Paikea, on the other hand, has been born into a family of chiefs where she was supposed to be a boy who could lead. Despite the children both having the same search for destiny, they nevertheless have to overcome obstacles that are genuinely different and change them in different ways. Each young, naive child has an older, wiser, more knowledgeable person guiding them through their search for destiny and their journey through childhood. For Antonio, his spiritual guide is Ultima, the curandera who helped his mother with her children’s births and cured Antonio’s uncle, Lucas. The boy has many a dream, and after Ultima begins her stay in his family’s house, she appears in most of them, especially if the dream is about his parents fighting over what his destiny is to be. When Antonio is confused, in trouble, or stuck in between his parents in a disagreement, Ultima is always there to help, guide through, and help figure out what is right in a situation: “[Antonio’s] soul grew under [Ultima’s] careful guidance” (Bless Me, Ultima, 15/14). Ultima is looked
Paikea, on the other hand, has been born into a family of chiefs where she was supposed to be a boy who could lead. Despite the children both having the same search for destiny, they nevertheless have to overcome obstacles that are genuinely different and change them in different ways. Each young, naive child has an older, wiser, more knowledgeable person guiding them through their search for destiny and their journey through childhood. For Antonio, his spiritual guide is Ultima, the curandera who helped his mother with her children’s births and cured Antonio’s uncle, Lucas. The boy has many a dream, and after Ultima begins her stay in his family’s house, she appears in most of them, especially if the dream is about his parents fighting over what his destiny is to be. When Antonio is confused, in trouble, or stuck in between his parents in a disagreement, Ultima is always there to help, guide through, and help figure out what is right in a situation: “[Antonio’s] soul grew under [Ultima’s] careful guidance” (Bless Me, Ultima, 15/14). Ultima is looked