La Malinche (Doña Marina)

La Malinche, also called Malintzin or Doña Marina, was a Nahua Indigenous woman who was given to Hernán Cortés in 1519. She spoke Nahuatl and Maya, and soon learned Spanish, so she became his translator and interpreter during the conquest.

Her role was decisive in Cortés’s alliances and negotiations with Indigenous peoples. Today she is a controversial figure: for some she symbolizes betrayal, and for others the origin of Mexican mestizaje.