Malitzen was an enslaved Aztec/Mayan woman who had great skill with languages, and became the primary interpreter for Hernan Cortés during his conquest of the Aztec Empire. After the fall of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan, Malitzen rose to the status of a free Spanish noblewoman. Today she is considered a traitor, but as an enslaved woman she lacked the freedom to make her own choices.