Juan De La Cruz is symbolically used in the Philippines to represent the "Filipino". The name is roughly the equivalent of the American Uncle Sam and John Doe. Juan de la Cruz is usually depicted wearing the native Salakot hat, Barong Tagalog, long pants, and slippers (called tsinelas in Tagalog). The term Juan de la Cruz is also used when referring to the collective Filipino psyche. The terminology was coined by Robert McCulloch Dick, a Scottish-born journalist working for the Manila Times in the early 1900s, after discovering it was the most common name in blotters.
There was, however, a real Filipino by the name of Juan de la Cruz who was a coxswain of a steam launch who was arrested on suspicion of murdering two men on June 7, 1886. He was thrown into the Cavite jail and remained there for twelve years due to neglect of the Spanish colonial government, awaiting a trial which never came. When the Americans came, he was set free on May 1, 1898.
The name is Spanish which translates to "John of the Cross". The majority of Filipinos have acquired Spanish surnames largely due to more than 300 years of Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines. The Roman Catholic Church also plays an important role in the naming of a child, with almost every other baby baptized and named after a saint. San Juan de la Cruz was a Spanish mystic and Doctor of the Church; a leading figure in the Catholic Reformation.
Activists often call Juan de la Cruz a victim of American imperialism, especially since most editorial cartoons of the American era often depicted Juan de la Cruz along with Uncle Sam.
Letter from Juan de la Cruz
When I was small, the Philippine peso was P2.00 to the US dollar.
The president was Diosdado Macapagal. Life was simple. Life was easy.
My father was a farmer. My mother kept a small sari-sari store where our neighbors bought sang-perang asin, sang-perang bagoong, sang-perang suka, sang-perang toyo at pahinging isang butil na bawang.Our backyard had kamatis, kalabasa, talong, ampalaya, upo, batao, and okra.
Our silong had chicken. We had a pig, dog & cat. And of course, we lived on the farm.During rainy season, my father caught frogs at night which my mother made into betute (stuffed frog), or just plain fried. During the day, he caught hito and dalag from his rice paddies, which he would usually inihaw.During dry season, we relied on the chickens, vegetables, bangus, tuyo, and tinapa. Every now and then, there was pork and beef from the town market.
Life was so peaceful , so quiet, no electricity, no TV. Just the radio for Tia Dely, Roman Rapido, Jonny de leon Tawag ng Tanghalan and Tang-tarang-tang. And who can forget Leila Benitez on Darigold Jamboree?On weekends, I played with my neighbours (who were all my cousins). Tumbang-preso, taguan, piko, luksong lubid, patintero, at iba pa. I don't know about you, but I miss those days.
These days, we face the TV, Internet, e-mail, newspaper, magazine,grocery catalog, or drive around. The peso is a staggering and incredible P44.00 to the US dollar.Most people can't have fun anymore. Life has become a battle.
We live to work.
Work to live.
Life is not easy. It was in Saudi Arabia in 1983. It was lonely, difficult, & scary. It didn't matter if you were a man or a woman. You were a target for rape. The salary was cheap & the vacation far between. If the boss didn't want you to go on holiday, you can't.They had your passport. Oh, and the agency charged you almost 4months of your salary (which, if you had to borrow on a "20% per month arrangement" meant your first year's pay was all gone before you even earned it).
The Philippines used to be one of the most important countries in Asia .Before & during my college days, many students from neighboring Asian countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan and China went to the Philippines to get their diplomas. Like Thailand, they went to study agriculture in UP Los Banos and earned their bachelors in the Phils and now we import rice from them. Its opposite now.
Philippines used to be the exporter of any agriculture products but now its different. We import because not much land (farms) they can cultivate due to private sectors who focused on developing houses, buildings, supermarkets, mall and others.
What happened now?Whats the government doing?Checking their own pocket, their own personal interest and pork barrels.
Wow!
Until 1972, like President Macapagal, President Marcos? was one of the most admired presidents of the world.The Peso had kept its value of P7.00 to the US dollar until I finished college.
Today, the Philippines is famous as the "housemaid" capital of the world.It ranks very high as the "cheapest labor" capital of the world, too. We have maids in Hong Kong, laborers in Saudi Arabia, dancers in Japan, migrants and TNTs in Australia and the US, and all sorts of other "tricky" jobs in other parts of the globe.
Quo Vadis, Pinoy? Is that a wonder or a worry? Are you proud to be a Filipino, or does it even matter anymore?
When you see the Filipino flag and hear the Pambansang Awit, do you feel a sense of pride or a sense of defeat & uncertainty?
If only things could change for the better...... Hang on for this is a job for Superman. Or whom do you call? Ghostbusters. Joke. Right?
This is one of our problems.
We say "I love the Philippines .. I am proud to be a Filipino."When I send you a joke, you send it to everyone in your address book even if it kills the Internet.But when I send you a note on how to save our country & ask you to forward it, what do you do? You chuck it in the bin.
I want to help the maids in Hong Kong ...
I want to help the laborers in Saudi Arabia ...
I want to help the dancers in Japan ... I want to help the TNTs in America and Australia ... I want to save the people of the Philippines ...
But I cannot do it alone. I need your help and everyone else's.If you say you love the Philippines, prove it. And if you don't agree with me, say something anyway.Indifference is a crime on its own.
-Juan de la Cruz
The president was Diosdado Macapagal. Life was simple. Life was easy.
My father was a farmer. My mother kept a small sari-sari store where our neighbors bought sang-perang asin, sang-perang bagoong, sang-perang suka, sang-perang toyo at pahinging isang butil na bawang.Our backyard had kamatis, kalabasa, talong, ampalaya, upo, batao, and okra.
Our silong had chicken. We had a pig, dog & cat. And of course, we lived on the farm.During rainy season, my father caught frogs at night which my mother made into betute (stuffed frog), or just plain fried. During the day, he caught hito and dalag from his rice paddies, which he would usually inihaw.During dry season, we relied on the chickens, vegetables, bangus, tuyo, and tinapa. Every now and then, there was pork and beef from the town market.
Life was so peaceful , so quiet, no electricity, no TV. Just the radio for Tia Dely, Roman Rapido, Jonny de leon Tawag ng Tanghalan and Tang-tarang-tang. And who can forget Leila Benitez on Darigold Jamboree?On weekends, I played with my neighbours (who were all my cousins). Tumbang-preso, taguan, piko, luksong lubid, patintero, at iba pa. I don't know about you, but I miss those days.
These days, we face the TV, Internet, e-mail, newspaper, magazine,grocery catalog, or drive around. The peso is a staggering and incredible P44.00 to the US dollar.Most people can't have fun anymore. Life has become a battle.
We live to work.
Work to live.
Life is not easy. It was in Saudi Arabia in 1983. It was lonely, difficult, & scary. It didn't matter if you were a man or a woman. You were a target for rape. The salary was cheap & the vacation far between. If the boss didn't want you to go on holiday, you can't.They had your passport. Oh, and the agency charged you almost 4months of your salary (which, if you had to borrow on a "20% per month arrangement" meant your first year's pay was all gone before you even earned it).
The Philippines used to be one of the most important countries in Asia .Before & during my college days, many students from neighboring Asian countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan and China went to the Philippines to get their diplomas. Like Thailand, they went to study agriculture in UP Los Banos and earned their bachelors in the Phils and now we import rice from them. Its opposite now.
Philippines used to be the exporter of any agriculture products but now its different. We import because not much land (farms) they can cultivate due to private sectors who focused on developing houses, buildings, supermarkets, mall and others.
What happened now?Whats the government doing?Checking their own pocket, their own personal interest and pork barrels.
Wow!
Until 1972, like President Macapagal, President Marcos? was one of the most admired presidents of the world.The Peso had kept its value of P7.00 to the US dollar until I finished college.
Today, the Philippines is famous as the "housemaid" capital of the world.It ranks very high as the "cheapest labor" capital of the world, too. We have maids in Hong Kong, laborers in Saudi Arabia, dancers in Japan, migrants and TNTs in Australia and the US, and all sorts of other "tricky" jobs in other parts of the globe.
Quo Vadis, Pinoy? Is that a wonder or a worry? Are you proud to be a Filipino, or does it even matter anymore?
When you see the Filipino flag and hear the Pambansang Awit, do you feel a sense of pride or a sense of defeat & uncertainty?
If only things could change for the better...... Hang on for this is a job for Superman. Or whom do you call? Ghostbusters. Joke. Right?
This is one of our problems.
We say "I love the Philippines .. I am proud to be a Filipino."When I send you a joke, you send it to everyone in your address book even if it kills the Internet.But when I send you a note on how to save our country & ask you to forward it, what do you do? You chuck it in the bin.
I want to help the maids in Hong Kong ...
I want to help the laborers in Saudi Arabia ...
I want to help the dancers in Japan ... I want to help the TNTs in America and Australia ... I want to save the people of the Philippines ...
But I cannot do it alone. I need your help and everyone else's.If you say you love the Philippines, prove it. And if you don't agree with me, say something anyway.Indifference is a crime on its own.
-Juan de la Cruz
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