The Andean Fox (Peru, 1996) - Edgardo Rivera Martinez
Historical Context
Edgardo Rivera Martínez, born on September 28, 1933 in Jauja, Peru, was a writer of novels, narratives, poetry, and short stories, as well as a university professor. As a child, he was deeply fascinated by the beauty of the Peruvian mountains, which would later become a great source of inspiration for his literary career. Rivera Martínez started his teaching career in 1956, and had since taught at schools such as the National University of Central Peru, the National University of San Marcos, Dartmouth College, etc. He had also worked as a translator as well as an opinion journalist for important written media. In 2000, Rivera Martínez became a member of the Academia Peruana de la Lengua, due to his achievements in literary production as well as his work as a scholar and critic. Edgardo Rivera Martínez passed away on October 8th, 2018 at the age of 85.
Literary Context: El Unicornio (1963) was Rivera Martínez’s first publication which consisted of a series of short stories set in the Andean world. His last publication was A la luz del amanecer in 2012. Edgardo Rivera Martínez’s most recognized works are the short story Ángel de Ocongate (1986) and the novel País de Jauja (1993). This author’s style consists of blending traditional Indigenismo, mythology, and fantasy in his descriptions of the Andean world. Rivera Martínez reflects the progression of Peruvian literature from the original Indigenista literary movement to find a more extensive and inclusive understanding of Peruvian mestizo identity.
Foxes in the Andean World
Foxes are a part of Andean mythology and they persist in contemporary imagery. The first testimony appears in The Huarochirí Manuscript, which is a collection that includes various stories recorded around the beginning of the 17th century. The Andean fox is detailed in many ways within these stories. In some of these accounts, the fox is depicted as a stubborn, stupid, greedy, and intrusive creature (Van Kessel 237). It is a sneaky thief that humans are not fond of. One of the stories of The Huarochirí Manuscript tells how the fox inherited this infamy after being cursed by the god Cuniraya due to his rude behavior towards him (The Huarochirí Manuscript 48). Since then, the fox has developed a bad reputation amongst the Andean people, as reflected in other folktales. Rivera Martínez’s text relies on this tradition to depict the fox as both a real animal and a mythological figure.
The Huarochirí Manuscript was translated into Spanish and recovered for anthropological scholarship thanks to the work of José María Arguedas. The character of the fox in this manuscript inspired the title and one episode of Arguedas’ posthumous novel El zorro de arriba y el zorro de abajo (1971). This work made the Andean fox visible and meaningful in contemporary literature. The Andean fox has come a long way through centuries since the first accounts in The Huarochirí Manuscript, passing through Arguedas’s works, to reach Rivera Martínez’s own account of this animal. In contrast to the traditional texts, Rivera Martínez’s story reflects on the contemporary Andean fox and its role within the modernization of Andean society. These drastic changes are present in the recent story of a real Andean fox, Run Run.
The podcast Radio Ambulante made a program about this case (“Este perro está raro”). In February 2021, a migrant family in the Comas district of Lima, Peru welcomed to their family what they thought was a new pet dog. They called it Run Run. As the puppy grew older, its distinct characteristics and its behavior began to confuse the family. Its ears were extra pointy, its tail extra bushy, its teeth all large, and its scent was more prominent than that of other dogs. The family began to realize that their dog was actually not a dog; it was actually an Andean fox. Ronald and his mother, Maribel, sought out the help of local zoos, wildlife services, and the police to relocate the wild animal, but to no avail. They tried to resolve it themselves by having an acquaintance release the fox near its natural habitat in the mountains, but Run Run escaped. They turned to the media to bring awareness to the situation, but the attention became overwhelming. Run Run was still on the run, and it even began to kill the neighbors’ animals. The National Forest and Wildlife Service eventually came to handle the situation. After many different strategies and attempts, Serfor agents were finally able to capture Run Run, 6 months after he had escaped. In March of the following year, 2022, Run Run was placed in captivity in a zoo in Cajamarca. The case of Run Run reveals an issue that still persists in countries like Peru. Illegal wildlife trafficking is comparable to the trafficking of drugs and guns, and is one of the main causes of species extinction. Maribel and Ronald were victims of this animal trade. A young boy became fond of a sick animal and wanted to fulfill his dreams of having a household pet, only to find out that he was sold a wild animal that did not belong in a house nor a populated neighborhood, but rather, the wild mountains of the Andes.
Themes
Relationship between Humans and Animals:
The Andean fox of this short story is depicted by the narrator as both a real animal and a figure of Andean mythology. According to Zorro de Puna, the Andean fox is a ubiquitous yet elusive presence that roams the mountains. It is omnipresent, meaning it is seen everywhere yet nowhere to be found.When you see it, you can never get too close to it before it disappears. This fox is so mysterious that some local residents, who have lived near its territory for years, aren’t even sure if the animal is real. Its minimal appearances always leave the observer confused as to whether or not they had seen the fox, or if it was just their eyes playing tricks on them. The only evidence of its presence are usually the aftermaths of its hunting and discarded prey. To the people of this region, this cunning creature with devilish eyes is understood as an illusive and elusive shadow of spiritual origin.
Divine Connection:
Since sightings of the Andean fox are so rare, knowledge of these animals rely heavily on the accounts of mythological stories and folktales. Its incomprehensible and fleeting presence creates an aura of mystery around this Andean animal. Local peoples turn to spiritual and divine explanations to better understand the fox’s nature. The fox’s name mingles with the wind and the clouds, the lightning, and the grass. As the stories of the Huarochirí Manuscript tell, the Andean fox descends from ancient and mysterious gods, and that is why his existence is so mystifying. As a spiritual entity it watches over the land from the peaks of the hills, the slopes, and the mountains.
Modernization in the Andes:
Rivera Martínez’s text shows the impact of modernization and expansion in the Andes that has led the fox to become even more withdrawn and wary. More herds of cattle and the herders that guide them, new roads, and more mining operations means that the fox must redefine the parameters of its territory in order to avoid unnecessary interactions with humans. He seeks refuge in more distant and isolated lands in order to hunt and to find a mate. Despite being adapted to hunt and stalk its prey for endless hours and distances, the Andean fox must still practice caution and give up its playful tricks in order to protect itself from modern danger. The liminal existence of the fox due to its mythological origin and the technological evolution in its environment could also explain the sad story of Run Run, a real Andean fox that was brought to the city of Lima by illegal wildlife traffickers. In a way, Rivera Martínez’s story predicts this development, as it shows how humans will eventually corner the Andean fox and exploit it.
Works Cited
Alarcón, Daniel, host. “Este perro está raro.” Radio Ambulante, season 12, episode 19, NPR, 14 February 2023. https://radioambulante.org/audio/este-perro-esta-raro.
“Edgardo Rivera Martínez.” EcuRed, www.ecured.cu/Edgardo_Rivera_Mart%C3%ADnez.
Salomon, Frank, Urioste, George, translators. The Huarochirí Manuscript. University of Texas Press, 1991.
Van Kessel, J. J. M. M. “El zorro en la cosmovisión andina.” Chungara: Revista de Antropología Chilena, vol. 26, no. 2, 1994, pp. 233-242. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/27802003.
Vienrich, Adolfo. Fábulas quechuas. Municipalidad de Lima, 2020.
"THE ANDEAN FOX" ("ZORRO DE PUNA," PERU, 1996) BY EDGARDO RIVERA MARTÍNEZ
TRANSLATED BY THAO BUI, FERNANDO RODRIGUEZ-MANSILLA
ENGLISH:
The Andean fox is everywhere. He guards the vicinity of his cave. He climbs a hill, and hidden by the ichu grass (1), he observes. He comes down much later, when it’s convenient, and explores the limits of his territory, trotting great distances if necessary. And when the time is right, he takes the chance, follows his instinct, and attacks. And after catching his prey, he vanishes.
The Andean fox is everywhere yet nowhere to be found. He’s there, in the ichu grass, at the foot of a summit, and at the edge of a pond. There he is, within eyesight, almost a stone’s throw away. And yet the fox is not there. It will be useless for the shepherd or the hiker to search that spot and go round and round where the fox stood, just moments ago. He is no longer there. So, it will also be in vain to go from one place to another, calling out, “Atoj! Atoj!” (2)
And, nevertheless, the evidence is undeniable in the form of the half-eaten body of a lamb, found at the foot of a ravine after a difficult search. The teeth marks will be visible: not very large, but sharp and precise. And that won’t just happen once. It will happen five, maybe ten times, to the detriment of both the shepherd and the owner. At most, you might catch a glimpse of a small insolent face, with pointed ears, off in the distance. Afterwards, the fox will disappear and you will think you have been the victim of a hallucination.
Nowadays, with the expansion of the cattle industry, the construction of new roads, the increase of mining operations, the Andean fox has to be more cautious. Thus, he seeks refuge in more distant and inaccessible places. He must cover longer stretches to feed himself and to find a mate. But those issues don’t affect him much because he is well equipped for the walk, for the enduring effort, for the endless stalking of prey. He has also become more vigilant, forgetting his old taste for fearless mockery. He lets himself be seen, only once in a while, from afar. Even then he does it in such a fleeting way that, as we said, you will wonder if your imagination has been tricking you.
He’s nothing like the foxes in the Quechua tales. He’s not the one that is teased by the hawk, and who is put in a sack and dragged through the thorns (3). And he isn’t the conceited fox that is dying to go up where he has not been called to go. And don’t think he’s that gullible listener of baseless claims and lies (4). He’s rather bold yet calculating, relentless, but not cruel, clever without malice, and quick to react before the unexpected. He’s surely not like the foxes from the Andean tales. And yet, there must be and there is something in common between those legendary figures and this elusive hunter.
Because he’s so evasive and quick, there are often men and women of the Puna (5) who have never actually seen the Andean fox, despite living in the plains for years. So, they imagine him as an illusive form with devilish eyes. For them, he is just a name that mingles with the wind and with the clouds, with the ichu and with the lightning. In this technological and alienating age, the Andean fox is a smooth and sharp shadow of divine blood. For that reason, the stories say that he descends from ancient and mysterious gods. And that is why he will always keep watch on the slopes, in the Jalcas (6), and in the hills.
Endnotes
- Ichu, or Jarava Ichu, is commonly known as Peruvian feather grass, and can be found growing in Peru’s grasslands and rocky plains in the Puna ecoregion.
- The Quechua word for “fox” is atuq. The text adapts this word into Spanish as atoj, to reflect the Quechua pronunciation.
- These are references to two Quechua folktales. The first one is “El zorro, el cóndor y el cernícalo” (‘The Fox, the Condor, and the Hawk’) and the other one is “La huachua y el zorro” (‘The Goose and the Fox’). Although some details of the plots in the tales compiled by Vienrich in his Fábulas quechuas (29-34; 35-41) are not exactly the same, they represent the attitude of the fox described by the author.
- In the Andean folktales, the fox can be naive and foolish (Van Kessel).
- The Puna is an ecoregion of the central Andes mountains of high elevation with an altitudinal range between 10,000 and 16,000 feet. This region is mountainous, with snow-capped peaks, and mainly consists of grasslands, as well as mountain pastures, high lakes, plateaus, and valleys. Other characteristics include dryness, intense radiation, and low atmospheric pressure which causes low oxygen levels. https://www.oneearth.org/ecoregions/central-andean-puna/
- Jalcas is a synonym for Puna. https://diperu.apl.org.pe/buscar?entrada=3927
SPANISH
(Triple Click the PDF to acess)
TRANSLATORS' NOTE - THAO BUI, FERNANDO RODRIGUEZ-MANSILLA
Zorro de Puna has not been translated into English since its publication in 1996. This text by Edgardo Rivera Martínez reveals the relationship between the wildlife and the people of the Andes mountains, specifically focusing on Andean foxes. We chose to translate the title into English as The Andean Fox because it is more transparent than a direct translation. Zorro de Puna literally means, “Fox from the Puna region.” Puna is a high elevation ecoregion of the Andes mountains that sits between an altitudinal range of 10,000-16,000 ft. We also chose to humanize the Andean fox in this story by giving it male pronouns. This decision is consistent with our other translations, as we try to highlight the relationship between humans and animals and how humans try to sophisticate animals. It is also consistent with traditional Andean tales where foxes are depicted as male and are also referred to with human pronouns. In addition to the humanization of the fox, we are maintaining various aspects of the original story in this translation, including some Quechua as well as proper nouns in Spanish. We found that directly translating these aspects would not serve justice to either language nor to the reader’s understanding. Our main goal is to accurately communicate in the modern English language what the original text is trying to say while maintaining its Andean origin and authenticity. Special thanks go to Bertha Martínez Castilla and Penguin Random House for allowing us to translate this text.
CITATION
Bui, Thao, Rodriguez-Mansilla, Fernando, Translators, "The Andean Fox, (Zorro de Puna, Peru,1996) by Edgardo Rivera Martínez ," Spanish and Hispanic Studies Digital Gallery at HWS, Summer, 2024
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.