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    Bendiceme, Ultima (Bless Me, Ultima)
    Bendiceme, Ultima (Bless Me, Ultima)
    Bendiceme, Ultima (Bless Me, Ultima)
    Audiobook9 hours

    Bendiceme, Ultima (Bless Me, Ultima)

    Written by Rudolfo Anaya

    Narrated by Dario Tangelson

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Una prosa exquisita y una narracion maravillosa han ayudado a hacer de Rudolfo Anaya uno de los mas importantes autores de la literatura hispana. En efecto, los cuentos de Anaya realmente relucen con una riqueza y una belleza obsesionante. Ganador del PEN Center West Award for Fiction para su novela inolvidable, Alburquerque, Anaya es tal vez mas amado por su bestseller clasico, Bendiceme, Ultima . Antonio Marez tiene seis anos cuando Ultima viene a quedarse con su familia. Ultima es una curandera, una persona que cura con hierbas y magia. Bajo su proteccion, Antonio va a explorar las ataduras de la familia que le rasgan y comprometen, y se va a descubrir a si mismo en los secretos magicos y el pasado pagano-un legado mitico tan palpable como el catolicismo de America Latina. Y a cada vuelta de la vida alli esta Ultima, quien le ha entregado a Antonio la vida . y quien alimentara el nacimiento de su alma.
    LanguageEspañol
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateSep 30, 2007
    ISBN9781449802332
    Bendiceme, Ultima (Bless Me, Ultima)
    Author

    Rudolfo Anaya

    Rudolfo Anaya is professor emeritus of English at the University of New Mexico. He has received numerous literary awards, including the Premio Quinto Sol and a National Medal of Arts. He is the author of the classic work Bless Me, Ultima, which was chosen for the National Endowment for the Arts’ Big Read. Anaya’s other books for adults include Tortuga, Heart of Aztlan, Alburquerque, Rio Grande Fall, Shaman Winter, Jemez Spring, Serafina’s Stories, The Man Who Could Fly and Other Stories, and Rudolfo Anaya: The Essays. His children’s books include Farolitos of Christmas, My Land Sings, Elegy on the Death of César Chávez, Roadrunner’s Dance, and The First Tortilla. Bless Me, Ultima was adapted into a feature film in 2013. Anaya resides in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

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    Reviews for Bendiceme, Ultima (Bless Me, Ultima)

    4/5

    70 ratings66 reviews

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    • 3/5
      This was a pretty good book. It touched on a lot of really interesting issues. I was, the entire time, wanting to keep reading.

      The reasons I listed it as a 3, rather than 4, might be superficial. In theory this book is portraying the thoughts and actions of a 6 (then older) year old boy. Yet the thoughts and actions and words that this 6 year old uses...is just too much for me.

      I like the use of a young boy's experience relates some of the cruelness of religion (you know me, anything that makes religion seem bad or unfair, I like). But I felt a little let down that we never knew his choice. Every other sentence in the book (I felt) mentioned the inner struggle for him to choose his mom's wishes, or his dads....and nothing.
    • 4/5
      So this is one of those free audiobooks I got from Sync YA Literature. I really don't know that it's a book that I would have otherwise picked up but I'm glad I did. I found it to be a very interesting coming of age story. I thoroughly appreciate the way that Anaya blended myth and legend with reality and also the Spanish and English languages. It was a very interesting and well written book.
    • 4/5
      This is a good read if you enjoy character-driven books that focus on the lives of ordinary people. This the story of the main character's family in New Mexico, the Catholic and pagan folklore that surrounds them, and most of all his relationship with his grandmother. Over all, it's a bit lacking in plot and the ending didn't really add up to much but it's still a quick, interesting read.
    • 3/5
      The book Bless Me, Ultima, is about a young boy, Antonio, and an older woman, Ulitma. Antonio is trying to fit into the world and find out why he is even there, and Ultima helps everyone, especially Antonio though his childhood. It takes you through his school age years as he wonders about religion and the people that he looks up to. It is strongly Spanish based, and it takes place in in New Mexico during WW1 times. It is a good book that you really want to keep reading to find out what is on that other page, and I truly recommend it.
    • 3/5
      A quick read.Not really my cup of tea.Not to say I disliked it. Just that I find the sort of superstition indulged in by many in this book frustrating.But even so, the book had many redeeming qualities. For those particularly drawn to literature about the American Southwest, this is a gem.Google Books says,"Antonio Marez is six years old when Ultima comes to stay with his family in New Mexico. She is a curandera, one who cures with herbs and magic. Under her guidance, Tony will test the bonds that tie him to his culture, and he will find himself in the secrets of the past. A masterpiece of Chicano literature, this is the emotional, coming-of-age story of a boy facing the conflicts in his life among his Mexican and American heritage, his Catholic religion, and his identity."I was particularly fascinated by one of Antonio's friends, Florencio and his disaffection with God and religion but felt that there were shades of the tragic mulatto in the fate assigned to Florencio by the author. I was excited by what I saw as the author's boldness in voicing Florencio and then disappointed by what I saw as the author's cop-out.
    • 4/5
      Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, is a coming of age story about a boy named Antonio Marez. He struggles to know right from wrong, good and evil, so he goes to Ultima, a curandera that has started to live with him and his family when he turns seven. Tony learns many things from her, from potions with herbs, new religions that make him wonder about the religion he was brought up with, magical cures that worked when no other remedy worked including the work of a priest didnt work. Tony learns things that normal kids do not ever know or see, Tony watches a people die, and sees his best friend die. He says that he grew up after seeing these things, all that happens to Tony is this book makes him really think about life. This is a great book that keeps you wanting to know more, there are secret meanings throughout the whole book and there are magical things that happen, that really make you think and wonder if you know the truth or not. I found my self always wanting to pick the book back up and wondering what is going to happen next. If you like mystery then you would enjoy this book.
    • 4/5
      I read this book aloud to my husband while we were on vacation in New Mexico; it was a recommendation of a woman working at Collected Works in Santa Fe. I loved that we got to read it while traveling in that landscape. Beyond that, I appreciated Antonio's accessible and incisive treatment of the inherent practical (what will I do) and intellectual (what do I believe) conflicts of growing up: I think I would have found a great deal of solace in this book if I had read it in junior high.

      My husband wants to know Theresa and Deborah's version of this story--he laughed every time Antonio's sisters were granted a hilariously cursory mention. The narrator expresses absolutely no curiosity about their lives--especially in comparison with his preoccupation with the lives of his older brothers--but Theresa and Deborah seem to be enjoying a pretty rich experience on their own.
    • 4/5
      Bless Me, Ultima is set in a small village on the edge of the plains (the llano) of New Mexico during the 1940s. It is a coming of age novel from the Hispanic perspective. Six year old Antonio must grapple with many conflicts as he strives to grow into a man in a multi-faith, multi-cultural setting.Antonio has been born into a Catholic family and looks forward to his first Communion, but he has many questions about his natal faith. Paganism is native to this area of the Southwest and Antonio finds much to admire in this belief system. Antonio has a keen eye and mind that is open to many ideas as he searches for what is true. Both world views are present within his home. His mother is a strong Catholic while his elderly aunt Ultima (La Grande) is a curandera (healer) who aligns with a more pagan world view with its focus on the natural world.Being in the Southwest, Antonio must also live in two cultures simultaneously. His native tongue is Spanish. When we first encounter Antonio, he speaks no English. He learns the English language and Anglo culture at school and is such a quick learner that he is promoted directly from first to third grade after his first year at school. He has a naturally inquiring mind that works well in a scholarly environment.Antonio's mother is extremely proud of her little scholar since she has aspirations for him to become a priest and fill a role that has been missing for generations from her agrarian family. Antonio's maternal grandfather and uncles are the Lunas. They are peaceful farmers connected to the land and the flowing of seasons. Mama wants her Antonito to grow into a gentle and quiet man who fits into the Luna family mold. Antonio's father hopes for his son to become, like all Marez men, a plainsman of the llano. This group are a free spirited and wild bunch who prefer the wide open spaces and nomadic life. Alongside this parental struggle to bestow identity upon their son, is Ultima who teaches Antonio the healing arts and encourages him to listen to his own mind and heart. Ultima tells him that he must decide for himself what kind of man he will become.Antonio experiences change as a palpable thing that affects him deeply as he searches for identity and embarks on his journey to manhood. I was transported back to that youthful hypersensitivity to change as Antonio tells his brother:"I don't know--sometimes I get the feeling that I will come home, and it will all be changed. It won't be the same anymore--" I could not tell him that I wanted the castle of giants to stand forever, that I wanted the goat path and the hill to be for always. But I had misgivings, I was beginning to learn that things wouldn't always be the same.Bless Me, Ultima is a poignant novel that engaged my emotions while it wrapped me in beautiful prose that made it hard to put down each night. I was drawn into the story. I felt sadness and terror and confusion. I also felt happiness and peace and hopefulness. Anaya's descriptions of the natural world were absolutely stunning and, at times, brought me to tears. I will not soon forget this book.
    • 4/5
      Bless Me, Ultima is a coming of age tale about a young boy named Antonio Marez growing up in the llano, or plains, of New Mexico in the 1940s. The novel begins with a curandera, or folk healer, coming to live with Antonio and his family. Religion is a major theme in this novel. In the beginning, Antonio knows only of one god. His mother pressures him to become a catholic priest. But as time progresses, he learns of another god called the golden carp and the wonders of nature itself. He becomes preoccupied with unanswered questions of destiny, life and death, and good and evil. In this novel, Ultima represents the good side of magic where as Tenorio and his daughter, the Trementina sisters, represent the evil side. The sisters are said to be brujas, or witches. They perform dark magic and lay curses on Antonio's uncle and a family friend. After losing two daughters and an eye, Tenorio vows to kill Ultima. He does so by killing her owl which is the spirit that connects her to this world. On her death bed, Ultima gives Antonio one final blessing. I find Anaya's use of colorful metaphors, forshadowing dreams, and bilingual text to be simply beautiful. I loved the author's use of poetic imagery as well. For example, on page 71 Ultima speaks of where Antonio's innocence is: "There in the land of the dancing plains and rolling hills, there in the land which is the eagle's by day and the owl's by night is innocence. There where the lonely wind of the llano sang to the lovers' feat of your birth, there in those hills is your innocence". I would recommend this novel to anyone and everyone.
    • 5/5
      Great book very cultural and you can really relate to it. Especially growing up in New Mexico. Many interesting characters. Sad
    • 4/5
      I've intended to read Anaya since I read an excerpt of his work a couple of years back in a high level course about Spanish literature. We were discussing the genre of "magical realism."Bless Me, Ultima is an intriguing story told by a very interesting narrator, young Antonio Luna-Marez. The narrative style is smooth and clean. The story itself is compelling and thought provoking.My biggest "problem" with the book was that the 6-8 year old narrator felt a bit too old. I acknowledge that this is a case of a retrospective narrator looking back with a more mature eye. But still, its not distinguishable where the "mature" future narrator is superimposing his thoughts over those of his younger self. While I have met pensive and thoughtful 6 year olds who ask deep questions, I haven't met one that runs so deeply in such an intense and thorough thought process for a period of multiple years of self-discovery and exploration of life's heavier themes. Even then, Anaya's writing still is fresh and honest and I only found myself jarred a couple of times at the thought of Antonio's young age juxtaposed with his mature thoughts.The themes and plot of the story were well constructed and resulted in a well driven flow of the ~2 years of Antonio's life that we're exploring. The closely knit themes of family, religion, identity and purpose are presented to the reader as highly pressing themes that are bearing down on our narrator but without any imminent resolution. In fact, as time goes on, Antonio uncovers more questions and problems rather than finding new answers. Torn between his father's wild "wanderlust"-filled rancher family and his mother's grounded, earth-bound farming family, Antonio struggles to figure out how he can please each of his parents. This struggle is amplified by his mother's intense Catholicism and his father's free-spirit and Ultima's mysticism. Later in the book, yet another religious influence appears, closely related to Ultima's views, and yet still different.Antonio wants to honor his parents, to honor God, and to fulfill his destiny. Unfortunately, he is constantly conflicted when trying to honor one parent without disappointing the other and he is filled with more and more doubts the closer he gets to a possible understanding of God. His destiny seems to be constantly sliding away from him as he tries to unravel it.The ending of this book further exemplifies its genre of magical realism and while I can accept it for what it is, it left me a little unsettled. That's probably part of the purpose. This isn't a book that wants to answer life's deep questions for you. Rather, it wants to help you understand how to approach those questions and seek the answers on your own. This is a compelling and interesting look at one life caught between many alternating influences. Even if you don't live in a small farming/ranching pueblo in New Mexico, there is a good chance you can take some of the themes and questions from this book and apply them to your own life in some way. Everybody, in some form or another, has some sort of opposite influences pulling them in different directions each for good reasons and with great arguments. How we deal with those confusing moral conundrums is the core definition of our identity.****4 stars
    • 3/5
      This book is definitely a more advanced read than something that would typically be given to junior high students or even young high school students. It is a story of self-discovery for a young Chicano boy. It also a lot of the issues involving experiences between two differing cultures in the Chicano way of life. I feel that a lot some of the central themes are similar to that of The Tequila Warm, however, the themes related to witchcraft are not present (even though there is a curandera) in The Tequila Worm. Since there are these themes of witchcraft, it is very possible that some parents may object to their children reading this book in school.
    • 2/5
      i read this book for one of my college classes.... at first i just read it because it was a requirement but i got to like the book... i liked how you get to see in what the community believed and their traditons and what they used to do about the things they believed in... at the end i was able to finish the book because i got interested in the story and not because it was a requirement.
    • 3/5
      A lot of my friends hated reading this book back in freshmen year, though I kinda enjoyed it. Really, out of all the books you're forced to read in school, this wasnt that bad.
    • 4/5
      This book is really good because it has a deep meaning and shows trials that a young boy goes through with society, family, religion, and friends. HE learns and grows and becomes a man even while he's a boy and that's what makes this such a great novel.
    • 4/5
      I read this as one of the banned books in the Let’s Talk About It series at the Surfside Library. As a somewhat autobiography of byhe author’s experiences, it is reflective of Hispanic lives in the mid20th century. Unquestioning faith and a coming of age novel mixed with magical realism. Interesting. I will be watching the movie next week.
    • 5/5
      Rudolfo Anaya is now recognized as one of the founders of Chicano Literature. Bless Me, Ultima took me right back to many of the things I miss about New Mexico.Tony is six when La Grande Ultima, a curandera too old to live on her own anymore, comes to live with the Marez-Luna family. She recognizes something special in him and takes him with her when she goes to help others in the village, and on herb gathering trips. Tony soon realizes there is more than meets the eye in most situations and learns to observe what happens around him.The big themes are mysticism vs. religion, machismo vs. courage, vendettas which take on a life of their own, and family. It seems too much for a little boy to take in, and in many ways, it is. But I never faltered in the belief that Tony would survive, and thrive, through the chaos which made for difficult situations over the course of a year.Three brothers come home from WWII, and leave again. Tony begins training with Ultima shortly before he begins catechism training after school in the village Catholic church which causes him to question God as he mulls over the other gods he experiences. I truly love this book.
    • 4/5
      This is a story about a young boy, Antonio, growing up in rural New Mexico in the years just after the Second World War. The story deals with Antonio struggling with the problem of good and evil, and life and death, and with the religious versus moral approaches to the same. It was the author's first book, and in a few places the writing seems a little awkward or forced. However, the theme is dealt with in several original inter-related stories, so that overall, it is a well-written book.When Antonio is six years old, Ultima, a local “curandera” (healer and midwife), who helped deliver all the Marez children, comes to live with his family in her old age. The story covers Antonio's and Ultima's friendship, Antonio's introduction to school and community, and his experiences with death. Four characters in the story, Tenorio Trementino and his three unnamed daughters, were essential to the plot, yet I felt that the motivation for their evil behavior was not clearly explained. Still, the lessons that Antonio learns from Ultima, his father, and even his schoolmate Florence make it an excellent story.
    • 4/5
      Antonio is growing up during the 1940's in New Mexico. He is surrounded by family that is humble and hardworking. His most notable family member is that of the family matriarch, Ultima. She is a very respected woman and also curandera. She and Antonio share bonding moments in the book discussing old ways and complimentary styles of healing with surrounding herbs and weeds of the land. Many literary components and religious citations throughout the book. Culture, heritage, religion, family, power struggles, life and death, medicine and coming of age components to discuss with class.Interesting that it would be good for a read aloud in a middle class but would be good to try in 5th.NO illustrations but would love to see a picture. book.
    • 4/5
      A young boy in 1960's New Mexico struggles to find his faith and place in the world despite the dreams others have for his destiny.
    • 5/5
      As a dear friend and fellow bibliophile said to me, this novel is the Southwest's answer to the Southern masterpiece, "To Kill A Mockingbird". Rudolfo Anaya has written a masterfully charming story of a young boy coming of age in New Mexico, struggling to make sense of his dual heritage of plainsmen and urban Catholics The struggle is mediated by Ultima, a curandera, or healer, who guides the boy along the path, and helps him find his own spiritual self. This window into the juxtaposition of New Mexican and Catholic culture, the intimacy with the landscape, and the cultural mythology were just a few of the characteristics I loved about the book. Read it for pleasure, for insight, for spiritual guidance or for any reason you choose. I think you will love it!
    • 4/5
      I read this awhile ago... I forget how many years now, but I was in middle school. I think it was Mrs. Schaffer's class. I only remember bits an pieces, but I DO remember that I really enjoyed it, but could never really explain why, even then.
    • 4/5
      Antonio Marez is a young Hispanic boy whose family is marked by a basic conflict between his father’s wandering vaquero life and his mother’s religious farmers. He finds his life changed when, in the last days of WWII, the curendera from his father’s llano moves in with the family. Elderly and wise, Ultima takes Tony under her wing, teaching him about nature, the spirit, and the world. Tony witnesses the killing of a soldier stricken by PTSD, starts school, and welcomes his three older brothers home from the war. The drama really starts, however, when Ultima is asked to cure Tony’s uncle, who had been cursed by some local witches. Ultima’s cure works, but when one of the witches later dies, her father promises to make Ultima pay. The conflict for Tony is harrowing and bloody, played out in the midst of a spiritual awakening and crisis as he questions the Catholic faith of his family.I cannot believe that I have never heard of this novel or its author before I picked out the audio version, read by Robert Rodriguez. Apparently, this is a classic of Chicano literature. The back of the CD case compared the novel to Moby Dick, but I think a better comparison is To Kill A Mockingbird. Tony is an exceedingly likable protagonist who is trying to navigate the oftentimes harsh world he finds. The author presents the llano, the town, and the people with a vivid eye and an understanding of human nature. Tony is connected to a spiritual, mystical world, in which dreams foretell what will happen and witches exist. Some of the dreams are a little long, distracting, and somewhat pointless. But otherwise, the story flows well and the magical realism fits in well with the plot. Robert Rodriguez does an excellent job reading the story, and makes Tony a very appealing narrator. The only difficulty I had was with the use of Spanish here and there. A little bit of Spanish education did not help me understand it much, but the use was infrequent and did not inhibit my enjoyment. This is a book to be enjoyed, and a delight to listen to. This book is truly a classic.
    • 5/5
      This is the story of Antonio Juan Marez y Luna and his relationship with a shaman/witch called Ultima. It is also the story of the young boy's call to religion. Ultima's role in the story is to open Antonio's eyes to the world around him. While she is a physical presence in his life, she also comes to him in dreams. When we first meet "Tony" he has just starting school and learning to read, but already his young life has been filled with hard knocks life-knowledge. His brothers are away fighting in World War II. Closer to home, he has witnessed the retaliation murder of a veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and he has seen Ultima's magic first hand. The real coming-of-age comes when the priesthood starts calling to Tony in the third grade. It was at this time that a dying man asks Tony to hear his confession. Tony's brothers come home, shell-shocked and weary. Heavy stuff for a kid!There is a lot of imagery, myth and magic throughout Bless Me, Ultima. Ultima's spirit animal is the owl and Tony can hear it in times of danger. It even comes to him in dreams to warn him of the future. When citizens of the community accuse Ultima of being evil (because she has healed people in inexplicable ways) it is the owl that diffuses the situation.When I first started reading Bless Me, Ultima I thought this would be a book for kids or young adults, but the inclusion of violence and prostitution has since made me think otherwise.
    • 5/5
      In the 1940's, a Mexican-American family in New Mexico finds itself torn in sefveral ways, as sons grow up and leave home and the old ways change. After an elderly curandera comes to live with them, the youngest child finds himself involved in battles between good and evil.
    • 4/5
      This book covers a few years in the life of Antonio Luna Marez, from approximately 1944 to 1948. Towards the end of the war, the healer Ultima, moves in with them and she teaches Tony the old ways of healing with herbs that they gather. Meanwhile, Tony's horizons are expanding as his three older brothers return from the war, he starts school, and begins his faith journey in Catholicism. He tries to reconcile the folk-ways he sees around him to the newer ways imposed upon him from school and the Catholic Church.
    • 4/5
      Beautifully written coming-of-age story from the American Southwest. Rudolfo Anaya looks at religion, magic, family, culture and individuality from the viewpoint of a very precocious 6-10 year old. The struggle to gain wisdom through experience while still retaining some of that innocent idealism is the central struggle in this amazing story. Highly recommended!!
    • 3/5
      It is the tale of his spiritual journey. His questioning of the Catholic faith. Very wise and poetic coming from a 6/7 year old.
    • 2/5
      Bless Me, Ultima is a very interesting book about a boy and a curandera who comes to live with his family when he is 6 years old. I do not really like or understand the book because there's so much violence, and killing that a 6 year old boy is seeing. I can relate with Antonio's life between family and social struggles, but besides those points the rest of the book is very unrealistic.
    • 3/5
      A young Chicano boy in the 1940s is pulled betweem his mother's dream of his becoming a priest and his father's of his becoming a farmer like him, on the llano [prairie] of New Mexico. The boy witnesses horrendous events and even has doubts concerning his church which shake him out of his childhood. Also, he is taught by a loving healer to listen to his own heart and to rise above tragedy.