CARLOS RECOMMENDS...
OMG. Calling all Filipino Spanish mestizos out there and those who know them. This is definitely the most surreal thread of posts I have ever read in my life. It seems that someone out there is obsessed with Filipino Spanish Mestizos. So much so that there is now a 39 page thread on a site called EurasianNation.com. It's page after page after page of articles and comments that fetishize - idolize - aggrandize Filipino Spanish Mestizos - from both the high end AND the low end of the spectrum. And not only does the site contain several words about the country's conyoscenti class but it has loads of pictures as well. A definite treasure trove of photographs of mestizos in their element. And no tisoy was left unturned, I tell you. Everyone is there. Oye - and I mean everyone. Check out the pictures of such famous, non-famous, and infamous tisoys and tisays such as Manda Elizalde, Rowell Santiago, Lucy Torres Gomez, Hans Montenegro, Pilita Corrales, Migs Ayesa, Ian Veneracion, The Trillos, The Sorianos, The Mendezonas, The Roxases, Isabel Granada and yikes...even yours truly (complete with a mock photo of my parents, some pictures of my family, and a clip of my interview with Fil-Am actress Lalaine Paras of Lizzie Maguire fame). The site has a few mistakes (such as the entry stating that Filipino Spanish Mestizos today comprise 40% of our population), but nevertheless, it is still a very interesting, although somewhat bizaare - read. And although the site was founded by what sounds like a pair of Dutch Eurasians, the FSM thread seems to be hosted by a true insular insider. There are so many pictures of the Araneta family on vacation, it seems like it was taken by either a holiday guest of theirs or their maid. So strange but yet fascinating.Take it with a grain of salt, oye. Log on to page one here.
Labels: carlos recommends, lalaine, mestizos
posted by carlosceldran @ 7:17 PM
21 Comments:
Who IS this Infanta and where'd she get all those photos? Pretty creepy if you ask me.
I have no idea how she got them. From a Flickr site?
The site was a great laugh! I love how they butchered the mustaches. I also loved the chocolate man.
Hello,
I am Jerome Herrera. I am the owner of Pinoy Penster Community, a website for Amateur and Professional Filipino Writers. I was wondering if we could exchange links. This will give your blog/website a wonderful opportunity to be exposed to our hundreds of visitors everyday. If you are interested, please email me at jeromeherrera2006@gmail.com. Pinoy Penster Community is located at http://penster.fyi.ph
We were pouring over these pages at the office a couple of weeks ago after someone at the office had accidentally stumbled upon it. It's pretty creepy no? Hopefully it didn't cause any harm or inconvenience to the innocent people whose pictures have been plastered on there.
Still trying to find the photo of you with your mock-up parents. If only just to make my visit to the sit worthwhile. Heh!
Found it. Whoa, Carlos, you have arrived! LOL
wow... that was very very creepy. disturbing, actually.
i work closely with filipino spanish people. i head the bilingual team of hsbc. a lot of the spanish speaking reps are old and they used to be rich.
anyway, i noticed that they have this Spanish pride. Pero hindi naman sila kasing creepy nitong forum starter. wow.
Love this line; hilarious! --
"There are so many pictures of the Araneta family on vacation, it seems like it was taken by either a holiday guest of theirs or their maid."
i remember reading in a book called "Burgis" that most mestizos had a friar in their family tree and until now, they can't decide if that should be a source of pride or shame...
heehee.
-albert
Hmmm. It's very creepy and at the same time so pathetic for this person to be so obsessed with mestizos. I mean, why even bother? Parang obsessive cyber stalker ang dating nya. He/she should get a life.
OMG! What a cracker! Poor Ian Veneracion... but surely there are better photos of him around. The irony is that in some Western countries, the Caucasians are actually jealous of our natural tan!
Anna Goyena, I loved your comment about the spanish speaking reps at your work and how they "..used to be rich..." Not sure if that would even have come up as a comment if you were describing the non-spanish people!
I came upon that site accidentally last year and I was so creeped out! This Infanta's "the whiter, the better" mentality is really disturbing; I strongly suspect she/he is obsessed to the point of insanity. I saw some pictures on that site that I'd also seen on personal blogs of mestizos I know. So those photos were stolen, unbeknownst to their owners. I showed the thread to one of them, and he was understandably shocked. Makes me wonder...did some weird trauma cause this stalker's fetish, or is this merely an effect of the rampant mestizo worship in this country?
going through the site, i felt like i was reading the backgrounder for a latin american novel complete with magic realism galore. it has this otherworldy feel to it, as in "nakakakilabot".
why on earth would someone have a fetish for another racial or subcultural group? it baffles the bejesus outta me. it harks so much of the way the americans paraded the early visayans and ifugaos at the st. louis exposition in the early 1900's. or how the hutus think they are superior over the tutsis in the former rwanda.
i find it amazing that there are still people who'd gawk, stare and put on a pedestal of beauty someone for being, well, mestizo.
it's incredibly freaky. but looking at it on a brighter side, Infanta is immensely funny.
____
oh yeah, albert says that he read in Burgis that most mestizo or illustrado families have friars somewhere in their family tree, and it can either be a source of shame or pride. i traced my tree from a horny friar in the panay island who impregnated 13 women. it's a source of consternation for me for not getting that castilian gene. hahaha, so i guess i "fetishize" mestizos, for they have it, and i don't. hehehe
i have Spanish ancestry myself (surname is Lanuzo) from my father's side who hails from Bicol. but i dont look mestiza at all. and really? i'm happy that way. i don't know what the fuss is about Filipino mestizas/mestizos, and the pressure of each Filipino to look like one, but it all boils down to individual definitions of beauty.
@liz
thats what you call colonial mentality :) and believe me sometimes the overly hospitable characteristic of us pinoys towards foreigners makes me sick. i'd have to say its also a weakness.
...btw, yeah the pictures look really creepy!
Hi Carlos,
In case you are not aware. You are featured in the May 7 issue of Time Magazine in an article written by Lara Day.
It is heart-warming to read such a nice account of Manila and see that other people also notice the beauty of this city!
Thumbs up for you and Lara Day!
Dude, that guy is sketchy and creepy. He seems to not respond to the people flaming him. I'd put him on my radar. Is he gay? Im not homophobic though.
what's up with all the photos of bianca?!?! poor girl - someone swiped her friendster or flickr photos!!!
Oh my God! That site is absolutely nuts! I can't believe it actually exists! Had a real hearty laugh going through it!
Aslie
In one of the threads, the Filipino mestizo was narrowly defined as one possessing a mixed racial origin specifically of Spanish and Indio. Which definition does not really cover all the Filipino mestizos as commonly and locally understood.
Wrote a blog entry about it:
http://theignatianperspective.blogspot.com/2006/07/filipino-mestizo.html
We must remember that the word mestizo is loosely defined as a person of mixed racial origin, for after all the word itself is Spanish for “of mixed blood”.
Thus, why not any mixture? In that context, we have the well-recognized mestizo Sangley in Cebu. And quite commonly, the mestizo Americano or mestiza Americana.
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