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- Title:
- Bringing Spanishness
- Description:
- Food is valued as much in Spanish culture as it is in indio and Sangley cultures. The series of #antoniomorga30, #chirino1590 and #diegobob1616 describe steps taken so colonials would be fed with familiar foods. Bringing Spaniards and Spanishness to Filipinas was a goal. Medina, however, wrote of Spanish immigrants around the 50th year: Daily our number is lessening, for the country furnishes but little help. [Filipinas] cannot be compared to Nueva España [Mexico], which has enough inhabitants for itself, and to spare. Nothing increases here, or succeeds. The creoles [Spaniards born in the colony] do not reach their majority, and death comes upon them unseasonably.” Women immigrants were few and did not conceive easily. There were more Spanish living in the southern outskirts of Manila than within the walls. They were all “poor folk, and had native, mestiza or negro women.” Many were sailors, temporary residents, and petty traders. They attended Santiago Church in their vicinity. They abandoned wives and children upon returning to the Americas or the peninsula. Charities and schools were set up by the church to help those forsaken. The King received complaints that Filipinas was not attracting the right kind of Spaniards. The idealised Christian family was being imperiled. Who did the Spanish cooking for colonials who were not hidalgos? Orphanages and refuges taught girls home skills including cooking so they could marry colonial immigrants.
- Subjects:
- Spaniards Spanish immigrants Philippines
- Exhibition:
- Juan Medina 50
- Source:
- Partial view of “The Holy Family.” Juan Senson. c. 1880-1890. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Collection.
- Type:
- Image;Still Image
- Format:
- image/jpeg
Source
- Preferred Citation:
- "Bringing Spanishness", Philippine Food History, Felice P. Sta. Maria
- Reference Link:
- felicepstamaria.net/items/coll124.html