A controversial musical depicting the Spanish conquest of Mexico has ignited a transatlantic debate over Latin American history and identity.
Centering on conquistador Hernán Cortés and his Nahuatl translator, Malinche ostensibly celebrates mestizaje, or racial mixing, but has been accused of promoting “outdated, racist notions” regarding Aztec rituals, and the idea that colonization benefited indigenous people.
Foreign Policy called the show, currently playing in Mexico City, an “obscenely romanticized” “anti-Hamilton,” while conservatives complained that a historical priest was initially portrayed in drag.
Malinche’s producer, for his part, hoped the debate would “bring people to come and judge” for themselves.
The brouhaha points to real wounds: Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum declined to invite Spain’s king to her inauguration after he failed to apologize for the conquest.