To this day, the relationship between Hernán Cortés and his translator La Malinche remains confusing. Was Cortés a double-crossing murderer or a heroic conqueror? Was La Malinche, an enslaved woman from Aztec royalty, an intelligent woman doing what was necessary to stay alive or the betrayer of her people? The history books have not been kind to her. However you view this pair, one thing is clear: their stories cannot be told without linking their biographies. As your readers will find out, there is little doubt that their pairing forever changed Mexico and the Americas.

Of all the historical characters known from the time of the Spanish conquest of the New World, none has proved more pervasive or controversial than that of the Indian interpreter, guide, mistress, and confidante of Hernán Cortés, Doña Marina—La Malinche—Malintzin. The mother of Cortés's son, she becomes not only the mother of the mestizo but also the Mexican Eve, the symbol of national betrayal. Very little documented evidence is available about Doña Marina. This is the first serious study tracing La Malinche in texts from the conquest period to the present day. It is also the first study to delineate the transformation of this historical figure into a literary sign with multiple manifestations. Cypess includes such seldom analyzed texts as Ireneo Paz's Amor y suplicio and Doña Marina, as well as new readings of well-known texts like Octavio Paz's El laberinto de la soledad. Using a feminist perspective, she convincingly demonstrates how the literary depiction and presentation of La Malinche is tied to the political agenda of the moment. She also shows how the symbol of La Malinche has changed over time through the impact of sociopolitical events on the literary expression.

The daughter if a prophet and the child slave of Spanish adventurer Hernan Cortes, the life of the Aztec princess Malinali is one of the most enduring legends of Mexico. Her role in history divides opinion even today. Reviled by some as a traitor responsible for the destruction of the Indians, worshiped by others as a heroine and symbolic mother of the nation, hers is the most extraordinary story in the history of the Americas. The legendary Aztec civilization is here brought to life in blazing colour, as the author traces the story of the enigmatic Malinali who held for a moment the future of an entire country in her hands. Contradictory, sensuous and fiercely intelligent, Malinali became the key to Cortes conquest of Mexico. It is a story of impossible odds, unimaginable cruelty, extraordinary courage and craven betrayal. Who were the heroes and who the villains? Today the Aztecs are a distant memory. But Malinali's name lives on. This book spent four months on the best seller lists in Mexico, re-igniting debate yet again about the true heritage of a people and the very nature of western colonisation of the natural world.

The first major visual and cultural exploration of the legacy of La Malinche, simultaneously reviled as a traitor to her people and hailed as the mother of Mexico An enslaved Indigenous girl who became Hernán Cortés's interpreter and cultural translator, Malinche stood at center stage in one of the most significant events of modern history. Linguistically gifted, she played a key role in the transactions, negotiations, and conflicts between the Spanish and the Indigenous populations of Mexico that shaped the course of global politics for centuries to come. As mother to Cortés's firstborn son, she became the symbolic progenitor of a modern Mexican nation and a heroine to Chicana and Mexicana artists. Traitor, Survivor, Icon is the first major publication to present a comprehensive visual exploration of Malinche's enduring impact on communities living on both sides of the US-Mexico border. Five hundred years after her death, her image and legacy remain relevant to conversations around female empowerment, indigeneity, and national identity throughout the Americas. This lavish book establishes and examines her symbolic import and the ways in which artists, scholars, and activists through time have appropriated her image to interpret and express their own experiences and agendas from the 1500s through today.

"Women's contributions throughout history are often overlooked or minimized when compared to those of men. Readers will learn the true story of Malinche, a slave girl who was instrumental in the Spanish conquest of Mexico. Her courageous but brief life is examined, focusing on her time with explorer Hern�n Cort�s. Myth and fact are discussed and explained, with primary sources to illustrate this period in Mexican history. Readers will connect with the story of a young person who bravely endured terrible circumstances to change Mexico forever in the 1500s. Her legacy in Mexico, folklore, art, and politics endures today."

Nonfiction curricular texts for Social Studies Grade 5: Early Latin American Civilizations the Inca, Aztec, and Maya.