Bless Me, Ultima

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Bless Me, Ultima is a novel by Rudolfo Anaya, published in 1972.

[edit] Plot summary

Set in New Mexico in the 1940s, this novel follows the story of six year old Antonio Márez, a boy who meets a curandera named Ultima. The main plotline involves Ultima's struggle to stop the witchcraft of the three daughters of Tenorio Trementina, the main villain. In the novel, Antonio mentally matures into an adult; hence, it is a coming of age story. In the story Antonio, who is witness to several deaths, is forced to deal with religious and moral issues.

As Antonio grows up, he finds that he must choose between the two opposing families from which he came: the Márez, wild and untamed vaqueros from Antonio's father's side, and the Lunas, quiet, religious farmers from whom his mother descended. His father wants to help him Antonio make his own choice about his future. His mother's dream is for him to become a Catholic priest, but over the course of the novel Antonio becomes disillusioned with the faith and through Ultima learns of the broad awareness and possibilities of other gods. Much of the novel is spent with Antonio trying to reconcile Paganism with Christianity as well as the Lunas with the Márez. In this story Antonio experiences many deaths, which force him to mature and face the reality of life.