Bless Me Ultima was published in 1972 by Rudofo Anaya. The themes Anaya writes of are still applicable today, especially if you are an inhabitant of New Mexico. Many who live here have come to appreciate the multi-cultural influence we live with daily. Ours is a State that offers extreme geography, where we can easily attend church or seek a Shaman or Curandera. Though we are scattered among cities, small communities and isolated ranches, the spirit of the people still shines in times of trouble. Rudolfo Anaya writes that, “The supernatural and ordinary reality are worlds that exist side by side. I don’t believe the truth is out there, I believe it is within. To discover the truth and power within is to walk in the supernatural.” The novel Bless me Ultima has several examples that reflect Anaya’s comments. My favorite is a conversation between Antonio and his father. “Understanding does not come that easy, Tony—““You mean God doesn’t give understanding?’ “Understanding comes with life, “ he answered, “as a man grows he sees life and death, he is happy and sad, he works, plays, meets people—sometimes it takes a lifetime to acquire understanding, because in the end, understanding simply means having a sympathy for people,” he said. “Ultima has sympathy for people, and it is so complete that with it she can touch their souls and cure them---“ “That is her magic—“ “Ay and no greater magic can exist.” “But in the end, magic is magic, and one does not explain it so easily. That is why it is magic. To the child, it is natural, but for the grown man it loses its naturalness—so as old men we see a different reality. And when we dream, it is usually for a lost childhood, or trying to change someone and that is not good. So, in the end, I accept reality---.” (263) This is probably the best explanation that Tony or the reader gets regarding the powers of Ultima. We never truly know exactly her background. We are torn between whether she is an ordinary woman with extraordinary power or if she may actually be of the supernatural world. Another example comes after Antonio learns the legend of the Golden Carp. The myth of this story makes sense to him, and helps him to clearly understand some of the things he has seen. He goes to Ultima to tell her the story and she smiles, because she knows. Tony asks her if he should believe the story. She tells him, “I cannot tell you what to believe……As you grow into manhood you must find your own truths.” (125) The novel is full of events that take place followed by dream sequences that help to put things into perspective for both Antonio and the reader. Ultima teaches that things can never be accepted just as they appear. The whole must be looked at in order to truly understand. When thinking about the supernatural and the ordinary reality of the world, the state of New Mexico provides a great example of the interplay of these two things. New Mexico has been and still is heavily influenced by the Catholic Church. Prior to the arrival of the Spaniards the indigenous peoples who resided here worshiped differently. Once the Spaniards occupied the lands, they tried to stamp out the “pagan” gods and Curanderas. The Spanish viewed most of these practices as “witchcraft” and did everything in their power to end these practices. (Acuna) In today’s society, people are far more accepting that there actually is room for both. Ultima is the perfect example of the blending of the cultures. She is the “repository of Spanish, Mexican and Native American teachings.” (viii) Anaya describes her “as a shaman who uses her positive power to do good.” (viii) Even though Ultima practices indigenous beliefs she is still respectful of the Catholic Church. She sometimes attends mass and never tells Antonio that the things the church professes are wrong. She always encourages him to look within and come up with his own opinions/decisions. Antonio’s parents also are a synthesis of the Catholic/Indigenous heritage. Maria was raised in the Catholic Church. She had an Uncle who was a priest. It is her greatest hope that Antonio grows up to become a priest. Maria invites Ultima to live in her home. She knows full well of her indigenous beliefs but is respectful of them. When Ultima is called to treat Maria’s brother Lucas, who has been cursed, Maria allows Antonio to assist her. She also acknowledges the “power of Ultima” (89) When Tellez appeals to Gabriel to let Ultima try and help him rid his farm of a curse, Maria willingly gives consent. She also sends both Gabriel and Antonio to assist in the endeavor. Gabriel is the opposite. He has grown up believing more in the pagan religion of the Golden Carp. It is more true to his wild nature and of the outdoors. Throughout his marriage he is basically respectful of the Catholic Church; he attends Mass with his family on Sundays and prays with his family to the Virgin of Guadalupe when Maria assembles them. Antonio initially believes that he will find all answers after he completes his first Communion; he is sadly disappointed as things only become more complicated. Toward the end of the novel, he says, “Take the llano and the river valley, the moon and the sea, God and the golden carp—and make something new.”(261) When neither the strict religious doctrines nor the Legend of the Golden Carp can answer Antonio’s questions, he chooses to combine them all to make sense of the things he is trying to come to grips with. Throughout the novel, Anaya gives the physical landscape human features. He uses descriptions of the land and the elements to give depth to the characters and their interrelationships. Gabriel, a Marez, is descended from the sea. He loves the open llano and the freedom it gives. He is a vaquero, restless and craving adventure. Maria, a Luna, is of the moon. She comes from a family of religious farmers, who homesteaded and still live in the village of Los Puertos. They were caretakers of the land. Most of the conflict in the novel surrounds what side of the family Antonio will gravitate toward. Ultima descends from indigenous people and is a curandera who helps Tony in his quest to make sense of the adult world. One of the best examples of the way Anaya uses the geography of New Mexico to define/ explain the characters, occur in the following conversation between Ultima and Gabriel. ““Ah, there is no freedom like the freedom of the llano” my father said. “And there is no beauty like this earth” Ultima said. They looked at each other and smiled, and I realized that from these two people I had learned to love the magical beauty of the wide, free earth. From my mother I had learned that man is of the earth, that his clay feet are part of the ground that nourishes him, and that it is the inextricable mixture that gives man his measure of safety and security. Because man plants in the earth he believes in the miracle of birth, and he provides a home for his family, and he builds a church to preserve his faith and the soul that is bound to his flesh, his clay. But from my father and Ultima I had learned that the greater immortality is in the freedom of man, and that freedom is best nourished by the noble expanse of land and air and pure white sky. …There is a power here, a power that can fill a man with satisfaction,” my father said. “And there is faith here, “Ultima added, a faith in the reason for nature being, evolving, growing---““And there is also the dark, mystical past, I thought, the past of the people who lived here and left their traces in the magic that crops out today.”(242) These few paragraphs bring full circle much of the conflict that Tony has been trying to sort through. They clearly exemplify each characters identity with the geography in which they live. The people of Guadalupe and Los Pastures were generally not rich people. They shared a spirit of community through common beliefs, religions and friendships which transcended their economic status. Maria and Narciso were very different people but they shared a close bond. Narciso was described by Maria as being “…a fool and he is a drunkard, but he did help me in my hour of need----““…That man didn’t sleep for three days, rushing around getting things for Ultima and me, and he never touched the bottle.”(63) Their relationship is described as one of the two close relationships that Maria has ever had with the people of the llano. Even though Narciso lived a life that Maria disapproved of, the bonds that were formed in a time of need remained unbroken. When Ultima goes to the home of Tellez she is greeted by his wife who says, “These are bad times, I am sorry but I can offer you nothing to eat or drink.” (243) Ultima does not waiver she just gets started trying to rid the family of the ghosts that are haunting them. After she has accomplished this feat and Tellez asks how he can pay her, Ultima tells him he could bring a nice lamb when he comes back to the village. There was never any hesitation, Ultima has the power to help and so she does. Money is never an issue. The best example of how spirit transcends economics is the decision made by Gabriel and Maria to bring Ultima into their home. Ultima was aging and living alone on the llano in the small village of Las Pasturas. As Maria and Gabriel speak Maria says, “There isn’t a family she did not help, no road was too long for her to walk…” (4) As they finish their conversation, Tony knows that his mother and father have done the right thing. “It was the custom to provide for the old and the sick. There was always room in the safety and warmth of la familia for one more person, be that person stranger or friend.” (5) There was never a mention of money. Bless Me Ultima is always described as a “coming of age” story. It is so much more. The book is full of the history of many of the people who live in New Mexico. It attempts to make sense of the conflicts between religious doctrine and indigenous practices. It allows people who have never been in the state to see and feel the landscape and geography that make up our core. Though I had read this book previously, I appreciate combining it with this assignment as I have gained a whole new understanding of what Anaya was trying to share.