The Epic Story of Gonzalo Guerrero

I am endlessly fascinated by stories taking place against the backdrops of different cultures meeting each other. I love seeing how individuals negotiate the very different cultural influences they grew up around when they come in contact with individuals raised in a completely different culture. What I find most captivating about these stories is the element of choice: specifically, people having a chance to choose the cultural habits they want to embrace rather than being stuck with the culture of whatever place they were born in.

The YouTube video Sovannahry Em and I just created (link pasted below) tells one of my favorite stories on this topic. Back in 1511, eight years before Cortes launched his invasion of the Aztec empire, a group of Spaniards shipwrecked on the coast of Yucatan—the first Spaniards to ever land in what will become Mexico. Local Maya, however, were not impressed and promptly sacrificed several of them to their gods.

Soon, several more died from a variety of causes until only two of them were left: Gonzalo Guerrero and Jeronimo de Aguilar. During a storm, they managed to break out of their cages and escape. Guerrero and Aguilar split since they found hospitality among different Maya groups. Guerrero found a safe haven among the Maya from Chectumal. Part of the reason why he didn’t end up having an obsidian knife stuck in his chest as a sacrificial victim is because soon after meeting this new tribe, Guerrero risked his life to save Na Chan Kaan, the lord of Chectumal, from an alligator attack.

Fast forward to 1519. Cortes and his expedition just landed on the coast of Yucatan in preparation to take on the Mexica (Aztec) empire. When the opportunity to return among the Spaniards presents itself, Guerrero and Aguilar react in very different ways. Whereas Aguilar is ecstatic to be rescued by his compatriots, Guerrero shows up to meet them dressed as a Maya warrior, and fully covered in tribal tattoos even on his face. And even in 1500s, face tattoos were usually a point of no return. Guerrero thanks Aguilar for his concern but points out that he is perfectly happy where he is. He is a war captain among the Maya. He is married to a beautiful Maya woman. And is the father of three kids—the first Latin American children to have ever been born in what will be Mexico.

The Guerrero story is a wild, and yet historical, version of Dances with Wolves—Avatar in the jungles of Mexico.

Latin American identity is born from the union of Native women and Spanish men—which sounds sweet, except for the fact that most of these unions went hand in hand with slavery and rape. Against this ugly backdrop, the real-life story of Gonzalo Guerrero stands as a counterweight; the ultimate archetype of a positive Latin American identity.

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And here’s the video telling in more details the Guerrero story: