The Mother of the Mexican Nation. Malintzin (or Malinalli), later called Doña Marina, was one of a group of young women offered to Cortés by a Mayan Lord shortly after his arrival on the shores of the New World. She spoke some language of the Maya and was versed in Nahuatl. The story goes that her skills were made known to Cortés when after his … Continue reading La Malinche