Mikel Ruiz is a Maya Tsotsil fiction writer and essayist from San Juan de Chamula, Chiapas. He began his literary practice in 2007 when he entered a seminar for analysis and composition of literature. There he wrote his first story, published in an anthology titled “Chiapas Maya Awakening.” His creative work is inspired by the trend of youths who leave their indigenous communities to pursue life in Mexico’s major cities. He highlights the suffering and the resilience of today’s young Tsotsil people in the face of modern technology and ideology. Other events in his narrative draw from Ruiz’s experiences in his pueblo, such as the public murder of a community member when he was young. His stories are dense yet thoughtful commentaries on the tension between Chiapas’ many cultures and parallel histories.
Audio Recordings with Mikel Ruiz
- Maya Tsotsil writer Mikel Ruiz reading from his work, September 2, 2019.