Bless Me, Ultima

Bless Me, Ultima was selected for the One Book One Campus campaign at Cal State L.A. The campaign encouraged all students to read the book between March 15 and April 19. During that time, the campus also sponsored activities related to the book such as lectures and discussions. I heard about it late in the campaign and wasn't able to partake of the activities. I didn't want to participate until I had finished the book and I didn't finish until after the campaign ended.

Bless Me, Ultima is categorized as a book for "young adults" and it was in the Young Adult section of the Covina Public Library where I checked it out. It is told in the first person by a child protagonist, Antonio Marez, and spans his life from age 6 to age 8. His prospective is one of childlike innocence that would probably appeal to younger readers. However, the book contains intense situations and complicated themes that appeal to us readers that are no longer "young adults." When I saw that it was under "young adult" I thought it would be somewhat sanitized, perhaps a bit sugar-coated and optimistic. For the first third of the book it seems this way. But then the book gets more intense. The situations are no longer so "black and white." "Real life" intrudes into Antonio's "perfect" world.

The book starts out as if it could be a true story, a semi-fictional memoir of the author's childhood. Antonio lives in rural New Mexico during the1940's around the time World War II is ending. Ultima, a curandera or healer from their past comes to live with Antonio and his family. Their life seems idyllic in their house on the llano or plains across the river from the town of Guadalupe. But their life changes as "reality" crosses the river to their home. Evil threatens the family. Antonio also starts going to school that is all in English. He and his family speak Spanish at home and the book features some dialogue in Spanish. One third of the way through the book, elements of fantasy start to appear. They are a combination of American Indian legends and superstition. Antonio also has vivid dreams that reflect the fantasy, intensity, and tragedy in his waking life. The fantastic elements blend seamlessly into the story's realism. They also have their own logic and developed theory with plausible evidence that make them seem even more real. This use of "Magic Realism" grew popular among Latin American authors during the '60's and '70's. Rudolfo Anaya is a Mexican-American author originally from Pasturas, New Mexico, a town mentioned in Bless Me, Ultima.

Antonio seems to be the perfect child. He is obedient, respectful of his elders, and he does well in school despite being an English learner. His friends at school are a rowdy, tough bunch. The few times he misbehaves usually result from peer pressure and he rarely gets caught. However, the internal thoughts that Antonio shares with the reader reveal a very conflicted and confused child. He grapples with his parents having different ideas for his future. Most of his struggles are with religion. His parents, especially his mother, are devout Catholics yet he learns of Pagan beliefs that seem equally valid. He can't understand how the Christian God can justify the terrible things that happen. He also experiences the changes of growing up. As an adult, I had forgotten how much children grow up between the ages of 6 and 8. These are pivotal ages. They start school and if they're Catholic they receive their first communion. They start to feel the pressure of parental expectations. Most children today are probably more sheltered from tragedy than Antonio (though children in poor neighborhoods probably suffer more tragedy and hardship), but that doesn't mean they don't struggle. Today's world is more complex, faster-paced, and the expectations are different. After reading books about childhood such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Angela's Ashes, it might be interesting to read about the experience of a present-day child. I may have to wait until the authors grow up to write about it and by then it would no longer be "present day." Perhaps I could find a book about someone's childhood that occurred at the same times as mine, or I could get real ambitious and write about my childhood.

Bless Me, Ultima is not a happy book, though the part about the Christmas play is laugh-out-loud funny. The book creates a vivid child's world that has the multi-layered complexity to appeal to adults of all ages.