Anaya, Rudolfo A.

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Photo by Cynthia Farah Haines. Part of Writers of the Southwest Collection, PICT 986-008.

Rudolfo Anaya was born to Martín and Rafaelita Mares Anaya on October 30, 1937 in Pastura, New Mexico. He attended public schools in Santa Rosa and Albuquerque. A student in the English Department at the University of New Mexico, he earned a B.A. in 1963 and an M.A. in 1968. In 1972 he earned a second M.A. in guidance and counseling, also from the University of New Mexico. Anaya married Patricia Lawless in 1966. After teaching in Albuquerque public schools from 1963-1970, he became director of counseling at the University of Albuquerque. He began teaching in the English Department at the University of New Mexico in 1974 where he remained until he retired in 1993.

Anaya achieved national recognition and an international reputation as a prominent author of Chicano literature. Since the publication of his first and best known novel, Bless Me, Última in 1972, he has produced a large body of work including: Heart of Aztlán, Tortuga, Alburquerque, Zia Summer, Rio Grande Fall, Shaman Winter, The Legend of La Llorona and short stories, plays, poetry, essays, and anthologies. He has also written the lyrics for an opera based on the legend of La Llorona.

Rudolfo Anaya has received many awards and honors. These include the New Mexico Endowment for the Humanities Lifetime Achievement in the Humanities Award, the Mexican Medal of Friendship, an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters Degree from the University of Albuquerque, and the Governor's Award for Literature. In 2002, Anaya was awarded the National Medal of Arts for his "exceptional contribution to contemporary American literature that has brought national recognition to the traditions of the Chicano people, and for his efforts to promote Hispanic writers."

From the guide to the Rudolfo A. Anaya Papers, 1960-2004, (Center for Southwest Research, University of New Mexico.)

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Jorge Huerta Papers, 1964-2008 Mandeville Special Collections Library
referencedIn David Dunaway Writing the Southwest research and recordings, 1976-2005 The University of New Mexico, University Libraries, Center for SouthwestResearch
referencedIn Phyllis S. Morgan Papers Regarding A Sense of Place, 1972-2004 The University of New Mexico, University Libraries, Center for SouthwestResearch
referencedIn Oscar Lozoya Photograph Collection, 1994-2000 The University of New Mexico, University Libraries, Center for SouthwestResearch
referencedIn Juan Bruce-Novoa Papers BENSON-MS BRUCE-NOVOA. 22946235., 1973- Benson Latin American Collection, General Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin
creatorOf Rudolfo A. Anaya Papers, 1960-2004 The University of New Mexico, University Libraries, Center for SouthwestResearch
referencedIn Cynthia Farah Writers of the Southwest Photograph Collection, 1980-1988 The University of New Mexico, University Libraries, Center for SouthwestResearch
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Bruce-Novoa, 1944- person
associatedWith Dunaway, David King person
associatedWith Farah, Cynthia, 1949- person
associatedWith Huerta, Jorge A. person
associatedWith Lozoya, Oscar person
associatedWith Morgan, Phyllis S., 1936- person
Place Name Admin Code Country
New Mexico
Subject
Authors, American
Novelists, American
Hispanic American literature (Spanish)
Hispanic American men
Mexican American authors
Mexican American literature (Spanish)
Mexican Americans in literature
Occupation
Writer, Prose, Fiction and Nonfiction
Activity

Person

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