Bless Me, Ultima

The Márez family goes to visit the Lunas in the town of El Puerto for the harvest season. Antonio’s maternal grandfather, Prudencio, and uncles, Pedro and Lucas, have built adjoining houses in the town. Ultima is welcomed back into the Luna household; despite their Catholic faith, they recognize the power of Ultima’s magic. Antonio enjoys his time in the farming town, “where people [are] happy, working, helping each other” (49). At night, he overhears his uncle and his mother discussing the hope he holds for the Lunas. He senses the presence of witches across the river but knows that he is protected by Ultima’s owl and the Virgin.

The summer ends, and Antonio begins first grade. María grieves this transition to a new stage of life, but Gabriel maintains that it’s natural for Antonio to experience change. Gabriel and María continue to fight over his work on the llano, which María says is useless and poor land.

María points out that when Antonio was a baby, Ultima laid out “all the objects of life” (54) in front of him, and he chose a pen and paper. His father concedes that Antonio “cannot struggle against his own fate” (54).