More Hispanic Than We Admit 4
Quincentennial Edition
1821–2021
Filipino and Spanish Interactions over the Centuries

Edited by Jorge Mojarro
With a foreword by Marya Svetlana T. Camacho

More Hispanic than We Admit 4 navigates through two hundred years of history—from 1821 to 2021—that reify the enduring importance of the Hispanic legacy in the evolution of a distinctly cosmopolitan Filipino identity. This volume explores topics as varied as the Augustinians’ trailblazing missionary efforts in the Cordilleras; the significant role of the Moro region in the development of the nascent Philippine nation-state; the origins of the Jesuit-run Manila Observatory and its lively scientific pursuits; the intertextual impact of Hispano-Filipino intellectuals on shaping modern nationalist discourse; José Rizal’s semiotic transformation into a martyr and his novels’ similarities with contemporaneous Spanish-American literature; the social stratification of the Katipunan and their association with Freemasonry; the Spanish friars’ significant but often overlooked contributions to the conservation of Philippine languages; distinctly Filipino interpretations of Spanish poet-martyr Federico García Lorca’s poetry; the twists and turns of cultural and diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Spain from the Spanish Civil War to the present day; and the enduring, if increasingly vestigial, presence of Spain in the Philippines, viewed from a unique anthropological perspective.

This anthology of thirteen diverse, thought-provoking, and interconnected essays reveals the scale of a truly global Hispanic culture borne of the legacy of cultural, political, and socioeconomic ties. Supplemented with archival records, anecdotal accounts, and rare images and maps, the book offers its readers an engaging and enriched understanding of how the Philippines, in the throes of its identity-building, will always be more Hispanic than it can ever admit.

This volume is the sequel to the previously published More Hispanic Than We Admit 3 (finalist for best history book at the 39th National Book Awards). The two volumes form the special edition collection to commemorate the quincentenary of Spanish-Philippine interactions from 1521 to 2021.

This book is yet another brilliant addition to the highly acclaimed multi-volume series with its collection of new, classic, and thought-provoking studies by eminent scholars. Editor Jorge Mojarro has put together essays that foreground different dimensions of Philippine-Spanish encounters using a variety of approaches. This volume is indeed an invaluable contribution to scholarship on the Philippines. It is a must-read for anyone who wants to study Philippine society, culture, and history.

— Grace Concepción
University of the Philippines Diliman