Laura Esquivel's "Malinche"

Coming back to my home country for the summer, I embarked on the initiative to immerse myself in Latin American literature and its genres. In order to fulfill this goal, I decided to first go into safe territory and pick up Laura Esquivel's Malinche, a book narrating the life of Malintzin, an indigenous woman who served as an interpreter for Hernán Cortés when he conquered Mexico. 

Although her story, to an extent, is part of general knowledge in Mexican society, I think Esquivel truly managed to encapsulate an intimate, personal approach to Malintzin's personality. The magic realism evident in her writing style showed the protagonist as someone embroiled in an internal conflict– she was questioning her allegiances, her culture and her love for Cortés. The depth of the character is something that I also think added richness to the novel, as we as readers grow with her through the loss of her grandmother to her journey into adulthood, which is accelerated by the arrivals of the Spaniards. 

Although I enjoyed this book, I do have to say that in terms of Esquivel’s work, it did not surpass Like Water for Chocolate in quality. I think that is due to the fact that the latter book was even richer and bolder in magic realism, which I particularly enjoy as it is a staple of Latin American literature. However, despite the differences in style, I think Malinche serves as a reminder of all the strong females that have had an outstanding role in Mexican history, which sadly tends to be overlooked due to the present deeply entrenched patriarchal system.