by Rudolfo Anaya
Bless Me, Ultima is the story of Antonio Marez and begins when he is just six years old. In the opening of the novel, Ultima (a curandera - one who uses herbs and magic to heal) joins his family. The plot deals with Antonio's coming of age. Along his ordeal he has Ultima to guide him through his tough and inquisitive times. She helps him on his quest, understanding him, teaching him, guiding him, and giving him courage to face his own ordeals. Tony faces growing up under his mother, a Luna, and his father, a Marez. The Luna heritage is one of farming and priesthood, and Tony's mother dreams of him some day being a priest since there has not been one in the family for quite some time. Marez, like la Mar (the sea) from which the name comes, is ever-changing and turbulent. His father's family were vaqueros who travelled upon the llano and did not like to settle down. His father dreams of Tony joining him in heading west into California. Antonio is torn between these two forces guiding him. The story deals with his questioning of religion, of life, of his heritage. With Ultima giving him guidance, he faces all the forces in his life to create himself, a mesh of everything he has dealt with.
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