Margaret Lawlace

on translating Rosario Castellanos

Malinche (born Malinalli) was an indigenous woman who served as translator to Hernán Cortés during the conquista. After her father, a ruler of an Aztec village, died, Malinche was sold by her mother to Mayan slavers. As a result, she spoke both Náhuatl (the language of the Aztecs) and Mayan. She was then given to the Spaniards as a gift, where she proved useful in helping them communicate with native people. She learned Spanish as well and rose in Cortés’s esteem, developing an intimate relationship with him and bearing him a child.

Malinche continues to be an important and controversial figure in Mexican culture. Historically, she has been viewed as a traitor to her people for assisting the Spaniards; however, some believe she has been unfairly scapegoated, her image mixed with that of Eve as treacherous woman, and that history has ignored the context of her life — particularly her enslavement — which influenced how she acted. Because she is such a significant cultural touchstone in Mexico, I wanted to retain a sense of her place by choosing to leave some understandable words in the original Spanish: plaza, cacao, and ay. I also wanted to retain a sense of time, since she was an actual historical figure, by utilizing some more antiquated words and phrases, such as “gallows,” “in legitimate marriage bed,” and “usurper.”