Filipino Cubans are
Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
ns of
Filipino ancestry. Filipinos have been settling in Cuba since the 16th century and they are one of the earliest Asian communities in the country.
History of migration
Filipinos and other Asian workers reached Cuba by sailing in the
Manila-Acapulco galleons that crossed the Pacific Ocean regularly from the late 16th century until 1815.
Manila
Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
was the jump-off point for all Spanish trade coming from
East Asia
East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...
, while
Havana
Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.[Latin America
Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...](_bl ...<br></span></div> was the take-off point for Spanish trading ships sailing from <div class=)
to
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
. Most of the Asians who landed in Cuba went on to work in "Nueva Filipinas" (New Philippines) which is now
Pinar del Río
Pinar del Río is the capital city of Pinar del Río Province, Cuba. With a population of 191,081 (2022), it is the List of cities in Cuba, 10th-largest city in Cuba. Inhabitants of the area are called ''Pinareños''.
History
Pinar del Río was ...
.
Most Filipinos who were brought by the Spaniards to Cuba worked in the tobacco plantations while there were others who were altar boys, catechism leaders, and church workers. Pinar del Río is famous for their cigars, which were brought over from the
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
by the Spanish because it was much closer to Europe and easier to oversee. Afterwards, some Filipinos moved to Havana's big Barrio Chino or
Chinatown
Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...
.
[ : Pinar del Río] Others jumped ship to
Louisiana
Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
. Others also sailed back to Sinaloa and Jalisco in Mexico. Those with money went to
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
or back to Manila (and brought with them the "Escabeche a la Cubana" which is a favorite dish to all Filipinos which they almost always serve using fish). The rest intermarried with the Cuban population.
Over time, the Filipinos who stayed quickly lost their ties to the Philippines since many among the Filipinos were like the local Cubans. They can speak Spanish, they were Catholic, they have to pay taxes or tributos, and they were treated like slaves by their Spanish masters. Nonetheless, their children survive to this day. Filipino Cubans were generally called “Chinos Manila," as Manila was very famous among the Cuban population at that time.
Notable people
Important Filipino Cubans include the Azcárraga Fessner family, whose patriarch was
Marcelo de Azcarraga y Palmero, the first Prime Minister of Spain to be of Filipino descent, whose mother was a Filipina from the Lizárraga and Palmero-Verzosa families.
Guantanamo Bay
There are Filipinos and American people of Filipino descent on
Guantanamo Naval Base in eastern Cuba.
See also
*
Cuba–Philippines relations
*
Asian Latin Americans
Asian Latin Americans (sometimes ''Asian-Latinos'') are Latin Americans of Asian diaspora, Asian descent. Asian immigrants to Latin America have largely been from East Asia or West Asia. Historically, Asians in Latin America have a centuries-l ...
*
Asian Hispanic and Latino Americans
Asian Hispanic and Latino Americans, also called Asian Hispanics or Asian Latinos, are Americans of Asian people, Asian ancestry and ancestry from Latin America. It also refers to Asians from Latin America that speak Spanish language, Spanish o ...
*
Filipino immigration to Mexico
References
{{Overseas Filipinos
Asian diaspora in Cuba
Cuba–Philippines relations
Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...