There is almost no information about the Philippines in our language so take note
1.THE LETTER 'F'
Not many Pilipinos know how to pronounce the letter efe. The future Felipe II would have done well to be called Pedro. The islands “Philippines” , baptized for the first time by a Spanish explorer in honor of the then Prince of Asturias in the 16th century, would end up becoming one of the greatest ironies in history: the Spanish empire came to call its new colony with a name that the natives did not know how to say . Because not many Pilipinos (because this is the demonym in the local language) know how to pronounce the letter efe, whose phoneme they automatically substitute for that of the pe . So when your family goes to ask for information, you already know what to expect.
two. HOME OF THE MOST SURREALIST RAVES
As a result of Spanish colonization, it is the only country (if we discount the tiny East Timor ) of Christian majority from Asia. From the procession of the Black Nazarene in the streets of Manila that every January 9 brings together millions of people (he's serious: millions ) to the actual crucifixions that take place every Holy Week in Saint Peter Cutud in a kind of representation halfway between the passion of Christ and the life of Brian. The Philippines is also home to one of the largest sects in the world, which in its local name is hilarious to the Spanish audience: Ni Kristo Church . The fact is that there are millions of faithful around the world.
Not even Andalusian Holy Week causes so much passion
3. CEMETERY PARTY
As the previous section had fallen short to cover so many Catholic festivals, we opened a separate one for Undas. On November 1 and 2, the entire family gathers in the cemetery to remember the deceased. Umbrellas, camping chairs, lunch boxes full of food and, again, millions of people who flood the cemeteries . Instead of spending the weekend in the country, he lies down in the field... holy.
Four. THE SOUTH AMERICANS OF SOUTHEAST ASIA
This is how Filipinos are usually considered, more open-minded than the Vietnamese or the Thai . His admirable ability to overcome circumstances is explained with a couple of anecdotes. The first happened to me in an interview with the architect Paulo Alcazaren, who blurted out: “There is an American writer named Jeff Speckus who, in his latest book, says that the key to the quality of cities it is happiness . This cannot be applied to the Philippines, because even if we have the biggest flood in history, we are still smiling.” The second happened to a friend when he went to cover the passage of the Typhoon Haiyan (6,500 dead in November 2013). What did one of the survivors say to the biggest typhoon in history? “Filipinos are waterproof!”
They carry cante and baile deep inside
5. CRAZY FOR DANCING AND SINGING
We could easily coin the expression “longer than a casting for Operación Triunfo in the Philippines”. In this country of 100 million people, much of the population seems vaccinated against shame. It can already be in a promotion of a department store or in a park, don't be surprised to see people dancing and singing. The Philippine low-cost airline Cebu Pacific shows off this fun character (point 4) and this local passion to set up some on-board contests in which passengers tend to end up having a laugh. Or singing.
6,300 YEARS IN THE CHURCH AND 50 IN HOLLYWOOD!
This could roughly describe the colonial history of the Philippines. After three centuries of Spanish presence, and forced by the emerging world power, Spain sold the colony to Uncle Sam for $200,000. When you hear that "more was lost in Cuba", now you know that the Philippine Islands are the "plus" the one you never knew what the hell he meant.
7. PASSION FOR BASKETBALL
Fruit of the American colonization, the sport of the basket grew in the Philippines long before other current powers of this discipline. An example: the Philippine basketball league is, after the NBA, the oldest in the world that is still active. And that we are talking about a country in which the average height is around 1.60. Watching kids barely bigger than the ball dribble in flip-flops and into a handcrafted basket hanging from a coconut tree is a sight to behold. It is also witnessing a professional match at the Araneta Coliseum, with thousands of dedicated fans.
Basketball: its national sport
8. THE PHILIPPINES ARE 7,107 ISLANDS
In other words, transportation between them is not easy. . And less in typhoon season. Ships and planes prudently cancel their routes, so plan your trips with a certain margin. As a good country in Southeast Asia, airplanes and long-haul Philippine buses have their air conditioning turned on at full blast, as if they had just invented it. So dress warm. Just for the ride. Do not thank me.
There are more than 7000 islands...
9. UNIQUE GASTRONOMY BASED ON CULTURAL MIXTURES
If paradise were a dessert, it would surely be the lecheflan (sic). Why had no one ever thought of making a traditional flan before, replacing milk with... condensed milk ? The adobo, the piglet and the caldereta, are they original Filipino? What do they sound like Spanish cuisine? Yes, but you won't find these dishes except on the islands. In the Philippines they also have their own local fast food chains. , such as Jollibee (hamburger) or Inasal (chicken) . Try to avoid them. And street food is usually not appetizing either. There are also local fruits, such as calamansi , a few small limes with tangerine flavor. His juice is fabulous.
10. THE FIRST CHINESE NEIGHBORHOOD IN THE WORLD IS IN MANILA
And it doesn't have an exotic name from an Indiana Jones movie, but rather it's called Binondo, which sounds like a village idiot. Chinese from the Fujian region began to settle here in the 9th century, whose descendants are now considered chinoys : half Chinese, half pinoy , as Filipinos call themselves. So the Manila shawl of the famous couplet, young Padawan, is more than likely made of Chinese silk. There is also Chinese food distorted by the tropics.
Welcome to Binondo!
eleven. "I WORK THE BIYERNES"
These three words are some of the thousands that make up the heritage of Spanish in the Filipino language, estimated at twenty percent . Surely it happens to you on more than one occasion that you listen to a talk between Filipinos in which it seems that they insert Spanish words in the middle of unintelligible speeches. Biyahe, airplane, garbage or demokrasya are some examples that you will come across. Try to invent some: you may be right.
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