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Juan Bobo
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Juan Bobo
Juan Bobo is a folkloric character on the island of Puerto Rico. For nearly two centuries a collection of books, songs, riddles and folktales have developed around him. Hundreds of children's books have been written about Juan Bobo in English and Spanish. Juan Bobo stories are used as instructional models in public school districts and libraries throughout the United States and on PBS Television.
Each story illustrates an aspect of Puerto Rican life and traditions – as Juan goes to church, to work, the store, the town market, and deals with characters and events that typify the Puerto Rican spirit. For this reason, the Juan Bobo stories have been viewed as a "folkloric information system." Often a trickster and sometimes a fool, Juan Bobo is comparable to "Foolish John" who cannot get anything right, and Amelia Bedelia who follows instructions to a fault. Sent off by his mother to find work, Juan Bobo causes one disaster after another and always loses his payment. In a typical Juan Bobo story, his mother asks him to clean up a pig so that she will fetch a higher price in the town market. Instead, Juan Bobo dresses her for church in his mother's Sunday clothes, complete with lipstick and high heels.
Although the name "Bobo" implies stupidity or oaf-like behavior, the ostensible naiveté of Juan Bobo points to a hidden virtue or helpful way to approach life. As in Aesop's Fables, the stories often have obvious morals that suggest how people should live and how cultures should interact.
As the trickster character in Puerto Rican folklore and oral tradition, Juan Bobo is part of a larger tradition that spans several world cultures. Many of the tales have nearly identical plot points in stories from India, China, Turkey, and traditions in Africa and North America.
The Juan Bobo tales originally migrated from Spain in an oral tradition influenced by the Spanish picaresque novels (Lazarillo de Tormes; Don Quijote) and Wise Fool tales. Published anonymously in 1554, El Lazarillo de Tormes is often viewed as the first modern novel, and "picaresque" became the first genre – a genre of realistic fiction in which the pícaro (the rogue) is the central character.
The pícaros are unlikely and delinquent heroes – living by their wits among corrupt priests and prostitutes, beggars and idle gentlemen, thieves, tricksters and murderers.
The Juan Bobo stories incorporate all of these elements – as Juan the pícaro roams the Puerto Rican countryside, moving from job to job, and disaster to disaster. Though Juan and his pícaro tricks constitute the main story interest, the satirical comments on various trades and professions give a wealth of information on the social, political and religious fabric of Puerto Rico.
As Paul Bunyan is identified with the US, Robin Hood with England, and El Zorro with Mexico – Juan Bobo, the beloved noodlehead, is the perennial folk hero of Puerto Rico.
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Juan Bobo
Juan Bobo is a folkloric character on the island of Puerto Rico. For nearly two centuries a collection of books, songs, riddles and folktales have developed around him. Hundreds of children's books have been written about Juan Bobo in English and Spanish. Juan Bobo stories are used as instructional models in public school districts and libraries throughout the United States and on PBS Television.
Each story illustrates an aspect of Puerto Rican life and traditions – as Juan goes to church, to work, the store, the town market, and deals with characters and events that typify the Puerto Rican spirit. For this reason, the Juan Bobo stories have been viewed as a "folkloric information system." Often a trickster and sometimes a fool, Juan Bobo is comparable to "Foolish John" who cannot get anything right, and Amelia Bedelia who follows instructions to a fault. Sent off by his mother to find work, Juan Bobo causes one disaster after another and always loses his payment. In a typical Juan Bobo story, his mother asks him to clean up a pig so that she will fetch a higher price in the town market. Instead, Juan Bobo dresses her for church in his mother's Sunday clothes, complete with lipstick and high heels.
Although the name "Bobo" implies stupidity or oaf-like behavior, the ostensible naiveté of Juan Bobo points to a hidden virtue or helpful way to approach life. As in Aesop's Fables, the stories often have obvious morals that suggest how people should live and how cultures should interact.
As the trickster character in Puerto Rican folklore and oral tradition, Juan Bobo is part of a larger tradition that spans several world cultures. Many of the tales have nearly identical plot points in stories from India, China, Turkey, and traditions in Africa and North America.
The Juan Bobo tales originally migrated from Spain in an oral tradition influenced by the Spanish picaresque novels (Lazarillo de Tormes; Don Quijote) and Wise Fool tales. Published anonymously in 1554, El Lazarillo de Tormes is often viewed as the first modern novel, and "picaresque" became the first genre – a genre of realistic fiction in which the pícaro (the rogue) is the central character.
The pícaros are unlikely and delinquent heroes – living by their wits among corrupt priests and prostitutes, beggars and idle gentlemen, thieves, tricksters and murderers.
The Juan Bobo stories incorporate all of these elements – as Juan the pícaro roams the Puerto Rican countryside, moving from job to job, and disaster to disaster. Though Juan and his pícaro tricks constitute the main story interest, the satirical comments on various trades and professions give a wealth of information on the social, political and religious fabric of Puerto Rico.
As Paul Bunyan is identified with the US, Robin Hood with England, and El Zorro with Mexico – Juan Bobo, the beloved noodlehead, is the perennial folk hero of Puerto Rico.