History The Spaniards arrived and began to colonizing the Philippines in 1521.

The Philippines remained a colony of Spain for nearly 400 years before it declare its independence [1]. Thought the Philippines was a colony of Spain, many of the influence from Spanish culture is from Mexico because Mexico was the major trade partner with the Philippine Isles. The Philippine was also by Miguel Lpez de Legazpi through Mexico. Name of the Philippines The name of the Philippines comes from the king of Spain Philip II. It was given by the Spanish explorer Ruy Lpez de Villalobos who named the islands of Samar and Leyte "Las Islas Felipinas" (The Philippine Islands), during his expedition in 1543. Throughout the colonial period, the name Felipinas (Philippines) was used, and became the official name of the Philippines. There are many provinces in the Philippines with Spanish names, such as Nueva Vizcaya, Nueva Ecija, Laguna, Isabela, Quirino, Aurora, La Union, Marinduque, Antique, Negros Occidental,Negros Oriental, Nueva Segovia and Valle de Compostela. Many cities, and towns are also named in Spanish, such as Medellin, La Libertad, Naga City (prior to 1919 was known as Nueva Cceres), Las Pias, Prosperidad, Isabela, Sierra Bullones,Angeles, La Paz, Esperanza, Buenavista, Pilar, La Trinidad, Garcia Hernandez, Trece Martires, Los Baos, and many more. There are numerous other towns and cities named after saints, such as San Fernando, Santa Rosa, San Isidro, San Jos, San Juan and San Pablo, as well as after Spanish places like Madrid, Santander, Toledo, Cdiz, Valencia, Murcia, Lucena, and Pamplona. Other native Filipino names are spelled using Spanish orthography, such as Cagayn de Oro, Paraaque, and Ceb. Language It is no surprise, that the Spanish colonists brought over the Spanish language to the Philippines. But understand, that Philippines and Spain are too far apart. So, the Philippines was ruled from what is now Mexico. Also, the Spanish language was not spoken by a majority. Proabably only 30-48% of Filipinos began to speak Spanish at the time. Because, someone made a good point when they said that the Philippines was colonized. Not conquered, like Mexico. Filipinos also spoke Mexican Spanish, not Castilian (European Spanish). A lot of words from old Filipino Spanish are from native Mexican dialects. When the Philippines declared independance from Spain, Spanish still remained the official language of the Philippines, although spoken by a bare 40% still. In the 1970s, the Filipinos began an anti-Hispanic culture revolution. But today, the Spanish language has still influenced the linguistic traits of Filipinos. Tagalog, or Filipino which is the national language of the Philippines; contains an innumerable amount of Spanish cognates. The days of the week are still told in Spanish, as well as time telling. Also, there is a native dialect called Chevacano in the Philippines. It is a Spanish-creole.

Religion Although, the Philippines was colonized not conquered. But it was still colonized in a conqueredmanner. The Spanish, brought over the Roman Catholic religion. Prior to this, Filipinos were a majority Muslim, with large populations of Buddhists and Animists and Hindus. About 90% of Filipinos were converted to the Roman Catholic religion. The Spanish didn't really have a hard time converting the Filipinos unlike the bloodshed they caused in Mexico and South America. Compare to the Filipino's Malay brothers down south, their colonists didn't care about converting people. So think of Malaysian people like Filipinos without a Spanish ancestry. The reason for this, is because the Spanish people had just finished off a Muslim empire that had once ruled Spain. They were appaulled at the presence of Muslims in the Philippines. But a remaining 5-10% of Filipino are still Muslims. They live in the Muslim Region of Mindanao. Mindanao, is still a majority Catholic population. Food I love this part the most. You see I'm from the Philippines, and when I came to America and was educated about Spanish and Mexican culture; I noticed a lot of heart-striking similarities between the culinary cuisines of Mexico and Philippines. The Spanish also brought in food. Lechon, is a popular Hispanic dish. But it is now the national dish of the Philippines. You'll find lechon in every rich Filipino party. This is an entire roasted pig. Also, chicharonnes are also pork they can be chicken too. They are deep fried to the point of drying and eaten as a snack. A lot of times, dipped in vinegar (Filipinos) and hot sauce (Mexicans). Flan, is a the Spanish version of European custard. In Mexico, it's twisted a little and a little denser and harder than the European version. In the Philippines, it is a national dessert. I'd tip my hats of to Filipinos for even calling in "lecheplan", "leche" means "milk" in Spanish. The Filipino version is the same as the Mexican version. Crispi patta, is basically the same as lechon. Basically, the Spanish introduced pork and alcohol into Philippine cuisine. Since by the time the Spanish left, 90-95% of Filipinos were already Catholic converts. So no need, for the Islamic restriction of pork and alcohol except for the minority Muslims. Architecture Spanish-Mexican architecture, still remains in the Philippines. The Catholic churches in the Philippines highly resemble those from Mexico. Not Spain. A lot of Filipino religious architecture, is built MexicanSpanish style. Catholics in the Philippines are also big fans, of worshipping Mother Mary statues like that (which personally I find to be bad), and Catholics from Mexico also show the same practice. Values and Attitude Spanish culture and traditions, both good and bad, run deep in his blood. Many of the Filipino's values are of Spanish origin. Arrogance and generosity to a fault are typically Spanish. The emphasis on gentility and appearance, reputation and status, are also Spanish. Another Spanish tradition that Filipinos have inherited is the disdain for manual work.

There are many Filipino values that Filipinos should be very proud of! I can only give you some, but there are much much more! Here are some of them; Hospitality is one of the values that tourists from around the world notice first everytime they visit the Philipppines. Filipinos took great care of their guests , making sure that they're comfortable and happy in their stay. Filipinos are also family oriented. They value greatly their families, which is always on top of their priorities. Filipinos are also happy people, always smiling and never forget to have a good laugh amidst the problems and hardships that come their ways. Filipinos are very respectful. They show respect to their elders by saying 'po' and 'opo' and kissing their hands. Filipinos are also religious. They devote time to reconnect with their God. They have strong faith, believing that problems and adversities in life will surpass with the help and providence of God.