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Maria Tortuga

Maria Tortuga

Maria Tortuga was born on September 14, 1949 in Seattle, Washington. Her mother was a member of the first Mexican folk dance company in the United States. Maria grew up in a family with three other siblings. Following graduation from high school Tortuga moved to California to pursue her interest in conceptual art. Maria studied with feminist artist Judy Chicago at the nonprofit arts and education center the Woman's Building in Los Angeles. In addition, Tortuga also studied both Spanish and flamenco dancing with renowned performer Roberto Amaral in the late 1970's as well as served as the flamenco soloist in the Layalina Folkloric Ensemble. After graduating with an MFA, Maria went on to work for many years as the principal designer at local carpet mills. Tortuga decided to supplement her income and express herself sexually by doing hardcore loops and modeling for assorted men's magazines (she often posed for photos with a bondage motif). Maria began appearing in explicit hardcore movies in the late 1970's; among the notable adult cinema directors she worked for are Gerard Damiano, William Margold, Don Christian, David Worth, Ed De Priest, Alan Colberg, and Vinnie Rossi. After retiring from the adult film industry in 1987, Maria decided to follow her key passion for dancing full time by moving to Chicago, Illinois and changing her name to Maria Gitana. Tortuga studied with the Spanish Dance Society and traveled over to Europe to dance for a while at Amor de Dios with Maria Magdalena, who was the Ballet Mistress of the Ballet Nacional de Espana. Maria was awarded a grant to study classical Spanish dance with Spanish Dance Society founding member Dame Marina Keet in 1992. After achieving the status of Maestra de Baile with the Spanish Dance Society, Tortuga returned to Chicago and started the flamenco dance troupe Manteca Colora. Maria moved back to her home state of Washington to be closer to her aging parents in 1998 and started the performing dance troupe Flamenco Gitana in 2004. Moreover, Tortuga taught dance and pilates at several local schools and community centers. Starting in 2010 Maria was the recipient of several Youth Arts Awards from the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture Affairs. Tortuga used the associated grant to establish cultural arts programs in flamenco dance at local youth centers. Maria also did the choreography for a number of local theater productions. Tortuga died from cancer at age 65 on November 3, 2014.

Personal information

Birthday

1949-09-14

Birth Place

Seattle, Washington, USA

Movies and TV shows :

A Lacy Affair

A Lacy Affair

1983

0.0

Movie
Bad Girl

Bad Girl

1983

0.0

Movie
Ballgame

Ballgame

1980

6.2

Movie
Bisexual Fantasies

Bisexual Fantasies

1986

0.0

Movie
Burning Desire

Burning Desire

1983

0.0

Movie
Carnal Encounters of the Barest Kind

Carnal Encounters of the Barest Kind

1978

0.0

Movie
Cherry Ettes For Hire

Cherry Ettes For Hire

1984

0.0

Movie
Colleen Brennan Collection

Colleen Brennan Collection

2005

0.0

Movie
For Services Rendered

For Services Rendered

1985

0.0

Movie
Foreplay

Foreplay

1982

0.0

Movie
Frat House

Frat House

1979

5.1

Movie
Ginger Lynn & Company

Ginger Lynn & Company

1989

0.0

Movie
Golden Age of Porn: Annette Haven

Golden Age of Porn: Annette Haven

2004

0.0

Movie
Heat of the Moment

Heat of the Moment

1984

0.0

Movie
Hot Love

Hot Love

1980

0.0

Movie
I Wanna Be Teased!

I Wanna Be Teased!

1984

7.0

Movie
Inspirations

Inspirations

1982

0.0

Movie
Intimate Lessons

Intimate Lessons

1982

7.0

Movie
Jezebel

Jezebel

1979

0.0

Movie
John Holmes: The Lost Tapes

John Holmes: The Lost Tapes

2003

0.0

Movie
Let Me Tell Ya 'Bout White Chicks

Let Me Tell Ya 'Bout White Chicks

1984

3.0

Movie
Love Goddesses

Love Goddesses

1982

4.8

Movie
Love to Mother

Love to Mother

1984

3.0

Movie
Loving Lesbos

Loving Lesbos

1983

0.0

Movie
Never So Deep

Never So Deep

1981

6.0

Movie
Night Flight

Night Flight

1980

0.0

Movie
Nude Aerobics

Nude Aerobics

1983

10.0

Movie
Pink Champagne

Pink Champagne

1979

0.0

Movie
Plato's: The Movie

Plato's: The Movie

1980

5.0

Movie
Pleasure Dome

Pleasure Dome

1982

0.0

Movie
Remember Connie

Remember Connie

1978

6.0

Movie
Scared Stiff

Scared Stiff

1984

0.0

Movie
Seka Triple Feature 2

Seka Triple Feature 2

2008

0.0

Movie
Skintight

Skintight

1981

5.5

Movie
Sounds of Sex

Sounds of Sex

1985

0.0

Movie
Susie's Bed

Susie's Bed

1978

0.0

Movie
Tawny Pearl Collection

Tawny Pearl Collection

2005

7.0

Movie
Taxi Girls 2

Taxi Girls 2

1986

6.5

Movie
The New Erotic Adventures of Casanova 2

The New Erotic Adventures of Casanova 2

1982

7.5

Movie
The Satisfiers of Alpha Blue

The Satisfiers of Alpha Blue

1980

5.3

Movie
The Sensuous Detective

The Sensuous Detective

1980

0.0

Movie
The Vanessa Obsession

The Vanessa Obsession

1987

3.0

Movie
Trouble Down Below

Trouble Down Below

1981

0.0

Movie
Undercovers

Undercovers

1982

0.0

Movie
Voyeur's Delight

Voyeur's Delight

1986

0.0

Movie
Weekend Fantasy

Weekend Fantasy

1980

0.0

Movie
What Would Your Mother Say?

What Would Your Mother Say?

1982

0.0

Movie
Why Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Why Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

1983

0.0

Movie
Young and Restless

Young and Restless

1983

0.0

Movie