Award-winning author Rudy Ruiz recently appeared on the “Encuentras Your Voice” podcast to discuss his upbringing along the US-Mexico border, his writing, and his new novel, The Border Between Us. The Border Between Us, released in August 2024, captures the intricacies of Latino identity and generational tension through a deeply personal and emotional journey. Departing from his past style of combining elements of magical realism with rich narratives, The Border Between Us is a coming-of-age story with a cultural narrative that strikes at the heart of the immigrant experience.
In the novel, we follow Ramón López, a young Latino artist who dreams of leaving his hometown of Brownsville, Texas, to make a name for himself in New York as a painter. Ramón, the son of a modest immigrant family, is pulled between his aspirations and the responsibilities he feels toward his family, a tension many first-generation immigrants can relate to. As Ruiz described it, the novel is loosely “…based on my experiences growing up on the border,” with characters that reflect “real-life sort of observations, experiences, [and] people” from his own life.
The Quest for the American Dream
At the heart of The Border Between Us is the question of what it means to pursue the American dream when tied to two different worlds. For Ramón, his ambition to become a painter in New York is symbolic of the ambition many immigrants and their children hold: breaking free from the struggles of their parents to create a life of their own. But as Rudy Ruiz highlighted, the journey isn’t straightforward. “He obviously loves [his family] and he’s inspired by them,” Ruiz explained, but Ramón also feels uncertain. “Maybe he doesn’t know if they’re hurting him more than they’re helping him as he tries to reach his dreams.”
This internal struggle speaks to the larger experience of first-generation immigrants. The desire to honor one’s heritage often clashes with the desire for individual success. For Ramón, his relationship with his family becomes even more complicated as he copes with the cultural expectations placed on him by his hardworking but traditional parents.
Women: The Unsung Heroes
While much of Ramón’s struggle is rooted in his relationships with his father and other male figures, Ruiz masterfully weaves in the importance of women — particularly Ramón’s mother and grandmother — as the unsung heroes of his story. Rudy Ruiz reflected on how the women in Latino families often carry the weight of keeping the family together while the men chase grand dreams.
“I think that one of my favorite aspects of the story,” Ruiz shared, “is that the main character’s mom and one of his grandmothers are just central characters that are laboring quietly, and not so quietly sometimes, but always kind of holding the family together.” Meanwhile, the men “are talking big” and coming up with “get-rich-quick schemes” without always having the structure or substance to support those plans. By the end of the novel, Ramón realizes that while he idolized his father, it was his mother and grandmother who were truly “the ones that have been kind of [his] saviors all along.”
This theme highlights the essential but often overlooked role women play in the immigrant experience, especially in Latino families. As Ruiz discussed the López clan at the heart of The Border Between Us, “the men in the family are kind of very macho,” reflecting a traditional culture where men often take center stage. But it’s the women, frequently working quietly behind the scenes, who do the heavy lifting despite the challenges they face. In Ramón’s journey, this realization is a turning point, one that reshapes how he views his family and his identity.
Multigenerational Struggles and Cultural Identity
The novel delves into the complex dynamics between generations within immigrant families. In The Border Between Us, three generations of Ramón’s family represent different stages of the immigrant experience, each with its own challenges. “There’s the generation of the protagonist, there’s his sibling and his cousins, and then there’s his parents and their generation,” Ruiz explained, along with the grandparents who are “big influences in his life.”
These generational differences create a complex web of expectations and realities. According to Ruiz, for the elders, the American dream may have involved simply providing a better life for their children despite limited opportunities, while for the younger generation, it often involves the pursuit of individual ambition amidst a landscape of seemingly endless possibilities clouded by shifting values, dynamics their parents may not fully understand. Ramón’s journey reflects this tension — torn between the values of his parents, who sacrificed so much to give him opportunities, and his dreams of breaking free from the limitations of his upbringing.
Ruiz captures this beautifully in Ramón’s gradual realization that the American dream comes at a cost for himself and his family. “What is the cost of those dreams?” Ruiz asked, underscoring one of the novel’s central questions. Is the pursuit of personal success worth it if it means leaving behind the people who shaped you? And how do you reconcile the sacrifices made by your family with your desires for the future?
Breaking Stereotypes Through Storytelling
In discussing the novel, Rudy Ruiz also touched on the importance of breaking away from traditional stereotypes about Latino men and women. He noted how, in his writing, the female characters often come alive in ways that surprise even him. “The biggest surprises in all the books that I’ve written have been … the way the female characters come to life and sort of start taking over the story,” he said. “It is often not the guy I started out writing about.”
This evolution of the female characters reflects the reality that, in many immigrant stories, women can often be the true heroes, keeping families afloat amid the chaos of life in a new country. And yet, as Ruiz pointed out, their stories are often overlooked in favor of the more dramatic narratives centered on men’s ambitions. With The Border Between Us, Ruiz made a conscious effort to elevate these women’s voices and give them the recognition they deserve.
Through The Border Between Us, Rudy Ruiz offers readers an intimate look at the struggles of balancing two cultures and the sacrifices that come with the pursuit of the American dream. Ramón’s story, while deeply personal and rooted in the Latino experience, speaks to universal themes of identity, family, and the complexities of growing up in a world where different generations have different definitions of success. In this novel, Ruiz tells the story of one family while also illustrating the broader immigrant experience — particularly the often-unsung contributions of women who hold families and communities together, even when their efforts go unnoticed. With The Border Between Us, Rudy Ruiz once again proves his talent for capturing the human spirit in all its complexity, offering readers a powerful and thought-provoking journey that lingers long after the final page.
Speaks from heart, always too passionate and driven by emotions. Spins the words with kindness & sharpness, intriguing your ever-inscrutable minds.
