The Hispanidad in the Filipino Soul

Abstract

In our article we aim to delve into the meaning and scope of the Hispanidad in the Philippines. We will see how Hispanidad, a concept full of meaning, lives within the Filipino soul, deeply marking its identity. Although it is not our intention to address in detail the historical process of its formation, we cannot forget that said term was developed during the first decades of the 20th century, a time in which Filipino literature in Spanish flourished in the archipelago, becoming the Golden Age of Philippine Letters, a period that to date has not been equaled, and whose thematic axis was the Filipino Hispanidad. That literature was not alien to the spirit that generated such a concept, so in this article we will try to explain what Hispanidad was, what its essence is, its relevance and its incomparable contribution to the cultures of Spain and Latin America and, from this, refer to its presence, development and settlement in the Philippines. The idea of Hispanidad has attached the notions of Humanism and Catholicity, aspects without which the essence of this concept cannot be conceived in depth. Almost 80% of the Filipino population is Christian, so that within its culture the characteristics of the Hispanidad-Catholicism-Humanity trilogy are very visible, which are seen inseparably enrooted in their popular idiosyncrasy to the present.