Juan Bobo: The Folk Simpleton
Juan Bobo (Simple John) is a beloved folk character in Puerto Rican and broader Caribbean folklore — a good-hearted but dim-witted boy whose adventures always go hilariously wrong. In one classic tale, Juan Bobo's mother asks him to watch the pot of rice while she goes to church. He decides to bathe the pig with the rice water, then feeds the rice to the chickens, explaining that he was keeping everything clean. In another, when told to mind the baby, he dresses the family dog in the baby's clothes. Despite his foolishness, Juan Bobo stories carry gentle moral lessons about honesty, kindness,