Story in a Story: Legend of the Gold Carp in Rudolfo Anaya's Bless Me, Ultima

Summary: The legend of the gold carp in Rudolfo Anaya's Bless Me, Ultima exemplifies a story within a story.

illustration of gold carp (Cyprinus carpio) by Irish-born British natural history and landscape watercolour artist, illustrator and engraver Alexander Francis Lydon (1836-March 20, 1917); Rev. William Houghton, British Fresh-Water Fishes (1879), opposite page 15: Not in copyright, via Internet Archive

Hearing sad music from remote waters is life-threatening

Arid landscapes assume predominance in New Mexico's bio-geography. And yet the 47th state boasts gallery forests of shrubs and trees and lush gardens of flowers, fruits and vegetables. The explanation cannot be found in flood-prone, muddy-watered rivers.

In the case of such apparently arid-surfaced lands as those around and in the small town of Guadalupe, the reason for abundant outputs from sparser inputs derives from clean, clear, local creeks, lakes, reservoirs and springs. Locals fish much of Guadalupe's area water bodies. Hidden Lakes even go under Guadalupe. But they have to be avoided as the haunts of the Lord of all Valley Waters and of the sad mermaid who drowns fishers with hypnotizing beauty and mesmerizing songs.

Insisting upon shared fates may be a life-saver

A gold carp long as a seven-year-old boy is the River of the Carp's protector. He joins brown carp in his role as one of The People's (El Pueblo) kindest gods. He knows the carp from their human lives as believers and practitioners despite stressed nomadism between wild grasslands, as keepers of fresh waters, maize fields, strong animals and sweet fruits, as sufferers through 40 rain-deprived, sun-scorched years and as violators of proscriptions against consuming sacred fish.

He laments all other gods contemplating the way to kill The People. He makes them turn The People into brown carp and him into their golden leader. He navigates all valley waters to protect the brown carp-shifted People from fish, fishers and floods.

Living without thought of reckoning means no tomorrows

The successors to The People object to the perceived doormat robotics of respecting ancient laws and contemporary life-forms. The gold carp predicts catastrophic death by sink-holing into the town's rampaging sub-surface waters. Only the privileged few locals who get to see the gold carp qualify for protection when the geologic event occurs, be it in the imminent or remote future.

Complications unfortunately result from famines and floods. In both scenarios, people snatch bass, carp and catfish from the river. In times of plenty, they sometimes torment carp by tossing them to die on sand banks and to get eaten by crows. They oftentimes undertake to earn blood money by grabbing and selling schools at a nickel per carp.

Summarizing one story within another nudges more story-telling

Book-lovers and movie-goers value Pastura's most famous son's coming of age story, Bless Me, Ultima, as a compelling novel and as a faithful film. Both formats work to communicate the deep truths of divine will as community, empathy, generosity, harmony, sustainability and tolerance.

Separate, similar treatments of the legend of the gold carp, embedded within Rudolfo Anaya's wartime drama, undoubtedly Xerox similarly dramatic images and messages onto film rolls and illustrated pages. The legend of the gold carp, preserved from Aztec mythology in New Mexican culture, yields hours of agelessly appealing cultural enrichment and educational entertainment. Its imaginative vision zeroes in on the Bible's and Ultima's deep truths in ways timeless for comprehension and timely to children's book and movie formats.

In the Legend of the Gold Carp, the People (El Pueblo) fish for carp in times of famine as well as in times of flooding; riverbed in Guadalupe County, east central New Mexico; Saturday, July 12, 2008, 12:44:13: frank drewett, CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Flickr

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

illustration of gold carp (Cyprinus carpio) by Irish-born British natural history and landscape watercolour artist, illustrator and engraver Alexander Francis Lydon (1836-March 20, 1917); Rev. William Houghton, British Fresh-Water Fishes (1879), opposite page 15: Not in copyright, via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/stream/britishfreshwate01houg#page/n51/mode/1up;
Biodiversity Heritage Library (BioDivLibrary), Public Domain, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/61021753@N02/8552033358/;
Not in copyright, via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/6177592

In the Legend of the Gold Carp, the People (El Pueblo) fish for carp in times of famine as well as in times of flooding; riverbed in Guadalupe County, east central New Mexico; Saturday, July 12, 2008, 12:44:13: frank drewett, CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/fdrewett/2669323113/

For further information:

"Aztec Mythology in Bless Me, Ultima." GrAdeSaver.com > Study Guides > Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya.
Available @ http://www.gradesaver.com/bless-me-ultima/study-guide/aztec-mythology-in-bless-me-ultima

Marriner, Derdriu. "Film Review of Bless Me Ultima: The Ultimate Movie Version of the Novel by Rudolfo Anaya." Wizzley > Entertainment & Media > Movies > Drama. Jan. 13, 2015.
Available @ https://wizzley.com/film-review-of-bless-me-ultima-the-ultimate-movie-version-of-the-novel-by-rudolfo-anaya/

Marriner, Derdriu. "Hierba mansa, Yerba del manso: Healing Medicine Bag Herb in Bless Me, Ultima." Earth and Space News. Friday, Jan. 30, 2015.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/01/hierba-mansa-yerba-del-manso-healing.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Osha Root, Raiz del Cochino: Healing Herb Bag Powder in Bless Me Ultima." Earth and Space News. Friday, Jan. 30, 2015.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2015/01/osha-root-raiz-del-cochino-healing-herb.html