Left, the Statue of the Navigators, in Lisbon.Filipinos have an innate affinity with anything Latin. Perhaps it's because the country had been ruled by the Spaniards for some three hundred years; no matter how we dislike the word "rule", that's what really happened.
Anyways, when the Spaniards made Filipinos change their last names into Spanish names, it started the "Hispanization" of the country, but first, after the Christian religion had been introduced to the natives.
Spain, during the colonization period, occupied at least 21 countries and various colonies. That's why today, Spanish is the official language in 21 countries and spoken in another 44. Only in Spain's former colony of the Philippines is English the official language. Why? My conjecture is that because the U.S. was the one who introduced mass education here, its language became officially adopted by the school system and then by the Philippine government after it gained its independence . The Spaniards did not educate the Filipinos through publicly-funded schools, but only through the parochial school systems, but then, only the rich "ilustrados" like the Rizals, del Pilars, etc. could afford to attend them.
Philippines was "discovered" accidentally by Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese, who had been commissioned by King Philip II of Spain. I assume thefore, that Magellan spoke both Portuguese and Spanish.
At the height of its own navigating prowess, the Portuguese conquistadores captured and ruled some 22 countries and territories, Brazil and Macau, among them. Thus, today, the Portuguese language is the seventh widely- spoken language in the world, thanks to the almost 200 million-strong population of Brazil.
Which brings me to my first point: Brazilian music. Latin music.
According to the Free Encyclopedia, " Latin music is a popular art form developed in various Latin American countries, mainly Cuba, and is unique for the type of rhythmic structures it builds upon. It is vocal and instrumental music, originally derived from African religious ceremonies, however viewed today primarily as dance music. Its strongest characteristic, however, is its rhythm, which is highly syncopated (when the various rhythms being played at one time, create counterpoint against each other in exciting cross rhythms). It is traditionally played by native percussion and string instruments, namely the timbales, congas, bongo, guitar, and the tres (nine-string Cuban guitar). Over time, the piano replaced the guitar as the choral instrument, while the bass, woodwinds, trumpets and trombones were added to play melodies and riffs (repetitions of sound). Most Latin music is based on a rhythmic pattern known as the clave. Clave is the basic building block of all Cuban music, and is a 3-2 (occasionally 2-3) rhythmic pattern. Claves are also the name for the two sticks that play this 3-2 (clave) pattern. (when the various rhythms being played at one time, create counterpoint against each other in exciting cross rhythms). "
The Latin music/rhythm has in turn, produced the Latin dances such as habanera/bolero of Cuba, samba and bossa nova of Brazil, tango of Argentina, and mariachi of Mexico.
It is important to point out that what is now known as Latin America is highly influenced by European colonization and the slave trade with Africa. Currently, Latin America, the countries of the Western Hemisphere south of the United States, include the Caribbean Islands, Mexico, Central and South America and contain an amalgamation of cultural influences, namely European, the Moors, Mexican, and other African tribes. And Europe contributed the region's two main languages, Spanish and Portuguese - thus, the Filipinos' connection to loving Latin.
Here in Toronto, the Portuguese-speaking population is roughly about 109,000. So every year, come summer time, the Salsa Festival is being celebrated at the street corner where a lot of the residents are of Portuguese/Brazilian descent: at the St. Clair West area, in the locality where I used to work.
At the height of its own navigating prowess, the Portuguese conquistadores captured and ruled some 22 countries and territories, Brazil and Macau, among them. Thus, today, the Portuguese language is the seventh widely- spoken language in the world, thanks to the almost 200 million-strong population of Brazil.
Which brings me to my first point: Brazilian music. Latin music.
According to the Free Encyclopedia, " Latin music is a popular art form developed in various Latin American countries, mainly Cuba, and is unique for the type of rhythmic structures it builds upon. It is vocal and instrumental music, originally derived from African religious ceremonies, however viewed today primarily as dance music. Its strongest characteristic, however, is its rhythm, which is highly syncopated (when the various rhythms being played at one time, create counterpoint against each other in exciting cross rhythms). It is traditionally played by native percussion and string instruments, namely the timbales, congas, bongo, guitar, and the tres (nine-string Cuban guitar). Over time, the piano replaced the guitar as the choral instrument, while the bass, woodwinds, trumpets and trombones were added to play melodies and riffs (repetitions of sound). Most Latin music is based on a rhythmic pattern known as the clave. Clave is the basic building block of all Cuban music, and is a 3-2 (occasionally 2-3) rhythmic pattern. Claves are also the name for the two sticks that play this 3-2 (clave) pattern. (when the various rhythms being played at one time, create counterpoint against each other in exciting cross rhythms). "
The Latin music/rhythm has in turn, produced the Latin dances such as habanera/bolero of Cuba, samba and bossa nova of Brazil, tango of Argentina, and mariachi of Mexico.
It is important to point out that what is now known as Latin America is highly influenced by European colonization and the slave trade with Africa. Currently, Latin America, the countries of the Western Hemisphere south of the United States, include the Caribbean Islands, Mexico, Central and South America and contain an amalgamation of cultural influences, namely European, the Moors, Mexican, and other African tribes. And Europe contributed the region's two main languages, Spanish and Portuguese - thus, the Filipinos' connection to loving Latin.
Here in Toronto, the Portuguese-speaking population is roughly about 109,000. So every year, come summer time, the Salsa Festival is being celebrated at the street corner where a lot of the residents are of Portuguese/Brazilian descent: at the St. Clair West area, in the locality where I used to work.
What about the Tagalog language? It is spoken by roughly about 77,000 Filipinos in the Toronto-CMA area, which makes it the 9th language spoken in the area.
Which brings me to the last point: this last week in April, there will be a Latin jazz concert at the Royal Conservatory, the Luis Mario Ochoa Quintet, a Cuban group - here is another great show to watch and hear.
No comments:
Post a Comment