Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum has launched a series of cultural events aimed at reclaiming the story of Malinche, the indigenous interpreter long blamed for the fall of the Aztec empire. The events, beginning Sunday on the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas, include a working group of anthropologists, historians and philosophers studying the figure. “It is very important to vindicate her,” Sheinbaum said.
Malinche, known to the Spanish as Marina and to pre-Hispanic peoples as Malintzin, served as translator for conquistador Hernán Cortés during the 1521 conquest. Born around 1500, she was sold into slavery and later given to the Spanish after a battle, where she learned multiple languages. Her role made her a central figure in the violent colonial period, but her story has been told only by others, generating myths.
The debate over Malinche's legacy continues five centuries later. Was she a traitor, a victim, or a woman with agency? Most academics today do not see her as a traitor, given that the Aztecs were enemies of her own people in an era of constant inter-indigenous warfare. Historian Camilla Townsend noted that Malinche saved her own life by choosing to translate, and was forced into difficult situations such as acting as intermediary for women about to be raped.
Historian Federico Navarrete cautioned that viewing her objectively is impossible due to ongoing race and class conflicts from the conquest. Meanwhile, Mixe linguist Yásnaya Aguilar described her as a native woman who moved from slavery to being respected in her time. Malinche died around age 30, probably in an epidemic, leaving a son with Cortés and a daughter with her husband.
Her negative image was solidified in the 19th century after Mexican independence, when a popular novel cast her as a traitor. Nobel laureate Octavio Paz later framed her as a symbol of betrayal. Sheinbaum's initiative seeks to challenge that narrative and highlight Malinche's complexity.
