The Many Forms of Malintzin: Remembering the Colonial-era Interpreter Through Indigenous Storytelling

Abstract

Abstract: This article studies contemporary Indigenous authors who revisit the memory of Malintzin by writing at the intersection of text, orality, and dance. I begin by analyzing Yásnaya Aguilar Gil's essay collection Tres veces tres (2021), which considers the colonial-era interpreter from the vantage point of Mixe ritual practices, Zapotec ceremonial dances, and Indigenous textiles. I read Tres veces tres alongside Ethel Xochitiotzin Pérez's short story " Angelina Maria ," which records oral narratives about Malintzin as a protector of the forests in Tlaxcala. I argue that by searching for Malintzin through non-textual forms, Aguilar Gil and Xochitiotzin Pérez put pressure on Mexican foundational narratives and, more importantly, question the centrality of the written word as our primary instrument for recording history. Both authors center the multilingual and multimedia traditions of Indigenous literatures as a point of departure to remember Malintzin in motion, dancing across town squares and walking through the forests of Tlaxcala.