Spanish Proverb on finding the pig

Nationality: US
Age: 19
Residence: Santa Clara
Performance Date: 4/29/20
Primary Language: English
Language: Mandarin, Spanish

Background: My informant is a friend of mine of Chinese, Taiwanese, and Japanese heritage. His parents are both from Taiwan and are mixed between Chinese, indigenous Taiwanese, and Japanese. The purpose of the call was specifically so that I could gather folklore from my informant, and they were aware about that as well. 

Context: This conversation was recorded on a zoom meeting that we had on a Wednesday afternoon. My informant is a friend of mine, and the conversation occurred in both of our rooms. The purpose of the call was specifically so that I could gather folklore from my informant, and they were aware about that as well. During the call and in between our discussions of different folklore items, we talked socially about how we were acclimating. Thus, this conversation was more casual than the rest of my interviews. The main piece is made up of a transcription of our call.

Main Piece:

There’s, I just got introduced to this like two, three weeks ago, I think there’s a Spanish thing. The translation is: stop looking for the pig, we already found it And it’s used essentially it’s like a slang sort of joke for someone farts and they’re like a pig. And so the idea that in Spain, when someone for instance like really loud and we can hear it makes it, you’re like, Oh, stop hunting for the pig we already found it. I think it’s I think it’s kind of clever.

Me: So like how did you hear about this what was it from?

It was with my mom’s friend. Who helped us move.

Me: Like an adult?

Yeah. And it can be used for burps too. I think that’s what it’s mostly used for.

Me:Can you type it in the chat real quick?

No necesita buscar por el jamón, está aquí.

Thoughts: I found this particularly interesting because it seems to be very similar to what American schoolchildren would call a fart joke. However, this Spanish fart comment can be applied to burps and other bodily functions as well. I wonder if perhaps this indicates that burping is more socially important in Spain than it is in the States. I also found this variation striking because it came from a middle aged adult.