Burro Genius

Nature and animals are important motifs in Villaseñor’s memoir, illustrating his profound relationship with the natural world. Villaseñor finds spiritual sustenance through nature and animals at crucial moments in his life. He follows his grandmother’s teachings on cultivating love and respect for the natural world: “All plants have Spirits. All animals have Spirits. It is only the two-legged human beings who have lost theirs” (98). Villaseñor learned that all life on earth is “sacred” through his family’s traditions.

On his first day of school, terrified of a new social environment, Villaseñor finds strength through his communication with trees which appear personified. Remembering his grandmother’s lesson of addressing trees “with an open heart” (55), he turns to the eucalyptus trees outside the school, attributing human traits to them: “I immediately liked the one with twisted-skin best. I could see that he was smiling like a huge, old white elephant as he watched the kids run past him” (55). In connecting with the trees, Villaseñor seeks guidance and direction to counter his mental distress.

Villaseñor also emphasizes that animals exist in harmony and balance with the universe. According to his grandmother’s Yaqui traditions, animals are the guides of human souls.