Pacto de Sangre : Spanish legacy in Filipinas / edited by Virgilio S. Almario.

The Spanish in our blood partly conjures the title of this book : Pacto de Sangre. Blood compact, or sandugo in Filipino, the act of frienship made by Miguel Lopez, de Legaspi, a representative of the king of Spain, and by Sikatuna, a chieftain of Bohol, transcends the original and possibly very political motives of both parties. As celebrated in this book, Pacto de Sangre is symbolic of the cultural transfusion which transpired after Sikatuna drank the wine mixed with Legaspi's blood. The transfusion, perhaps, is largely one-side. In the real politik of colonialism, it is almost impossible to think of even a hint of Filipino blood in Spain. But who knows A future researcher may someday write a treatise on the effects of abaca on Spanish shipping or of manton de manila on Spanish fashion. Or, and this is more likely, the influence of our highly Hispanized cultural icons, like Jose Rizal and Juan Luna, on Spanish literature and painting.