Rudolfo Anaya

Bless Me, Ultima

renee badenoch

Bless Me, Ultima is what is considered the first YA Chicano books. I'd never even heard of it until I went to grad school (partially due to this book being aggressively banned in schools), but it's been on my list ever since. I was excited to finally get the chance to read it this year. 

The book is about a boy named Antonio Luna Márez. His name is important to the story, too. His mother's side of the family, the Lunas (Spanish for moon) are descended from priests, and their lives are tied inexorably to the earth through their farms. His father's side of the family, the Márez (from the sea) are vaqueros, cowboys that are destined to wander and explore. When Antonio is born, the Lunas and the Márezes quarrel over who he will become. The Lunas want him to become a priest, and the Márezes want him to be a vaquero. They almost come to blows until Ultima, the curandera (healer) who is attending his birth decrees that she will bless Antonio, and give him a path that no one will know except her. Six years later, just as Antonio is starting school Ultima comes into his life again and sets off a chain of events that will forever alter his life. 

The plot of this book is very difficult to describe. There's several stories going on, one between Ultima and a man named Tenorio, who is trying to get revenge on her after Ultima lifts a curse his bruja daughters put on the Lunas, resulting in their deaths. Another story is about Antonio's father, Gabriel, and his conflict with his three sons, who left for the war, and came back changed and unwilling to follow Gabriel's vision for their lives any longer. There are three different stories about three different deaths, all of which Antonio is a witness to, and is scarred by. The major plot of the book though is about Antonio finding his identity. 

Antonio's identity is tied inexorably to Catholicism, and the way Catholicism permeates his daily life from home to school. Catholicism for Antonio is also tied to his potential fate as a priest, a fate he both fears and aspires to. As Antonio grows, he comes to be aware of beliefs outside of Catholicism, beliefs held in the land since before the time of conquest, taught to him by classmates attuned to the earth, and by the patient instruction of Ultima. The central conflict of the book is the warring identities that Antonio must grapple with to come to a sense of self. 

Despite really liking this book, I had trouble connecting to it. I think this is because Antonio is the only real character. Despite this book being rife with characters, most of them are not people, but ciphers representing opposing ideas for Antonio to sift through. Desires, pathos, and beliefs of the other characters are not explored, most of them serve just to present Antonio with a new philosophy to ponder There's nothing wrong with that, but it does give the book a detached, surreal feeling while reading. It also makes some of the events that happen hard to parse through if you want to understand them from the point of view of the characters they happen to, rather than from the confused observations of Antonio. 

Gonna end with a couple quotes from the book I was moved by. 

A wise man listens to the voice of the earth, Antonio. He listens because the weather the wind brings will be his salvation or his destruction. Like a young tree bends with the wind, so to must a man bow to the earth--It is only when man grows old and refused to admit his earth-tie and dependence on mother nature that the powers of mother nature will turn upon him and destroy him, like the strong wind cracks an old, dry tree. It is not manly to blame our mistakes on the bomb, or any other thing. It is we who misuse the earth and must pay for our sins.

...

I realized from these two people I had learned to love the magical beauty of the wide, free earth. From my mother I had learned that man is of the earth, that his clay feet are part of the ground that nourishes him, and that it is this inextricable mixture that gives man his measure of safety and security. Because man plants in the earth he believes in the miracle of birth, and provides a home for family, and he builds a church to preserve his faith and the soul that is bound to his flesh, his clay. But from my father and Ultima I had learned that the greater immortality is in the freedom of man, and that freedom is best nourished by the noble expanse of land and air and pure, white sky. I dreaded to think of a time when I could not walk upon the llano and feel like the eagle that floats on its skies: Free, immortal, limitless.

...

Every generation of man is part of his past. He cannot escape it, but he may reform the old materials, make something new.

linda

Truthfully, at first, I did not think I would enjoy this book about a Catholic seven year-old. But I found myself captured by the combination of magical realism and Anaya’s vivid storytelling. Ultima is a curandera, who uses traditional medicine and magic to cure the sick. When she enters Tony’s life, Tony learns her art and gains a broader vision of the world. 

I didn’t think Tony could have been seven. I think his character might be more befitting for a thirteen-year-old. Tony bears witness to extraordinary violence, ~4 deaths by the end of the novel. His philosophical self-awareness is way beyond his years.

Although Tony is raised in an observant Catholic family, he begins to questions his faith when he meets Ultima, the golden karp, and the brutality of the world around him. Ultima holds the ability to heal those whom God cannot. The golden karp represents the other spiritual beliefs which hold equal truth and beauty as Christianity. And as Tony sees the moral corruption of the town and the deaths of the people he loves, he questions God. Is God truly all-powerful? If so, why does he not alleviate human suffering? Is he truly merciless? Why are some condemned to hell, and others allowed reprieve?

This book can be classified as a Bildungsroman. While Tony is merely nine years old by the end of the book, he emerges transformed: from a boy to a man. Tony loses his innocence when he witnesses the sinning (the cruelty of the schoolchildren, Tenorio’s evil, Rosie’s) and sins himself. This straying from the correct moral path is embodied by Tony’s brothers, who, coming home from the war, spend their money drinking, gambling, and engaging in destructive behavior. The seemingly reticent middle brother, Andrew, only stays because he is in love with a prostitute. Realizing the imperfection of the people around him, Tony loses his absolute faith in the teachings of the church. Tony also emerged with a stronger sense of identity. In the beginning of the novel, Tony struggled with the dual roles he was expected to fulfill - a Luna priest for his mother, and the adventurous Marez for his father. In the end, Tony realizes that his identity is far more nebulous than the binary he had envisioned, and reconciles both aspects of himself.

Tldr; interesting, worthwhile read! Learned more about Catholicism and Mexican-American culture.

Liv Rockwell

** spoiler alert **
           Anaya tells us the story of Antonio as he witnesses evil, death, and despair in life. At the end we find that true appreciation for life comes in having sympathy for others, regardless of their beliefs. Through Tony Anaya explores the idea that the best people are not the people that follow religion, the dictated familial path, nor are those that follow society's norms. Instead, the best people are those that are willing to look beyond their circumstances and step out of their circumstances to aid others, regardless of background. 

A masterpiece that I wished I had heard of before. My mother grew up in New Mexico and read this book as part of her curriculum. I grew up in the Midwest, but have grown up introduced to some New Mexican culture. She recommended this book to me. I admire the way Anaya wove together the different cultures of Hispanic, Native American, and white seamlessly into the characters presented. Also- his writing hits upon the New Mexican atmosphere so well! It makes me long to return to New Mexico and eat green chiles. Highly recommend for anyone!

I absolutely loved this book. I'm always a fan of any book that questions religious beliefs and gives concrete examples in a way that makes sense for a story. The writing was fantastic, the conversations were great, and it was all wrapped up in a cultural experience that I know very little about.

Definitely recommend it for anyone to read. It covers a lot in terms of religious upbringing and conformity versus heritage and native cultures.

Bless Me, Ultima

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