美国国家公共电台 NPR--La Malinche was a young linguist forced to serve the Spanish conquerors

La Malinche was a young linguist¹ forced to serve the Spanish conquerors²

Transcript³

A young Indigenous⁴ woman known as La Malinche played a central role in communicating between the Spanish and Indigenous populations of Mexico 500 years ago. The teenager had been gifted to Hernán Cortés, and she translated negotiations⁵ and conflicts between him and Aztec Emperor Montezuma. She is remembered as a survivor⁶ and sometimes as a traitor⁷ for aiding the Spanish conquerors, but always as a woman with valued linguistic⁸ skills.

La Malinche is the centerpiece of festivals

It's a blustery day in the village of San Isidro de Sedillo, a cluster of adobe⁹ houses around a church in the mountains east of Albuquerque. Dozens of people are pulling on their beaded suit jackets decorated with the Virgin¹⁰ of Guadalupe. They wear tall hats with fringe covering their eyes, preparing for the Matachines dance which represents the introduction of Catholicism to Indigenous populations. Leading the procession is a young girl dressed in white with a veil.

"The easiest part is when you put one foot in front of the other. I missed a couple steps, but I'm pretty good," said nine-year-old Jasmine Trujillo, who has played La Malinche six times in her village, taking over from her sister who outgrew¹¹ the role.

As in most New Mexican villages, here La Malinche is a symbol of purity, the connection of Indigenous peoples to the Catholic faith brought by the Spanish. But in other villages including in Mexico, she is represented as a traitor. Theodore Chavez is the lead Matachines dancer called a Monarca.

"Here she just represents goodness. She's the goodness of the play and the goodness of the dance," Chavez says.

Courtesy of Paul Polubinskas, Estate of Teddy Sandoval. Photo by Elon Schoenholz; Albuquerque Museum

Exploring her complex legacy¹²

La Malinche was a young Indigenous woman given to the Spanish conquistador Cortés as a slave along with 18 other women. She was a linguist, who facilitated negotiations between the Spanish and Indigenous populations. Her controversial legacy inspired an array of images that are now the focus of the art exhibition Traitor, Survivor, Icon¹³: The Legacy of La Malinche at the Albuquerque Museum, where Josie Lopez is head curator.

"At the end of the day, she was an enslaved Indigenous woman. And she was forced into a situation that she had to negotiate," says Lopez. "The legacy of La Malinche is really a fascinating history story narrative¹⁴. And you will see all of those iterations of storytelling developed in the exhibition."

The art works were last in Denver. Lopez and other Chicana curators created the traveling exhibit to examine La Malinche's symbolic¹⁵ importance and her relevance¹⁶ to women today.

"I think Malinche also has come to embody¹⁷ an important element of how we think about the roles of women in Latino culture, and how women have had to take on these various identities, everything from traitor to survivor to icon, to really negotiate the worlds that we have to live in and transfer between in our lives," she said.

Delilah Montoya, a Chicana artist with multiple pieces in the exhibit, says that although this young woman was enslaved, historical accounts show she helped bring together two powerful nations.

"We're talking about a teenager having to take on this amazing, tremendous responsibility. We don't know what she felt about being Cortés' tongue. We don't know when she died. But what we do know is that she survived. And along with her other people survived," said Montoya. "We also know that the Native American people, the First Nation, revered¹⁸ her. We do know that because the way in which she's presented in the codices, she's presented as somebody that's just a little bit taller. She's always there. I think they understood how important she was. Two powerful worlds came together in her mind first."

Although La Malinche was revered in some Indigenous records, Montoya points out that the Spanish may not have seen her in that light, even as she navigated¹⁹ several languages.

"I mean, they didn't even know for sure what she was translating. For all they know, she was saying something completely different than what it is that they wanted her to say. ... I mean, here was a language, the Spanish language that nobody ever heard before. And she had to figure it out. And there were other languages that she figured out," she says. "She was this amazing person who was able to feel these other cultures."

One of Montoya's pieces in the exhibit is a codex, a wide paper panel painted with scenes of the evolution of women throughout 500 years of Spanish occupation in Mexico and New Mexico. It includes women important to Chicano history such as the Virgin of Guadalupe and ends with a Chicana activist²⁰. Montoya says she was inspired by the women in her family who have always been active in their community, yet historically women's contributions were rarely recorded. Her codex aims to change that.

The exhibit includes a wide variety of works incorporating La Malinche, from photographs to traditional wood altars.

Reflection on descendants in the same communities

Lopez says it also seeks to clarify the true nature of the state of New Mexico, going beyond the idea that Anglo, Hispanic and Indigenous communities lived peacefully alongside one another for centuries.

"We know that's a mythology²¹. It was a very violent history that brought many of those cultures together here in New Mexico, at the same time, where we are trying through exhibitions like this to do the work of acknowledging the violence that happened upon the intersections²² of those cultures," says Lopez. "We're also trying to pivot²³ toward a sense of healing and a sense of understanding of how are there intersections between our indigenous and Chicano cultures."

Matachines dancers with Jasmine Trujillo portraying²⁴ La Malinche.

She says the inclusion of the Matachines dancers in the Albuquerque iteration of the exhibit is one example of those intersections.

"Those rituals still exist today, in both of those communities," she said.

The interpretation²⁵ of the dance and La Malinche varies among communities. For Jasmine Trujillo, who has played La Malinche in San Isidro de Sedillo most of her life, her reasons for dedicating herself to the role are rooted in her Catholic faith:

"Because I love Jesus so much and I want to dance for him."

Jasmine and other successors of La Malinche are evolving their complex roles in the celebrations and in their communities.

1 linguist   

n.语言学家；精通数种外国语言者

参考例句：

• I used to be a linguist till I become a writer.过去我是个语言学家，后来成了作家。
• Professor Cui has a high reputation as a linguist.崔教授作为语言学家名声很高。

2 conquerors   

征服者，占领者( conqueror的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Danes had selfconfidence of conquerors, and their security precautions were casual. 这些丹麦人具有征服者的自信，而且他们的安全防卫也是漫不经心的。
• The conquerors believed in crushing the defeated people into submission, knowing that they could not win their loyalty by the victory. 征服者们知道他们的胜利并不能赢得失败者的忠心，于是就认为只有通过武力才能将他们压服。

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

5 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

6 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

7 traitor   

n.叛徒，卖国贼

参考例句：

• The traitor was finally found out and put in prison.那个卖国贼终于被人发现并被监禁了起来。
• He was sold out by a traitor and arrested.他被叛徒出卖而被捕了。

8 linguistic   

adj.语言的，语言学的

参考例句：

• She is pursuing her linguistic researches.她在从事语言学的研究。
• The ability to write is a supreme test of linguistic competence.写作能力是对语言能力的最高形式的测试。

9 adobe   

n.泥砖，土坯，美国Adobe公司

参考例句：

• They live in an adobe house.他们住在一间土坯屋里。
• Adobe bricks must drived dried completely before are used.土坯砖块使用前一定要完全干燥。

10 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

11 outgrew   

长[发展] 得超过（某物）的范围( outgrow的过去式 )； 长[发展]得不能再要（某物）； 长得比…快； 生长速度超过

参考例句：

• She outgrew the company she worked for and found a better job somewhere else. 她进步很快，不再满足于她所在工作的公司，于是又在别处找到一份更好的工作。
• It'soon outgrew Carthage and became the largest city of the western world. 它很快取代了迦太基成为西方的第一大城市。 来自英汉非文学 - 文明史

12 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

13 icon   

n.偶像，崇拜的对象，画像

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。

14 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

15 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

16 relevance   

n.中肯，适当，关联，相关性

参考例句：

• Politicians' private lives have no relevance to their public roles.政治家的私生活与他们的公众角色不相关。
• Her ideas have lost all relevance to the modern world.她的想法与现代社会完全脱节。

17 embody   

vt.具体表达，使具体化；包含，收录

参考例句：

• The latest locomotives embody many new features. 这些最新的机车具有许多新的特色。
• Hemingway's characters plainly embody his own values and view of life.海明威笔下的角色明确反映出他自己的价值观与人生观。

18 revered   

v.崇敬，尊崇，敬畏( revere的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A number of institutions revered and respected in earlier times have become Aunt Sally for the present generation. 一些早年受到尊崇的惯例，现在已经成了这代人嘲弄的对象了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Chinese revered corn as a gift from heaven. 中国人将谷物奉为上天的恩赐。 来自辞典例句

19 navigated   

v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的过去式和过去分词 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃

参考例句：

• He navigated the plane through the clouds. 他驾驶飞机穿越云层。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The ship was navigated by the North Star. 那只船靠北极星来导航。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

21 mythology   

n.神话，神话学，神话集

参考例句：

• In Greek mythology,Zeus was the ruler of Gods and men.在希腊神话中，宙斯是众神和人类的统治者。
• He is the hero of Greek mythology.他是希腊民间传说中的英雄。

22 intersections   

n.横断( intersection的名词复数 )；交叉；交叉点；交集

参考例句：

• Traffic lights have been placed at all major intersections. 所有重要的交叉路口都安装了交通信号灯。
• Intersections are of the greatest importance in highway design. 在道路设计中，交叉口占有最重要的地位。 来自辞典例句

23 pivot   

v.在枢轴上转动；装枢轴，枢轴；adj.枢轴的

参考例句：

• She is the central pivot of creation and represents the feminine aspect in all things.她是创造的中心枢轴，表现出万物的女性面貌。
• If a spring is present,the hand wheel will pivot on the spring.如果有弹簧，手轮的枢轴会装在弹簧上。

24 portraying   

v.画像( portray的现在分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• The artist has succeeded in portraying my father to the life. 那位画家把我的父亲画得惟妙惟肖。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ding Ling was good at portraying figures through careful and refined description of human psychology. 《莎菲女士的日记》是丁玲的成名作，曾引起强烈的社会反响。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

25 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。