Juan Tamad (Filipino for "Lazy John") is a character in Philippine folklore noteworthy for extreme laziness. He is usually portrayed as a child, although in some interpretations, he is said to be a young man.

Stories

Arguably, the Juan Tamad story most often told illustrates his utmost laziness to the point of stupidity that it becomes comedic. In it, Juan Tamad comes upon a guava tree bearing ripe fruit. Being too slothful to climb the tree and take the fruits, he instead decides to lie beneath the tree and let gravity do its work. There he remained, waiting for the fruit to fall into his gaping mouth. Other Juan Tamad stories include:

Books

A book published by an unknown author in 1919 in Manila entitled Buhay na Pinagdaanan ni Juan Tamad na Anac ni Fabio at ni Sofia sa Caharian nang Portugal (Tagalog for "The Life Lived by Juan Tamad, Son of Fabio and Sofia, in the Kingdom of Portugal") contains a poem consisting of 78 pages of four-line stanzas at seven stanzas per page. It tells of how Juan Tamad was born to a couple named Fabio and Sofia, and his adventures in Portugal. In 1957, Manuel E. Arguilla (author of How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife ) and Lyd Arguilla wrote the book Philippine Tales and Fables which included the story of Juan Tamad with illustrations by Romeo V. Tabuena. In 1965, playwright and publisher Alberto Florentino took the Arguillas' re-telling of Juan Tamad and published it as Stories of Juan Tamad, part of a series of 3 booklets for young readers. Illustrated with woodcuts by the late Jerry Navarro Elizalde (post-humously declared National Artist for Visual Arts), the book is out-of-print and is now considered a collector's item.

Films

Several Filipino films have treated Juan Tamad as a central or supporting character.

Television