Aurita Maldonado is a Puerto Rican US Army veteran, Purple Heart recipient, award winning author, and Afro Latín dance instructor who has danced intimately with Death.
She served more than 8 years in the military including two combat tours to Iraq and Afganistan. After a 200 lb. IED exploded directly under her vehicle and 3 rounds hit her pack, she chose to simplify her life and follow her dreams.
She moved to Haines, AK in 2010 to become a rafting guide in the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve and face her PTSD while running Through the wilderness.
In 2012, she contracted a serious case of rat lungworm, which paralyzed her from the waist down, leaving her in a wheelchair with neuropathy over her entire body.
Aurita was told she would not walk again, But they misjudged her determination. Her inspirational recovery is featured on Animal Planet's show: Monsters Inside Me season 5 episode 1.
In 2017 Aurita moved to the 24-mile island of Vieques to teach salsa, but Hurricane María hit and shifted her focus to survival.
She was pregnant with no electricity, water, nor communication. Her story was featured in the award winning documentary, Broken Worlds: The Island (Vieques).
Rita's Island, another award winning short documentary, features her story.
Her story was also featured in CNN Special Reports "Storm of Controversy: What Really Happened in Puerto Rico," Hosted by Bill Weir a year after Hurricane María.
Today she continues to reside in Vieques with her two children. While pregnant with her daughter, she lost the father of her children suddenly to a heart attack, but she continued their dream and runs an organic farm, La Finca Infinidad.
She is the director of Tropical Storm Dance Co and teaches salsa, bachata, zumba and Latín Fusión Aerobics...All with a side of inspiration.
