Malinche (22 page)

At that moment, a bolt of lightning, a silver tongue, lit the sky, heralding a storm and filling with light the still body of Malinalli, who had died instantaneously some moments before. Her eyes were absorbed by the stars, which immediately knew everything that she had seen on the earth.

On that thirteenth day of the month, Malinalli was born to eternity. Juan Jaramillo celebrated it in his own way. He brought together his children in the patio, which they filled with flower and song. Then they each read a poem written for Malinalli in Náhuatl. When the ritual was over, they remained silent in order to become impregnated by Malinalli before going to sleep.

In contrast with this simple ceremony, on that same date, the colonial authorities organized a great feast to commemorate the fall of Tenochtitlán, on the thirteenth of August in 1521. The celebration took place in the church of San Hipólito, since the date that marked the Spanish victory over the natives was the same as the day of that saint.

Jaramillo was invited to attend the celebratory Mass of the fall of Tenochtitlán several times, and several times he declined. Years later, they granted him the honor of carrying the banner during the feast of St. Hipólito—which commemorated the Spanish triumph over Tenochtitlán—but he declined, which the authorities took as an affront.

In the air, in the invisible, an infinity of sideas flow. During their journey they cross one another and create luminous encounters that later shape themselves into images, sounds, words: into knowledge.

This book is a result of my search for answers to the questions: Who was Malinche? What did she think? What did she know? What were her thoughts?

I found the answers not only in books but in conversations with my friends and in my contact with the invisible, where time vanishes and it is possible to have lucky encounters with the past.

For this journey I tried on the company and unconditional support of Javier Valdés, who helped me with the work of investigation, of Salvador Garcini, who joined this effort and shared with us his dreams, of Antonio Velasco Piña, who enriched our knowledge of Mexico's history.

Victor Medina and Soledad Ruiz made many invaluable suggestions.

My nephew Jordi Castells added his talent, his intuition, and his sensibility with the creation of the codex that accompanies this edition.

My brother Julio Esquivel and Juan Pablo Villaseñor gave me their time and their guidance through cyberspace in the gathering of facts.

Cristina Barros and Marcos Buerosto joined in with their knowledge of Mexican cuisine.

To all I extend my heartfelt gratitude.

Argüelles, José.
El factor Maya
. Hojay Casa Editorial. Mexico, 1993.

Cortés, Hernán.
Cartas de relación
. Editorial Porrúa, nineteenth edition. Mexico, 2002.

Carrillo de Albornoz, José Miguel.
Moctezuma, el semidiós destronado
. Editorial Planeta Mexicana, S.A. de C.V., first reprint (Mexico): January, 2005.

Díaz del Castillo, Bernal.
Historia verdadera de la conquista de la Nueva España
. Editorial Porrúa, twentieth edition. Mexico, 2002.

Díaz Infante, Fernando.
La educación de los aztecas
. Panorama Editorial, fifth reprint. Mexico, 2001.

Durán, Fray Diego.
Historia de las Indias de Nueva España e islas de la tierra firme
. Editorial Porrúa, second edition. Mexico, 1984.

------.
Ritos y fiestas de los antiguos mexicanos
. Editorial Cosmos, first edition. Mexico, 1980.

Escalante Plancarte, Salvador.
Fray Martín de Valencia
. Editorial Cossio. Mexico, 1945.

Fernández del Castillo, Francisco.
Catalina Xuárez Marcayda
. Editorial Cosmos, first edition. Mexico, 1980.

Florescano, Enrique.
El mito de Quetzalcóatl
. Fondo de Cultura Económica, third reprint. Mexico, 2000.

Fuentes Mares, José.
Cortés, el hombre
. Editorial Grijalbo. Mexico, 1981.

Glantz, Margo (Coordinadora).
La Malinche, sus padres y sus hijos
. Taurus. Mexico, 2001.

Gómez de Orozco, Federico.
Doña Marina, la dama de la conquista
. Ediciones Xochitl. Mexico, 1942.

Guerrero, José Luis.
Flor y canto del nacimiento de México
.
Librería Parroquial de Clavería, first edition. Mexico, 1990.

Gutiérrez Contreras, Francisco.
Hernán Cortés
. Salvat Editores. Barcelona, 1986.

Herren, Ricardo.
Doña Marina, la Malinche
. Editorial Planeta, third reprint. Mexico, 1994.

Lanyon, Anna.
La conquista de la Malinche
. Editorial Diana. Mexico, 2001.

León Portilla, Miguel.
Toltecáyotl, aspectos de la cultura Náhuatl
. Fondo de Cultura Económica, fifth reprint. Mexico, 1995.

Martín del Campo, Marisol.
Amor y conquista: la novela de Malinalli, mal llamada la Malinche
. Editorial Planeta/Joaquín Mortiz. Mexico, 1999.

------. Doña Marina. Editorial Planeta de Agostini. Mexico, 2002.

Martinez, José Luis.
Hernán Cortés
(versión abreviada). Fondo de Cultura Económica, first reprint. Mexico, 1995.

Menéndez, Miguel Angel.
Malintzin, en un fuste, seis rostros y una sola máscara
. Editora de Periódicos S.C.L. “La Prensa,” first edition. Mexico, 1964.

Miralles, Juan.
La Malinche
. Tusquets Editores México S.A. de C.V. , first edition. Mexico, 2004.

Moctezuma, Hipólito.
Astrología Azteca
. Ediciones Obelisco. Barcelona, 2000.

Nuñes Becerra, Fernanda.
La Malinche: de la historia al mito
. Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia. Col. Divulgación, second reprint. Mexico, 2002.

Pradier, Kay.
La princesse aztèque Malinalli
. Éditions Favre. Lausanne, 2001.

Prescott, W. H.
Historia de la conquista de México
. Editorial Porrúa. Mexico, 1976.

Rascón Banda, Víctor Hugo.
La Malinche
. Plaza & Janés. Mexico, 2000.

Ruiz de Velasco y T., Luis.
Malinche, el Teule
. Editorial Planeta. Mexico, 1995.

Sahagún, Fray Bernadino de.
Historia General de las cosas de la Nueva España
. Editorial Porrúa, tenth edition. Mexico, 1999.

Séjourné, Laurette.
Pensamiento y religión en el México Antiguo
. Fondo de Cultura Económica, ninth reprint. Mexico, 1990.

------.
El universo de Quetzalcóatl
. Fondo de Cultura Económica, fifth reprint. Mexico, 1998.

Thomas, Hugh.
Conquest: Montezuma, Cortés, and the Fall of Old Mexico
. Touchstone. New York, 1995.

Valle-Arizpe, Artemio de.
Andanzas de Hernán Cortés
.
Editorial Diana, first edition. Mexico, 1978.

Laura Esquivel was born in Mexico City inr 1950. Her first novel,
Like Water for Chocolate
(1989), stayed on the
New York Times
bestseller list for over one year, has been translated into more than thirty-three languages, and has sold about three million copies around the world. The film, based on the novel, with a script written by Esquivel herself, not only won several prizes but was an impressive box-office success. Laura Esquivel lives in Mexico.

Laura Esquvel E

A Readers Club Guide

I
n
Malinche
, Laura Esquivel reimagines the relationship between the Spaniard Hernán Cortés and the Indian woman Malinalli, his interpreter and mistress during his conquest of the Aztecs. Malinalli meets Cortés and, like many, including the Aztec king Montezuma, suspects that he is the returning forefather god of their tribe, Quetzalcóatl. She assumes that her task is to welcome Cortés/Quetzalcóatl and help him destroy the Aztec empire and free her people, but she gradually comes to realize that Cortés's thirst for conquest is all too human.

Throughout Mexican history, Malinalli has been reviled for her betrayal of the Indian people. But recent historical research has shown that her role was much more complex. She was the mediator between two cultures, Hispanic and Native American, and three languages, Spanish, Mayan, and Náhuatl. She was also a slave, trying to rebel against the barbarous culture of her masters, the Aztecs. But her loyalty was to her own people, whom she was trying to set free.

Laura Esquivel challenges the traditional mythology through a character-driven portrait of the Adam and Eve of mestizo culture, Cortés and Malinalli, with the backdrop of the fall of the Aztec Empire. Told with the lyricism of the Náhuatl song tradition and pictorial language, Esquivel gives us a creation myth of the new-world hybrid culture and a legendary affair.