Comparison Of Curanderos By Rodolfo Anaya And Pat Mora

In the novel, Bless me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, a little boy named Antonio struggles with knowing what he wants . He’s protected and guided by a wise elder lady whose name is Ultima. But Antonio is the only person that can make a decision about who he wants to become. The book “Bless me Ultima”, Anaya uses strong connotation and symbolism to describe the dark and terrifying revelation in Antonio's dream about his internal beliefs being completely shattered in his mind.

Many people in the town love Ultima. They praise her and can’t thank her enough when she cures one of their loved ones. While many love and praise her, a select few in the town believe that Ultima is a witch and of ten accuse Ultima of it. One of these is Tenorio Trementina, the father of the three Trementina sisters who put a curse on Lucas, Antonio’s uncle. Even Antonio, who loves Ultima very much, once doubted if Ultima was really a witch or just a curandera. Some of Antonio’s classmates have also called Ultima a witch. Tenorio often besieges Ultima. Despite all this, Ultima is still very strong and remains strong until the day of her death. Ultima is also very brave strong. She is not threatened when Tenorio threatens to kill Ultima or when people make the sign of the cross to see if she really is a witch.

“Bless Me, Ultima”, published in 1972 reflects Chicano culture of the 1940s in rural Mexico, this distinct piece was written by Rudolfo Anaya; a teacher as well as a writer.

Ultima throughout the story shows signs of being a curandera rather that being a witch. When Ultima is first introduced she is described a curandera who knows her herbs: “Ultima was a curandera a woman who knew the herbs” (P4 L12). Ultima is a Curandera because curanderos in our world heal people using the herbs they know and find in the forest or plains which perfectly describes Ultima as she helps and cures Antonio's family using herbs as well. Furthermore, there is a video Tittled “The Curandera” which is about a Curandera and her practices as a curandera which the central character states

His parents have ideas which conflict each other when it relates to their precious last son’s fate. Like a hawk swooping down on its prey, Ultima, an elderly curandera comes to occupy a room in the Marez residence. To everyone else in the house Ultima staying with them is negligible, but the bond Antonio and Ultima soon begin to create is the first step into Antonio’s quest in finding his fate. “When she came the beauty of the llano unfolded before my eyes, and the gurgling waters of the river sang to the hum of the turning earth. The magical time of childhood stood still, and the pulse of the living earth pressed its mystery into my living blood.”(Anaya 1) Ultima’s presence alone lifted Antonio’s spirits, even the little things such as the llano he lived on all his life that had become mundane to him, began to glisten with great importance.

Personal ideologies provide an aspiration for a fools paradise. That endeavor contrived a blindness that makes their perfect world, someone else’s ordeal. Individuals might convoke others for guidance to an explicit ambit to discover their own dogma. However, humanity has a type of ignorance in a sense that compels them to force their own beliefs onto others. Distinct mentalities collide due to their own belief of being “right” which in turn causes further separation between religions, nations and even families. In the book “Bless Me Ultima” by Rudolfo Anaya, the predominance of Antonio’s parents impulses him to have an

A clear theme in Bless Me, Ultima is Antonio’s struggle to find who he is amidst two sides of himself: the Lunas and the vaqueros. He fears for his future, where he believes he will have to decide between the two parts of himself, and inevitably disappoint one half of the people in his life. He fears what his life will be. He fears the river. This all changes when Ultima arrives. She teaches him to love the presence of the river, and to love his life however it may come. She shows him that the river is the lifeblood of the herbs she uses to heal and save, and that he can use his life to help others as well. But her spirit, in the owl, also shows him that life, and the river, can be very dangerous (Anaya, 14).

Another example of Antonio's sense of development in good and evil is his home. It is means a lot to Antonio, because the people living in it makes him feel protected and provide warmth to him. When Tenorio and his men came to his house to take Ultima away, Antonio’s father "You walk on my land! That is my business" (Anaya 130). This make Antonio feel that he would be protected by the presence of his father., Gabriel. However, Antonio's mother made home very fond and ardent for him. She had always been affectionate towards him and would show him care. Most importantly, Ultima was the one who contributed to the goodness of Antonio's home. She made Antonio feel as though her presence filled the home with love and safety. It was Ultima who calmed Antonio down after he had seen Lupito die. Whenever he had a nightmare, Ultima would always be right beside to comfort Antonio and " could sleep again" (Anaya 34). Ultima's fearlessness against Tenorio and his three daughters made Antonio feel that he would be safe wherever Ultima was. Overall, the

In the book “Bless Me Ultima,” by Rodolfo Anaya, the role of duality goes very into depth with its many controversial topics. Some of these topics include the contrast between Catholicism and indigenous mysticism, good witchcraft and evil witchcraft, and men and women. Since Antonio must struggle to find his own identity and place he must battle between his family, beliefs, and self. This can be seen between his parents, who’s frequently conflicting views make it difficult for Antonio to accept either of their belief systems, his struggles between the English and Spanish language, and how evil and good affected his innocence.

She represents the Native American minority culture and Christianity as a curandera. She is a Native American spiritual healer who is derived from Rudolfo Anaya's own experience, "of a woman who was said to have powers to cure sickness"(Hispanic Biography 42). The syncretism of Ultima's Christ like abilities are given in two illustrations.

An important motif in “Bless Me, Ultima” are Antonio’s dreams. His dreams foreshadow major events and make him question his beliefs, especially revolving around

Once again I am always fascinated to learn more about my culture and how it links in with sociology. in chapter 12 we learn about different kinds of healers or doctors. What intrigued me was learning more about curanderos and how they get the recognized as curanderos. I want to concentrate on the background of a curandero and how it affects certain societies. Although I have never been to a curandero, my parents and grandparents have used them before. Therefore, I will also briefly talk about how different generation use different “doctors” for medical care.

Ultima is an old curandera, which means healer in spanish, who comes to El Puerto to live with the Marez family after she is left alone in the town of Las Pasturas. When she arrives and turns to greet him, Antonio feels awestruck. According to Antonio, he “felt the power of a whirlwind sweep around me (Anaya 12).” A series of events occur throughout the story which makes Antonio overprotective of La Ultima. For instance, when Antonio and Ultima go to his grandfather’s house to cure his uncle, “Some women bowed their heads, other made the sign of the cross (Anaya 104).” Crossing your forehead in front of someone who is helping your family is a sign of disrespect. I feel that if I were Antonio, I would feel very offended because Ultima is my friend and nobody should be disrespected in front of the people you care for the most. As Antonio grows, he finds himself questioning his religion and comes to accept that everything is not what it seems. For example, Antonio realizes that the people of the town can be very judgemental and will blindly follow anyone because they fear the unknown. Antonio has to deal with is brothers who are led astray by the prostitutes of the town and their unrealistic dreams. After the war ended, his brothers came back, but with different plans for themselves. They leave because they want to be free, but I believe that they chain

Ultima is a curandera and is partially responsible in Antonio’s everlasting life-changing experiences. Ultima is revolved with endless misunderstandings based on how she lives and what she does. Ultima plays an important role in Antonio’s choice of character and identity. Ultima teaches Antonio to think more in-depth about certain situations and to think for himself. She believes that a person has complete control of what or who they want to be as long as they take innitiative. Antonio states, “ I think I understood then what Ultima said about things changing…” (Anaya 246). That statement is when Antonio would analyze what ultima said and when his way of thinking started to change as the story progressed. Antonio also states that, “Many years later, long after Ultima was gone and I had grown to be a man, I would awaken sometimes at night and think I caught a scent of her fragrance in the cool-night breeze.”(Anaya 13). This can help the reader acknowledge just how important Ultima was to Antonio’s childhood and how she still influences him in his adult

Throughout the book Antonio is introduced to many new ideas. The first is the experiences he has with Ultima. Ultima is a healer who learned