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            Rudolfo Anaya, a writer and college professor, was born on October 30th, 1937 in New Mexico. He was born to Martin and Rafaelita Anaya. His father was from a family of vaqueros from the ranches that surrounded the town of Pastura. His mother, on the other hand, was from a family of poor, devout, Catholic farmers. He was the fifth of seven children. He was raised catholic and often asked complex questions about his religion.

            During his childhood, Anaya did not seek to become a writer. In 1956, after graduating from Albuquerque High School, Anaya attended business school with the intention of becoming an accountant. However, he felt that his studies were irrelevant to his culture and he felt foreign in that environment. Much stress from moving into the transition of adulthood led him to write.

            However, finding his literary voice was difficult. During the 1960s, while teaching junior high, he toggled between his job and writing in the evenings. That is when a vision of an old woman, a healer, dressed in black led to the inspiration of his first novel, Bless Me, Ultima.

            His work was well underway but finding a publisher was difficult. Since his writing included a combination of the English and Spanish language, not many publishers were interested in such type of novel. Nevertheless, Anaya was not about to give up. He came across an advertisement of a small press in California that invited authors to submit their writings. Without hesitation, he submitted his manuscript and the press agreed to publish it.

            The social factors of the time made it difficult for Anaya to get a start but he was not about to give up. Since, he has had many other novels like Tortuga, Heart of Aztlan, and Alburquerque.

            With his first novel alone, Rudolfo Anaya gained many literary awards.