La Malinche. or Marina, her Christian name, has drawn both criticism and praise. As Cortes's interpreter during the Spanish Conquest of Mexico in 1521 she acted as an intermediary between the invading Spaniards and the Indians. To some she is a heroine, a symbol of the mestizo peoples of modern Mexico, to others a harlot and betrayer of her own people. In fact Marina's actual contribution to the overthrow of the Aztec empire is somewhat debatable. Bernal Diaz del Castillo, one of the Conquistadors, praises this enigmatic woman highly, but in his letters to Emperor Charles V Cortes himself hardly ever mentions her.
In the 16th century Florentine Codex of Sahagun Marina is portrayed as having first brought the Spaniards to the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. where she served as Cortes's translator. When Cortes met Moctezuma for the first time Marina had no hesitation in assuring the Aztec emperor of Cortes's "love" (tlacotla) for him.
Obviously Cortes's only "love" was for conquest and Aztec gold. Here, as elsewhere. Marina was simply acting as an interpreter and intermediary for the Spaniards.
The lack of early reliable information about La Malinche has not stopped generations of writers from producing numerous books and articles about her exploits. Some of the arguments are simply illogical. For example, she is credited with having saved thousands of Indian lives by enabling Cortes to negotiate rather than slaughter. This is a circular argument, for if Cortes had not been there in the first place with Marina at his side the Spanish massacres of Indians would never have taken place. If Marina's help was as indispensable as some claim then Cortes might not have been able to conquer the Aztecs without her. But she was there. Therefore her services to Cortes did indeed help to cause the deaths of thousands of Indians. Some historians even blame the Aztecs for their own suffering because they put up such a strong resistance!
Marina's detractors accuse her of betraying Mexico, while her supporters point out that "Mexico" as a united country did not exist in the 16th century. True, but she did betray her own Indian people in general by assisting Cortes and thus opening the way for the eventual destruction of other Mesoamerican civilizations and peoples.
Was Marina a harlot? Obviously the woman did not have much choice in her bed partners. But even here the historical record is far from clear. During his expedition to Honduras in 1524-26 Cortes married Marina off to one of his soldiers. Juan Jaramillo. According to one account Jaramillo married her when he was drunk; in another version he is described as a "gentleman." Of course a drunkard may still be a gentleman during his sober moments but one writer used this incident to present yet another dubious argument, namely that Cortes married Marina off because she was more important to him as an interpreter than she was as a mistress and this was his way of making her a respectable married woman.
Revision of the history of the Spanish Conquest began almost immediately after the event. In his 1579 version of the Florentine Codex Sahagungave mainly the views of the conquered Aztecs, but in his revised version of 1585 he emphasized the importance of Cortes and the Conquest. Later historians have added their own particular views of the Conquest. The result of this revisionist history can be seen most clearly in the changing perception of La Malinche. For example, in The Conquest of Mexico Prescott portrays her as a noble, beautiful. Indian princess, unswervingly loyal to Cortes and the Conquest.
After the establishment of Mexican Independence in 1821 La Malinche was transformed from heroine into harlot and traitor. Neither reputation is warranted. Marina was simply a victim of circumstances. Neither praiseworthy nor blameworthy, she did what she had to do to survive. Her usefulness to Cortes is beyond question but in reality she was little more than Cortes's mouthpiece. The well-documented greed of the Conquistadores for gold, the fanatical zeal of the missionaries for Indian souls, and Spanish muskets determined the outcome from the start. The fatalistic attitude of Moctezuma toward the dire portents, real or imagined, heralding the arrival of the Spaniards, also helped to render ineffectual any Aztec resistance to the Spanish invasion. Moreover the Spaniards were assisted by thousands of Indian allies hostile to the Aztecs.
Most history is in fact revisionist history written from the point of view of the conquerors. As far as the few historical facts are concerned. Marina just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time or the right place at the right time, depending on your view of the evils or the merits of the Spanish Conquest. History is an aesthetic experience not an exact science. The oft-revised history of La Malinche is a prime example. Marina's fame rests not so much on anything she did during the Spanish Conquest as on the highly inflated image foisted upon her by posterity.
