Bless
Me, Ultima is a story about a man, Antonio, who is telling a
story about his childhood and how he grew up.
The story takes place in Guadalupe, NM, which is north of Las Vegas, NM,
in the mid 1940s during and after World War II.
Antonio’s mom is extremely religious and believes that farming and city
life was how you should live, but his dad was cowboy and loved living on the
open range. These contradicting believes
is what Antonio grew up with learned to appreciate both views. His parents also have different dreams of
what he should grow up to be, but only the curandera, Ultima, knows what he
will be. In New Mexican culture the curandera
is a witch doctor that is religious but is also in tune with nature and is respectful
of Mother Nature.
I enjoyed this book because I can relate to
and understand Chicano culture. There
were a lot of words in this book that are Spanish and in fact Antonio doesn’t even
speak English at the beginning of the book.
Bless Me, Ultima is printed in
Spanish which I think is cool if you are teaching a bilingual class because then
students could read it in a language they are comfortable in. But
there is adult language used in this book so I would use this with a high
school class.
This sounds like a very interesting book, particularly if you have a classroom of varying cultures. You could use the kids who speak Spanish to translate to those who don't, and use this opportunity to talk about diversity and multiculturalism in a single setting. Antonio has parents who have different beliefs on how life should be, just like cultures and people have different views. It doesn't make one or another of them wrong, it just makes them different. I think that is a very important lesson that all people, of all ages, should know.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful book to display diversity in New Mexico. I had no idea that this book took place here. It's amazing though especially since there is an Elementary school named after the author here. I am very excited to read this book. Thank you so much for posting.
ReplyDeleteMyranda,
ReplyDeleteThis is a great choice for any classroom library! I think that having a cultural book in your library can really help students relate and feel comfortable in your classroom. The bilingual aspect of this book also gives a great learning potential to your student. With NM being so diverse in culture many people can read this book and either learn about the culture or relate to the experience. Wonderful choice!
Amanda
I'm really glad you brought this book for class to share. I think it's great that you can incorporate New Mexico as well as the fact that our state is so full of many cultures and so diverse. Sounds like a fantastic book to read and I look forward to the chance to read it in the future.
ReplyDelete