Third Thursday Food for Thought presents “Reconstructing the Biographies of Culture and Power in Conquest Mexico: Malinche, Hernán Cortés, and the Origins of Indigenous-Spanish Relations”
October 16 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
On Thursday, October 16, 2025, Old Pueblo Archaeology Center’s “Third Thursday Food for Thought” online presentation will feature “Reconstructing the Biographies of Culture and Power in Conquest Mexico: Malinche, Hernán Cortés, and the Origins of Indigenous-Spanish Relations” by historian Michael M. Brescia, Ph.D. This free Zoom presentation will be held from 7:00-8:30 pm (ARIZONA/Mountain Standard Time [same as Pacific Daylight Time]).
Dr. Michael Brescia establishes the nature and scope of biography as a tool to uncover the historical experiences of Indigenous peoples and Spaniards in the early days of cross-cultural contact and exchange, followed by the violence of conquest, demographic collapse of Native communities due to Old World diseases, and the racial and cultural mixing (mestizaje) that took place in its aftermath. As an exemplar, he will examine the lives of Malintzin – often called La Malinche in history textbooks – the Indigenous woman who served as an interpreter and was the mistress of the Spanish conquistador, Hernán Cortés, and how their relationship revealed the complexities of Mesoamerica and early modern Spain.
This presentation will not be recorded. To register for the Zoom webinar go to https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_iy89B7ekS9yxQKh2_YSu-A. For more information contact Old Pueblo at info@oldpueblo.org or 520-798-1201.
Flyer: 20251016(v1)ThirdThursday_MichaelBrescia_ReconstructingBiographiesOfCulture&PowerInConquestMexico
Caption: Malinche and Cortés, Codex Durán, 16th century, Biblioteca Nacional, Madrid (Image courtesy of Michael Brescia)