It has been of common knowledge through many centuries that Malinche, or Malinalli, was the reason why Cortes reached Tenochtitlan with his conquistadores. She has been deemed as the evil force translating to Cortes and telling about the secrets of the Aztecs.
This is not necessarily true.
Laura Esquivel does an excellent job at explaining some of Malinche’s reasoning for staying on the side of the Spaniards in her novel “Malinche.” After all, she was no one but a teenage girl in a world control by men. Rather than guilty, I’ve come to think of her as a victim after reading “Malinche.”
I especially like how Esquivel explains the story through words and pictures, using the codices of the Aztecs to explain the story. I think this says a lot about Esquivel and her very Mexican roots. I really applaud her for doing so.
In the past, Diego Rivera tried to do the same to illustrate the Popol Vuh to modern readers in North America.
This is very telling about Esquivel. Like Rivera, she is true to her native roots. I really wish that people in other countries will follow the example of Rivera and Esquivel by embracing their native rules and learn more about their countries past.
