Groundwood Books
La Malinche
Written by Francisco Serrano • Illustrated by Pablo Serrano • Translated by Susan Ouriou
For students in grades
4
-
7
|
Published October 01, 2012 |
ISBN 9781554981113
JUVENILE NONFICTION / Biography & Autobiography / Historical
Regular price $18.95 CAD
40
pages
|
10.625 in
×
8.25 in
Print Format
About this book
La Malinche
Francisco Serrano • Pablo Serrano • Susan Ouriou
Selected for the USBBY Outstanding International Book List
In the early 1500s, Hernán Cortés and his conquistadors defeated the great Aztec Empire, built a new city for colonists from Spain and took control of vast lands stretching from today's southwestern US down through most of Central America.
But many people don't know that one of the reasons for the success of this conquest was the invaluable help of a beautiful woman, Princess Malinali, known today as La Malinche. She was a Náhuatl princess from the coast lands of Tabasco whose kingdom was at war with the Aztec Empire. Because of her knowledge of Maya and Náhuatl languages, and her rapid acquisition of Spanish, she came to act as an interpreter and advisor to Cortés. She also bore him a child.
La Malinche is described here as she often is in Mexico as the embodiment of a new culture, one in which the mixing of races, Spanish and Aztec, created a new world. This view is not shared by all Mexicans, however. For some La Malinche is the symbol of a great betrayal that led to the death of millions of her fellow indigenous people. No one disagrees, however, that La Malinche was an extraordinary woman, whose life is fundamental to understanding the history of ancient and modern Mexico.
Includes beautiful illustrations by Pablo Serrano, maps, a timeline and further reading.
About the Creators
Francisco Serrano
Francisco Serrano is a noted Mexican poet who also writes plays, librettos and children’s books and edits literary anthologies. He is the author of The Poet King of Tezcoco (New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing), Our Lady of Guadalupe / La Virgen de Guadalupe, and La Malinche. He lives in Mexico City.
Pablo Serrano
Pablo Serrano is a visual artist who studied at UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México), where he took classes with the painter Luis Nishizawa. He has shown his work in solo and group exhibitions and received an honorable mention in the Aguascalientes 2002 competition for young artists. He has illustrated two beautiful books about the history of Mexico — The Poet King of Tezcoco and La Malinche. He lives in Mexico City.
Susan Ouriou
Susan Ouriou is an award-winning writer, editor and literary translator with over thirty translations and co-translations of fiction, non-fiction, children’s and young adult literature to her credit. She has won the Governor General’s Literary Award for Translation. She also recently published Nathan, a novel for young readers. Susan lives in Calgary.
Awards and Praise
- Commended USBBY Outstanding International Book List, 2013