For young Ramón Lopez, home is the space between two countries.
He goes to school in Texas, has family in Mexico and has his sights set on a bright future in New York City. Ramón may be a fictional character, but as the ambitious protagonist of Wellesley-based author Rudy Ruiz’s new novel “The Border Between Us,” he serves as a mirror for countless children growing up along the U.S.-Mexico border with an American dream.
The novel, set in the 1970s, is “autobiographically inspired” by Ruiz’s own coming-of-age, which he split between Matamoros, Mexico, and Brownsville, Texas. Over the course of 10 years, he wrote down his children’s favorite stories about his upbringing, hoping to make them accessible for a wider audience.
“I adapted real-life circumstances, experiences, observations, family dynamics and fictionalized them to explore topics that are as important today and relevant today as they were 50 years ago,” Ruiz said.
With a focus on growing up Mexican American, “The Border Between Us” stands as a document of a more harmonious period along the U.S.-Mexico border. Ruiz, who grew up bilingual, illustrates the rich cultural exchange of Ramón’s childhood by incorporating both English and Spanish into his writing.
“One thing that I’ve always wanted to do in my work is be authentic, be genuine ... and true to the people I’m trying to bring to life on the page, the people that I want to see reflected when they read the work,” Ruiz said. “And part of that to me is language.”
“The Border Between Us,” while written for adults, utilizes these bonds between language, nationality and humanity to produce a “universal” narrative for people of all ages. And although the novel’s open-ended conclusion culminates with Ramón entering adulthood, Ruiz said his journey is far from over.
“The reason I left the ending as I left it is because I feel like for most readers, our life is always in the making, and no matter what age we are — no matter what phase of life we’re in — we’re not done yet,” Ruiz said.
This journey is especially relevant to immigrants today, as deportations and increased politicization have caused rapid change along the modern U.S.-Mexico border. Still, Ruiz hopes his novel inspires readers of all backgrounds to find similarities in their American experiences.
“When we dive into stories that are steeped in a culture that is not our own, that to me has always been the most fascinating aspect of that experience,” Ruiz said. “And if we can keep finding those forms of empathy and build those bridges of understanding between different communities, that’s going to make us all happier and a better country to live in.”
Guest
- Rudy Ruiz, author of “The Border Between Us”
