Tierra, Agua y La Gente 

A Taoseño Movie Series 

Bless Me Ultima

Film followed by panel discussion w/ community experts

FRI, November 7 | 7pm

2013 | War / Drama | Starring Miriam Colon | 1h46m | PG-13

Click Here for Tickets

Based on acclaimed author Rudolfo Anaya’s novel, BLESS ME, ULTIMA is a turbulent coming-of-age story about a young boy growing up in New Mexico during World War II. Young Antonio must learn to reconcile external conflicts—balancing his father’s nomadic vaquero life with his mother’s settled, farming life, and his own developing sense of self. The pronounced tension between curandera Ultima’s mystical folklore and the Catholic church also play a huge part in Antonio’s grappling with questions about his destiny. After the film, the panelists will explore the role of the bruja, the partera and curanderismo in Hispanic culture.

About the Panelists:

Dr. Kathryn M. Córdova is a resident of El Prado and Co-President of the El Prado Community Center Board. She is a retired educator, having taught Language Arts, Social Studies, Communication and Journalism and Education  from grades one to university graduate level. Dr. Cordova also enjoys a career as a writer and past editor for curriculum, grants, magazines, newspapers, books and other materials. The mother of three participated in local, state and national press women endeavors and many community organizations. She has received awards for her work in education, writing and community work. She is the widow of the late Arsenio Córdova.

Erica Vigil Flores

Erica Vigil-Flores (Obsidian Jaguar), RN, BSN, grew up in Chimayó, New Mexico and still calls Chimayó home. Her ancestors hail from many lands, but predominantly of the Tewa people of the Tsi-Mayoh mountain in Chimayó. Erica has been studying Curanderismo for several years, which includes 2 years of study at the University of New Mexico where she graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Nursing. She has a background in specialty nursing in both labor and delivery and hospice. Aside from traditional healing Erica also practices traditional Spanish Colonial artwork since the age of five and has found her specialty in retablos. With her background in nursing, deep roots in the Chimayó community, ancestral knowledge, and the calling to heal, it is her mission to combine these gifts to better serve her community and all those who wish to heal themselves.

Melina V. Vizcaíno-Alemán is an Associate Professor in the Department of English Language and Literature at UNM, where she teaches in American Literary Studies and specializes in twentieth-century ethnic, Southwestern, and Chicanx literatures and cultural studies. She has published a book as well as several writings on Mexican American literature, critical regionalism, and Chicana art. She worked with Mr. Anaya for several years to host The Rudolfo and Patricia Lecture on the Literature of the Southwest, which celebrated its tenth annual lecture in 2021. She worked for many years to see the dedication of The Rudolfo Anaya Sala in Zimmerman Library on October 17, 2024, which she worked to approve and curate with the library and the Anaya family. She is a Lobo for life and graduated with her BA, MA, and PhD from the Dept. of American Studies at UNM.