñanza (Our Lady of Teaching). Try to catch the raising of the huge Mexican flag at the square which is home to many architectural gems that are now government buildings, such as the Palacio Nacional. At this time, the native noche buena plants, what we call poinsettias, may be displayed all over town in time for Christmas.
Nao or Galleon Trade
The Galleon Trade, referring to the trade route employing massive Spanish trading ships called galeones or galleons, thrived between Manila, the Philippines and Acapulco in Nueva España or New Spain (now Mexico) from the mid 1500s to the early 1800s, when Mexican independence was proclaimed. Thus was Philippine history forever linked with that of Latin America. (This Nao Trade was highlighted in a 2009 special exhibit that we visited at the National Hispanic Museum in Albuquerque, New Mexico.)
Technically, the islands were ruled as a gobernacion, under the Spanish viceroy of New Spain. The route was established when Andres de Urdaneta, sailing under Lopez de Legazpi, tried a new route from the Philippines. Trade flourished as Chinese and Philippine goods, such as silk, porcelain, and Manila hemp (abaca) were exchanged for silver (from Mexico) and coins in what the Spaniards called the Nao Trade for the galleons also called ‘Nao de China.’
Words such as palenque (one of the most famous Mayan ruins in Mexico is the Palenque city state in present-day Chiapas) and tianguis (for open markets or shops) came to the Philippines from Mexico, and, according to a book published by the Distrito Federal (Mexico City) Tourist Office, the word parian in turn came to Mexico from Manila, also pertaining to markets, particularly referring in the Philippines to those of Chinese traders.
As did Spain’s colonies in the Americas, the Filipinos in the 19th century sought independence from colonial rule, particularly with the abuses and inequities suffered by these countries’ inhabitants, in parallel with increasing democratic governance in Spain itself. With the Treaty of Paris in 1898, the Spaniards, with a payment of $20 million from the United States, ceded the Philippines, Cuba and Puerto Rico, even after being defeated by the Filipinos and the Americans in separate wars.
These shared histories with other former Spanish colonies gave rise to interesting events, such as the participation of a group of heroic Mexican pilots, the Aztec Eagles of the Mexican Expeditionary Air Force, who fought with the Americans in 1945 to help liberate the Philippines during WWII, as pointed out by the military and Filipino history authority Nestor Enriquez.
Shared heritage
The Filipino Catholic tradition Santacruzan, celebrated in May, honors the Virgin Mary, and commemorates the search for the Holy Cross by Queen Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine who established Christianity as the official religion in the Roman Empire. In the US, it has recently incorporated the related religious traditions of other Hispanic peoples, as reflected in the shrines at St. Mary’s Church in downtown Jersey City, featuring the different appellations of Our Lady, such as Guadalupe from Mexico, and other traditions from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Argentina, Puerto Rico and Bolivia.
The Filipino, in the Philippines, in the US, or elsewhere -- there are eight million estimated overseas workers or overseas contract workers or OCWs that remit about $14 billion a year to the home country in 2008, third highest volume in the world after Mexicans and Indians working outside of their homeland -- is defined as a people that through history heavily influenced by the role of Christianity, with all the positive and negative ramifications therefrom.
The Philippine archipelago’s inhabitants today represent an ethnic mix of Malay, Chinese, (Asian) Indian, Spanish, American and other influences, which also explains the different flavors and textures of Philippine cuisine, a unique tapestry of different traditions and cultures. And don’t forget the native words from what is now Mexico, such as that staple of Philippine diets, the sweet potato or kamote in Pilipino, which our friend and tour guide Carlos Rivero of Puebla, Mexico informed us is derived from the indigenous Nahuatl term camohtli.
Robert P. DeTagle, MBA, is a writer and editor on travel, history and business, a charter member of the Filipino American National Historical Society-NJ chapter, and an events organizer on art, culture, history and FIl-Am community events;© 2007-09 All rights reserved, R. Perez De Tagle, ARTempoNY@gmail.com.