This essay was the first scholarly text to explore how the novel alludes to the power of sacred landscapes and sacred humans.
The ways in which the novel provides insight into the religiosity of Chicano culture were first explored in 1982 in an essay titled 'A Perspective for a Study of Religious Dimensions in Chicano Experience: Bless Me, Ultima as a Religious Text', written by Mexican American historian of religion David Carrasco. Anaya's use of Spanish, mystical depiction of the New Mexican landscape, use of cultural motifs such as La Llorona, and recounting of curandera folkways such as the gathering of medicinal herbs, gives readers a sense of the influence of indigenous cultural ways that are both authentic and distinct from the mainstream. The novel reflects Hispano culture of the 1940s in rural New Mexico. Teachers across disciplines in middle schools, high schools and universities have adopted it as a way to implement multicultural literature in their classes. It has become the most widely read and critically acclaimed novel in the New Mexican literature canon since its first publication in 1972. Bless Me, Ultima is a coming-of-age novel by Rudolfo Anaya centering on Antonio Márez y Luna and his mentorship under his curandera and protector, Ultima.
