Juan Bobo

Juan Bobo is a folkloric character on the island of Puerto Rico. For nearly two centuries a vast 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.^[1][2] Currently, Juan Bobo stories are used as instructional models in public school districts and libraries throughout the United States,^[3] and on PBS Television.^[4]

The Juan Bobo character

Often a trickster, sometimes a fool, Juan Bobo is the Puerto Rican amalgam of Foolish John who cannot get anything right, and Amelia Bedelia who follows instructions to a fault.^[5] Sent off by his mother to find work, Juan Bobo causes one disaster after another and always manages to lose his payment.^[6] In a typical Juan Bobo story his mother asks him to clean up a pig, so that she'll fetch a higher price in the town market. Instead, Juan Bobo dresses her for church in his mother's best Sunday clothes, complete with lipstick and high heels.^[7]

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.^[8]

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.^[9]

The Juan Bobo folktales are also a cultural time capsule, a vehicle for historical preservation. 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.”^[10]

Sociopolitical subtext

In United States and Puerto Rican universities, the Juan Bobo stories have been preserved and studied for their sociological and political significance.^[11][12] He has been found an avatar of indigenous morality,^[13] a repository of cultural/historical information,^[14] and a symbol of resistance to colonial oppression.^[15]

Juan Bobo has also been compared to the syncretic religious system of Santería and the Brazilian martial art of capoeira, for its melding of spiritual strength and resistance into an ostensibly benign art form.^[16]

Historic and literary roots

The Juan Bobo tales originally migrated from Spain in an oral tradition influenced by the Spanish picaresque novels (El Lazarillo de Tormes; Don Quijote) and Wise Fool tales.^[17][18] 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.^[19][20]

The pícaros are unlikely and delinquent heroes – living by their wits among corrupt priests and prostitutes, beggars and idle gentlemen, thieves, tricksters and murderers.^[21][22][23]

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.^[24]

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.^[25]

First US collection

The first series of Juan Bobo stories published in the US occurred in 1921. They appeared in the Journal of American Folklore under the title Porto Rican Folklore.^[26] The story collection consisted of 56 "Picaresque Tales" about Juan Bobo, and included such exotic titles as Juan Bobo Heats up his Grandmother, Juan Bobo Delivers a Letter to the Devil, Juan Bobo Throws his Brother Down a Well, and Juan Bobo Refuses to Marry the Princess.^[27]

The origin and authorship of the stories presented a sociological lesson. The editors acknowledged that the stories absorbed many versions of African and European folk tales, and that the first draft of all 56 stories had been written by Puerto Rican school children. However none of these children were named or credited in the story collection. Despite this open and wide-scale plagiarism, the Journal of American Folklore congratulated Mr. J. Alden Mason for authoring "the most abundant and important Spanish folk-tale material collected in Spanish America."^[28]

Pura Belpré

 Pura Belpré, librarian and author of the first  Juan Bobo book published in the US.

The first full-length Juan Bobo novel published in the United States was Juan Bobo and the Queen's Necklace: A Puerto Rican Folk Tale.^[29] The author, Pura Belpré, was the first Puerto Rican librarian in New York City. Throughout her life, Belpré collected many other folktales from Puerto Rico, translated them into English and had them published as children's literature. First published in 1962, Juan Bobo and the Queen's Necklace is still in print, and appears in book catalogues throughout the United States.^[30][31][32]

Today, the Pura Belpré Award is given annually by the American Library Association, in recognition of a Latino or Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays the Latino cultural experience in a work of literature for children or youth. In 2002 the Pura Belpré Award was given to Joe Cepeda, for his illustration of Juan Bobo Goes to Work.^[33]

Children's books and educational uses

Hundreds of Juan Bobo children's books have been published in the U.S. and throughout the world. Juan Bobo stories have been published by Harper Collins,^[34] Dutton Children's Books,^[35] Scholastic Books,^[36] and reviewed by Kirkus Reviews,^[37] Library Journal,^[38] Publishers Weekly and Booklist.^[39]

The Juan Bobo stories are used as elementary school teaching books,^[40] for bilingual language programs,^[41][42] and in Spanish-language studies throughout the United States^[43] Juan Bobo lesson plans and literacy activities accompany many of the books.^[44][45] The McGraw Hill company uses the Juan Bobo stories in a reading instruction series, which is used in public school districts throughout the United States.^[46]

The Scholastic publishing company, which published the Harry Potter books and Hunger Games,^[47][48] also offers Juan Bobo instruction modules to teachers around the United States.^[49]

August House publishers developed a series of Juan Bobo teaching materials, for national distribution.^[50]

The Greenwood Publishing Group also developed Juan Bobo materials, to promote child literacy in classrooms and libraries.^[51]

Juan Bobo books and stories are stocked, and actively promoted, in public libraries in New York,^[52] North Carolina,^[53] Pennsylvania,^[54][55] and in library systems throughout the United States.

Juan Bobo in the US media

 Juan Bobo in the American Legends book series

Juan Bobo has made frequent appearances on U.S. television, radio, and the internet. In 2005, he appeared on Nickelodeon in the Dora the Explorer series.^[56] The episode was titled A Crown for King Bobo, and Juan Bobo was voiced by Cheech Marin.^[57]

On U.S.public television, the Juan Bobo stories are used by PBS stations in Alabama,^[58]Arkansas,^[59]California,^[60] Chicago,^[61] Iowa,^[62] and the nationwide PBS Learning Media system.^[63]

Hundreds of Juan Bobo videos appear on YouTube.^[64] Currently, Juan Bobo stories and radio dramas are regularly broadcast over radio stations in Puerto Rico.^[65] Juan Bobo CD's are also sold on the island^[66] and in the United States,^[67][68] as well as Juan Bobo MP3 downloads.^[69]

Juan Bobo in US popular culture

Given the centuries-long history of the Juan Bobo tales, and because Puerto Rico has been a U.S. territory since 1898, Juan Bobo has been designated an American folk character.^[70][71] The American Legends children's books included Juan Bobo in a series of four folkloric books. The other three were Paul Bunyan, John Henry, and Pecos Bill.^[72]

Book sellers throughout the United States carry a broad selection of Juan Bobo books. The can be found at Barnes & Noble^[73] Amazon Books^[74] Abe Books^[75] and Powell Books.^[76]

Newspapers around the US regularly run Juan Bobo stories.^[77]

In New York City, Theatre Works USA developed and presented a Juan Bobo play, together with a children's study guide in 2008.^[78] The Teatro Circulo Theater Company mounted an Off-Broadway production of The Mischievous Juan Bobo in 2006.^[79]

Also in 2006, the Open Eye Theater in Minneapolis performed The Adventures of Juan Bobo.^[80][81]

In 2009, the University Theater of Northeastern Illinois University presented a Juan Bobo play titled Señora Tortuga.^[82]

Children's theater companies enact the Juan Bobo stories, often in the form of puppet plays.^[83][84]

Hundreds of Juan Bobo videos currently appear on YouTube.^[85] In New York City, a group of grade school children made a Juan Bobo animated film,^[86] and children's Juan Bobo play scripts are available.^[87]

A modern-day Juan Bobo runs for public office, gets arrested, and chases ghosts in a popular internet blog named, quite aptly, Juan Bobo.^[88]

Juan Bobo International

External audio

You can hear a recording of Antonio Prieto singing Juan Bobo here.

The Juan Bobo stories are known in several continents. Juan Bobo books are sold in Great Britain.^[89] The National Library Board of Singapore has a listing of Juan Bobo books.^[90]

The Chilean actor/singer Antonio Prieto sang a popular Juan Bobo ballad in recognition of the folkloric character.^[91] In Columbia, the Corporación Artística La Polilla theatre company mounted a production of Juan Bobo y el Secreto de la Princesa (Juan Bobo and the Riddling Princess) in 2013.^[92]

On May 4, 2012, the School Librarians Association of Puerto Rico created an all-day special event in Villalba in homage and recognition of Juan Bobo and his legacy.^[93]

See also

• Puerto Rican literature
• Latin American literature
• Folk literature

References

External links

• JuanBobo.org
• Barnes & Noble
• Amazon Books
• Abe Books
• Powell Books