The window to the soul.

 "I had been afraid of the awful presence of the river, which was the soul of the river, but through her [Ultima] I learned that my spirit shared in the spirit of all things" (p.15). Bless me, Ultima.

During this semester we have talked about the complexity of trying to decipher the origin of Latin America due to its extensive diversity.  How, in the middle of so much cultural diversity, do you come to the conclusion of the existence of just one Latin American culture? Maybe the answer to this question does not yet exist. However, through the book “Bless me, Ultima” we learn that the true focus understand the soul of a culture is through getting to know the people, their traditions, and customs.

It is interesting that Ultima, being the curer, is the figure that unifies the diverse races from which Tony comes.  It is Ultima who helps him then understand his identity.  The figure that symbolizes the traditions and beliefs of his people is the one who helps Antonio understand this in order to be able to understand himself.

In diverse occasions during the course of this semester, I have found myself meditating and contemplating the questions of my origin or my identity, and they have made me doubt the existence of a Latin America that I once thought was inseparably united in its history and beliefs.  Through this book, however, I have really understood that the analysis that are made of a culture or different postulates that come about to verify its existence or origin shouldn’t focus far-fetched theory or analysis, but better in their traditions and customs, and their people.

This reminds me of a quote that Elder Holland used in the MTC for the missionaries referring to the importance to reach the souls of the people they would teach in order to get to know them and understand them.  In this same talk Elder Holland says that the only way to read the soul of a person is to look them right in the eyes, and that their eyes will tell us what their soul needs.  So to understand a culture, we should reach for the soul of it, of what it is composed of, and go further than analysis or comparisons. We should focus ourselves on the people that actually form such diverse culture through their traditions and customs. If we want to get to know and understand the soul of Latin America, then we must look it right in the eyes.