Reflective Journal: Malinche

We are Powerful!

         As humans, we are the best creation of God for we are gifted with intellect, free will and most of all, the ability of speaking to express ourselves. We can say what we think, we can tell what we prefer and we can utter words if we are happy or sad. But do we really know how powerful we are just by the mere fact that we can speak?

One of the famous woman in the world's history, Malinche or Doña Marina proved how words can change our lives and how our ability to speak can make us survived the obstacles of life.

A Traitor (Doña Marina) or A Victim (Mallinali)?

Who is Malinche?

           Mallinali was once a slave of a Maya Lord, Postecarro, before she was offered to the Spanish Conquistador together with 19 other slaves. Mallinali was named Malinche which means "The Tounge" by her new master, Hernan Cortes, for being an interpreter of Spanish language to Nahuatl and vice versa. She was soon baptized as Doña Marina, her christian name. Mallinali became the translator, negotiation, and cultural mediator between the Spaniards and the Aztecs. She also became Cortes' lover and she gave birth to the first latin american, Martin Cortes.

           The life of Mallinali is not chronologically documented but it was believed that she received formal education when she was a child and experienced abandonment and slavery. She endured difficult days in her life; the massacre of indigenous people in Cholula, conquest of Spaniards and witnessed the deaths of hundreds.

          Amidst the power of being "The Tounge",Mallinali died young--- probably not more than 25 years old.

          And now, she was being considered either a traitor, fir helping the Spaniards in conquering Mexico and being the lover pf Cortes, or a victim of culture and tradition, for she was just forced to be the interpreter of Cortes because she was just a slave and she was trap in a situation when she was left with no choice.

Who is the author behind Malinche?

      Malinche is a mexican literature written by Laura Esquivel who is an award winning author and writer for her novel Like Water for Chocolate.

   Mexican writer and author. Born on September 30, 1950, in Mexico City, Mexico. Esquivel began writing while working as a kindergarten teacher. She wrote plays for her students and then went on to write children's television programs during the 1970s and 1980s.

      Esquivel often explores the relationship between men and women in Mexico in her work. She is best known for Like Water for Chocolate (1990), an imaginative and compelling combination of novel and cookbook. It had been released in Mexico a year earlier. After the release of the film version in 1992,Like Water for Chocolate became internationally known and loved. The book has sold more than 4.5 million copies.

        Esquivel has continued to show her creative flair and lyrical style in her later work. Accompanied by a collection of music, her second novel The Law of Love (1996) combined romance and science fiction. Between the Fires (2000) featured essays on life, love, and food. Her novel, Malinche (2006), explores the life of a near mythic figure in Mexican history-the woman who served as Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés's interpreter and mistress.

MALINCHE by Laura Esquivel

SUMMARY:

              It was believed by the Aztecs that someday their God, Quetzalcoatl, could come back to their land in the form of white man and they thought it was Hernan Cortes. So, when the group of Cortes found the land of Mexico, they easily conquered the land. During the conquest, Hernan Cortes only understand Spanish and not the native language of the Aztecs, Nahuatl. So, Cortes trusted the translation and counsel of a woman named Mallinali. Amidst the big difference between their societal stand and culture, Cortes and Mallinali learned to love each other. Due to that, majority of Mexicans considered Mallinali or Malinche to be both a traitor and temptress.

What did I learn after reading Malinche?

Reflective Journal # 1 

Words: Finest Weapon of Survival

         Malinche is a mexican piece of literature written by Laura Esquivel that proves how powerful our words can be. This written work conveys that words could be the finest of weapon of an individual to survive in this world. Malinche also known as Mallinali leave a legacy in world's history that whoever controls the information will acquire the greatest power.

        After reading the story, "Malinche", I realized how words can give such an individual the dominancy over a certain situation. Just like how Mallinali, being considered as "The Tounge" or interpreter of a rich Spanish merchant, Hernan Cortez, being able to surpass and rise above te issue of slavery of their culture during their time. Malinche's character also proved that being in charged or being powerful will not always come from the high class society, because if an individual got the capacity and abilities to lead, he/she can always take the prestige of being dominant and powerful. Malinche also serves as an eye opener for its readers on how religion of a certain group of people differs from the religion of another group of people. As a catholic, Hernan Cortes' belief about God differs on the religious belief of Mallinali as an Aztec. Therefore, there's a big boundary on their culture but Mallinali and Cortes still became lovers amidst that boundary. This turn of events between Mallinali and Cortes proved that at the end of the day, we will still want what we want, we will still believe what we want to believe and we can't change other's perspective towards religion, so mind as well, just respect with others's faith and opinion. Lastly, I can not see why Mallinali was considered by some Mexicans as a traitor when in fact she was just bounded by the situation and culture of slavery during her time, that was why she became the translator of Cortes. So, my question, why did all the blame regarding the Spaniard's colonization in Mexico was pointed to Mallinali?

           As a human, we got the finest weapon of survival among all God's creation, and that is the ability to speak and utter words to express ourselves. Therefore, we should learn how to use this capability in the best way we can. We should learn to use the right words, the ones that were necessary. Because our words can either make a positive outcome or an unexpected disaster.