The Hummingbird's Daughter

Huila no longer rises early, and Teresita can see how old her mentor is becoming. One day, Teresita goes to the special grove to pray. As she leaves, Millán follows her and watches from the trees as she prays. Back at the ranch, Huila joins Tomás and Gabriela at breakfast and asks where Teresita is. When they tell her that she is at the grove, Huila collapses. Meanwhile, as Teresita thinks of Huila and listens to the hummingbirds, she soon realizes that Huila is in trouble. As Teresita turns to leave the grove, she is met by Millán.

Millán, having attacked Teresita, leaves her for dead and hopes to flee before anyone finds her.

Gabriela and Tomás do their best to help Huila. They reverently bring Huila to her room, which few ever enter. The People begin to mourn, interpreting Huila’s collapse as an apocalyptic sign. When Huila mutters Teresita’s name in her delirium, everyone goes searching. Segundo finds Teresita on her back in the grove, covered in butterflies and watched over by a hummingbird.

Millán flees south, hoping to get home to Sinaloa and escape any pursuit from Cabora. Meanwhile, Teresita languishes in a coma, and Tomás sends for an American doctor and a Mexican doctor. Both claim that she is as good as dead. When someone points out the timing of Millán’s departure, Segundo hires two Apache men and pursues him, returning with two severed ears. On the 13th day of the coma, Tomás finds Teresita dead.

Teresita dreams that she meets the Virgin Mother, who introduces her to God. God speaks in her Indigenous tongue and tells her that he has a gift for her. He offers her a drink from a cup that reflects the stars.

The People of Cabora are relieved by Teresita’s death. They are not happy that she has died, but they are relieved to be able to prepare for the funeral and its accompanying grief. Over the course of four days and three nights, Teresita is prepared, prayed over, and watched as the coffin arrives and the grave is dug.

On the final day before the burial, five women are praying over Teresita when she suddenly wakes and rises. This causes a panic, and the women run out screaming that the dead have come back to life. Tomás finds Teresita inside, and she tells them that while they do not need the coffin for her, they will need it in five days for someone else. She wants to see Huila. When she is brought to Huila’s room, Teresita explains to Huila that she is not dead. Although Huila does not want to die, Teresita reassures her that her death will be easy. Teresita promises to use Huila’s herbs before helping Huila to ease into sleep and then death.

As word spreads of Teresita’s resurrection, people begin to descend on Cabora. The people of the ranch bury Huila, but Teresita shows no interest in the funeral. Tomás wishes that Aguirre were still with them to deliver the eulogy, but Aguirre remains in the US and has a new newspaper; he hopes to incite revolution. The residents of the house soon notice that Teresita emits a natural scent of roses.

Teresita begins babbling. No one can understand her, and although they try to keep her in her room, she sneaks out one morning and prophesies to Tomás that the next day, riders with an injured man will arrive before breakfast. When these events come to pass the following day, Teresita succeeds in healing the injured Yaqui man, who was kicked in the head by a donkey. She uses nothing more than mud and her touch to heal him, and word of her powers spreads and becomes distorted. Soon, the ailing and the curious come for her help, and she miraculously heals them.

One morning, while Teresita is testing her knowledge of her plants, she opens her window and is surprised to see thousands of pilgrims outside. The shock jolts her memory, and she remembers Millán’s attack, her death, Huila’s death, and her conversations with God. She doesn’t want this new responsibility, but she accepts it and walks amongst the crowds. The pilgrims destroy the ranch, killing animals, chopping down trees, and raiding the plazuela for food and firewood. Teresita asks Tomás for news of Aguirre and decides to write for him, declaring that she wants to protect Indigenous rights. When her articles reach the desk of President Díaz, he is shocked by her claims of crimes against Indigenous people. He sends journalists to discredit her, but they observe her miracles, and she even cures one of baldness. In return, they write complimentary articles for her.

Teresita rises early and prays. She no longer eats meat, and she spends time reading the Bible in Tomás’ study, finding directions from God in the pages she reads. She preaches to the pilgrims and rails against the roles of priests in Mexican society, angering Padre Gastélum. She spends most of her days attending to the pilgrims, healing them, and retiring early in exhaustion. She spends her Sundays away from the crowds, writing articles for Aguirre.

After hearing of Teresita from Padre Gastélum, the Tigers of the Sierra set forth from Tomóchic and come to investigate. Led by their holy man, Cruz Chávez, the self-proclaimed Pope of Mexico, the Tigers descend on Cabora. They bring with them a man named José, who suffers from a large neck tumor. They plan to see if she can cure José and prove her legitimacy.

The trio of Tigers arrives, along with Cruz, Rubén, and José. They watch Teresita all day as she heals pilgrims. Cruz approves of her work and introduces himself and the others to her. José tells her of the test that they have come to give her. The next day, José spends all day with her and reports miracles to Cruz. Afterward, Teresita joins Cruz and they sit together, speaking of philosophy and faith. She preaches joy and love, and he questions this because of the joy that the soldiers find in killing Indigenous people. She challenges him, demanding to know why God or Díaz do not simply help the people instead of leaving the responsibility to her.

Tomás writes to Aguirre in Texas about what is happening and chides him for allowing Teresita to publish anti-government rhetoric. Aguirre responds by supporting Teresita and asserting that his hopes for a revolution are tied to her. Their correspondence continues, and Tomás begs Aguirre to stop writing articles with anti-government sentiment to keep the Urreas safe.

After their conversation, neither Cruz nor Teresita can sleep. Cruz throws pebbles at her window to get her attention. Segundo catches him, and the two bicker and threaten each other until Teresita comes down and takes Cruz to the chapel. There, she explains that she heals people with God using her as a conduit. Cruz blesses Teresita and falls asleep in the pew. When he wakes up, Cruz reunites with Rubén and José, and he realizes that the tumor on José’s neck is gone.

Cruz leaves a note for Teresita, informing her that she has passed his test and is now the saint of the Tigers and has their complete allegiance. She writes back to tell him about the pain she recently experienced after being compelled to let a sick man die. The man’s cancer was too advanced, and it was his time to pass on. Although his sons yelled at her and called her a fraud, the man was thankful to her, saying that she gave him peace and a good death. In her letter, Teresita also reminds Cruz to commit no violence.

Tomás cannot sleep and is startled to find Teresita in the kitchen when he goes for a snack. At first, they tease each other about their eating habits, and Tomás finally asks her why she smells like roses. Teresita explains that the Virgin of Guadalupe brought roses to Juan Diego, and Tomás argues that the Virgin was an Aztec God. Teresita believes that the Virgin Mother will manifest in a form that fits the culture of whatever people she appears to. Teresita admits that she is tired of her work and tells Tomás that although she is committed to God’s destiny for her, she would rather have a quiet life in which she is unknown.

A knock on the back door interrupts their conversation. They find a filthy boy at the door, and Teresita invites him in. He is an orphan whose infestation of lice has become so bad that he has scratched his scalp raw. Teresita directs her father to brew a tea with Huila’s leaves. After some resistance, she convinces him to help her pick lice off the boy before wrapping his head in tea-soaked cloths. In helping the boy, Tomás feels saintly for the first time in his life. Tomás realizes that he no longer controls Cabora and that Teresita is in charge.