Native to Mesoamerica, La Malinche belonged to the Nahua people. As a Malinal, the daughter of an Aztec chief, La Malinche was born (Cypess, 2020). She gained an uncommon amount of literacy from this, which she would subsequently use as a translator and help lead the Spanish. Her mother gave her to slave traders after her father passed away. Then, her mother organized a burial to justify why her daughter had vanished so suddenly (Cypess, 2020). Hernán Cortés, a Spanish conquistador, came to rely on her as a valued advisor and interpreter. According to some versions, she was Cortés’ girlfriend and the woman who bore him a baby, and her advice was crucial to his seizure of the Aztec kingdom. La Malinche demonstrated a gift for languages.
She learned Spanish as well as being knowledgeable in several native languages, notably Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs. She rapidly proved herself as a valuable translator among her fellow local slaves, and the Spanish named her the honorific name “Doña Marina” (Cypess, 2020). Due to her complicity in the invasion of Latin America and the killing of its inhabitants, her native people, she earned the reputation of a traitor in the eyes of the general population. Malinchista is a term used in Mexican jargon to describe an individual who is unfaithful to their nation or renounces their customs in favor of another.
The poetry by Tafolla transforms La Malinche’s narrative from a blatantly feminist viewpoint. Malinche’s journey is portrayed in the poem as a captive lady, a betrayer, and an unstoppable survivor. Malinche gains a strong presence and an indestructible individuality thanks to the poem; she stops being only a spectral character from history and starts to exist in the now (Cypess, 2020). The article by Candelaria explains La Malinche as a villainess, as she chose to join the Spaniards over her people.
Reference
Cypess, S. M. (2020). La Malinche. Latin America in the World, 169–180. Web.