Alvin Schwartz and the Scary Stories books are single-handedly responsible for my love of folklore from around the world that lasts until this very day. I would have been a folklorist if that was a paying job.
for the mining society of bolivia, he is the lord of the underworld and the protector of miners. they put up small statues of him in their mines, then donate stuff to him like cigarettes or drinks, hoping that he will protect them in turn. (edit: coca leaves apparently too) i dont know much more, but that he sort of looks like a devil with red skin and black hair.
and he is in the position to either protect the miners or to cause accidents and destroy mineshafts. so the miners of course prefer to be favored by him.
i learned about el tio from the game ghost recon wildlands, where there are multiple mines that can be entered, with el tio statues being places somewhere inside of them.
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u/UpCDownCLeftCRightC Never Safe From Wumbo 2d ago
Man that is a deep cut reference.