The film La Otra Conquista entails the life of Topiltzin, the sole illegitimate son of Aztec emperor Moctezuma. During Herán Cortés conquest of the Aztec empire, Topiltzin faces the confrontation of Spanish conquistadors, who slaughter and capture Native Americans in an attempt to take control of Tenochtitlan. This act of violence driven by the urge to find wealth, and especially in this film, focuses mainly on the conversion of Native Americans to Catholicism. Specifically, Friar Diego focuses his attention on Topiltzin’s conversion to Christianity. While the film appears merely fictional, the elements portrayed in La Otra Conquista correspond to actual historical events occurring in the conquest of the Aztec empire. For example, the film entails elements of religion and gender roles.
After Topiltzin’s tribe is caught performing a human sacrifice by Captain Cristóbal and Friar Diego, a violent confrontation takes place, resulting in the death of Native Americans and the capture of Topiltzin. When confronted face to face with Herán Cortés and his mistress and translator Tecuichpo (revealed as Topiltzin’s half-sister), Cortès spares the life of Topiltzin on the terms that he converts to Christianity. Cortès then renames Topiltzin as Tomás and Tecuichpo as Doña Isabel.
Five years later, under Friar Diego’s guidance, Tomás finds difficulty in his newfound Catholic faith, often conflicting with his morals prior to the conquest. However, Tomás finds comfort in Doña Isabel, often confiding in her throughout the film. After Doña Isabel’s imprisonment, Tomás demonstrates acts of hallucinations and views the statue of the Virgin Mary in similar conjunction to one of Aztec’s female deities. In a desperate plea to see the statue, Tomás captures the Virgin Mary statue, and as a result, falls to his death in an attempt to retrieve the statue.
First and foremost, the portrayal of religion in La Otra Conquista correspond to historical events in pre-contact society and post-conquest of the Aztec empire. In the film, two different worlds meet as Cortès and his men confront the Aztec Empire—Christianity and Aztec religion. For example, elements of Catholicism can be found in the Virgin Mary and Ordered Priest while Aztec religion depicts human sacrifices and the portrayal of their deities. The comparison between specific scenes and historical context entail two specific aspects—human sacrifice and the Virgin Mary.
In the beginning of the film, Spanish Captain Cristóbal, his men, and Friar Diego come face-to-face with Topiltzin and his fellow Native Americans performing a human sacrifice. In this sacrifice, a female’s heart is ripped out of her chest, held up high towards a religious deity statue. As a result, the Spaniards create a violent confrontation against the Native Americans, resulting in the death of a few Indians.
This gruesome act of ripping a heart out someone’s chest seems merely fictional; however, this was a common practice in Aztec religion and society. Men were brought to the top of the temple while “…the lord Xipe advanced, struck open the breast and cut out the heart, which was raised as a gift to the sun.” The scene in the film correlates with religious practices occurring in the movie, as sacrifices were a method of ensuring society functioned by offering the “most precious water” , also known as blood. However, the film portrays the sacrifice of a female, while only men were sacrificed. This does not correlate with the historical context of the film, thus, deeming it mere fiction. Nevertheless, female Goddesses “…preferred women as sacrificial victims. Toci and the goddess of tender maize, Xilonen, as well as Xochiquétzal, goddess of the mountains and special protector of prostitutes, were all honored with female victims.”
The film mainly encompasses the conversion of Native Americans to Catholicism. In the film, Topiltzin’s forced conversion to Christianity leads to an internal struggle between accepting the terms of his new faith and leaving behind his old way of life. His actions in the monastery, such as having sex with his sister Tecuchipo and having mixed hallucinations between Catholic and Aztec imagery worries Friar Diego, which suggests to Diego that Topiltzin is rejecting the Christian faith. In order to understand why Topiltzin converted in the first place, Cortés subjects Topiltzin to whipping instead of death, on the condition that he converts to Christianity.
These events in the film correspond to the historical forced conversion of Indians to Christianity. Historically, the Spanish forced Christianity upon the Native Americans “…commanding that from this day forward, they [were] to live as good Christians, not to be idolaters nor to keep pagan shrines as they have in the past, and [were] warned that if they do not obey, they shall be punished with great rigor.” Under those terms, Natives must convert to Christianity, and any individual caught practicing Aztec religious customs resulted in severe physical punishment (such as whipping) or death. As stated in The Requerimiento, a religious document establishing the moral grounds for conversion, natives had to “…acknowledge the church as the Ruler and Superior of the whole world,” and those who refused to accept the church were condemned to retaliation by the Spanish, by which “…the deaths and losses [that accrued] from this [were] your fault, and not that of their Highness.”
With that said, the two different religious systems often overlap with one another in terms of practices and customs. During Topiltzin’s hallucinations, he confuses the Virgin Mary with the mother Goddess of his former tribe. In the film, Topiltzin steals the statue of the Virgin Mary, only to die while toppled over by the statue. Figuratively, this represents the death of Aztec religion through Christianity, in which Native Americans let a piece of their lifestyle die. The Spanish instilled these principles in the Natives and forced them to live another life. In summary, the fictional aspect of religion portrayed in the film corresponds to the historical events of the conquest of the Aztec empire.
Subsequently, women’s roles depicted in La Otra Conquista correspond to historical events in the conquest of the Aztec empire. In the film, Tecuchipo (the daughter of Moctezuma and mistress of Cortés) translates Cortés demands from Spanish to Nahuatl for Topiltzin to comprehend. This is an example of an important female figure in the conquest—La Malinché. Historically, a Native American by the name of Malintzin (La Malinché) “[became] their principal interpreter and go-between as they made their way to the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán. She also became Cortéś concubine (his wife had remained in Cuba), his trusted adviser, and mother of his illegitimate son, Martín, born in 1522.” La Malinche played an important role in the conquest by breaking the language barrier between the Spanish and the natives, translating between Nahuatl and Spanish. She was essentially Cortés ‘right hand’, in which she helped him make certain decisions about the conquest. In the film, Tecuchipo persuaded Cortès not to execute her brother by convincing him of his importance, eventually leading to Topiltzin’s whipping. Therefore, the role of Tecuchipo in the film represented the role of La Malinché in the conquest of the Aztec empire.
However, Tecuchipo was Cortés second concubine (mistress) following La Malinché. In the film, Captain Cristobál and the scribe gossip quietly behind a bush, questioning the current whereabouts of La Malinché. Captain Cristobal says that Cortés gave her to Captain Jaramillo, in turn, questioning Cortés motive to give away the wife of his firstborn. This is historically accurate, in the terms that “Cortés arranged a legitimate marriage for [La Malinché] to Juan Jaramillo de Salvatierra.” Doña Isabel (Tecuchipo) became Cortés second mistress, “…joined the Cortés household and briefly became the conquistador’s lover.” In the same context as La Malinché, Isabel fell in love with Cortés, carried his children, had significant power in persuading Cortés, and translated for him.
Likewise, there are elements in the film revolving around the role of women in religion. Women converted to Catholicism and many dedicated themselves to the consecrated life. In the film, a Native American nun helps Topiltzin with his hallucinations by applying worms on his body as a natural remedy for his fever. In turn, Topiltzin confides in her, venting to the nun about his hallucinations.
Historically, Native American women lived entered the convent to live the consecrated life of sisterhood. “Convents were an integral part of colonial society, tied to “white” society, responding to the needs of this group, and reflecting the social and racial worldview of the colonial elite.” In other words, convents helped native women convert to Catholicism, aiding in their transition from Aztec life to post-contact society. It served as an institutional ground for Native American women to live a newfound life. Nuns would live a lifestyle “…governed by a communal rule and punctuated by a ritual of canonical hours that alternated periods of silence, prayer, meditation, and fasting.” In other words, Nun’s lived a simple life committed to God. They scheduled their lives to “perfect their own spiritual lives.”
However, the number of convents in the Americas dramatically increased, due to “a contracting economy, which made it preferable to send daughters to the convent rather than have them marry beneath a family’s social and economic aspirations.” In those terms, women could not afford to live in post-contact America due to economic status. It was easier for Native American women to enter the convent to in order to avoid financial hardship. In the film, religious order men and women were found praying on the grass with only a few ordered Native Americans doing the sign of the cross. In context, these religious ordered Natives did not fully adapt to the Christian life. They entered the convent to live a sustainable economic life while faking their dedication to the Christian lifestyle. In summary, women’s roles portrayed in the film resemble the historic role of Women in Aztec Society.
In the final analysis, La Otra Conqustia bridges the gap between fiction and history. The fictional film incorporates historical elements of the Aztec empire in both pre-contact and conquest of the Aztec empire. This includes the role of religion and women in the Aztec empire. With certain events being mere fiction, the film emulates true historical events in colonial Latin America, deeming it historically correct in specific areas in the film.