Why do a lot of americans think philipinos are like mexicans?

Question

I have found that in America a lot of people think Filipinos are more like Mexicans than Asian. I am half filipino and always thought of myself as asian untill some people said filipinos weren't asians. I don't know what to think any more.

Answer 1

Most of the Americans who come here are soldiers if not those guys who married Filipinas and are therefore influenced by their wives to come for a visit or live here. Some businessmen with prefered interest in the Philippines also live here and therefore learn that Philippines is indeed a part of Asia, being in the SouthEast Asian region.

The US government always issues sanctions to its citizens from coming to the Philippines, with terrorism threat posing great danger to them as the reason. It is due to this frequent sanctions, that a lot of ordinary Americans are ignorant of the origin and culture of the Filipinos, particularly those who have not even been to Asia yet.

Or perhaps, those Americans telling you that you are more Mexican than Asian, are those armchair tourists reading about the Philippines in American authored books that tell readers that the Spanish Regional Office was in Mexico and that the administration of the Philippines during its colonization was done from Mexico. Under the Treaty of Paris in 1898, Philippines and Mexico were part of the territories sold and ceded by Spain to the US together with Puerto Rico and Cuba. Other than this falacious premise, I find no other basis for the belief that you are more half Mexican than half Asian.

Believe me, we may not be Asian in some ways due to the strong influence of the two colonizers particularly in languages/dialects , but we are Asian by blood, with a common mix of Malay and Chinese blood as most Asians are, (Mexicans are a mix of Indian/Inca and some Spanish blood); by location being bound in the north by Taiwan, in the East by the Philippine Sea and Pacific Ocean, on the west by the China Sea, on the south by the Celebes Sea and Indonesia and Moluccas. Japan is to our Northeast and Borneo is to our Southwest. Philippines is strategically in the center of SouthEast Asian Region, which is why it is the choice of US as its gateway to the east.

The only thing that is not so Asian in us, is the lack of knowedge and appreciation in the majority of young Filipinos of the Philippine History. It is sad to observe that the young students of today do not know much about the Philippine history. I am not sure if there is a coordinated effort or not between the Philippine Government and some foreign governments to totally obliterate the historical information on the Philippines and even the teaching of history in the grade and high schools are now merged with other unimportant subjects if not eliminated altogether. Thanks to these mongrelized Filipinos as Philippine government officials, that if only in this respect, I would agree that we are not Asians, because most of the citizens of Asian countries around us are so proud of their history and their governments take care that their people don't forget about their historical roots.

Answer 2

I don't think so, probably they're Idiots. They can't identify the difference of Filipino people from Mexicanos.

Answer 3

Yes there are a few similarities due to the Spanish colonial influences, but I don't think they go far enough to justify calling the Philippines "the Mexico of Asia" as some have done...for example the spanish language did not take nearly as much root in the Philippines as it did in Mexico and keeps falling into disuse more and more every day. Therefore the Philippines was lucky to retain a lot more of its original "native character" when compared to Mexico while at the same time absorbing other influences such as Chinese, Arabic, Indian, Japanese and "American". Perhaps it is because of all these influences that Filipino culture is one of the most cosmopolitan and open-minded in the world.

Answer 4

Some americans are stupid, trust me I know, I'm american. The spanish influence upon the filipino culture has a lot to do with that also.

examples:
filipino - kumsta / mexican - como esta
filipino - peso / mexican - peso


Also if you follow geneology and anthropology, the native indians of Mexico had emmigrated from asia and were conquered by the spanish, similar to the filipinos.

Filipinos are asians though, austronesian pacific islanders, for the most part, but definately asian.

Answer 5

Because like the mexicans, filipinos love to travel to the US and they speak a foreign language. Moreover, Mexicans and Filipinos are HOT!

Answer 6

Probably because both Mexico and the Philippines were both Spanish colonies and the people in both countries speak Spanish. (Many Philippinos also speak Tagalog, the main native language and also American English).
Another reason would be that unlike other western and European nations, many American are not geographically knowledgeable of the world.
Philippinos are Asian and a large number (about 30%) are ethnically Mon-Khmer from mainland S.E. Asia and from when the Khmer Empire (Cambodian Angkor period) was at its height

Answer 7

Filipinos are Asians because their country, the Philippines, is belong to the continent called Asia.

Filipinos kind'a look like Mexicans because of the color their hair, short staure, some facial features and some Filipinos speak Spanish just like the Mexicans.

Are you half-Fil, half-Mexican? If yes, you are considred Fil-Mex. You can never say you are pure Filipino. If you are half-Fil and half-American, then you are Fil-Am not pure American nor pure Filipino.

Got it?

Answer 8

Not only Americans but Mexicans as well. At one time, some latinos talk to me in Spanish like I am one of them. I said, " No hablo Español, amigo." They were astonished, and I was surprized because I am pure Filipino.

Answer 9

Culture gained from 400 years of Spanish rule. Filipinos look asian but are more Hispanic in culture and habits.

Answer 10

Mexico and the Philippines almost have the same cultures and appearance and religion. The only thing different from us to the Mexicans is that we don't speak Spanish and we are located in Asia