Juan dela Cruz orMaria dela Cruz (feminized form) is thenational personification of thePhilippines, often used to represent the "Filipinoeveryman".[1] He is usually depicted wearing the nativesalakot hat,barong tagalog, long pants, andtsinelas (local term for the popularflip-flops).
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Juan dela Cruz was invented by Robert McCulloch-Dick, the editor and publisher ofPhilippines Free Press, founded in 1908.[2] He noticed the frequency with which the names appeared on police blotters andcourt dockets. He was also notified that thePhilippine Catholic Church baptized a large number of children, giving them names of popular saints. He often wrote small verses about Juan dela Cruz inFree 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 asalakot,camisa de chino, native trousers, andslippers. Jorge Pineda, resident cartoonist ofFree Press, first drew the image of Juan in 1946.
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Activists often portray Juan dela Cruz as a victim ofAmerican imperialism, especially since many editorial cartoons of theAmerican period often depicted him alongsideUncle Sam 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 collectiveFilipino psyche.
The name (Spanish for "John of the Cross") is often used as aplaceholder name for ananonymous individual, roughly the equivalent of theAmericanJohn Doe. The feminine placeholder is usually María dela Cruz, which like Juan is a common first name amongFilipino women, though Juana dela Cruz is currently[when?] gaining popularity in Philippine television and especially in political campaigns by PresidentBongbong Marcos.[citation needed]
Apopular Filipino hard rock band active in the 1970s took its name from the character.
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