The Marcos dictatorship (1972–1986) redefined Juan dela Cruz once more. Under Martial Law, the "Juan dela Cruz" ID became a mandatory national identification card—ironically stripping the everyman of his anonymity. Activists, students, and journalists were jailed or killed. Yet Juan fought back. The assassination of Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. in 1983 sparked mass protests. In February 1986, millions of Juan dela Cruzes—wearing yellow ribbons, praying the rosary, blocking tanks with their bodies—toppled a dictator in the People Power Revolution. That revolution was not led by generals or politicians, but by nuns, housewives, vendors, and students. It was the purest expression of the everyman’s power.
But the deeper history of Juan dela Cruz is written not in comics but in centuries of colonial rule. Before the Spanish arrived in 1521, the islands had no unified identity. A "Juan" then might have been a timawa (freeman) in the Visayas or a maginoo (noble) in Luzon. With Spanish colonization came forced conversion to Catholicism, the encomienda system, and the galleon trade . Juan became Indio —a taxpaying subject forbidden to own land or hold high office. His rebellions, like those of Francisco Dagohoy (1744–1829) or Hermano Pule (1840–1841), were crushed. Yet his faith and language survived, often syncretized into folk Catholicism. juan dela cruz history
The origins of "Juan dela Cruz" date back to the early 20th century, during American colonial rule. Some historians trace it to a real person: a Manila-based painter named Juan dela Cruz, whose name appeared in a 1910s census. Others believe it was popularized by the cartoonist Jorge Pineda, who in 1946 created a comic strip character named "Juan dela Cruz" for the Liwayway magazine. Pineda’s Juan was a barefoot, simple-minded but kind-hearted peasant—often tricked by the rich or by foreigners, yet always rising with resilience. The character became an instant hit, embodying the Filipino tadhana (destiny) of surviving hardship with a smile. Yet Juan fought back
During the Japanese occupation (1942–1945), Juan dela Cruz became a guerrilla fighter, hiding in the jungles of Bataan and Leyte. He endured the Bataan Death March and the bombing of Manila. After the war, the newly independent republic faced corruption, land inequality, and the rise of the Hukbalahap rebellion. The comic-strip Juan of the 1950s, now drawn by artists like Francisco Coching, mirrored these struggles: he was a farmer cheated by a landlord, a worker striking against low wages. In February 1986, millions of Juan dela Cruzes—wearing
Today, Juan dela Cruz is a jeepney driver in Manila navigating traffic and inflation; an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in Dubai or Hong Kong, sending remittances home; a farmer in Mindanao facing drought and land grabs; a nurse in London or New York, praised as a pandemic hero but underpaid. His history is one of survival through bayanihan (communal unity) and pakikisama (getting along). He has been colonized, occupied, and governed by corrupt elites, yet he remains—still barefoot in the comics, but wearing modern shoes in reality.
The Philippine Revolution (1896–1898) against Spain was followed by the Philippine-American War (1899–1902). Juan dela Cruz faced a new colonizer. American troops used water torture, scorched-earth campaigns, and concentration zones. Over 200,000 Filipino civilians died. Yet Juan learned English, embraced baseball, and began dreaming of self-rule. The Jones Law (1916) promised eventual independence, but it would take until 1946—interrupted by Japanese occupation during World War II—for the Philippine flag to fly alone.
The 19th century brought change. The opening of the Suez Canal (1869) exposed Juan to European liberal ideas. The ilustrados (enlightened ones)—like José Rizal, Marcelo H. del Pilar, and Graciano Lopez Jaena—began writing about the abuses of Spanish friars. Rizal’s novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo featured characters like Crisostomo Ibarra and Basilio, who were early literary versions of Juan dela Cruz: intelligent, oppressed, and radicalized. When Rizal was executed in 1896, Juan dela Cruz—the common man—joined the Katipunan, a secret revolutionary society led by Andrés Bonifacio. Bonifacio himself came from a poor family, working as a clerk and warehouse keeper. He was, in many ways, the first real-life Juan dela Cruz to lead a nation.