Juan Bobo Sends the Pig to Mass
In short: Discover why a pig gets dressed for church in this Puerto Rican Juan Bobo story and its different editions.
¹ Based on the number of Atlas countries, capped at 10. ² Editorial suggestion for reading this page. Discover Black Horse’s question
Origin and tradition
A Juan Bobo story from Puerto Rican oral tradition. The 1926 collection, 2008 children’s book and 2021 bilingual anthology are separate publication records.
Juan Bobo is asked to mind the pig while his mother goes to church. When the pig makes a noise, Juan thinks it wants to go to Mass as well. In the 1926 telling he puts his mother’s best dress, shoes and earrings on it. Readers spot the mistake early. The scene gets its humour from how seriously Juan follows it through.
Dated records and sources
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1926 · Puerto Rico
Rafael Ramírez de Arellano · Folklore portorriqueño · no. 119 · Published collection -
2008 · Puerto Rico
Arí Acevedo · Juan Bobo Sends the Pig to Mass · Story Cove · Public retelling -
2021 · Puerto Rico
Rafael Ocasio · Folk Stories from the Hills of Puerto Rico · Rutgers University Press · Published collection
Country pages
Origin
Black Horse. Juan Bobo Sends the Pig to Mass. https://blackhorsestories.com/en/atlas-tale-juan-bobo-pig/