La Malinche was born around 1505 as a princess and the daughter of an Aztec ruler.
Because of her status she was allowed to be educated, but when her father died and her mother remarried and bore a son, her family sold her into slavery to Mayan speaking indigenous people, because she was the inconvenient stepchild. Then she was giving to Tlaxalteca tribe in Tabasco. During this time as a slave La Malinche learned several local languages such as Nahuatl, Mayan and later Spanish.
In 1519, when La Manlinche was fourteen, The Tabasco people gave her to Hernan Cortes along with other twenty women. Corte gave each woman to his captains and La Malinche was given to Alonzo Hernando, but when Cortes recognized her abilities and intelligent, he took her for himself.
La Malinche became the translator to the Spaniards and one of the greatest assistant, to Cortes. She was a key to success in convincing other Indian nations to join Cortes in his quest to destroy the great Aztec nation.
Cortes was ordered to bring his own wife from Spain to Latin America, therefore Malinche was married off to one of his soldiers (Don Juan Jaramillo).
Dona Marina gave birth to Martin Cortes, whom Hernan Cortes acknowledged as his son.
La Malinche died at the age of twenty- four in unknown condition.
Since the historical Malinche had a child with Cortés, she is considered the mother of the "meztizo" race (children born to Spanish-Indian parents).
