Rudolfo Anaya's personal journey to Tortuga began one desert-hot day when, as an adolescent, he and some friends were swimming in irrigation ditches. He dove in, sustaining an injury that put him in the hospital for an arduous period of time. Tortuga is...
Anaya shares his memories of the incident which inspired "Tortuga" in the new Afterword of this 25th anniversary edition of his literary classic.