In the first half of Bless Me, Ultima; I found a very reiterative topic. This is the syncretism between Catholicism and the Indigenous spiritual practices that were referred as witchcraft, and that persisted in many cultural traditions of Mexicans, and of people in the Border. Antonio is a very interesting character that continually struggles in finding a way out between the strict Catholic rules that his mother aspires him to abide, and the more open and unknown experiences that Ultima offers to him. In a sense, this novel is a bildungsroman, who shows us the moral growth of Antonio, analyzing how afraid he is of losing his innocence, and of falling at the mercy of sin.

This bildungsroman is also influenced by the conflicted nature of his parents’ marriage. Essentially, Antonio is caught between two opposing cultures, each of which carries its own set of expectations and preconceived ways to see the world. The vaquero lifestyle favored by his father’s family highlights the values of independence, freedom, and mobility; which can be reflexed in the love that vaqueros have for el llano. In contrast, his mother’s family (The Luna family) lifestyle emphasizes stability, productivity; which can be manifested in his mother’s desire to fence the llano and build towns.  In this sense, Antonio’s life is hanging between these two competing alternatives. Moreover, I see the continuous and bizarre dreams that Antonio has, as manifestations of the anxiety that this pressure causes on him.

This novel is very creative in the way that it represents how Antonio’s maternal and paternal heritages result from conflict between Spanish and indigenous cultures. Therefore, this book is rich in showing us the syncretism of all the diverse cultures of New Mexico.

One more example that portrays how difficult it is to reconcile cultural differences in this book, can be seen when Antonio enters into school. There, he is faced with the conflict of not being able to speak English. Language plays a large role in his identity conflict at school, where he becomes alienated because of this language barrier. In this new environment, Antonio addresses the conflict between Anglo and Chicano cultures. These are a new set of identities for him to deal with, along with the Spanish vs. Indigenous  (Luna vs. Vaquero) identities.

Until now, this book is very interesting. I like the character of Ultima, and I am looking forward to see how the story continues in the second part of the book.

Pamela Chavez.