Why do filipinos call themselves spanish?

Question

I dont get it, maybe 100+ years ago they may have had some living spanish connection. But not know, i'd say 99% of all filo girls that i have ever meet say they are 1/2, or 1/4 spanish. If so, that means that either there parents are spanish or there grandparents are spanish. But when you ask them, they say there parents were born and raised in the Filipines.

I find it abit weird, what do you think?

TY,
I have 8 female friends that are Filo. All of them, bar one, says they are spanish. With these 8 friends come more and more of their friends who are Filo girls. Overall, i'd say that, face to face, i've meet 50 plus. And thats not including Filo's that i meet in chat rooms over the net. And from all these people that i have talked to, i can honestly say that i only remember a handful that didn't say they were spanish.

TY,
Also i did not say All Filo girls call themselves Spanish. I said 99% of Filo girls that i know call themselves spanish. Theres a difference.
And by the way, why are you getting so hot headed about this. Relax, Its just a question. If i struck some kind of nerve then i apoligise, i didn't mean to. But theres no need to get all hot and bothered by someones question.

Answer 1

I've been to the Philippines many times, and even have Filipino friends, but I have never met anyone claim that he or she is Spanish. It is not surprising that some Filipinos have mixed Spanish and Filipino blood since their country was once colonized by Spain for a very long time. But how many do you really know to generalize that "ALL FILIPINO (by the way, it's not "filo" and Philippines is not "Filipines") GIRLS" claim this and that?

Not to sound rude but what I find weird is the the logic behind your naive and obviously ignorant generalization.

(By the way, my friends, though some of them have mixed Filipino, Spanish, American and Chinese blood, still prefer to be identified as Filipinos.)

Answer 2

They don't really call themselves Spanish. Because of the history of the Philippines being a Spanish colony for over 400 years, the Spaniards mixed with a lot of the natives. A lot of the Filipinos have mixed Spanish blood on them but they don't know how much. Some may have more than the others. Unless they can trace their ancestors, they cannot determine how much percentage they have of the Spanish blood they have in them. I guess you can say Filipinos are Hispanics because of the Spanish blood in them but they categorized themselves as Asian. A lot of the natives were also given Spanish names or simply the Spaniards(descendants of Spain) had married into the families in the Philippines long ago. This is also why Filipinos have Spanish last names and they have some traditions that came from Spain. For example, I'm Filipino but I do have Spanish blood. I can trace it on my mother's side but not on my father's side. My grandfather is full blooded Spanish on my mother's side but I just categorize myself as Asian.

Answer 3

I'm Filipino, but I was born in Washington State. I'm more of a "Twinkie" though: Yellow on the outside, White in the inside.

When I was in high school, there was a small "Island" where all the Filipinos, Guamanians, and Asians hung out. It was nicknamed "The Island."

I had Filipino Friends that really used to be gung ho about being Filipino. They had the saying "Pinoy Power."

Spain conquered the Philippines during the Imperial Times. Many Filipino words are of Spanish origin. So there's a lot of influence.

A trademark of Filipinos is that they tend to have flat noses. I was lucky enough to actually have a bridge on my nose, which some people believe to mean "mestizo" (sp?) meaning there's Spanish influence.

It could be that the Filipinas that you've been running into are trying to distinguish themselves. It all depends on the background and heritage. Everyone likes to be different.

It's been said that in society, if everyone is the same, people will find a way of differentiating themselves so that they stand out. During caveman times, it was said in a news article that cavegirls that had blue or green eyes or had blonde hair were literally coveted or seen as special compared to the typical brown-eyed girl with dark hair.

With the Filipinas you're talking with, it could be that they're acting out similar behavior of wanting to stand out or be different by claiming they have Spanish roots. That's how it is with women

In my case, I'm 1/8 Chinese. If I really wanted to toot my own horn I could talk about how I'm of Royal Blood and a Filipino Prince. Whoopty Doo. Some people with Royal Blood may take pride in mentioning that, others don't care. My mom used to tell me growing up that I was the first with my last name born here in the United States and about bearing a male heir to carry on the line.

My mom used to fawn over me being 5' 11", which is pretty tall for a male Filipino in the Philippines and in Washington State. I've been in California where there's more of a mix and I've seen some male Filipinos that are 6'2". Most likely they're only half Filipino.

Some people take their heritage seriously and make a big deal out of it, while others don't. It all depends on how you were raised, what values your family placed emphasis on, and your environment.

Answer 4

Maybe it's true, maybe it's not. Does a person's ancestry really matter to you? Maybe these Filipinas you're talking about aren't too proud of being who and what they are and by saying they have so and so ancestry, they think it makes them special, better than full-blooded Filipinos. Then again, they may just be stating a fact. Nevertheless, it's a fact that a lot of Filipinos still have in them the blood of those who came and conquered the PHILIPPINES (that's how you spell it). It's more sad than weird if these chicks think that way.

Answer 5

Yes, Spaniards invaded their land and generated thousands upon thousands of Spanish/Filipinos, some can trace their ancestry back a few generations. I assume they are proud of their heritage hence their need to make that connection.

Like some Americans can trace their roots to Native American Indians and make sure they announce they are 1/3 or 1/4 Indian.

There's no difference in pride, just your lack of understanding theirs.

Answer 6

Well spain colonized philippines centuries ago and some of them united with the natives. I'm kinda 1/6 spanish and my mom is a cebuana and my grand mother's father was spanish. That explains my wavy dark reddish brown hair.

Answer 7

it is just as weird as Americans dividing into Whites and Blacks and Italians and Irish when they have been here for generations too. Just cuz they have the blood, right? Why can't filipinos be filipinos, whether they are native or hispanic,,, and Americans be Americans whether they are European or African. oops.. that's a question, eh? okay... it's cuz some of the people have Spanish blood and they are proud of it,, just like Americans here are proud of whatever 'old country' they came from.

Answer 8

I wonder how they learned to speak spanish.. there had to be plenty of spanish speaking people living there to have the language so diverse in the islands. The do maintain their native language also but most speak fluent spanish.. and most speak fluent english too.

Answer 9

because some people like to dilute the blood. it's supposed to sound cool and make them seem more exotic or whatever. but really, only 2% of the filipino population has spanish blood.

Answer 10

they were a spanish colony before the yanks took over. mainly because they think its cool to be called half spanish. they think they can be exotic to you naive white boys. hahaha!!
overall, most of them are proud of their philipino or pinoy heritage and spanish is no longer widely spoken. tagalog is the national language now.