Juan Tamad

Juan Tamad is written by anonymous but it has so many versions made by various Filipino short story
authors. Juan Tamad is a story of laziness. His laziness makes him stupid to the point that the story
becomes comedic. The most common situation that Juan Tamad is known comes in a guava story. He is
waiting the ripe guava to be dropped on his mouth. Juan Tamad is also a representation of Filipino
laziness. It is said that Filipinos are labeled as lazy people during the time of colonialism.

Other Juan Tamad stories are the following:

Juan Tamad and the Mud Crabs

Juan Tamad went to the market because his mother told her to buy mud crabs. Being so lazy to carry the
mud crabs, he told them to go home on their own.

Juan Tamad and the Rice Cakes

Juan Tamad was told by her mother to sell the rice cakes in the market. Being so lazy to sell the rice
cakes, he threw all of them to the pond where there are so many frogs. The frogs ate the rice cakes.
When he got home, he told his mother that all the rice cakes where sold by credit.

Juan Tamad and the Flea Killer

Juan Tamad was told by her mother to go the market to purchase a rice pot. A flea went to his pot. He
didn‟t hold the jar carefully and it suddenly breaks into pieces. He immediately picked the broken pieces,
grinds it and then he wrapped it through banana leaves. He sold it saying that it was a flea-killer.

Juan Tamad Takes a Bride

Juan Tamad was told by his mother that it was time for him to have a bride. He asked his mother if what
kind of lady he should be looking for. His mother said, “A lady of a few words”. Juan Tamad went on to
look for a bride but all women that he encountered talked too much. Lastly, he came to a house where a
woman and her daughter live. He proposed to the girl. When he said the words “Will you marry me?” The
girl didn‟t say anything. Juan Tamad was convinced that she is the lady of a few words that he is looking
for and is perfect to be his wife. He brought the lady to his mother and then his mother scolded him
because the lady that he had brought was a corpse.

How my Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife

This Filipino short story is written by Manuel Arguilla. This is a story of Leon who brought his wife from the
city to go to Nagrebcan. Leon‟s wife is Maria. She possesses the beauty of a woman who came from a
city. When she met Leon‟s parents she was a little bit anxious. On their way home, Maria discovered the
situation of the life in Nagrebcan as very different from the life in the city where she fell in love with Leon.

May Day Eve

This Filipino short story is written by Nick Joaquin, a Filipino National Artist. This was written during after
the World War II. This short story became one of his „signature stories‟. Later it was considered as a
classic in English Philippine Literature.

This Filipino short story is a story of a lovely young girl in the name of Agueda, who decided to recite an
incantation in front of the mirror for her to know who will be his future husband. Agueda was warned that
instead of her husband, she might see the devil through reciting in front of the mirror. After reciting, he
saw reflection of a young man in the name of Badoy Montiya. Agueda was embarrassed of what she saw.
Later, the two got married. Badoy Montiya was once attracted to Agueda.
After their marriage, the couple witnessed that their daughter and grandson also peered into the mirror.
Their grandson found out how enduring is the superstition, much enduring compared to Badoy‟s love and
their difficulty in their marriage.