The money under the rock

Main piece: Me: So what is this legend you were talking about Raul: In “el rancho ay un dicho” (the ranch there is an old saying” that about 30 years ago there was this man named Jose Garcia. “Era un Narco” (he was a drug trafficker)… everyone new Garcia cuz he used to drive up the road of the ranch “en chinga” (in a hurry and really fast) in his brand new truck. The story goes that he got super rich from selling drugs. “estaba bein loco” (he was really crazy!). “Hacia un pinche desmadre en el rancho” ( he used to make a mess in the ranch). He was always fighting with other Narcos (drug traffickers). You would hear gunshots of Garcia fighting other people all the time. Until… one day… no one know “que paso” (what happen). Some people say he went crazy from killing lots of people. “Otros dicen” (others say) that he took to0 many drugs. “Un dia cuando toda la jente estaba en el rancho celebrando la fiesta de elote” ( one day when everyone from the ranch was celebrating a corn festival) he  and screamed “Escondie to mi dinero abajo de una piedra”. He got then got his gun and shot himself in the head.  Me: Has anyone every found the money? Raul: No! Cuando tienia “When I had like” 14 years old me and my brother looked for it. For like a month “saliendo de la escuela” (coming straight out of school) me and Lupe would go home… got our shovels… and look. Nothing!!! Me: Do you think the money exist? Raul: Por supuesto!!! (of course). I know for sure. If I live in Mexico still… I would be looking for it right now.  Context: The participant walked into the kitchen when I was interviewing his mother on a piece of folk medicine. After I concluded with her interview, he asked what we were doing, and I let him know I was collecting folklore. After explaining what folklore is he said he had a legend that originated where he was from. Background:  Raul is a 27 year old who was born in Mexico but what brought to the United States when he was 17. He is fluent in Spanish and learned roughly learned English in the few years he attended high school. He learned this legend from a classmate when he was 14 who claimed that his uncle had told him the story. He said that his uncle had been at the festival. Raul had asked his mom about it and she also had told him a similar variation of the story. My thoughts: This legend is a classic example of some hidden treasure that has been lost for years. The money the “Narco” hid is a prevalent motif that represents amassing a large amount of money and then dying in a tragic manner that causes the money to be lost. However, this piece is more refined, contemporary, and specific to a little ranch. While in many other similar legends, usually the treasure is a large amount of gold rather than money. In addition, instead of being lost at sea, the treasure is lost in a ranch. It meets all requirements I learned in my Forms of Folklore class. It takes place in the real world and it could be true.