Rudolfo A. Anaya, author of fiction and nonfiction books, plays, articles, children's books, and short-story collections, is often referred to as the "Godfather of the Chicano Literary Movement." His best-known work is the novel Bless Me, Ultima (1972), the first of three novels featuring young boys growing up in New Mexico. Written in English, Bless Me, Ultima has been translated into six languages and has sold more than a million copies worldwide.

Rudolfo Alfonso Anaya was born on 30 October 1937 in Pastura, a small town south of Santa Rosa in eastern New Mexico. At sixteen he was hospitalized for several months for a spinal injury he suffered from a diving incident. He drew on this traumatic experience in Bless Me, Ultima, using it to depict the tragic accident of Florence, a depressed young boy who loses his life when he dives into Blue Lake. The experience doubtlessly also inspired the...