Enriquillo.

Published in Santo Domingo in 1882, Enriquillo tells the story of Guarocuya, a young cacique baptized Enrique and later known as Enriquillo, who was raised among the Spanish and would lead one of the longest uprisings against colonial rule in the early Caribbean, ultimately securing a peace agreement with the Spanish Crown.

Drawing on the chronicles of Bartolomé de las Casas and other historical sources, Manuel de Jesús Galván traces Enriquillo's life from the massacre of Jaragua through his marriage to Mencía and the abuses of the encomienda system to his retreat into the mountains of Bahoruco, where he resisted Spanish forces for fourteen years.

Unfolding in three parts, Enriquillo interweaves three love stories with an epic narrative of adversity, resistance, and reconciliation. Through the transformation of its protagonist from a young cacique educated among the Spanish into a leader who challenges their authority, Galván explores questions of conscience, justice, and power. Enriquillo remains a landmark of nineteenth-century Dominican literature.

Some books remain with us long after we have finished reading them. Enriquillo has been one of those books for me. Over the years, I have returned to it repeatedly, drawn by Galván's storytelling, his historical imagination, and the ambition of the novel itself. My travels through the landscapes in which its story unfolds have deepened my appreciation of the work and its place in Dominican history and literature.

This translation is based on Galván's revised edition of 1909, with the original 1882 edition consulted for comparison. I had the good fortune to work directly from surviving copies of both editions, an experience that brought me closer to the novel's publishing history.

As a translator, my aim has been to remain faithful to the character of Galván's prose, preserving its historical and literary qualities without sacrificing the pleasure of reading it in English. Whatever succeeds belongs to the author; whatever fails belongs entirely to the translator.

Writing in the nineteenth century about events of the sixteenth, Galván was himself attentive to the distance between the language of an earlier age and the expectations of his readers. Following an elaborate speech by a nobleman, he pauses to offer this reflection:

Should the noble duke’s discourse seem to the discerning reader somewhat pompous and diffuse, let him kindly remember that in those days the relics of the Middle Ages, which had scarcely passed away, mingled with the first gleams of modern civilization; that the incomparable Miguel de Cervantes had not yet been born; and that, consequently, no man had yet conceived the happy creation of that immortal genius, which was destined to overthrow the sublime fantasies of chivalry together with the motley and emphatic literary forms that framed such heroic delusions and romantic follies.

— Manuel de Jesús Galván, Enriquillo

Joaquín Silfa Garrido

Terms from Enriquillo

cacique

A native chief or ruler. Enriquillo inherits the title.

encomienda

A colonial grant of native labor and tribute under Spanish rule.

repartimiento

The allotment of native labor among Spanish settlers.

licenciado

A title of university learning and professional standing. Galván uses it for Las Casas.

Audiencia Real

The Crown’s high court in Santo Domingo, with judicial and governing authority.

residencia

A formal inquiry into a royal official’s conduct, usually at the end of his tenure.

Joaquín Silfa Garrido is a translator, editor, and writer based in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He serves as editor in chief of ØRIGEN DIGITAL.

His professional background includes screenwriting, editing, interpreting, and language instruction. He works from his professional studio in Santo Domingo, where his work spans education, writing, and editorial projects.

His longstanding interest in history and literature has taken him throughout the Dominican Republic and across the Americas, deepening his understanding of the places, cultures, and historical legacies that inform his work. He is the translator of Manuel de Jesús Galván's Enriquillo.

ØRIGEN DIGITAL is an independent publisher based in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, with a focus on literature, history, and translation. Its publications reflect a commitment to editorial quality, historical accuracy, and thoughtful book design.

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