Chapter Thirty-Four: LA MALINCHE

Here at long last is the final chapter of The Jade Steps.  I could not understand why I just couldn’t seem to finish it – until I realized that I didn’t want to let Malinali – known to history as La Malinche (lah-mah-lin-chay) – and her incredible story go.  Now I have.

Her saga is one of the more extraordinary in all history.  Now it is complete – save for an Epilogue, which explains why it is so critically important for the truth of her story be known.

So it’s worth re-emphasizing again that The Jade Steps is a true story.  Every principal event described actually happened, every named person really lived and had that name.  It all happened almost 500 years ago, but it still remains the cause of the civil war within Mexico‘s soul.  Mexico will never rise out of the Third World and overcome its inferiority complex towards America until this spiritual wound is healed.  That is the purpose of this book.]

The Jade Steps
Chapter Thirty-Four:  La Malinche

Malinali sat on the roof of her home, serenely looking out upon the sunlit waters of Lake Texcoco.  Cortez had the home built for her, here in Coyoacan, next to the palace of the former King of Coyoacan that he was using as his headquarters to manage the growing empire of New Spain.

It was cool here, with the breeze coming off the lake, and the shade of the awnings and all the plants Cortez had brought up to the roof to make it a garden.  It was peaceful and quiet – which is what she appreciated the most.

Almost a year had passed since the fall of Tenochtitlan, the capture of Cuauhtémoc, and the death of the Aztec Empire.  As she looked back upon all that had happened since, that day of what the Spaniards called August 13[1], it seemed like just a day before yet so long ago.

She remembered the riot of celebration that night at the palace in Tlatelolco, with all the Spaniard soldiers and Tlaxcalan warriors drinking so much wine and pulque, and Cortez stealing her away to their bedchamber, saying it was with her alone he wished to celebrate.

She remembered all the tears she shed in the following days, tears of relief, tears of thanks to the Virgin Mary for being the instrument of Her will that her father’s dream had come true.  "Tahtli! Tahtli!" – father! – she had called out so many times, sure that his soul was watching over her with pride. 

Pride.  Is that what she felt for herself?  She wasn’t sure.  The emotion she felt was gratitude more than pride.  She was overwhelmed with gratitude that the Lord Jesus and His Mother had chosen her to be Their instrument in liberating her land from Aztec evil. 

Why had she been chosen?  She did not know.  What she did know is that she should listen to a whispering voice in her head telling her not to be arrogant and boastful, not to feel superior to others, not to think that she ought to be worshipped – especially because she was.  The voice was her father’s.

She remembered hearing that voice so loudly when Chief Chichimecatecle and King Ixtlilxochitl, the great commanders of the Tlaxcalan and Texcocan armies, came to see her shortly after Tenochtitlan’s fall.  The look in their eyes was far more than one of admiration – it was reverential. 

She was startled and speechless when they bowed deeply before her, reaching out to place the hem of her dress – the same simple cotton huipil she had always worn – on their foreheads in supplication. 

"La Malinche."  That was how they addressed her, pronouncing the name as if it were a title of royalty.  Her brow furrowed in puzzlement as she waited for an explanation.

"You do not know?" Chichimecatecle asked.  "But you know that El Capitán has announced he no longer wishes to be addressed as ‘Malinche,’ but by his true name.  He is Captain Hernando Cortez."  He paused as he smiled with satisfaction while glancing at Ixtlilxochitl.  "Although he has told us that as friends and brothers we should call him Don Hernando."

Of course she knew this – she had translated Cortez’s words to them.  She waited for them to continue.  "And you know that Malinche means ‘Master of Malina,’ master of you, for we could only talk to him through you," said King Ixtlilxochitl.

She nodded, recalling the twists of her name.  When her mother sold her into slavery[2], she was no longer Princess Malinali but Malina, a slave girl sold to the Mayans.  When she was given to the Spaniards, she was christened Doña Marina, as the Spaniards thought the ‘l’ was an ‘r’.  When the Aztecs and other Nahuatl-speakers heard Marina, they changed the ‘r’ back to the ‘l’.  So whenever they spoke to her directly by name, they would call her Doña Malina.  But what was happening now?

Ixtlilxochitl continued.  "This is why all the peoples of this land, the Tlaxcalans, the Texcocans, and all others now call Malinche El Capitán, having learned a word or two of Spanish.  And it is why they are now calling you La Malinche, for it is you, now, who is ‘Master of Malina,’ you are master of yourself.  It is their way of honoring you for achieving their liberation.  All of this land knows of El Capitán declaring that ‘After God, we owe this great victory to Doña Marina.’[3]  So it is that we have come to honor you… La Malinche."

Malinali began to feel faint.  Her knees began to buckle as her eyes lost their focus.  She must not do this, she advised herself, forcing her body to stand erect, forcing her mind to focus on Chief Chichimecatecle who stepped forward.

"Soon they will be coming, La Malinche.  In the multitudes, people from every kingdom in this land, coming to see for themselves the great lady, to kiss the hem of your huipil and ask for your blessing, to thank you for liberating them from the curse of the Aztecs.  You must prepare yourself for this.  Prepare yourself for their worship of you.  In all of their names, we ask that you accept their worship for it is truly sincere.  Your blessing will mean the world to them."

She could stand no longer.  "I… I must sit down," she told them, and they gently helped her onto a couch.  "We shall leave you now," Chichimecatecle said quietly.  "But please allow me to tell you one more thing.  It is the greatest wish and prayer of our King Xicotencatl, that you come to Tlaxcala.  It is the wish of all Tlaxcalans to see you in their land.  Even now, Tlaxcalans no longer call the highest mountain in Tlaxcala by its ancient name, Matlalcueye (the goddess who wears a jade skirt).  They have given the mountain they worship a new name: La Malinche[4]."

"And the best way to Tlaxcala," King Ixtlilxochitl told her with a soft smile, "is by crossing the lake to Texcoco, where all our people wish to welcome you.  The Texcocan women will perform for you a sacred dance of thanks and liberation they call the La Malinche Dance."

They again bowed to her and left.

She did not know how long she had remained in a state of dazed confusion over what she had been told when she heard someone coughing softly to announce his presence.  It was Bernal.  His smile spread sunshine into her heart.  "So you have been told what you have become," he said.  "But don’t expect me to touch the hem of your dress to my forehead."

They both laughed themselves silly.  "Thank you, Bernal – it feels so good to laugh after… after learning…" her voice trailed off.

"After learning who you are now?" he asked.  His voice became serious. "Doña Marina, I have always known you are a great lady.  Now all the people of New Spain know it also.  You were born and raised to be a queen, a queen who became a slave, who as a slave liberated not only herself but everyone in this land.  You have become much more than a queen, you are a savior.  This is your destiny, Doña Marina.  Please accept it.  This is the destiny that God has willed for you."

She looked at him in wonder, and with a slight nod of her head acknowledged his words.  "Thank you, Bernal.  And thank you for being such a good friend."

"And so shall I always be," he replied.  They talked for a while, reminiscing about what they had experienced.  Then, flashing another broad smile which she returned, he bowed and left.

The next day they came, just as she had been warned, supplicants from every kingdom near and far.  She set aside a small room on the ground floor, where she would stand to greet them as they were ushered in one by one.  There were men and women, although more of the latter.  Rarely did they speak, maintaining a reverential silence as they bowed almost to the ground and touched the hem of her huipil to their forehead.

Many of the women would burst into deep tears at the sight of her, some would repeatedly call out "La Malinche!  La Malinche! La Malinche!"  None asked for anything, no prayer to be answered, no wish or favor to be granted.  They simply came to be in her presence, to set their eyes upon her, to acknowledge what she had done for them.

Day after day, week after week, they came.  When she had to restrict the time the worshippers could come to a few hours in the morning, they would camp outside the home until the next day.  Everywhere she went she drew huge crowds.  Cortez became concerned for her health and safety – and much more so when she told him a secret.

She had to be sure, and when she was, the time had to be special.  She had seen so little of Cortez in the three months since the fall of Tenochtitlan, as he was always riding off to inspect another corner of expanding New Spain.  So when he came home on this night, she had everything prepared – a wonderful meal, good wine, a candlelit bedchamber.

She enjoyed listening to him regale her with stories about his travels during dinner, but he, being Cortez, noticed she was looking at him differently.  "You have something to tell me, my love," he said, not as a question but as an observation.

She stood up, walked around the table to him, placed his hand upon her stomach, looked into his eyes, and said softly, "You are going to be a father."

Cortez looked down to stare at where his hand was, then bolted to his feet and embraced her.  "You gave me an empire – and now you give me a son!" he exclaimed.  "Oh, my lady, my lady – you are truly a gift from God."

She caressed his beard and whispered into his ear, "It could be a girl, you know."

He snapped his head back to look at her.  "Yes… I suppose it could be.  If so, I shall rejoice all the same!"  The look in his eyes shifted.  "Speaking of rejoicing…"  They both glanced toward the bedchamber.  Malinali took his hand and led him into it.

*  *  *  *  * 

The months that followed were the most blissful of her life.  Cortez ceased his constant exploring the limits of the constantly expanding New Spain, focused on governing from his headquarters next to their home, and spent as much time with her as possible.  He selected a young officer, Juan Jaramillo, whom he had assigned to guard her "with your life" during the horrific La Noche Triste[5], to be her personal bodyguard and to notify him if she needed anything at any time.

She accepted the invitations to visit Texcoco and Tlaxcala.  She was rowed across Lake Texcoco in a canoe so elaborate it was worthy of Montezuma, and greeted with delirious enthusiasm by thousands of Texcocans.  King Ixtlilxochitl held her hand as they stood on the balcony of the king’s palace and watched the central plaza below filled with elaborately-costumed dancers performing La Malinche dances in her honor.

The king set aside a room in the palace where her worshippers could come to pay her homage.  They came for days.

Then it was on to Tlaxcala, carried there on a litter festooned with quetzal feathers, and accompanied by Chief Chichimecatecle and hundreds of his warriors.  Old King Xicotencatl was there to greet her upon her arrival, and her entrance into the city was a mass celebration.  Yet it was very different from the one she received in Texcoco.

In Texcoco it was wildly tumultuous.  In Tlaxcala it was quietly reverential.  The streets and rooftops of both were packed with people wanting to see her, but in Texcoco everyone was noisily cheering, blowing on conch shell trumpets, and pounding on drums – while in Tlaxcala, everyone was in a state of silent awe.  Without a sound, she was showered with flower petals and the path strewn with them everywhere she went.

The old king brought her to stand with him in the middle of the central plaza, into which every Tlaxcalan in the city seemed to be squeezed.  In a voice as loud as his age could muster, he addressed his people:

"For generations, the Tlaxcalan people fought for their freedom and refused to submit to Aztec evil.  We lived in poverty because we would rather be poor and free than be wealthy slaves.  We thought this struggle was endless, that we and our children and our children’s children would have to suffer this poverty and fight forever, because Aztec might was so enormous.

"The best we could hope for, we thought, was to continue to fight, endlessly, so that we might preserve our little island of Tlaxcalan freedom in a huge swamp of Aztec tyranny.  None of us ever dreamed that the Aztecs themselves could be defeated, that their evil rule could be swept away with the wind, that the day would come when the Aztecs themselves would be no more.

"No one dared to have that dream – except the lady who stands before you.  It was her dream that has brought us liberty.  It was her dream that made it possible for El Capitán Cortez to rid this entire land of the Aztecs forever.  We owe the freedom that we fought so long for and have today to this lady, to La Malinche."

Malinali looked at the old king and saw tears streaming down his face.  She felt tears streaming down her face as well.  The huge crowd in front of her remained silent and unmoving.  Then one among them haltingly stepped forward to whisper "La Malinche," toss a flower at her feet and vanish back into the crowd.  Then another, and another, one by one they came to whisper her new name and pay her homage with a flower.

She stood still as the flowers piled up front of her in the thousands.  When the last flower was placed, she clutched the crucifix on her necklace, closed her eyes, and gave thanks to her father and the Virgin Mary for this moment.  She opened her eyes to look with gratitude and love into the eyes of those before her.  She bowed gently to them, then turned with King Xicotencatl to walk with him into the palace of Tlaxcala.

*  *  *  *  *

The memory of that moment was so vivid that it took a sudden pain to jolt her out of it.  A sudden and sharply painful tightening in her stomach that lasted for a few seconds, then stopped.  She waited.  Nothing happened.  So she decided to not be alarmed, and continue enjoying the view of Lake Texcoco from her rooftop garden.

She had drifted off into a half-awake reverie looking out onto the sheet of cobalt blue when there was another jolt of tightening.  She called for her guard, Juan Jaramillo.  "Señor Jaramillo, please ask the doctor Captain Cortez has for me to come," she requested.  "Then please inform Captain Cortez that I think…"  Before she completed the sentence, he bowed and ran out of the room.

By the time the doctor and his assistants had arrived, the jolts were coming more frequently, every ten minutes or so.  She was helped down to the bedchamber.  By the time Cortez arrived, the jolts were every two minutes.  Between jolts, Malinali could not help laughing at how nervous Cortez was.  She called him Capitán Confundido, Captain Confused, and everyone smiled – except El Capitán, who look even more bewildered.  The doctor told him he must wait outside.

It was a boy, and perfectly healthy.  After being assured by the doctor that Doña Marina was just as healthy as her baby, Cortez looked down upon her cradling her newborn and said, "I have never known such happiness."  "Nor have I," was Malinali’s response.  "What shall be his name?" he asked her.  "Martín, after your father," she replied.  Cortez closed his eyes and said,  "My happiness is now complete." 

*  *  *  *  *

Their happiness lasted for little more than a month.  It was the day of a big fiesta celebrating the patron saint of Spain, Santiago[6].  Malinali was nursing little Martín on her rooftop garden.  Her guard, Juan Jaramillo, informed her that Cortez would soon be arriving.  She must get ready to attend the fiesta, she thought.

But when Cortez appeared, she knew something was very wrong.  His face was flushed as red as a tomato, his breathing was fast and shallow, and there was tragedy in his eyes.

He stood looking down upon her and Martín for a moment, then knelt beside her.  "My love, I…" he started, then put his hand in front of his eyes.  When he took his hand away, she saw what she had never imagined.  Cortez was crying.  She held his hand.  "Whatever is wrong, I am with you," she consoled.  "Nothing can come between us."

He looked straight at her as his tears continued.  "Something has."

She looked at him blankly.

"Years ago in Cuba, I was forced to marry a young woman.  Bernal, I believe, told you the circumstances."[7]

She nodded.

"Her name was Catalina.  Her health was always frail, she almost died in childbirth – and the baby was stillborn.  This broke her health and her spirit.  She retreated from me and the world.  I petitioned the Church for annulment of marriage.  But her family is very powerful in Cuba and Spain, and this was denied.  So I had no more future in Cuba, which is why I came here for a new life.

He looked at her in torment.  "Which is what I have found with you.  I was sure that, given what I have accomplished here, given my creation of New Spain, I would be granted annulment and then we could… we could…"  He could not complete the words.

Malinali held Cortez’s hand tightly.  "My love, what has happened?  What has happened?"

Cortez looked out upon the shimmering blue of Lake Texcoco.  He could not look at her.  "A ship from Cuba arrived a few days ago.  I just learned of it.  It carried Catalina, several members of her family, and numerous maids to attend to her.  Gonzalo de Sandoval met her.  She believes, he says, that I have established a new empire, that I am the King of New Spain, and she has come to rule it with me as a Queen."

He turned to look at her.  "It is just this arrogance – treasonous arrogance towards our Emperor Don Carlos – that my enemies in Cuba and Spain accuse me of, so they can have the emperor remove me and take all of New Spain for themselves.  Yet Catalina believes it.  She always was as foolish as she was frail.

"Yet I have no choice but to welcome her as my wife, for legally and in the eyes of the Church she is.  Our chance for happiness is over, my love – just as it was granted to us, it is taken away.  I cannot ask for your forgiveness, because I do not deserve any."

Malinali closed her eyes and cried.  She held her new baby in one hand and Cortez’s hand in the other, and cried her soul out.  Cortez remained unmoving and silent.  Finally, she opened her eyes to look into his.  With the weakest of smiles, she said, "I suppose that God has given me so much, it was foolish of me to ask for more."

Cortez’s gaze was steady.  "I shall always love you.  I shall ensure that you are cared for.  I shall always be a father to our son.  This home is yours and always will be.  Catalina will live in the old palace where I work – and now must live as well.[8]  She will arrive in two or three days.  I wish to spend them with you, but… I’m not sure I deserve to."

Malinali held his gaze.  "Do I deserve to?"

He nodded, and kissed her.  They spent the next three days with each other, in pain and in passion, for they knew these days were the last they would ever have together.

*  *  *  *  *

She awoke at dawn to see Cortez pacing the floor.  He noticed she was awake and fell into her arms.  Then he stood.  "I did not want to disturb you," he said.  "I went outside to ask Señor Jaramillo what he had heard.  He informs me that Catalina and her retinue will be arriving before noon."

Malinali sighed.  "We knew this moment would come."

Cortez resumed his pacing.  "Her presence here is a doom for me, my Lady.  I will soon have to return to Spain to defend myself to His Majesty Don Carlos.  The New Spain I have created is too rich a prize not to be feasted upon by the parasites who infest his court – and I am in their way.  They will use Catalina’s coming to be Queen of New Spain to convince His Majesty I am a traitor against him.  But even if she wasn’t here, they would find some other excuse."

He stopped his pacing to look at her.  "This is a struggle that is mine alone.  You cannot be a part of it.  I must know that you are safe, that you are protected and secure.  My future now is not certain.  I must be certain of yours."

"I am always safe when I am beside you, my Captain."

He looked at her with sad intensity.  "No longer.  What will keep you safe is the adoration the native people of this land have for you – and Spanish law." 

"Spanish law?

"Yes.  Spain is a culture that bows down to rules and legalities as much as to the Church.  Why do you think I brought a Royal Notary – someone who keeps a legal record for the King – with me from Cuba, Diego de Godoy?  Señor de Godoy maintains his record of the legality of my every action.  I must make sure that you and what property I can provide you with are protected under Spanish law as a Spanish citizen."

Malinali looked at him curiously.  "But I am not a Spanish citizen."

"Then you must become one."  Cortez began pacing again.  Malinali had never seen him so nervous.

"What are you trying to tell me, My Captain?"

"This is something that I cannot command of you.  Perhaps you will decide to reside among the Tlaxcalans who worship you.  Many peoples of this land do, but the Tlaxcalans above all.  Perhaps there you would rule as Queen, for that is what you were raised to be.  Perhaps you might return to your native land of Paynala and assume your rightful throne.  But if you choose not to, then you must allow me to grant you an encomienda, an estate with a hacienda where you can live securely and in comfort, with property providing you with wealth.  But… but… I cannot do this directly as you are not a Spanish citizen, with the ownership of such encomiendas recognized by Spanish law."

Malinali rose out of the bed to stand next to Cortez.  "I no longer wish to be a queen, to rule over a kingdom.  It is a life of treachery and intrigue, where you can trust no one.  How long do you think I would be worshipped by the Tlaxcalans once I ruled over them?  How long would it take for faccións, factions to form plotting for power and against the foreigner?  And how can I seize power in Paynala without creating hatred and dissention?  No, My Love, what I have become is much more than a queen, and it is wise for me to have that be."

She took his hand.  "So, yes, an encomienda where I can live quietly and peacefully is what I would prefer."  She caressed his face.  "And now you should tell me what you are afraid to."

Cortez looked directly at her.  "You need a husband.  A Spanish gentleman, at least of minor nobility, a hidalgo like me, whom I can trust to always take care of you, who would guard you and our son with his life, a courageous soldier who has always fought bravely in battle and never once betrayed my trust, and who would always love you with honor and dignity."

Her eyes widened in shock but she kept his gaze.  She knew who he meant.  "I have seen the look in his eyes," Cortez continued.  "It is there every time he sees you.  It is not a look of lust, but of respect, of adoration.  He is a man of few words, but of great strength of heart.  I would entrust you to him, My Lady."

Her eyes fell into his.  "I shall always love only you," she whispered.  He kissed her with such passion that she knew it would be their last.  Finally, he said, "Do I have your permission to discuss this with Señor Jaramillo?  For I would never do so without it."

Malinali stood erect and tall before Cortez, and replied… "Yes."

Cortez raised her hand to gently press it to his lips, bowed, and left what would be their bedchamber no more.

*  *  *  *  *

She looked at him for the first time.  She had noticed him, and spoken to him, many times before, but now she was actually looking at him.  He was tall, although not as tall as Cortez, and more slender, not as muscular.  He stood erect, his dark beard closely trimmed, his large dark eyes avoiding hers.

She could see he was intensely nervous.  "Please look at me, Señor Jaramillo," she requested.  He did so hesitantly.  As she studied his eyes, she could see he was nervous but not afraid.  She saw strength, but also a deep gentleness.  Cortez was an excellent judge of men, and now she understood why he had chosen this man to guard her.  These were the eyes of a man she could truly trust.

They were in her roof-top garden, she sitting, he standing.  She offered him a cup of water.  "Señor Jaramillo, we have never talked before."  She made sure her face had a pleasant expression.  "I’d like to know something about you."

He took a sip of water and nodded in thanks for it.  "Like many of Captain Cortez’s soldiers, I am from that part of Castile called Extremadura, from a small town, Fregenal de la Sierra.  It is near Badajoz, the city where Pedro de Alvarado and his brothers are from.  My father, Alonso Jaramillo de Salvatierra, is a hidalgo who owns property there and is the town’s alcalde (mayor)."

"How did you come to leave there and join Captain Cortez?" she asked.

He took another sip of water.  He was beginning to relax.  His eyes lit up with her question.

"Ah, Doña Marina, I grew up in a world that was suddenly new, a world that had become incredibly exciting.  We Spaniards had discovered a New World across the great ocean that no one before us knew existed.   Extremadura is an ancient land, filled with Roman ruins of over a thousand years ago.  Our ways are ancient and never-changing.  Then, in a moment, our old world is filled with new discoveries and possibilities.

"I grew up hearing so many stories of people from Extremadura who made these discoveries.  They left to settle in the colony of La Española [Hispaniola] founded by the Great Admiral, Cristobal Colón [Columbus], then begin colonies themselves.  As a little boy, I heard everyone talking about a man from our neighbor village Jerez de los Caballeros, who boasted he would begin a new colony himself and do great things.  A few years later, we learned he did.  He was Vasco Nuñez de Balboa, who founded the colony of Panama and discovered a new sea, the South Ocean on the other side of the New World.[9]

"I became determined to be one of these discoverers myself.  To do so, I had to become a caballero hidalgo, a knight.  My father had me trained to ride a horse and fight with a sword from a very young age.  But to become a true caballero required more training than he could provide.  When I told him of my desire, he sent me to live in the household of his good friend, Don Diego Gomez de Alvarado, who was a very important nobleman in Badajoz.  It was the Year of Our Lord 1510 and I was 14 years old.  Don Diego was happy to welcome me, for all six of his sons[10] had left for La Española that year.

"Don Diego had me trained well, and saw that I learned well also, for he had a fine library filled with books on many subjects.  I was able to become a true caballero, and when I was ready, Don Diego and my father gifted me with horses and arms so I could join the Alvarado brothers who were now in Cuba.  When I arrived there in the Year of Our Lord 1518, they told me about the expedition Captain Cortez was forming.  To be a part of such an expedition of discovery was my dream, so I did not hesitate to be a part of it.  And that is how I came to be here."

Malinali found she was staring at him as she heard these words.  She bade him sit down.  "There is no need to keep standing in my presence," she said with a slight smile.  After a moment of uneasy silence, she said quietly, "You know of course why I asked you here and what it is that we must talk about."

He blushed a deep crimson.  "Doña Marina, I… I…." He stopped to compose himself.  Then he sat erect and looked directly at her.  "Doña Marina, I would be foolish in the extreme if I thought I could replace in any small way Captain Cortez in your heart.  I will always respect your love for him and his for you.  All I can offer to you is my devotion, my word to you as a caballero that I will devote my life to your happiness, your well-being, and your safety."

She studied him carefully, then asked, "Why do you wish to do so?"

He did not hesitate.  "Because I never imagined there could be a woman such as you.  Such women are the stuff of legends and myths, the creation of poets.  For a woman to be so heroic, so noble, is from a dream, not reality.  Yet you are real, and I have seen who you are with my own eyes.  That I…"

She raised her hand.  "Señor Jaramillo… I respect your emotions for I know they are genuine.  But I need to be honest with you.  Worship is not what I need.  I already have that from millions of people in this land, and it is a very humbling experience.  I do not wish to feel humility with you.  It feels like I am some statue high on a pedestal your Romans once made – Bernal showed me these drawings from a book he has.  This makes you distant from me.  I do not want that.  You are a fine man, a man of good soul, a man I can trust.  What I need for you to also be is a good friend. Someone I can laugh with and enjoy their company.  Do you think this is possible?"

His eyes opened wide and stared into hers. He stammered, "That would be… I would be…"  He stopped, and simply said, "Yes, Doña Marina, it is."  And for the first time, she saw him smile.  It was a broad, cheerful smile and she returned it.  "Good – we shall be friends," she said, "and then we shall see."

*  *  *  *  *

Their friendship grew.  She enjoyed listening to him explain the history of his land, of how it once was a Roman province called Lusitania, then ruled by a people he called "Visigoths" who were Christians, then conquered by an alien people he called "Moors" who believed in an evil god named "Allah."

She had heard Bernal talk of these Moors[11] but never in so much detail.  She learned the Moors established a kingdom called a "Caliphate" in city called Cordoba that ruled all Spain except in the north.  From there, Christian knights fought a war they called the Reconquista or "recapturing" that lasted centuries, slowly recapturing their land until the last of the Moors were defeated in a place called Granada "when Captain Cortez was a young boy"[12] and the Moors went back to the land they came from called "Africa."

Juan – for it was Juan by now – could talk of this and other things he knew for hours.  She had no idea he was a man of such learning.  There was a shyness about him that she found calming.  It was quite a contrast to the huge personality of Cortez. 

"Juan, why did it take the Christians hundreds of years to defeat the Moors – and only two to defeat the Aztecs?" she asked.

She liked the way he smiled with joy when she asked a good question.  "Ah, for that you would have to ask Santiago himself!  The reason must be, I am sure, is that he chose Cortez to lead us and you to guide him.  For without our great captain-general, and without you, without La Malinche, we would never have succeeded."

She made a face.  "Juan, I am not La Malinche to you, remember?  But why Santiago?  I know he is a great saint, but why, every time there is a battle, the Spaniards cry out ‘Santiago, and at them!’ Why do they do this?"

"Saint Iago[13] was the great disciple of our Lord Jesus and is the patron saint of Spain.  He appeared with a sword riding a white horse at the Battle of Clavijo[14], enabling a great victory against the Moors which began the Reconquista.  Because of this, we call Saint Iago Santiago Matamoros – St. James the Moor-Killer.  He is buried in the cathedral at Santiago de Compostela.  Many thousands of people from all over Europe make a pilgrimage there every year."[15]

He gave her a look of gentle awe.  "All the soldiers believe that Santiago Matamoros has guided our victory here.  They also believe that the Virgin Mary guided you to help us through him.  For after all, Mary was his aunt – Santiago’s mother was Mary’s sister."

A startled Malinali clutched her crucifix.

*  *  *  *  *

She realized she was growing fond of him.  They walked and talked for hours along the shore of Lake Texcoco.  He was always courteous and a gentleman, but slowly he was able to relax around her, even to joke with her and make her laugh.  She truly needed that.

She had not seen Cortez since they had kissed goodbye.  Bernal told her he was always gone exploring now – to be away, he suspected, from Catalina.  She had reconciled herself to what she knew was necessity.  With patience and effort, she banished regret and resentment from her heart.  She prayed to the Virgin to not let her soul be poisoned by such feelings, to have them be replaced by the deepest gratitude for all the blessings showered upon her life.

The day came when she realized her prayer had been granted.  As she strolled through her roof top garden, the beauty of the plants and flowers overwhelmed her, as did the sheet of shimmering blue that was Lake Texcoco.  She felt that a great weight had been lifted off her heart, and in its place was nothing but a peaceful happiness at being alive.

She was glad to see Juan when he came, and when, as always, he bowed and kissed her hand, she gave him a joyous smile.  He returned the smile, but hesitantly.  "Are you well?" she asked.  "You seem very nervous about something."  Then she noticed he was perspiring, even on this cool fall day.

"Doña Marina, I had the opportunity to talk with Captain Cortez today," he said in a voice that seemed high pitched.  "He has just returned from an exploration in a region called Xilotepec.  He told me that a soldier named Juan Galindo had discovered a valley of extraordinary beauty some 30 leagues[16] north of here.  It is called Tequisquiatlapan, the place of bubbling waters.  The Captain went to see for himself, and he found it to be like magic, with many springs of warm water that bubbles.  The soil is good for growing everything.  He said it was perfect."

"Perfect for what?" she asked.

"Perfect for…" He stopped and swallowed.  "Captain Cortez told me that this valley of many square leagues would be his gift of an encomienda to you and me if we…"

He stopped again.  He drew himself to his full height, standing almost at attention, and looked directly at her.  "Doña Marina, as a citizen of Spain and a caballero hidalgo, I ask for your hand in holy matrimony.  I cannot think of a greater honor for my life than your acceptance."

She took both of his hands into hers.  She looked up at him and felt the peace in her soul.  She replied, "Señor Juan Jaramillo de Salvatierra, I accept."  For the very first time they embraced.

They immediately made arrangements to visit Tequisquiatlapan.  He rode a horse, she was carried in a litter by Tlaxcalans who vied for the honor, accompanied a horde of her worshippers.  The valley was as magical as Cortez had described.  For such a huge valley with such fertile soil, she was surprised so few people lived there – and they were Otomis, who wandered and never lived in one place.  They too worshipped her, and held celebrations when they learned this was to be her home.

She and Juan had so much fun bathing in the springs of warm water filled with bubbles.  Then they chose a spot at the western end of the valley to build their hacienda.  They decided it would be called Hacienda Galindo for the soldier, Juan Galindo, who found this beautiful place for them.

When they returned to Tenochtitlan, a message from Cortez was waiting for them.  "Please come to Orizaba," was all it said.  She suppressed a smile.  She had heard that Cortez had founded a city at the base of the big mountain Citlatepetl[17] with the funny Spanish pronunciation of the Aztec name for the area, Ahuilizapan, shining waters.

Again, Tlaxcalans carried her litter, over the Paseo de Cortez as it was called now, the pass Cortez used between the Smoking Mountain and the Sleeping Woman to reach Tenochtitlan[18], past Cholula with memories of the terrible battle there[19], to the slopes of the giant mountain the Tlaxcalans insisted on calling La Malinche[20] where an elaborate "La Malinche Dance" was performed in her honor.

When they arrived at the entrance to Orizaba, Cortez was there to greet them.  He escorted them to a newly-constructed church where a very distinguished looking priest in a beautiful red robe was waiting for them.

"Señor Jaramillo, Doña Marina," Cortez announced, "I have the honor to present to you Father Juan de Tecto, professor of theology at the Sorbonne University in Paris, and the personal chaplain of His Majesty the Emperor Don Carlos.  Upon my request, he has consented to perform your ceremony of marriage, which shall take place here tomorrow."

Malinali could tell how proud Cortez was of himself by how broadly he smiled. 

He had that same smile during the banquet he held for them that evening.  Around the table, she noticed, were mostly new officers – she recognized few faces.  While he and Juan were engaged in an intense conversation, she had a chance to talk with Father de Tecto.  But it was with difficulty for he spoke in a strange accent.

"Forgive me, Doña Marina, but I am not from Spain," he explained.  "I am from a place called Flanders, in the same city His Majesty Don Carlos was born – Ghent – although many years before.[21]  So my native tongue is Flemish, like His Majesty’s, and my born name is Johan Dekkers.  When I went to Paris and learned French, my name changed to Jean de Toit.  When His Majesty made me his chaplain and I joined the Spanish Court, my name changed again to Juan de Tecto."

"How is it that you left your Emperor and came here?" she wanted to know.

With a warm smile, he replied, "Ah, Doña Marina, the life of a Royal Court is not for me.  Even as King of Spain, the lands over which Don Carlos ruled were so vast – all of Spain, the giant islands of Sardinia and Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea, all of southern Italy which is called the Kingdom of Naples.  As his Confessor, I had to advise him on all of it!  But then, when he became Emperor and his lands expanded to include Austria and many Germanic states in the middle of Europe, I knew I must leave."[22]

His eyes lit up.  "Doña Marina, if you only knew of all the stories told at the Court of Captain Cortez’s discoveries, of his heroic achievements in liberating this extraordinary new land.  After the physical liberation of the people of this land from the Aztec agents of Satan, I knew they would hunger for their spiritual liberation.  So I begged His Majesty to allow me to come here, to bring the mission of the Lord Jesus to these people.  Don Carlos is like a son to me, so after much reluctance, he let me go."

His eyes studied her.  "Yet I must tell you the talk at the Court is not all of Cortez.  There are many stories told of a very beautiful, very intelligent, very courageous woman of this land who accepted Christ into her heart, and who guided Cortez so that he could achieve his great victory here.  Hearing these stories, I thought they were fanciful. Such women are found only in dreams or in songs sung by troubadours.  In my letter to Captain Cortez telling him of my coming, I asked if this woman did indeed exist.  He replied that I must come and see for myself.  Now that I have, I can say that these stories are indeed true."

Malinali blushed. 

"Doña Marina, I am on my way to Texcoco, where my mission will be founded.  Captain Cortez, who is on his way to the coast, asked me to meet him here and requested as a personal favor to him if I, as the Emperor’s Chaplain, would marry you and Señor Jaramillo.  It will be the greatest privilege for me to do so."

Tears formed in Malinali’s eyes.  "What can I say but thank you, Father," was all she could reply.

Just then Cortez stood up, goblet in hand.  "Tomorrow will see a blessed event," he announced.   "Tonight, I wish to inform you that Señor Jaramillo has accepted my invitation for appointment as Regidor (Chief Magistrate) of Tenochtitlan, which is to be the capital of New Spain.  This is, as you know, a position of great prestige and responsibility, commensurate with the remuneration it receives.  I have assured Señor Jaramillo, however, that it requires only his periodic presence in our capital city, so that he and Doña Marina may enjoy their encomienda of the Valley of Bubbling Waters – my wedding present to them."

He raised his goblet.  Everyone stood and raised theirs, while Malinali remained seated. "Gentlemen!" Cortez called out.  "To the happiness and long life of this blessed couple!"

***

Malinali had brought little Martín, whom Cortez insisted on cradling in his arms during the wedding ceremony.  As he gazed upon her looking resplendent in a pure white huipil, he whispered, "You have never looked more beautiful."  The regret and longing in his eyes was painful for her to see.

The ceremony was performed with a solemn dignity by Father de Tecto.  When it was over, Cortez returned baby Martín to her arms, and said to her and her new husband, "May God bless you both.  I have done what I can to assure you of prosperity.  As for my son, during those times when I must be away, for I must be in Spain soon, I know you will always be there for him, Señor Jaramillo, as you will be for Doña Marina."

A wistful smile came over his face.  "Before, however, you depart to share the joys of matrimony at your encomienda, I would like for you to indulge me in a favor – that you accompany me on my journey to Coatzacoalcos."

Malinali looked at Cortez in puzzled astonishment.  Cortez immediately continued.  "In truth, it is not me who requests this.  It is your friend Bernal – Señor Diaz del Castillo – to whom I have given an encomienda there, along with Gonzalo de Sandoval and others whom you know.  It is his fondest wish that you visit him, so that he may hold a fiesta grande in your honor.  I am going to view Gonzalo’s management of the area, and Bernal begged me to persuade you to come."

With a smile of relief, and a nod from Juan, Malinali happily agreed.  When she and Juan arrived at Bernal’s hacienda, everything was decorated for a huge celebration.   Bernal raced out to greet them, followed by Francisco de Lugo, Diego de Godoy, Gonzalo de Mexia, then Sandoval and Jeronimo Aguilar.  She was overjoyed to see them all. "So this is where you have been hiding?" she asked them playfully.  "In Coatzacoalcos?"

"Yes, we are the ones who came here," replied Bernal.  "The rest of us are scattered all over New Spain and beyond.  Pedro de Alvarado is south in Guatemala, Cristobal de Olid is even further south we hear, a place called Honduras.  We may never, all of us, gather together again.  But those of us here, Doña Marina, have joined to celebrate your matrimony to one of our most esteemed colleagues, Señor Jaramillo, and to give thanks again for all that you have done for us."

She could not recall when she had so much fun.  There was music and dancing and wine, of which she drank a bit too much.  She noticed that Cortez left early.  When she danced with Juan, the look in his eyes expressed such joy and pride in being her husband.  Yes, she told herself, her life was blessed.

The next morning, Bernal asked her, "Doña Marina, the kingdom of your father, Paynala, is in this region, is it not?  The kingdom you should have been queen of.  Do you wish to visit it?"

She shook her head.  "No, my friend," she answered, "I am dead to them, and let it remain so."

"Very well," responded Bernal.  "I know you and Señor Jaramillo are anxious to depart for your Valley of Bubbling Waters, which I hear is exquisitely beautiful – but could I ask for something before you leave?"

She laughed.  "You know you can, my friend.  And you should also know that you and Aguilar and everyone else are so very welcome to visit us on any occasion."

"The native people here have learned that La Malinche is among them.  Would you receive them, Doña Marina?  There is a plaza in the town of Coatzacoalcos where you could do so.  It would mean the world to them."

She agreed.

Shortly after the sun rose the following morning, she and Juan  discovered an escort waiting to accompany them to the town.  There were her Tlaxcalan bearers with her litter, there was Bernal and Aguilar, there was Sandoval, Francisco de Lugo, and Cortez himself, in full polished armor mounted on their horses.  Bernal stepped forward to say quietly,  "We are here in your honor, Doña Marina."

When they reached the town, Malinali was stunned by the vast multitude of people crammed into the plaza.  There were thousands.  "Your legend is greater than you know, Doña Marina," said Bernal.  "I thought just the people from this town and nearby villages would come, but word spread quickly – many of the thousands you see here ran through the night from far away to be in your presence."

Then she heard Cortez’s booming voice addressing the crowd from horseback.  Startled, she thought, am I expected to translate?  Aguilar explained that it was for him to translate now, "not La Malinche."  Via Aguilar, Cortez gave a short yet inspiring talk about salvation through Christ and then said, "And now may I present to you a Great Lady to whom we all thank for the liberation of this land from the cruelty of the Aztec – La Malinche!"

Malinali stood still in front of the massive crowd, while Cortez and the others Spaniards pulled their horses or stepped back behind her.  The faces in the crowd stared at her.  One woman fell to her knees with her hands clutched in prayer and began weeping, followed by another and another.  An elderly woman stepped forward to bend low and rub dirt from the ground on her forehead.  Soon hundreds were coming forward to do the same in obeisance to her, while hundreds more were on their knees silently praying and weeping.

There was no sound except the shuffling of feet, the soft moans of the praying, and the occasional snort of the horses.  Suddenly there was a shriek.  An ear-splitting shriek of utter terror.  Malinali had never heard anything like it.  It sounded like a soul being tortured in hell.  It was coming from a woman at some distance in the crowd.  She wore an expensive robe and many jewels.  She fell to her knees, then flat on her stomach.  Her shrieks from hell were unrelenting, never-ending.

Then Malinali recognized her.  It was her mother. 

Her mother who had sold her into slavery.  Her mother who had stolen her kingdom away, who turned her from a princess to a slave girl.

Malinali ran towards her.  She knelt down to look into her mother’s face smeared with dirt and tears.  She realized what had happened, that her mother had come to see this legend called La Malinche having no idea that it could possibly be her long lost, long forgotten slave girl daughter.  And she knew what her mother was terrified of – that in revenge she could order with a nod of her head or flick of her hand her mother’s execution by the Spaniards, execution or torturous worse.

Her mother looked at her in wide-eyed horror.  "You??  You are La Malinche?!?" her mother screamed at the top of her voice.  But before she could start shrieking again, Malinali pulled her to her feet and embraced her with all her might.

"Mother… Mother… Mother…" she whispered in her ear.  "No harm is going to come to you, you need have no fear."

Her mother’s body slowly relaxed a bit.  Malinali relaxed her tight embrace and took her mother’s face in her hands to look in her still-frightened eyes.  "Mother, you must understand," she said, "I am now a Christian.  I love you and I forgive you."

Her mother looked back at her in complete bewilderment.  "What do you mean?  How is that possible?"

"Mother, the God of the Christians and His Son Jesus teach that only through forgiveness and love can our souls be at peace.  I have embraced the Son of God and His Holy Mother and my soul is truly at peace.  I truly do forgive you, Mother.  And, Mother!  How stupid it would be of me to hate you for what you did to me!  It is thanks to you that I met Captain Cortez!  It is thanks to you that I became, through the grace of God, La Malinche!  It is thanks to you that I was able to make my father’s dream come true, the dream of liberating this land from the Aztecs."

She pushed down on her mother’s shoulders so they both sank to their knees.  "Mother – do you think my father’s dream coming true was an accident?  Just as God guided me to Captain Cortez, God guided you as well.  It is God’s will that you did what you did – and look what you achieved, Mother.  I am freed from the worship of evil gods and obedience to evil Aztecs – and so are all the people of this land.  I have been given a son by Captain Cortez.  I have been given a great gentleman as a husband.  And know this, Mother – if I were to be made Queen of Paynala, if I were to be made Queen of all of New Spain, I would refuse, for I would rather serve my husband and Captain Cortez than anything else in the world.  There is only one thing I would ask of you, Mother."

Her mother was breathing deeply.  "What is that?" she gasped.

"That you accept the love of God, of Jesus and Mary, into your heart, and become a Christian with all your soul."

Her mother closed her eyes and nodded yes.  They embraced.  "I love you, Mother," said her daughter.  And the mother replied, "I love you too, Malinali."

---

[1] .  1521.  It is now mid-June, 1522.

[2] .  See Chapter 3, "Slave"

[3] .  Cortez stated this in his Third Letter to Emperor Charles V, dated May 15, 1522.

[4] .  The 14,632′ volcano with a ring of green forest around its lower slopes, bears the name of La Malinche to this day.

[5]   See Chapter 29:  The Night of Tears.

[6]   St. James, Iago being James in Spanish.  July 25, 1522.

[7]   Catalina Suarez in 1514.  The story is told in Chapter 20, "The Legend in Cuba."

[8]   Known today as the Palacio de Cortes, it is the city hall of Coyoacan.

[9]   The Pacific Ocean, in 1513.

[10]  The Alvarado brothers, Pedro, Gonzalo, Jorge, Gomez, Hernando, and Juan.

[11]  See Chapter Nine, "Malinali’s Prayer."

[12]  1492; Cortez was born in 1485.

[13]  St. James, son of Zebedee, a fisherman in Galilee and Salome, sister of the Virgin Mary (cf. John 19:25 with Mark 15:40).  He and his brother John were asked by their cousin Jesus to be one of the Twelve Apostles.

[14]   Supposedly at Clavijo in northern Spain in 844 AD between the Christian King of Asturias Romiro I and Moslems led by the Emir of Cordoba.  The historical battle was at Monte Laturce in 859, where Romiro’s son Ordoño I and his Asturians destroyed a large Moslem army with 12,000 Moslem cavalry dead.

[15]   And continue to do so by the hundreds of thousands every year to this day.  Santiago de Compostela (Field of Stars) is in the far northwestern corner of Spain in the province of Galicia.

[16]  About 100 miles.

[17]  Now called Pico de Orizaba, Mexico’s highest mountain at 18,490 ft.

[18]  See Chapter Twenty-Two, "Between the Smoking Mountain and the Sleeping Woman."

[19]  See Chapter Twenty-One, "The Trap of Cholula"

[20]  See n. 4.

[21]  1468.  Charles V was born in 1500, the same year as Malinali.  Flanders is now part of Belgium, and was ruled by Charles’ father, Philip.

[22]   Charles inherited Spain from his mother’s parents, Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, in 1516.  He inherited the Hapsburg Empire from his father’s father, Maximilian, and became Holy Roman Emperor, in 1519.