Traitor, survivor or influencer? Mexico rethinks story of conquistador translator Malinche

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The woman long blamed for her role in the fall of the Aztec empire in 1521 is getting a modern makeover.

The Spanish called her Marina, pre-Hispanic peoples knew her as Malintzin and later she was renamed Malinche. Her work as translator and interpreter for Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés made her a protagonist in a violent colonial period whose effects still reverberate through Latin America. Her story, told only by others, generated myths and legends.

Was she a traitor to her people? The conquistador’s lover? A slave using her language skills to survive? Or someone with agency who influenced Cortés and shaped major events?

Five centuries later, the debate continues and Mexico’s first woman leader, President Claudia Sheinbaum, is weighing in.

Beginning Sunday, Me