
Maria Tortuga
Biography
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.
Acting (45 movies)

I Wanna Be Teased!
1984

Taxi Girls 2
1986

Susie's Bed
1978

Nude Aerobics
1983

Love Goddesses
1982

John Holmes: The Lost Tapes
2003

Loving Lesbos
1983

The Vanessa Obsession
1987

The New Erotic Adventures of Casanova 2
1982

Seka Triple Feature 2
2008

Tawny Pearl Collection
2005

Frat House
1979

Never So Deep
1981

Pleasure Dome
1982

Intimate Lessons
1982

Jezebel
1979

Ballgame
1980

For Services Rendered
1985

A Lacy Affair
1983

Plato's: The Movie
1980

Love to Mother
1984

Foreplay
1982

Skintight
1981

Carnal Encounters of the Barest Kind
1978

Pink Champagne
1979

The Sensuous Detective
1980

Deep Ghost
1984

Bad Girl
1983

Weekend Fantasy
1980

Trouble Down Below
1981

Inspirations
1982

The Satisfiers of Alpha Blue
1980

Undercovers
1982

Ginger Lynn & Company
1989

Voyeur's Delight
1986

Golden Age of Porn: Annette Haven
2004

Heat of the Moment
1984

Night Flight
1980

Young and Restless
1983

Sounds of Sex
1985

Let Me Tell Ya 'Bout White Chicks
1984

Burning Desire
1983

Why Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
1983

Bisexual Fantasies
1986

Colleen Brennan Collection
2005
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