Film
Artist’s Statement
Malinchista (2020) is a 2D animated short film about reclaiming a Spanish slur to empower Latinx women. La Malinche was the Aztec woman who, 500 years ago, guided and translated for Cortés when the Spanish conquered the Aztec civilization. In Mexico, she is regarded as the traitorous, seductive woman who betrayed her own people. In fact, she is so hated today that her name means a slur: “Malinchista” translates to “a traitor to your own people,” usually referring to a white outsider.
The more I researched La Malinche, the more fascinated I became with her story because it’s not told, really, at all. This woman is notorious for her linguistic ability and yet is completely unheard throughout history. When many Latinx and Womxn stories have been rewritten or unheard for centuries, I wanted to bring La Malinche’s story to light and reclaim this slur in order to empower the people around us.
Flora Rees-Arredondo is a self-employed Latinx art director and visual development artist based in Los Angeles, California. She works in animation, R&D, live-action commercials, and children’s books for a range of clients including Osmo, Warner Bros. Animation, and U.S. Bank. She was a production intern at Cartoon Network on Victor and Valentino, directed the award-winning 2D animated short film Malinchista, recently worked as a visual development artist on several productions in development at WBA, and is currently working as an art outsource manager at Osmo. She spends her free time creating artwork and content that supports unheard voices in order to create a positive impact on the society we live in.