Filipinos of Mixed Heritages (Briefly)

My nephew has been to the Philippines twice in the last six months.  He recently shared his observation that he did not see much racial diversity there.  Here is an excerpt from my reply.

 

In the chapter about my teaching at UP Diliman in Sundays in Manila, I talk about how over the four or five months of that experience, I recognized the varieties of Filipino mixed heritages. I was pleased when I was able to recognize the differences among Filipinos of mixed heritages, including Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, American and Indigenous. Still, your point is well taken. The majority of Filipinos are still primarily of Malay extract, although this is gradually changing.

 

An interesting (partly) related anecdote.  A Filipina friend once told me that I should identify myself as Irish-American rather than American because my mother was 100% Irish, with both her parents immigrating from the old sod.  My friend is definitely viewing the maternal line as defining. She is also suggesting, I think, that "American" is too general and perhaps inaccurate as a designation.