Chapter 5

Chapter 5 is a short one, but several important themes and characters that will become increasingly important in the story make their first appearance here.

Antonio is awakened by the arrival of his mother Maria's brother Pedro, who is Antonio's favorite uncle and has come to take Maria and the chldren to the Luna farm for the annual apple harvest. Pedro serves as Antonio's most comfortable connection to his mother's side of the family; Pedro, a widower with no children of his own, is much more open and talkative than his brothers, and is the only one of Maria's siblings to whom Antonio's father Gabriel can talk. Antonio's mother excitedly directs her children in their preparation for the trip; though the farm is only 10 miles away, it is the family's only vacation, and the only time during the year when Maria feels like a Luna again. This year's trip is particularly special to Antonio because it is the first time that Ultima will be joining them.

As the family travels to the Luna farm, Antonio and Ultima ride in the back of the truck and watch the landscape. Passing over the bridge that leads out of his town, Antonio sees many familiar landmarks recede into the expanse behind them: Rosie's house, the church, the El Rito bridge. In a foreshadowing of things to come, right after the family comes in view of El Puerto, the home of Antonio's maternal relatives, they pass by Tenorio's Bar.

Before going anywhere else, the family greets Prudencio, Maria's father, as dictated by custom. Maria rushes into her father's arms in her joy at seeing him, but the greeting between Prudencio and Ultima is much more subdued, like that between old friends; Prudencio tells Ultima it is "good to have you with us again".

Maria's father asks after her husband and older sons, and this leads to a conversation about how much death the war has brought, and how much evil there is in the world. The Luna family takes respite from this evil in their own world of farming where people are "happy, working, helping each other". Prudencio says of his grandson Antonio, "there is hope in that one", and Maria tells him oof her wish that he will join the priesthood. To that end, Prudencio tells Maria that she must send Antonio to the Luna farm after his first communion, before he is "lost" like his brothers. As Antonio listens, unknown, to this conversation, he thinks he sees witches, in the form of balls of light, dancing in the trees across the river.

Discussion Questions
1. What symbolism do you see in Antonio's journey from his town to his mother's family's farm?
2. Do you think, at this point in the story, that it is Antonio's responsibility to fulfill his mother's dream? Is he betraying that side of his family if he doesn't?