Magic or reality in One Hundred Years of Solitude and Bless Me UltimaIn the South American narrative tradition it is said that human beings are endowed with hearing that goes beyond the ordinary. This special form is the soul's way of paying attention and learning. The creators of stories or cantadoras of old tales woven with mystery and symbolism to awaken the sleeping soul. They wanted him to prick up his ears and listen to the wisdom contained in the story. These ancient methods evolved naturally in the writings of contemporary Latin American authors. The blending of fantasy and reality to evoke a mood or emphasize important elements became known as magical realism and was employed to great effect by Latin authors such as Gabriel Garcia Márquez in his novel One Hundred Years of Solitude and Rudolfo Anaya in his work , Bless Me Ultima. Bless Me Ultima introduces Antonio, a young boy caught between different worlds, who must ultimately make a decision about where he stands in relation to them. Throughout his coming of age story, Antonio is torn between the stability of his mother's family and the wandering spirit of his father's people. Spanning the distance between the two universes is her grandmother, Ultima, a healer of great depth and power. Through her gentle influence and instruction, Antonio is guided to realize who he is and his place in the world. Anaya's use of magical realism gives Antonio's story a depth that would have been missing without its inherent symbolism. An often repeated mystical component is the image of the owl. No ordinary bird, this is a magical creature that follows Ultima, acting as her messenger and intermediary. Antonio bases his relationship......between paper......the traditions of telling stories. All storytellers are children of those who came before them and stand on the shoulders of those who told the stories in the past. Márquez and Anaya did not hesitate to make liberal use of magical realism, both as a way to create tension in their stories and to reach the deeper ears of their audiences. Magical realism was just another tool in their literary boxes, to be used with skill and discretion to the greatest benefit of the story being told. It worked well for the cantadora, sitting in the doorway weaving her basket as she wove her story and it works just as well today as we pause from our lives, calm our souls and prepare to listen as the story unfolds. Works Cited Anaya, Rudolfo. Bless me Last. New York: Warner Books, 1972. Garcia Márquez, Gabriel. One hundred years of solitude. New York: Harper & Row, 1970.