España y Filipinas (“Spain and the Philippines") is a series of oil on wood paintings[1][2] by Filipino painter, Ilustrado, and revolutionary activist, Juan Luna.
The dressing of the women in traje de mestizas shows the cultural character, class consciousness, and social transformations resulting from 19th century Hispanization.
[3] The taller and maternal white figure of a woman is Spain, a representation of the "benevolent image of colonialism", is pointing ahead and guiding the "humbly dressed" Filipina to the "right way".
[10][11] Afterwards, the painting eventually ended up in the possession of Don José Vázquez Castiñeira, a former mayor of Sarria, a municipality in the province of Lugo in Spain for nearly 130 years.
[13][14] The second version, the largest of the series, was painted in 1888 and is part of the collection of the Museo del Prado in Madrid, with the piece being loaned on a long-term basis to the City Council of Cádiz.
The purpose of this elaborate painting was to promote closer ties between Spain and the Philippines, effectively serving as a propaganda tool.