Blog #5

Daniel Cuevas-

Virgen de Guadalupe, I heard my mother cry, return my sons to me. Your sons will return safely, a gentle voice answered. Mother of god, make my fourth son a priest. And I saw the Virgin draped in the gown of night standing on the bright, horned moon of autumn, and she was in mourning for the fourth son. "Mother of God!" I screamed in the dark, then I felt Ultimas hand on my forehead and I could sleep again.(Anaya, 45)

Does this mean that Antonio will die? I predict that Antonio may possibly have a terrible fate because why else would the virgin be mourning for Antonio. Also, maybe the virgin is mourning Antonios future as a priest, if this is true then Antonio will not become priest and fulfill his mother. In my life, when someone mourns for something, it is for a loved one that has passed away. This is why I believe that either Antonio or his priest future will die. Anaya added this passage to create foreshadowing of events that will take place later in Bless Me Ultima. Furthermore, this passage shows the power of the Virgin de Guadalupe, she can tell the future, make your wishes come true, she can do anything. In addition, this shows that Antonio and his mother are religious. Moreover, Anaya may have religious experiences such as family members who practice religion regularly and which is why he includes so much of it in Bless Me Ultima. Religion is a very common theme in Bless Me Ultima because Anaya uses religion to create the characters of Bless Me Ultima. Without religion then Tony's parents would not have their differences and be such distinct characters.