Spirit of America Bookstore
Rudolfo A. Anaya
[1937-2020]
| short profile |  |
“I've always used the technique of the cuento. I am an oral storyteller, but now I do it on the printed page. “The battle of good and evil is always for the soul.”
“Every writer needs a guide, because writing is an exploration and the exploration is not only for me, it's for the reader.”
“Books are the mirror in which we see ourselves.”
— Rudolfo Anaya
I think [that] if we were very wise we would use that same tradition in video cassettes, in movies, and on radio.”
B I O
t e x t
h e r e
Born in Pastura, New Mexico; at 15, the family moved to Albuquerque's Barelas barrio south of Downtown; graduated Albuquerque High School in 1956; earned degrees in English and counseling from U.N.M.; taught at Harrison Junior High, then Valley High School, then U.N.M.; retired in 1993
recipient of the National Medal for the Arts in 2001 http://www.nea.gov/honors/medals/medalists_year.html
Los Angeles Times Robert Kirsch Award 2011 http://events.latimes.com/festivalofbooks/book-prizes-previous-winners/
Nine of Anaya's books were listed among the 100 Best Books In New Mexico [Jan 2011]
Rudolfo Anaya entry at Wikipedia
browse books at the Rudolfo Anaya Store at Amazon
Primary Fiction by Rudolfo Anaya
browse books at the Rudolfo Anaya Store at Amazon
"Bless Me, Ultima" [1972] by Rudolfo Anaya
received People's Choice Award at the 2007 New Mexico Book Awards
listed #1 on the 100 Best Books In New Mexico [Jan 2011]
selected by the National Endowment for the Arts Big Read Program
won the Premio Quinto Sol national Chicano literary award
This novel of a young boy in New Mexico in the 1940s has sold more than 300,000 copies in paper-back since its 1972 debut; attempts to ban the books
from classrooms have been unsuccessful – so far; the book deserves a place in all fiction collections, especially those serving Xicano populations.
 | Ultima, an elderly curandera (one who cures with herbs and magic), comes to Antonio Marez's New Mexico family when he is six years old, and she helps him discover himself in the magical secrets of the pagan past. Kindle Edition from Grand Central Publng [6/2012] for $7.99 Warner Books mass pb [4/94] for $5.91 Grand Central Publng mass pb [1995] out of print/70+ used Warner Books 25th Anniversary Edition 8x5¼ pb [4/99] for $9.82 Warner Books 8¾x5¾ hardcover [4/94] out of print/used Quinto Sol Publns 8¾x6 pb [1972] out of print/70+ used |
 | "Bless Me, Ultima" stageplay [2010] by Rudolfo Anaya first performance at Vortex Theatre Company in Albuquerque, New Mexico March-April 2010; directed by Valli Marie Rivera performed October 2010 at New Mexico Tech in Socorro, New Mexico performed March-April 2011 at Teatro Visión in San José, California performed March 2015 at Laredo [TX] Theater Guild International |
 | "Bless Me, Ultima" feature film [indep release Feb 2013] Filmed near Santa Fe, New Mexico in 2010; based on the award-winning classic Xicano novel of 1972 by Rudolfo Anaya; a young Hispanic boy grows up during World War II under the wing of Ultima, who is a curandera (healer) or maybe a witch – or she just knows everything. • Co-produced by Wal-Mart heiress Christy Walton; adapted & directed by Carl Franklin; starring Luke Ganalon, Miriam Colon, Benito Martinez, Dolores Heredia, Joaquín Cosio, Castulo Guerra & David Rees Snell Sony Pictures Home Ent. widescreen color DVD [9/2013] for $8.07 full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia watch 1/2013 official trailer [2:32] online at YouTube watch full movie [11/2014 upload, 1:45:54] online at YouTube |
 | "Bless Me, Ultima: The Opera" [2017] by Héctor Armienta  Opera Southwest [est. 1972] and the National Hispanic Cultural Center [est. 2000] in Albuquerque, New Mexico commissioned an opera based on Rudolfo Anaya’s best-selling novel "Bless Me, Ultima" to be written by composer Héctor Armienta, who is based at Opera Cultura [est. 2008] in San José, California; excerpts were performed at a workshop event in June 2017 in San José with guest artist mezzo-soprano Suzanna Guzman; the opera's world premiere is scheduled for February 2018 at N.H.C.C. - performers include Kirsten Chávez & Daisy Beltran and conductor Guillermo Figueroa webpage for 6/2017 workshop performance webpage for 2/2018 world premiere performance |
 | "Heart of Aztlan: A Novel" [1976] by Rudolfo Anaya The Chavez family moves from a rural life to the barrios of Albuquerque, New Mexico in the 1950s – with a touch of Anaya's magical realism. Univ NM Press 9x6 pb [3/88] for $12.21 |
"Tortuga" [1979] ISBN 0-915808-34-X
"Cuentos: Tales From The Hispanic Southwest" [1980] ISBN 0-89013-111-2
"The Silence of Llano" [1982] ISBN 0-89229-009-9
 | "The Legend of La Llorona: A Short Novel" [1984] by Rudolfo Anaya
listed among the 100 Best Books In New Mexico [Jan 2011] • A different version of La Llorona (the Weeping Woman), a folk legend of Old Mexico, interwoven with the controversial historical figure La Malinche, who helped Hernán Cortés [1485-1547] conquer the Aztec Empire. Tonatiuh-Quinto Sol Intl. 9x6 pb [1984] out of print/used Tonatiuh-Quinto Sol Intl. 2nd edition 9x6 pb [10/94] out of print/used |
"Lord of The Dawn: The Legend of Quetzalcóatl" [1987] ISBN 0-8263-1001-X
"Alburquerque" [1992] ISBN 0-8263-1359-0
listed among the 100 Best Books In New Mexico [Jan 2011]
"The Anaya Reader" [1995] ISBN 0-446-67077-4
"Jalamanta: A Message From The Desert" [1996] ISBN 0-446-52024-1
"Serafina's Stories" [2004] ISBN 0-8263-3569-1
 | "The Man Who Could Fly and Other Stories" [18 stories 2006]
Univ Oklahoma Press 8½x5½ hardcover [3/2006] for $12.95 Univ Oklahoma Press hardcover [3/2006] out of print/used |
 | "Randy Lopez Goes Home: A Novel" [2011] A young Hispanic man, successful in the Anglo world, returns to his village in northern New Mexico to reconnect with his past and to find the wisdom that the Anglo world has not provided. He encounters his godparents, hopes to meet up with his lost love, Sofia, and engages in conversations about life with a series of spirits: coyotes, cowboys, Death, and the devil; winner of 2011 New Mexico Book Award for Fiction Univ OK Press 8¼x5¾ hardcover [6/2011] for $13.57 |
 | "The Old Man's Love Story" [2013] An old man living in New Mexico loses his beloved wife. Life goes on, infused with memories and with quiet conversations with her spirit. After a year of mourning, he strikes up an acquaintance with a widow. Anaya's stories are not usually action-packed-action, but you know that you will love the people in this tale; winner of 2013 New Mexico-Arizona Book Award for Romance Fiction Univ Oklahoma Press 9¼x6¼ hardcover [4/2013] for $13.96 |
Sonny Baca Mystery Series
Sonny Baca lives in the Westside/South Valley barrio of Albuquerque, New Mexico,
and is the great-grandson of famed lawman Elfego Baca [1865-1945].
 | "Zia Summer" [1995] Listed among the 100 Best Books In New Mexico [Jan 2011]; Sonny Baca investigates the brutal, ritualistc murder of his cousin, whose husband is a candidate for mayor of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Univ NM Press 9x6 pb [5/2008] for $14.00 Warner mass pb [10/96] out of print/many used Warner hardcover [6/95] out of print/many used |
 | "Rio Grande Fall" [1996] Listed among the 100 Best Books In New Mexico [Jan 2011]; Though supposedly killed in a flash flood {in "Zia Summer"}, evil Raven returns for revenge and jeopardizes tourist dollars during Albuquerque's gigantic fall Balloon Fiesta by killing a visiting balloonist. Univ NM Press 9x6 pb [9/2008] for $12.21 Warner mass pb [11/97] out of print/many used Warner hardcover [9/96] out of print/many used |
 | "Shaman Winter" [1999] Listed among the 100 Best Books In New Mexico [Jan 2011]; While Sonny Baca is recov-ering from injuries (sustained in "Rio Grande Fall"), evil Raven invades Sonny's dreams and kidnaps the mayor's daughter. Warner mass pb [4/2000] out of print/used Warner hardcover [2/99] out of print/used |
 | "Jemez Spring" [2005] Listed among the 100 Best Books In New Mexico [Jan 2011]; After Sonny is asked to help solve the death of the governor (drowned and half-boiled in a spa), terrorists threaten to set off a dirty-nuke bomb in a pristine wilderness, and evil Raven may be behind both schemes. Kindle Edition from Open Road Media [6/2015] for $9.99 Univ NM Press 9x6 pb [2/2015] for $16.10 Univ NM Press 9¼x6¼ hardcover [2/2005] for $19.95 |
Other Works by Rudolfo Anaya
"A Ceremony of Brotherhood, 1680-1980" [1981] edited with Simon J. Ortiz
"Cuentos Chicanos: A Short Story Anthology" [rev 1984]
edited with Antonio Márquez 0-8263-0772-8 & 0-8263-0771-X
listed among the 100 Best Books In New Mexico [Jan 2011]
featured story "A New Mexico Christmas" [Dec 1982] by Rudolfo A. Anaya
read full December 1982 story at the New Mexico Magazine [est. 1923] website
"A Chicano In China" [1986] ISBN 0-8263-0888-0
"Voices: An Anthology of Nuevo Mexicano Writers" [1987] editor 0-8263-1040-0
"Aztlán: Essays On The Chicano Homeland" [1989]
edited with Francisco A. Lamelí 0-929820-01-0
"Tierra: Contemporary Short Fiction of New Mexico" [1989]
as editor, ISBN 0-938317-09-1
"Flow of The River" [2nd ed. 1992] ISBN 0-944725-00-7
"Descansos: An Interrupted Journey" [1995]
with Denise Chávez & Juan Estevan Arellano 0-929820-06-1
"Chicano/a Studies: Writing Into The Future" [1999]
edited with Robert Con Davis-Undiano
"The Curse of The Chupacabra" [2003]
listed among the 100 Best Books In New Mexico [Jan 2011]
"Chupacabra and The Roswell UFO" [2008]
 |
"The Essays" [2009] by Rudolfo A. Anaya, Foreword by Robert Con Davis-Undiano Univ OK Press 8½x5½ hardcover [6/2009] for $24.95 |
 | "Poems From The Río Grande" [2015] by Rudolfo Anaya, Foreword by Robert Con Davis-Undiano won International Latino Book Award for Best Single-Author Poetry Book Univ Oklahoma Press 8¾x5¼ pb [8/2015] for $15.25 Univ Oklahoma Press pb [8/2015] out of print/used |
Stageplays by Rudolfo Anaya
 | "Billy The Kid and Other Plays" [2011] by Rudolfo Anaya Afterword by Cecilia J. Aragon & by Robert Con Davis-Undiano includes seven stageplays: "The Season of La Llorona", "Billy The Kid", "The Farolitos of Christmas", "Matachines", "Who Killed Don José?", "Ay, Compadre!", and "Angie" Univ Oklahoma Press 9x6½ pb [12/2011] for $24.95 |
 | "Rosa Linda" stageplay [April 2013] by Rudolfo Anaya The play was first drafted in 1981 and is set in the 1900s on a cattle ranch in Northern New Mexico. After a hiatus of over 30 years, Anaya revised the manuscript; the play was staged (with music & dancing) in collaboration with the Vortex Theatre Company; the April 2013 world premiere was directed by Valli Marie Rivera at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico |
 | "The Season of La Llorona" stageplay [2016] by Rudolfo Anaya Said to be his first play, so written in the 1970s; first staged in partnership with Teatro Nuevo México [est. 2003] in October & November 2016; the latter event was at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico |
Children's Books by Rudolfo Anaya
 | "The Farolitos of Christmas: A New Mexico Christmas Story" [ages 5-9; 1987] by Rudolfo Anaya, with illustrations by Amy Córdova New Mexico Magazine 8½x5¾ pb [6/87] out of print/used Disney-Hyperion 11¼x8¾ hardcover [12/95] out of print/40+ used Disney-Hyperion 11¼x8¾ hardcover [12/95] out of print/used |
 | "Maya's Children: The Story of La Llorana" [ages 6-9; 1997] by Rudolfo Anaya, with illustrations by Maria Baca Generations of Hispanic-American young people have heard the tale of 'La Llorona', the crying woman who killed her children long ago and who wanders through the night wailing with grief and sometimes kidnapping unchaperoned youngsters. Author Anaya provides a less violent version of the story, one that is sad and poetic and wistful. Disney Press 10½x8¼ hardcover [5/97] out of print/used Hyperion Books 10¼x8¼ library hardcover [5/97] out of print/used |
"Farolitos For Abuelo" [1998] illustrated by Edward Gonzalez 0-7868-0237-5
"My Land Sings: Stories From The Rio Grande" [1999] illustrated by Amy Córdova 0-688-15078-0
"Roadrunner's Dance" [2000] illustrated by David Diaz 0-7868-0254-5
 | "Elegy On The Death of César Chávez" [YA 2000] by Rudolfo Anaya, with illustrations by Gaspar Enriquez Cinco Puntos Press 8x6½ pb [4/2004] for $8.95 Cinco Puntos Press hardcover [10/2000] for $16.95 Cesar E. Chavez [1927-93] Page at Spirit of America Bookstore |
"The Santero's Miracle: A Bilingual Story" [2004]
illustrated by Amy Córdova, Spanish translation by Enrique Lamadrid 0-8263-2847-4
"The First Tortilla: A Bilingual Story" [2007]
illustrated by Amy Córdova, Spanish translation by Enrique Lamadrid
 | "Juan and The Jackalope: A Children's Book In Verse" [ages 9-12; 2009] by Rudolfo A. Anaya, Illustrations by Amy Córdova Univ New Mexico Press 10¼x9 hardcover [11/2009] for $14.78 |
 | "La Llorona: The Crying Woman" bilingual children's book [2012] by Rudolfo A. Anaya, Illustrations by Amy Córdova won the 2012 New Mexico-Arizona Book Award for Children’s Picture Book • essentially the same story as the 1997 book, with new illustrations, and with deft Spanish translation by Enrique Lamadrid Univ New Mexico Press bilingual edition 10¾x9 hardcover [9/2011] for $16.34 |
 | "How Hollyhocks Came To New Mexico" [2012] by Rudolfo A. Anaya, Illustrations by Nicolás Otero, Translation by Nasario Garcia book won the National Federation of Press Women Book Award for Children's Fiction in June 2013; also winner of 2013 New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards for Children’s Picture Book, Best Cover Design, and Best Book of The Year Rio Grande Books 10x8 hardcover [10/2012] for $22.46 |
 | "How Chile Came To New Mexico" [2014] by Rudolfo A. Anaya, Illustrations by Nicolás Otero, Translation by Nasario Garcia won the 2015 NM Press Women Book Award for Children’s Books Rio Grande Books 10x8 hardcover [2/2014] for $22.46 |
 | "Owl In A Straw Hat: El Tecolote del Sombrero de Paja" bilingual children's book [2017] by Rudolfo Anaya, Illustrated by El Moisés Ollie the Owl lives in an orchard in northern New Mexico with his parents; when they discover that he cannot read, they send him to his Nana in Chimayó Museum of New Mexico Press 8½x11 hardcover [10/2017] for $15.26 |
Works About Rudolfo Anaya
 | "The Magic of Words: Rudolfo Anaya and His Writings" [1982] Edited by Paul Vassallo Univ New Mexico Press 7x5 hardcover [6/87] out of print/many used |
 | "Rudolfo A. Anaya: Focus On Criticism" [1990] by Cesar A. Gonzalez-T Bilingual Review/Lalo Press 8½x5½ pb [12/1990] out of print/used |
"Conversations With Rudolfo Anaya" [Univ Press Mississippi 1998]
Edited by Bruce Dick & Silvo Sirias /1578060788/
"Rudolfo A. Anaya: A Critical Companion" [1999]
by Margarite Fernandez Olmos /0313306419/
 | "A Sense of Place: Rudolfo A. Anaya: An Annotated Bio-Bibliography" [2000] by Cesar A. Gonzalez-T & Phyllis S. Morgan — includes article/essay "The Ritual and Myth of Experience In The Works of Rudolfo A. Anaya" by Cesar A. Gonzales-T Univ California Ethnic Studies 11½x9 hardcover [12/2000] out of print/used |
"Man of Aztlan: Biography of Rudolfo Anaya" [2001] by Abelardo Baeza
http://www.amazon.com/Man-Aztlan-Biography-Rudolfo-Anaya/dp/1571685642/
 |
"The Big Read: A Conversation with Rudolfo Anaya" docufilms [2009 & 2012]
Docufilm made for the N.E.A. Big Read Program website in two versions: 9-minutes and 27 minutes; author Anaya speaks, sometimes answering off-camera or on-camera questions directed by Lawrence Bridges • credits at IMDb watch 7/2009 short version [9:15] at YouTube watch 1/2012 long version [26:38] at YouTube |
 |
"Rudolfo Anaya: The Magic of Words" docufilm [indep 2012] by David Ethan Ellis 30 minute running time • not listed at IMDb DVD available on the producer/official movie site |
feature article "A Cuentista’s Magic" by Levi Romero, photos by Miguel Gandert
read full June 2022 article at the New Mexico Magazine [est. 1923] website
L i n k s
Rudolfo Anaya entry at Wikipedia
Rudolfo Anaya Papers, 1960-2004 at U.N.M.
March 2010 interview "Rudolfo Anaya - In His Own Words" at Latinopia website
article “Rudolfo Anaya Shares His Philosophy” by Tom Lynch in the Las Cruces Sun-News on 18 February 2000
Study books recommended by author Rudolfo Anaya (in "Zia Summer" [1995]):
"The Tewa World", "Ceremony", "The Man Who Killed The Deer",
the poetry of Simon Ortiz, and
Joe Sando's history of the pueblos
here on the Rudolfo Anaya [1937-2020] Page at Spirit of America Bookstore
top of page • short profile • fiction by Rudolfo Anaya • Sonny Baca mystery series • children's books •
other works by Rudolfo Anaya • works about Rudolfo Anaya • links
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