Pink River Dolphin

The bufeo, the pink river dolphin, lives in the rivers of the Amazon, and many stories swim around it. For Kichwa families in Ecuador, bufeos are powerful spirits who live with their own families, in houses and communities at the bottom of the rivers.

Many see them as guardians of the water: when they appear, people say, the river is alive and full of fish, and they also warn when the water will rise or fall.

But the bufeo is also known for being mysterious. A legend told throughout the Amazon says that on party nights the dolphin leaves the river as an elegant young man, dressed in white and wearing a hat he never takes off, because it hides his blowhole. They say he charms the girls at the party and then returns to his hidden city beneath the water.