Fil-Mexican relations

Yesterday, Mexico com-memorated its National Holiday, which marks the day that Fr. Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla delivered a speech in his church in the town of Dolores that was later immortalized as El Grito or the cry that marked the beginning of the end of the Spanish regime in that part of the New World.

Few people of the present generation are aware of the very close relations that Mexico and the Philippines had during the Spanish regime. The truth is that the culture that Philippine culture resembles the most is that of Mexico and not any of our neighbors. This was all due to the fact that we had no direct connection with Spain till the Suez Canal was open. Our relation was through Mexico in what was the very first truly international trade that involved the Old World, the New World and Asia. That, of course was the galleon trade. Outside Intramuros, is a monument in honor of Fr. Miguel Hidalgo and around are featured many of the plants that were brought into the Philippines through that galleon trade. Many of the fruits and vegetables that we consider as indigenous actually came from Mexico. Classic examples are corn, camote, avocado and peanuts.

Undoubtedly, Spain was our Mother Country. It was Spanish rule that determined our present borders because our borders are the islands that Spain conquered when they got dominion of islands in this part of the world. Their conquest of parts of the Old World and the Philippines made their empire the very first where the sun never sets. In one generation, Spain’s territory doubled to what it took the Roman Empire 500 years to achieve. Mexico’s role during the Spanish colonization of the Philippines was that of an elder brother, for they, too, were part of the Spanish Empire. Like Mexico, the Filipinos that truly started the resistance against Spanish Rule were three priests – Gomez, Burgos and Zamora. Rizal himself said that if it were not for Gomburza, he would have been a Jesuit. There is a Rizal monument in Mexico City.

Today, Mexican telenovelas are a big hit with the Filipinos. This is because Mexican movies are credible when dubbed in Tagalog. The same cannot be said of English and other foreign movies. Mexican movies easily adopt into Tagalog because Mexican and Filipino values are identical. We should initiate some regular cultural interchange programs with Mexico.