The Fascinating History of La Malinche (and Why Gift-Giving Is More Fun in Mexico)
Last updated October 2023
Centuries of legends to explain daily life
If the United States were a tree, it would have only a few rings. We don’t really have that much of a historical perspective to pull from when trying to figure ourselves out as a culture, at least compared to many other countries. Living in Mexico, a tree with many, many of rings, I often marvel at how the country’s oldest legends, like caterpillars, worm their way into the everyday lives and psyches of Mexicans.
Where we’ll usually assign our problematic cultural tendencies to an unimaginative, banal “just is,” Mexicans draw on historical figures from centuries ago and wryly blame them. One of their favorite scapegoats is La Malinche.
The La Malinche Effect
Traitor, feminist, seductress, whore - Mexico can’t quite come to a verdict La Malinche, who was sold as a slave by her parents to Hernán Cortéz, the Spanish conquistador of the Aztecs (Mexicas). With her help as translator and guide, Cortéz was able to forge alliances with indigenous populations that enabled him to conquer the Aztecs.
The word malinchismo is a term used in the Mexican culture to refer to a social complexity that rejects itself and favors the foreigner. In everyday Mexican banter, if a Mexican calls a fellow Mexican “Malinchista,” they are evoking La Malinche to say a person favors the foreign, whether it’s sexual attraction, clothing or a gift. I’ve heard her referred to so frequently and in so many contexts that it’s led me to suspect that they are still working on her, trying to decide where she belongs in history.
La Malinche has been maligned as a woman who favored the blue-eyed and fair, the foreigner, turning her back on the customs and traditions of her own people. (but then, if you were sold as a slave by your own parents, you may not have felt much loyalty to your tribe either).
Other historians insist that if not for her skills in negotiating and smoothing the waters, the Spanish conquest would have been far bloodier. Later, she was vindicated by feminists and adopted to symbolize the Indians - violated and seduced by the Spanish. A raped woman and a raped land.
The unusual permanence of the legend of Cortéz and La Malinche in the imagination and sensibilities of Mexicans of today reveals that they are more than historical figures, they are symbols of a secret conflict that Mexicans have not resolved.
In the Chicano culture, or Mexican-American culture, La Malinche has converted largely to a positive figure, a woman to be admired. She took the decision to adapt to a situation and continued to be loyal to her people, even if she hadn’t been treated very well by them.
They say don’t blame La Malinche for the destruction of a nation and the Aztecs, but rather thank her for the creation of another culture entirely, that of the mestizo.
Not surprisingly, given her noted physical allure, La Malinche is also blamed for Mexican men cheating on their wives and girlfriends. The argument is that Mexican men still haven’t psychologically recovered from the treason of La Malinche so cannot be faithful.
It forgets entirely that she was a slave, one of 20 given to Hernán Cortéz and forced into the relationship. Rather than seeing her as the first victim of colonization they see her as the first agent of colonization.
Without a doubt, some have turned her into a symbol of feminine sexuality, one that is cunning and a traitor to the Mexican male. To them, it’s not Cortéz to blame for the colonization of Mexico, but La Malinche, a slave whose femininity could not be denied, and who sold the sovereignty of Mexico for sexual relations with a white man. As one well-known Chicana and feminist noted, “There is hardly a Chicana growing up today who does not suffer under her name even if she never hears directly of the one-time Aztec princess”
So you see, the La Malinche wears many interesting hats in Mexico.
La Malinche and gift-giving in Mexico
When in Mexico, for gifts, rather than buying wrapping and storing it at home (where it likely won’t be the kind of paper you need next time). go to a papelería and have it expertly wrapped in the paper of your choice for next to nothing (I had three small gifts wrapped for thirty cents.)
Often in the gift-giving, I stumble upon a little Malinchismo. In fact, that’s how I learned about La Malinche in the first place. Even if I do feel a puzzlement bordering on sympathy regarding this particular Mexican social complex, it hasn’t hurt my gift-giving experience any. Everyone loves any gift stowed in the precious space of a suitcase. My Mexican friends are even more appreciative.
A Mexican friend, delighted by a small gift from San Diego I’d stowed, first asked, “Is this from the US?” When I told her indeed it was from the US, I was delighted by her delight. Provoking her sister to tease her about being a malinche. She laughed and told me the story of La Malinche.
Her shifting place in Mexico’s history
Once a pejorative, the term doesn’t seem to be so today. I’ve never seen a Mexican offended by the moniker. As a symbol, La Malinche expands and mutates according to the times, history and deeds of the moment. Regardless of interpretation, you can’t deny her historical importance. For some, she’s an idol, for others, a traitor. For everyone, she’s a historical figure who can support multiple social and cultural arguments.
Without her, would the whole Aztec empire not have fallen? Would the mestiz0 culture never have been born? Or could it be that without La Malinche, communication between the Aztecs and their conquerors would have resulted in more a longer war and more violence? The only thing we know for sure is that without her, Mexico would not be what it is today.
Related links:
Puebla is an undiscovered jewel for American expats and has its own rich vein of legends. Ventanas Mexico
Most recent:
The wild spending spree I go on in Mexico before any longer trip back to the United States. [blog] Ventanas Mexico
Up Next:
Netflix for learning Spanish that are not boring. [blog]
About the author:
Kerry Baker is the author of three books. Her most recent is a cookbook, The Lazy Expat: Healthy Recipes That Translate in Mexico for travelers, snowbirds and expats who want to keep a healthy diet in Mexico. You can’t maintain a healthy diet without cooking in Mexico. This book tells you how and gives you 150 recipes that can be made in a simple kitchen anywhere.
The second book, “If Only I Had a Place” is the inside scoop on renting in Mexico, the pitfalls and opportunities that await you.
The Mexico Solution: Saving your money, sanity, and quality of life through part-time life in Mexico is her most recent book. It’s the only instruction manual on moving to Mexico that won’t leave you numb.