Lost his eye to an owl

It [Ultima's owl] hurled itself on Tenorio, and the sharp talons gouged out one eye from the face of the evil man. (140) - Victoria

Tenorio

"... one of the men scream, I recognized the evil voice of Tenorio" (87) - Marilyn

One-eyed Man

Luna

Mi madre no era mujer de ahi; era hija de un campesino. No podia apreciar la belleza del llano y le era imposible comprender a los hombres todos que se pasaban la mitad de la vida montados a caballo. (_____) Fidel

Freedom

"He cursed the weak-willed men of the town who did not understand the freedom a man of the llano must have," (_____) - Quentin

" Ah, there is no freedom like freedom of the llano" (188) - Marilyn G.

Freedom

"Some how the horse was very close to the spirit of the man, and so the horse was allowed to roam free and no vaquero on that llano would throw a lazo on that horse." (2) - Jessica

"horse shouted and jumped on me" (146) - Marilyn

Ultima vivia sin compañia en la soledad del ancho llano. Mi madre no era mujer de ahi; era hija de un campesino. No podia apreciar la belleza del llano u le era imposible comprender a los hombres toscos que se pasaban la mitad de la vida montados a caballo. (_____) - Fidel

Owl in the Snow

"The snow would melt then the wind would freeze the water into ice" (147) - Marilyn

Preocupado por la seguridad de Ultima y acalenturado por el frio, batalle para no perderlo de vista, porque en la espesa nieve, una persona desaparicia rapidamente. Segui a la silueta que tropezaba frente a mi, y entre las rafagas de viento podia oirlo hablar en voz baja sobre la amenaza de Tenorio y como prevenir a Ultima. Dio vuelta en el camino de la iglesia y fue hacia el puente. Pense que sus intenciones si eran las de ir hasta la casa de mi padre, pero cuando llego a la casa de Rosie, se detuvo frente a la reja llena de nieve. (_____) -  Fidel

Flying Owl

"My heart was pounding and my lungs hurt, but a calmness had come over the moonlit night when I heard he hooting of Ultima's owl" (23). - Jessica

En el enebro grande, donde la loma bajaba hacia el puente, escuché a la lechuza de Ultima. Sabía que era su lechuza porque estaba cantando a la luz del día. (____) - Fidel

Ultima Article by Raymond J. Rodrigues

Raymond J. Rodrigues

SOURCE: Rodrigues, Raymond J. Review of Bless Me, Ultima,by Rudolfo A. Anaya. English Journal 65, no. 1 (January 1976): 63-4.

[In the following review, Rodrigues comments that "Bless Me, Ultima is an important contribution to literature in a pluralistic United States."]

Bless Me, Ultima portrays the conflicts which result from the changes wrought by forces outside one's culture. Ultima, a curandera or healer, living with the boy Antonio Marez and his family, introduces Antonio to mysteries of faith and nature. Antonio's parents each want different futures for their son. His mother, from a family of farmers, wants him to be a priest. His father, who reflects his background of free horsemen or vaqueros,dreams of the time when he and his sons, the oldest three having left to fight in World War II, can move to California and become wealthy. But the father does not count on the influence of war and travel upon those who have left their homes. The novel reveals numerous conflicts: those caused by the differing backgrounds of the parents, the forces of evil vs. those of good, the encroachment of the outside world upon the life of a rural community, organized religion vs. individual beliefs, the dreams of the old vs. those of the young, and Antonio's seeing the world as a beautiful place, yet filled with horrors.

Tuna

The red flower of a cactus.

Working the fields - the Luna family

A community of farmers ruled over by a priest, she firmly believed, was the true way of life. - Quentin

Ultima era curandera, sabia de hierbas y remedios de los antepasados. (______) - Fidel