The Text:

El Hipocampo de Oro was published posthumously in 1920, one year after the death of its author, Abraham Valdelomar. This story, like many of Valdelomar’s other cuentos, including El caballero Carmelo, contains imagery that is inspired by the environment of the writer’s childhood in the city of Pisco. This imagery includes mentions of the sea, the beach, twilight, a small village, hardworking fishermen, death, ancient tortoises, and a simple and slow life with a bit of melancholy. El Hipocampo de Oro unfolds uncanny and magical elements without referencing local cultural details that are prominent in El caballero Carmelo. This dark fantasy tale diverges from Valdelomar’s realistic narratives and includes aspects of Peruvian modernismo, such as exoticism, nobility, and cosmopolitanism. 

The short story is broken up into six parts. Part I is the description of Señora Glicina's environment. Part II talks about Señora Glicina’s beauty. Part III is about her love story with the mysterious prince from the sea. Part IV is the longest section, and is when Señora Glicina meets the Golden Hippocampus. In their dialogue they acknowledge one another’s needs and desires. Part V includes only one scene, where Glicina goes in search of the flower of the peach with two pits. Finally, part VI is the exchange between Señora Glicina and the Golden Hippocampus. This exchange resolves their problems.

Characters:

Señora Glicina:

Señora Glicina is the respected widow of a small village of fishermen. She is the only white woman among the other indigenous residents. In the story, she is described as a woman at the prime of her youth; she is tall, sturdy, flexible, and agile. Despite being poor, Señora Glicina keeps her small house and ranch clean and tidy. However, Señora Glicina is an unhappy and lonely woman, because she was abandoned by her lover and is also infertile. Due to this misery, Señora Glicina sought out the help of the Golden Hippocampus king. She is willing to sacrifice herself in order to fulfill her heart's desires: to have a son who represents the fruit of her and the prince’s love. Señora Glicina is hopeful, faithful to her love, selfless, and unafraid. 

The Golden Hippocampus:

The Golden Hippocampus is the powerful king who rules over the sea. He rules over all sea life and has endless capabilities, except that he is plagued by the duty to find himself new eyes, a new cup of blood, and the flower of a peach with two pits after every lunar cycle. The Golden Hippocampus is worried about maintaining his appearance as king, so he can never return to his kingdom without first acquiring all of his necessities. He is insecure about the image that his royal subjects have of him, and cries a lot about having to fulfill his monthly duty. The Hippocampus king is also honest. He tells Señora Glicina the truth about her desires and keeps his word to give her a son once she has provided him with all of his necessities. 

Additional Characters:

Other characters that are mentioned in this story include the prince, who was Señora Glicina’s lover, the hardworking fishermen of the village, the royal subjects of the Golden Hippocampus king, and the peach tree. Señora Glicina’s lover was a dashing prince that arrived on a ship from the sea. He slept with her for one night and abandoned her the next day, leaving her in misery. The prince had told Señora Glicina that the fruit of their love would be born if she were to go to the shore after three years, three months, three weeks, and three nights had passed. 

The hardworking fishermen of the village saw Señora Glicina walking towards the shore and tried to deter her from venturing close to the sea because of their fear of the possible appearance of the infamous Golden Hippocampus. 

The Golden Hippocampus king mentions his royal subjects of the sea on many occasions. He was afraid of ruining his reputation as king and losing their respect if he were not able to acquire his necessities on every full moon. He describes his subjects as having different needs and desires as well as different blood than him. He carries the wisdom and eloquence that they do not need and if they were to ever realize that he was suffering, they would no longer be devoted to him. 

The peach tree makes an appearance towards the end of the story. It grants Señora Glicina the permission to cut its flower and bring it to the Golden Hippocampus and cries after she leaves.

Themes:

Royal power and authority:

The Golden Hippocampus is king of the sea. He has a palace and subjects whom he described as not desiring the same things that he does. Every full moon the Hippocampus has to get a new pair of eyes, a new cup of blood, and the flower of the peach with two pits. He needs to do this in order to maintain his power and image as king. If he fails to acquire these items, then he will no longer have the respect of his subjects. Despite having the power to grant happiness to everyone in his kingdom, he feels miserable because he depends on the permanent search of eyes (to illuminate the deep sea), blood (to make his body glow), and the flower (for wisdom). Acquiring these three things restore and nourish his power and authority. 

Hippocampus in mythology:

The Hippocampus comes from Greek mythology. It is a  seahorse creature, imaged as half horse-half fish. This fictionalized animal is considered to be a monster, according to the Greek words hippos (“horse”) and kampos (“sea monster”). As the loyal mount of the Greek god of the sea, Poseidon, the Hippocampus symbolizes this god’s dominion over the ocean and holds a royal status. According to the mythology of the Hippocampus, this creature is immortal and can never die of old age. Additionally, Hippocampuses have the power to control the weather and rile up storms, and they also have the ability to shapeshift to having human legs. Hippocampuses have been part of a great tradition for several centuries. Artifacts like ancient coins and jars depict images of the Hippocampus. Throughout history, different versions of the Hippocampus’ appearance have been made. 

Desire, love, and sacrifice:

Señora Glicina and the Hippocampus have desires that they want to fulfill. In the past, Señora Glicina fell in love with a prince from the sea who promised her that their love will bear fruit after a specific time. Ever since the prince’s departure, Señora Glicina has longed for the day to come. The Hippocampus, in order to maintain the control and authority of his kingdom, he must obtain new eyes, new blood, and a specific flower on every full moon. Señora Glicina and the Golden Hippocampus realize that they can help each other fulfill their desire, so they decide to strike a deal. Señora Glicina agrees to provide the Hippocampus with the three things he desires in exchange for a child. She sacrificed her life in order for her child to be born, despite knowing that she would never meet him.This story shows the two sides of sacrifice: Señora Glicina gave up her own life so that the fruit of her love could be born, while the Golden Hippocampus took advantage of her vulnerability in order to satisfy himself. The main theme of this short story is that the good suffer at the expense of the greedy. 

Works Cited:

“Hippocampus Mythology.” Paleothea, paleothea.com/mythical-creatures/hippocampus-mythology/#:~:text=In%20the%20grand%20mythological%20tapestry,ancient%20lore%20and%20modern%20fascination. . Accessed 26 June 2024.

"THE GOLDEN HIPPOCAMPUS" ("HIPOCAMPO DE ORO," PERU, 1920) BY ABRAHAM VALDELOMAR

TRANSLATED BY THAO BUI, EMELY MARTINEZ, FERNANDO RODRIGUEZ-MANSILLA

ENGLISH:

I

The crown of the palm tree was like a witch’s head of hair, with leaves tousled by the wind. It resembled an Italian soldier guarding the house of the widow. The widow’s name was Señora Glicina. The sea breeze had unraveled the beautiful leaves of the palm tree. The salty dust brought fine particles from distant islands that had darkened the palm tree to the color of sepia. Its constant blowing had somewhat bent the slender trunk. At a distance, it could be said that our palm tree looked like an ancient arch dangling its whimsical crown in the air. 

Señora Glicina’s house was small and clean. In the small village of fishermen, she was the only white woman among indigenous residents. Tall, sturdy, flexible, agile, and at the height of her youth, Señora Glicina had a tortoise. It was an obese tortoise, disenchanted, that, occasionally, at noon, would awaken to the guttural cry of the familiar seagull. Its flat earthy head, like the tip of a dart, would protrude from its faceted shell; more out of habit than pain it would let two tears fall. It would always scrutinize the sea and sincerely vow to run away into the sunset. But, with a sterile pessimism of a German philosopher, it would make this reflection: 

“The world is unkind to tortoises.”

After a pause it would add:

“Sweet liberty is a bitter lie…”

And it always finished with this same profound refrain, learned from experience. 

It would retract its head into the rounded and faceted tortoiseshell, and fall asleep. 

II

The small and impoverished ranch of Señora Glicina was neat, impressive and bright. The widow’s irises were black and polished like two marbles and were so big that the convex triangles in the corners of the eyes could barely be seen. In conclusion, her eyes were like doe   eyes. Her skin was white like the oily milk of green coconuts. But like the harmony of a cresting wave, Señora Glicina's evolving attractiveness became obvious. It was perfection in progress, something that seemed like it was going to manifest into absolute beauty. One would say that it was a clay model for a perfect marble statue. 

III

However, Señora Glicina was not happy; she was a widow and infertile. Calling her a widow was no more than to say her love had died, because in that coastal village, matrimony was a thing of little importance. One day, a strange ship had appeared on the distant horizon. It was like one of those ancient galleons in which Columbus undertook the Conquest of the New World. It had squared and curved sails, small masts, a short and golden prow on which a marine monster stood out. At twilight, the ship arrived at the shore but it had only one crew member, a brave gentleman in bright armor, the spitting image of Prince Lohengrin, the dazzling son of Percival (1). That night this gentleman stayed in the house of Señora Glicina. He slept with her without her asking him anything because both were aware that they were made for each other. They sensed that they needed one another, they lost themselves in a kiss. But at dawn, the golden ship disappeared in the fog with its handsome crewman on board. That brief love was like the fulfillment ordered by Destiny. Since that moment, Señora Glicina was the widow of the village.

IV

Three years, three months, three weeks, three nights passed. And when that day arrived, Señora Glicina headed for the shore, towards the south. Little by little the sight of the small village receded. The huts of reed and thatch were getting smaller; the palm trees, from a distance, seemed less slender. They were becoming hard to distinguish in the hot air that would seep out of the sparkling sand, like an act of gratitude to the sun. The boats, with their triangular sails, would rest on the horizon and appear small upon the turbulent expanse. Señora Glicina was leaving tiny delicate footprints on the damp shore. 

“Where are you going, ma’am?” asked an old pearl fisherman. “Don’t come any closer because at this time the Golden Hippocampus usually comes out in search of its cup of blood…”

“How will I know if the Golden Hippocampus has come out?” Señora Glicina inquired. 

“By the phosphorescent footprints that it leaves in the damp sand when night falls…”

The widow moved on and found a coral fisherman:

“Where are you going, ma’am?” he said “Are you not afraid of the Golden Hippocampus? At these hours, it usually comes out in search of its eyes.” Added the young lad. 

“How will I know if the Golden Hippocampus has come out?”

“In the sea, when night falls and it becomes silent, you will hear its piercing whistle…”

The widow kept walking and found a young carp fisherman boy:

“Where are you going, ma’am?” he questioned her. “The Golden Hippocampus will soon come out in search of the flower of the peach with two pits…”

“How will I know if the Golden Hippocampus has come out?”

“In the silence of the night a luminous winged fish will appear before the Golden Hippocampus emerges from the sea…”

The widow walked on. The sun had already set. In the purple evening, her silhouette was turning blue. Night fell when the widow sat down to wait in a small cove. Then, a footprint began to light up on the humid shore. The luminous fish gleamed over the waves, a shrill whistle pierced the silence. The moon, cut in half by the line of the horizon, could be seen clearly and distinctly. A shiny animal appeared from the turbulent waters, and in the fog, its body had a heavenly glow; it looked like a nebula on a blue night. It had a pearly and vibrant translucence. It splashed the foamy waves and started to cry inconsolably. 

“Oh how wretched I am,” it was saying, “I am a king and I am the most miserable of my kingdom. Even the saddest fish in my kingdom is happier than me!”

“Why are you so unhappy sir?” asked the widow. “A king can very well give himself the happiness he wants. All your wishes will be achieved. Ask your subjects for happiness and they will give it to you…” 

“Ah kind and beautiful Señora,” the Golden Hippocampus responded. “My subjects can give me everything they have, even their own lives, but not happiness. What good are these black pearl farms, if they only serve as carpets for me? What is the purpose of the corals that make up my palace in the dark bottom of the sea, without light? Why do I need the countless armies of slime that illuminate the dark marine bottom when I go out to visit my kingdom? What is the point of the forests of weeds whose leaves are like the crystals of a thousand colors? I can provide happiness to everyone that lives in the sea, but they cannot satisfy mine. As king, I have different needs, different wishes, unlike those of  my subjects. My blood is unique.”

“And what are these needs and wishes of yours, Señor Golden Hippocampus?” implored Señora Glicina.

“The thing is, Señora,” the Hippocampus replied, “I have a rather peculiar organic composition. There is only one Hippocampus; that is to say, there is only one family of hippocampuses. One can find at the bottom of the sea all kinds of beings; real armies of oysters, carps, eels, turtles…There are no other hippocampuses other than us…”

“And do your subjects know that you suffer such needs?”

“That is my fate: they can’t know that I suffer. If my subjects realized that their king has unsatisfied needs, inaccessible desires, they would lose all respect towards my royal majesty and they would believe me to be their equal. My kingdom will fall to pieces. But in spite of all the pain, Señora, being king is always a pleasant comfort, a great privilege…”

Then he added with deep sorrow:

“There is no greater pain than to be king by blood and by spirit and to live surrounded by commoners, even without a court capable of understanding the soul of a king.” 

“Could you tell me, Señor Golden Hippocampus, what exactly do you need and what is causing you such pain?” 

The Hippocampus got closer to shore.  He flattened his silver fins embedded with big pearls as big as pigeon eggs; and at the surface of the sea, while his tail swished distortedly in the water, he said:

“A peculiar thing happens to me, Señora. My eyes, my beautiful eyes,” and he caressed them with a wave’s crest, “my beautiful eyes are not mine…”

“They are not yours, Señor Golden Hippocampus?” the frightened widow exclaimed. 

“My beautiful eyes are not mine.” he added, lowering his head while a sob shook his golden body. “These eyes you see will last me only until tomorrow, at the hour in which the horizon cuts the sun in half. Every full moon I have to find new eyes, and if I don’t get them I will return to my kingdom without them. It’s not only this. Every full moon I have to acquire a new cup of blood, which is what gives my body the brightness of a starry night; and if I don’t obtain it I will return without light. Every full moon, I have to get the power of wisdom from the flower of the peach with two pits in order to maintain my subjects’ devotion to me. If I don’t obtain that flower, I will return without eloquence; then I, being on the top as the king, would be the last of the fishes. My subjects don’t need wisdom and are unaware of its origin, of where the light comes from. They do not comprehend beauty and are oblivious to where the secret of the eyes resides…”

Señora Glicina kept silent for a short moment and the Hippocampus continued:

“My life, Señora, is a cycle of pain and happiness; it is a constant struggle. My pleasure, my indescribable pleasure lies in the search for new eyes: finding them, gazing through them, loving them, and later…stealing them. I keep them for myself, I possess them. I enjoy them during the lunar cycle. The torment comes much later. In the final days of the cycle of the moon my happiness diminishes. I fear losing my eyes, knowing that they will expire, that they will only last me for a certain time. I will have to suffer; I will have to find new ones, and start over. And it’s not only the eyes! What about the cup of blood? And the flower of the peach with two pits? You see my torment! A pain that renews itself every 28 days. Such a brief happiness. But believe me: such a sacrifice is well worth the pleasure. It is true that there is no anguish as great as mine when I am searching for my new eyes, but when I find them, when I rejoice in anticipation, when I see the right ones, (because I understand which eyes are destined for me from the moment I see them) when I experience the first glance, when, from a distance, the new eyes strike me with their intelligent rays, eloquent, riveting…”

“Have you already worn so many eyes?” 

“As many eyes as the cycles of the moons that I have lived through. Know that we hippocampuses live longer than the tortoises. I have had blue eyes, blue like the sky, blue like the clear water, blue like these nights that allow us to see the Milky Way Galaxy; blue like the edge of the shells that grow in the mouths of the great rivers. With those eyes I could see everything in blue, absolutely blue…I see life, Señora, according to the color of the eyes I wear…Has that happened to you?” he asked with truly royal courtesy.

“Carry on, carry on…”

“I have had green eyes like the algae that grow at the feet of the walls of my palace, and they are what give the sea that green color which you admire so much, Señora. I’ve had them black, black like the bottom of the sea, black like sin, black like the night, black like the birth of a crime, black like disloyalty, black like a shadow’s soul; black like this pearl at the end of my curved tail.” he said with a cocky tone. “I’ve also had yellow eyes and brown eyes, and…all of them were so beautiful!

Two eyes prompted these verses:

…From a peach tree,

such is the first and seasoned fruit, 

fuzzy and scented, in whose pulp

the fiber is honey and flesh,

the golden and pink spring descends!

One can get quite accustomed to it! Peace is impossible after finding new eyes! It is so pleasant to have them, that the anguish it takes to get them does not matter. Even if I were to suffer ten times more in this obligated pursuit, my happiness would still exceed my torment. The same suffering, when I obtain a new pair of eyes, eventually feels like happiness. It’s like…I don't know how to say it, Señora…but it’s love, it’s more than love, more, much more! You, terrestrial creatures, have such a limited concept of things!...”

Later, changing the tone of the conversation, he leaned his head against a bank of sand, abandoning his body to the swaying of the waves, between which his tail moved steadily and calmly like a pendulum. He added, while staring fixedly at the widow:

“By the way, what lovely eyes you have, Señora.”

“They seem lovely to you,” responded Señora Glicina, “because you need them, but to me they are only useful for crying. Sometimes I think,” she added, “that if we didn’t have eyes, we wouldn’t cry. The tears would have nowhere to go…”

“Oh, then they would come out from the left side of the chest or from here, from the forehead.” the Hippocampus said, pointing at his own forehead, where a pink pearl glimmered. 

“And what will you do if tomorrow, at the hour when the horizon cuts the red sun in half, you have not found new eyes, a new cup of blood, nor a new flower of the peach with two pits?”

“You see, I will die. I will die before returning to my palace where they would not acknowledge me and take me for an insignificant fish...”

And he sobbed for a long time, full of pain and emotion. 

“What would you give, oh golden king, to obtain these three things?”

“I would give everything that was asked of me. Even my kingdom! And what things I could give! I could give the secret to happiness to all those who were not part of my kingdom. To all the yearning men that are at the bottom of the sea. The sea planted the first seed of life. Here, my Golden Hippocampus predecessor was the king of men when men were only protozoans, microorganisms, bacteria, and vital cells. Here, in the sea, the highest and most perfect civilizations are buried; those that exist and those that will exist are going to rest here as well. The sea was the beginning and will be the end of everything. Your happiness, which consists of wanting that which you cannot obtain, exists here, within the dark waters. I could give you everything you ask of me. I have a friend on land who my most ancient grandfather did a great service for. If my friend could walk, he would come to me and would give me what I need every full moon. But he is immobile and is stuck to the ground. He owes us his life and possesses a virtue, thanks to a member of my family. Do you need something?”

“Yes.” Señora Glicina said. “I loved a shining prince that came from the sea. I loved him one night. And he said: ‘When three years, three months, three weeks, and three nights pass, go south, by the shore, and the fruit of our love will be born as you wish it to be’…And I have come and here you see me. I would give you my eyes, I would fill your cup of blood and would look for the flower of the peach with two pits, if you grant me the secret, so that the fruit of my love can be born as I wish…”

The fatigued eyes of the Golden Hippocampus shined again in the night, his face cheered up and he trembled with emotion. 

“Well then.” the Golden Hippocampus said. “Your son will be born. Listen to me and obey me. You will walk towards the east. You will find a forest, you will enter it, you will cross a fast-flowing and terrible river, and when this river envelops you in its center, you will say: ‘The flower of the peach with two pits, the cup of blood and my eyes are for the Golden Hippocampus, and you will arrive on the opposite shore. The rest will come on its own. When you have the flower of the three petals, you will come with it, you will hand me your eyes, you will give me the cup of blood and the flower of the peach, and you will die immediately, but your son will have already been born. Have you decided?”

“I have decided.” Señora Glicina said. 

And she went towards the indicated spot.  

V

Just as the king had told her, Señora Glicina arrived at the shore of the fast-flowing river. But she had arrived with her flesh torn up, and with her nails ripped out of her fingers; she could barely stand on her feet. She sat under a tree’s crown and over her fell, like wings of white butterflies, the petals of a peach tree in bloom. 

“Where might the peach with the two pits be?” she exclaimed. 

“Who asks of me?” a sweet voice whispered in the wind. 

“The king of the sea, the Golden Hippocampus, sends me to you. I come for the flower of the three petals that grows on the peach with the two pits.” 

“It is the most beloved thing I have,” the peach tree said, “but it is for the king who was good with me. Cut it!”

And Señora Glicina cut the flower, and the peach tree cried as she left. 

VI

Very little was left before the horizon line cut the sun in half, when Señora Glicina arrived. The Golden Hippocampus was waiting for her full of anxiety. 

“Fill my cup of blood!” he ordered. 

And the widow, without screaming in pain, opened up her chest, and cut an artery. Her blood gushed out in a hot stream, foaming until the king’s cup was full, and he drank it in one gulp. 

“Give me the flower of the peach with two pits!” he ordered.

And the widow, without screaming in pain, gave him the three petals that the Hippocampus king put into the heart of a pearl. 

“Give me your eyes which are now mine!” he ordered. 

And the widow, without making a complaint, tore away the light forever, and gave her eyes to the Golden Hippocampus, who put them in his already empty sockets. 

“Now give me my son!” the widow exclaimed.

“Take the stem from which you have plucked the three petals, and tomorrow your son will be born. What do you want me to give him? I can give him all the virtues that men have, I can double the amount of one of them, but only one…Which virtue do you want to double for him?”

“Love!” said the widow.

“So be it. Goodbye! You want it that way. Tomorrow, after twilight, you will die, but your son will live forever.”

“Thank you, thank you, oh king of the sea! What does it matter what I have given you when you have given me a son?...”

The final words were not heard by the Golden Hippocampus because his body, robust and curved, had already sunk into the sea, leaving a twinkling wake between the tender waves.

Endnotes:

1. Prince Lohengrin is a character in German Arthurian literature. This knight rescues a woman who cannot ask him about his identity. That detail makes Señora Glicina’s lover similar to this prince. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lohengrin

SPANISH: 

TRANSLATORS' NOTE - THAO BUI, EMELY MARTINEZ, FERNANDO RODRIGUEZ-MANSILLA

El Hipocampo de Oro has not been translated into English since its publication in 1920. This text by Abraham Valdelomar does not present difficulties related to specific Peruvian cultural concepts, since the short story does not involve local details. We are only maintaining the courtesy titles of señor and señora that are characteristic of the Spanish language. These titles indicate social distinction and respect. We decided to keep señor and señora in our translation in order to keep the Latin American origin and authenticity of the original text. In conclusion, our mission is to accurately communicate in the modern English language what the original text is trying to say while still preserving Valdelomar’s modernista style of describing supernatural and magical scenarios and characters.

CITATION: 

Bui, Thao, Martinez, Emely, Rodriguez-Mansilla, Fernando, Translators, "The Golden Hippocampus, (El Hipocampo de oro, Peru,1920) by Abraham Valdelomar," Spanish and Hispanic Studies Digital Gallery at HWS, Summer, 2024

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.