Juan Bobo or John the Boob

While I was doing research for the Chupacabra my grandfather, we call him Papa, told me that since I was looking up Puerto Rican  folklore I should look up Juan Bobo.  He wouldn't tell me any more than that.

It's taken me awhile to find stories and resources, especially in English.  Juan Bobo, or John the Boob in English, is the Puerto Rican equivalent of the German Foolish Hans.  I managed to find one of the more popular stories, Juan Bobo and the Pig.  In this tale Juan Bobo is left in charge of the house and animals while his mother goes off to the evening church service.  While she is away the pig begins to oink continuously, annoying Juan.  Juan determines that the pig must miss Mama so he tells the pig she may go to evening service but she must be dressed to go to church first!  So Juan dresses the pig in his mother's best dress and puts his mothers shoes, earrings and red lipstick on her as well.  Then Juan sends the pig to church.  Instead the pig runs off losing the shoes and ruining the dress in a mud puddle.  On her way back home, Juan's Mama finds the pig with the ruined dress and drags it back home where she gives

Juan a spanking for all his mischief.

I have found a couple of websites that have pictures of theatrical representations of Juan Bobo and his adventures.  Click here to see one example of Juan Bobo and the Big Cauldron and here is Juan Bobo in a more romantic moment, perhaps with the riddling princess.

Juan Bobo is not always a doltish character, sometimes he is a trickster.  in the tale of Juan bobo and the riddling Princess, Juan helps a horse in ned, solves the riddles of the riddling princess that many wiser men had failed to answer and wins the princess' hand in marriage, eventually becoming king himself! 







Resources:

Chardiet, Bernice. Juan Bobo and the Pig: A Puerto Rican Folktale Retold. New York: Walker and Company, 1973. Print.

Photos of a theatrical representation of Juan Bobo:
Juan Bobo and the Big Cauldron. http://paocotto.blogspot.com/2012/06/juan-bobo-y-el-caldero-grande.html

Juan Bobo kiss. https://teatrocirculowordpress.wordpress.com/image-gallery/juan-bobo-feb-07147/

Bobo Stories. http://610projbobo.blogspot.com/2007/11/juan-bobo-stories.html

Juan Bobo and the Riddling Princess: http://riddlingprinces610.blogspot.com/

Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Bobo