Curandera or Witch?

One of my favorite stories is Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya. The story is set in New Mexico and parts of the book reminded me of things my parents would tell me. While working on genealogy, I found out that my great-grandmother was buried in Pastura, New Mexico, which is where Mr. Anaya was born. Makes me wonder if his parents and my family knew each other since Pastura is a small town.

Today I was invited to attend the play Bless Me Ultima at the Su Teatro Cultural and Preforming Arts Center. Rudolfo Anaya wrote the script for the play and it was directed by Anthony J. Garcia. I was impressed by the professionalism of the actors and how well they portrayed the characters in the book. The play begins with a man sitting in a rocking chair and resembling a young Rudolfo Anaya. The character is on stage the whole time because he is in the process of writing Bless Me Ultima. As he recalls certain things from his past, the actors act out the part. It was very well done and even though there were no curtains to drop or pull and we could see the props being moved, it did not take anything away from the play.

The story is about a young boy who is filled with confusion about God, good, evil, spirits, witches, religion, his father (who is a cowboy) and his mother (who comes from farmers). He is learning about life from the curandera named Ultima. Of course, some believe she is a witch while others believe
she is a healer.  Some of her lines still ring true today. "Good beats out evil or that dreams come from the soul." The owl is Ultima's spirit and if the owl is killed, Ultima will also die. The story is humorous, has angry and scary parts, (when guns are shot) and happy parts. It has the innocence of children and the wise understanding of adults. I thought it was clever how death was represented with a white skull mask. I heard that some of the actors were from Metropolitan State University.

The theater is small making it easy to hear because none of the actors had microphones. I would rate the stage on the shabby side and wondered if there was a fire how everyone would be able to get out through the one door and hall. Aside from those areas of concern, the play was excellent and entertaining.  I enjoyed watching the story I had read performed before my eyes!

After the play, the actors lined up and greeted all the persons leaving the theater. I liked that I was able to tell some of the actors how much I had enjoyed the play. I took a picture of the two boys in the play and had my picture taken with the Anaya character and the owl.

Many of the theater goers ended up at Noa Noa, a Mexican Restaurant across the street from the theater.  Eating with my friends was enjoyable, the food was delicious and our conversations were fun! We passed a good hour and a half eating, talking and laughing. All I know is that two days in a row, eating Mexican food, must surely have put a few more pounds on my body! Oh well, I will worry about it manana!

"Good is always stronger than evil.

Always remember that the smallest

bit of good can stand against the

powers of evil in the world and it

will emerge triumphant."

Rudolfo Anaya