Listeners, we're back this week with Rudy Ruiz.

Rudy Ruiz is a native of the Texas-Mexico border, born in Brownsville, Texas and raised along both sides of the Rio Grande. From an early age he dreamt of attending Harvard, a wild assertion in the eyes of his classmates and teachers, but his parents always taught him to believe in himself and his potential. He indeed earned his Bachelor's and Master's degrees at Harvard, graduating with Honors. There he first studied Romance Languages and Literature and fell in love with magical realism as a style. His books of literary fiction and short stories have won numerous awards, including six International Latino Book Awards and the Gulf Coast Prize in Fiction. 

During our conversation, we talked about:

 

Relevant Timestamps:

07:23 - Growing up on the border

09:12 - Bi-national existence

12:01 - Going to Harvard

18:43 - Assimilation

23:45 - Changing plans

27:58 - Chose one path

35:04 - Being a writer

35:07 - I write because I have to

42:06 - Hispanics don’t read

45:39 - His inspiration for the book

53:23 - His dad’s typewriter & his collection

 

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