The Marez

Gabriel Márez - Antonio's father is a former vaquero (cowboy) who dreams of moving his family to California.

"Hey that's right," he said, "Márez means sea, it means you came from the ocean, Tony Márez arisen from the sea...My father says our blood is restless, like the sea..." (123) - Victoria

Última and Antonio

Ultima and Antonio would go out for walks and gather herbs. 

Despite being the archetypal female, she is androgynous. She has had no husband or children, although she has been a mother figure to many. Because her age exempts her from normal female/male role expectations and because she is a curandera, she has power that a woman would not normally have. She has been active in the public world as well as the private household in ways not usually accepted for women in traditional patriarchal societies. (At least partially because of such power and public role, she is accused of being a bruja.) Finally, she is a devout Catholic like the Lunas, but also devout in her love of the wind, the sun, and the llano like the Marezes.

The Juniper Tree

Juniper - A small shrub that grows 4-6 feet high in the Southwest, juniper is used to cure headaches, influenza, nausea, and spider bites. Indians also burned juniper wood for feasting and ceremonial fires.

The tree where Narciso is killed. 

The Luna Men

Antonio is the youngest son, and the product of a union between the Luna clan, a religious family of farmers from the village of El Puerto de Luna, and the wilder, more spiritual Márez family, who are vaqueros from Las Pastoras and tied more closely to the land than to God.

The owl and the moon

Ultima's Owl -Embodies Ultima's soul, the power of her mysticism, and her life force. The song the owl sings softly outside Antonio’s window at night indicates Ultima’s presence and magical protection in Antonio’s life.

"I dreamed about the owl that night, and my dream was good." (Chapter Uno)

"I knew it was her owl because the other owls of the llano did not come that near the house." (p.13) - Marilyn G.

"I was sure my father would shoot the owl with the old rifle he kept on the kitchen wall. But he didn't, and I accepted his understanding." (chapter uno) - Quentin

"Again the owl sang." (Chapter Dos) - Andrew


"And with Ultima came the owl." (Uno 13) - Erika

The bridge

"The truck was bouncing down the goat path that led to the bridge and the highway." (Chapter Uno)

"When we came to the bridge my mother hurried the girls across, but my father paused to look over the railing. I looked to. What happened down there was like a dream, so far away." (____) - Jessica

Cow

"She was a good cow and there were very few times when I had to run and bring her back in the evening." (Chapter Uno)

Rosaries

"It was hard to say the rosary because you had to kneel for as long as the prayers lasted" (____) - Jessica

"After supper we always prayed the rosary." (Chapter Cuatro)

Las tunas

"¡Mira! Qué suerte, tunas, Ultima cried with joy and pointed to the ripe-red prickly pears of the nopal"

Goat path

"... we called the path from our home to the bridge the goat path because when we ran to meet out father after his day's work he said we looked like goats ..." (Chapter Tres)

Última looking for herbs

"In the mornings, before it was too hot, Ultima and I walked in the hills of the IIano, gathering the wild herbs and roots for her medicines." (39) - Erika

When I was

"That'll teach you," Mami scolded. "Never touch a wall on the sunny side." (_____) - Marilyn

When I was

Ultima

Ultima, book cover

Ultima, book cover

The Town of Guadalupe

"The church rose up from the dust of the road, huge brown granite blocks rose skyward to hold the bell tower ... It was the biggest building I had ever seen in all my life." (Chapter Tres)

Leon nodded across the river to the small town of Guadalupe. (Chapter Ocho) - Andrew

The Luna Children

The Luna Children

The Márez Men

"If there was one thing Horse loved to do, that was to wrestle." (Chapter Tres)

The River

The River