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Juan dela Cruz or Maria dela Cruz (feminized form) is the
Juan dela Cruz or Maria dela Cruz (feminized form) is the national personification
A national personification is an anthropomorphic personification of a state or the people(s) it inhabits. It may appear in political cartoons and propaganda. In the first personifications in the Western World, warrior deities or figures symboliz ...
of the Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
, often used to represent the " Filipino everyman
The everyman is a stock character of fiction. An ordinary and humble character, the everyman is generally a protagonist whose benign conduct fosters the audience's identification with them.
Origin and history
The term ''everyman'' was used ...
". He is usually depicted wearing the native ''salakot
Salakot is a traditional lightweight headgear from the Philippines commonly used for protection against the sun and rain. Variants occur among ethnic groups, but all are shaped like a dome or cone and can range in size from having very wide br ...
'' hat, barong tagalog
The barong tagalog, more commonly known simply as barong (and occasionally baro), is an Embroidery, embroidered long-sleeved formal shirt for men and a national dress of the Fashion and clothing in the Philippines, Philippines. Barong tagalog ...
, long pants, and ''tsinelas'' (local term for the popular flip-flops
Flip-flops are a type of light sandal-like shoe, typically worn as a form of casual footwear. They consist of a flat sole held loosely on the foot by a Y-shaped strap known as a toe thong that passes between the first and second toes and around ...
).
History
Juan dela Cruz was invented by Robert McCulloch-Dick, the editor and publisher of ''Philippines Free Press
The ''Philippines Free Press'' was a weekly English language news magazine which was founded in 1908, which makes it the Philippines' oldest weekly English language periodical no longer in print. It is known for being one of the publications tha ...
'', founded in 1908. He noticed the frequency with which the names appeared on police blotters and court docket
A docket in the United States is the official summary of proceedings in a court of law. In the United Kingdom in modern times it is an official document relating to delivery of something, with similar meanings to these two elsewhere. In the late ...
s. He was also notified that the Philippine Catholic Church baptized a large number of children, giving them names of popular saints. He often wrote small verses about Juan dela Cruz in ''Free Press'', and narrations of the petty crimes committed by them.
Later on, McCulloch-Dick widened his idea until he made Juan dela Cruz a character representative of a typical Filipino. Juan dela Cruz is associated with the image of a naïve-looking man wearing a ''salakot
Salakot is a traditional lightweight headgear from the Philippines commonly used for protection against the sun and rain. Variants occur among ethnic groups, but all are shaped like a dome or cone and can range in size from having very wide br ...
'', ''camisa de chino'', native trousers, and slippers
Slippers are a type of shoes falling under the broader category of light footwear, that are easy to put on and off and are intended to be worn indoors, particularly at home. They provide comfort and protection for the feet when walking indoors.
...
. Jorge Pineda, resident cartoonist of ''Free Press'', first drew the image of Juan in 1946.
Usage
Activists often portray Juan dela Cruz as a victim ofAmerican imperialism
U.S. imperialism or American imperialism is the expansion of political, economic, cultural, media, and military influence beyond the boundaries of the United States. Depending on the commentator, it may include imperialism through outright mi ...
, especially since many editorial cartoons of the American period often depicted him alongside Uncle Sam
Uncle Sam (with the same initials as ''United States'') is a common national personification of the United States, depicting the federal government of the United States, federal government or the country as a whole. Since the early 19th centu ...
either as a "Little Brown Brother" or as an Asian Partner. In modern times, he is shown independently as a venue for the common Filipino's commentary on governmental and social issues.
The term, sometimes shortened to "Juan", also refers to the collective Filipino psyche.
The name (Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
for "John of the Cross
St. John of the Cross (; ; né Juan de Yepes y Álvarez; 24 June 1542 – 14 December 1591) was a Spanish Roman Catholic priest, mystic, and Carmelite friar of ''Converso'' ancestry. He is a major figure of the Counter-Reformation in Spain, ...
") is often used as a placeholder name
Placeholder names are intentionally overly generic and ambiguous terms referring to things, places, or people, the names of which or of whom do not actually exist; are temporarily forgotten, or are unimportant; or in order to avoid stigmat ...
for an anonymous
Anonymous may refer to:
* Anonymity, the state of an individual's identity, or personally identifiable information, being publicly unknown
** Anonymous work, a work of art or literature that has an unnamed or unknown creator or author
* Anonym ...
individual, roughly the equivalent of the American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, p ...
John Doe
John Doe (male) and Jane Doe (female) are multiple-use placeholder names that are used in the British, Canadian, and American legal systems, when the true name of a person is unknown or is being intentionally concealed. In the context of law ...
. The feminine placeholder is usually María dela Cruz, which like Juan is a common first name among Filipino women, though Juana dela Cruz is currently gaining popularity in Philippine television and especially in political campaigns by President Bongbong Marcos
Ferdinand "Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos Jr. (, , ; born September 13, 1957), commonly referred to by the initials BBM or PBBM, is a Filipino politician who has served as the 17th president of the Philippines since 2022. He is the second child ...
.
See also
*Juan Tamad
''Juan Tamad'' ( Filipino for "Lazy John") is a character in Philippine folklore noteworthy for extreme laziness. He is usually portrayed as a child, although in some interpretations, he is said to be a young man.
Stories
Arguably, the Juan T ...
, or "Lazy John" – another character common in Filipino culture
The culture of the Philippines is characterized by great ethnic diversity. Although the multiple ethnic groups of the Philippine archipelago have only recently established a shared Filipino national identity, their cultures were all shaped by ...
and literature
Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...
.
* María Clara
María Clara de Tolitol is a fictional character in Jose Rizal's novel '' Noli Me Tángere'' (1887). The beautiful María Clara is the childhood sweetheart and fiancée of the protagonist, Crisóstomo Ibarra, who returns to his Filipino home ...
, from the novel '' Noli Me Tángere'' by national hero José Rizal
José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda (, ; June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896) was a Filipino nationalist, writer and polymath active at the end of the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. He is popularly considered a na ...
, refers to the idealised Filipina
Filipinos () are citizens or people identified with the country of the Philippines. Filipinos come from various Austronesian peoples, all typically speaking Filipino, English, or other Philippine languages. Despite formerly being subject to ...
(analogous to the Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
''Yamato nadeshiko
''Yamato nadeshiko'' ( or ) is a Japanese language, Japanese term meaning the "Anthropomorphism, personification of an idealized Japanese woman." The term is the archetype of conservative and traditional femininity.
Name origin and connotatio ...
'').
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dela Cruz, Juan Exonyms National personifications Culture of the Philippines Placeholder names Fictional Filipino people