Doña Marina was of great importance, she was obeyed without question by all the natives throughout New Spain. He came from a high-power family within the Aztec/Nahua ancestors. Dona Marina was later captured by Hernado Cortes. She soon made it clear that Cortes needed her. Dona Marina became a very important asset for Cortes and a very important figure in history. At first it was known as La Malinche. La Malinche's parents were chiefs and caciques of a city known as Painala. Dona Marina was then known as La Malinche, her birth name. After her father died while she was still young, her mother married a young man named Cacique. Cacique's mother and La Malinche had a child together. They seemed to love their son so much and so they decided that he would succeed them in office after their death. To avoid having difficulties for their son, they sold their daughter into slavery. To cover up her daughter's disappearance, her mother took the body of a dead slave and buried it; supporting her as his daughter. La Malinche was now the slave of the Mayan cacique of Tabasco. A few years later, the unfortunate Tabasco tribe was overtaken by Cortes. The Spanish took all the Tabascos' possessions, including their slaves. Now La Malinche was a possession of Cortes. She, with twenty other native women, was sent to be a cook for the Spanish. La Malinche soon revealed herself to be much more than a slave cook. Due to La Malinche's circumstances she knew native languages ​​as well, making her an important asset to the Spanish. La Malinche served as Cortes' translator, negotiator, and cultural mediator. La Malinche was also Cortes' concubine. A concubine is a woman who lives with a man but has a lower status than his wife. Later in the story... halfway through the document... a choice though. If Marina had not used her skills to help Cortes, she would have died as a mistreated slave like so many others. Dona Marina showed strength and courage, a characteristic of which her people should be proud. Dona Marina was a survivor of her people, and so her people continue to live on through her. Bibliography Richart, Jennifer S. "Dona Marina". Dona Marina. Poblar, November-December 1998. Network. October 22, 2013. Bonner, Alexander L. “Directory of Historical Figures.” Homeschool History Curriculum. Homeschool History Cirriculum, May 25, 2007. Web. October 21, 2013. Pedrick, Dan H. "Mexican History - La Malinche." Mexican History - La Malinche. Soul of a Writer, Fall 1994. Web. October 28, 2013. Gilliman, George P. "Women in World History: PRIMARY SOURCES." Women in world history: PRIMARY SOURCES. Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, August-September. 1996. Network. October 28. 2013.