Date of Award

6-2011

Document Type

Open Access

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Modern Languages and Literatures

First Advisor

Daniel Mosquera

Language

English

Keywords

Mexico, national culture, image, character

Abstract

La Malinche has been a popular figure in the national culture not only of Mexico but also beyond its borders. Since its image is so ambiguous, it is used very frequently to symbolize popular ideas of an era. As a result, the symbol of La Malinche continues to transform. Historically, his image has characterized the traitorous woman, prostitute, and mestizo Mexican mother. In some ways this symbol has been maintained over the years, but there are also clear efforts to deconstruct this colonial image and create a more modern Malinche that is consistent with a growing interest in feminism. Introduced in 1997, the work of Víctor Hugo Rascón Banda, La Malinche, is an example of this type of intention. In his play Rascón Banda uses an anachronistic style to question and deconstruct the image of La Malinche colonial, and also to recreate a new feminist Malinche. Specifically, Rascón Banda makes allusions to the texts that come from the colonial time and interweaves them with modern time to provoke a dialogue between characters from the past and present of Mexico in order to update the symbolic value of La Malinche and to question political evolution and cultural of the country.

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