Meet Camila Robles Ruiz, a change-maker and actor committed to social justice as well as a 2022 recipient of Campus Compact’s prestigious Newman Civic Fellowship. The fellowship recognizes students who demonstrate motivation for long-term civic engagement in addressing issues of inequality and political polarization. During their fellowship year, students can engage in collaborative action projects on campus to create long-term social change.
The honor is well-deserved. Robles Ruiz is a senior theatre arts major and double minor in Spanish and Chicana Chicano/Latina Latino studies at Loyola Marymount University. During her time at LMU, Robles Ruiz’s interests have intersected between theatre, social justice, Spanish and Latinx studies. She is planning to lead a project titled “A Safe Space for Latinx Storytellers” where students can discuss and debunk different topics surrounding identity in the Latinx community. She also plans to host an all arts festival in the spring of 2023, in which Latinx artists can share their work with the LMU community.
Robles Ruiz played Melida Ruiz in LMU Theatre Arts’s production of “Detained” by Francoise Benson and played Abuela Claudia in LMU’s production of “In the Heights” by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Her role in “Detained” was Robles Ruiz’s first introduction to social justice theater and sparked her passion for immigration justice. Meanwhile, her role in “In the Heights” prompted her to explore what it means to be a Latina and the distinction between race and ethnicity. Born in Lima, Peru, Robles Ruiz and grew up in Rockville, Maryland where she became more in tune with Peruvian culture, but also struggled with her identity and the portrayal of Latin culture around her.
“In my linguistics classes, I became absolutely fascinated about how different regions of a single country speak Spanish,” Robles Ruiz said. “We discussed the different types of Spanish in Peru as it relates to the distribution of wealth in various regions and the relation to social justice. It made me so frustrated about so many social issues and motivated me to find new ways to make needed changes.”
Robles Ruiz studied abroad in Germany this spring semester where she has gained an appreciation for political and social theater. “American theater tends to circle around social issues, where a lot of European theatre and German theatre is more upfront about the causes,” Robles Ruiz said. “You’re confronting social justice head on while watching such beautiful art that touches on such a deep issue.”
Clinical Assistant Professor Neno Pervan accompanied the theatre arts study abroad program in Germany. Pervan has watched Robles Ruiz gain confidence as both an actor and student. “While studying Brecht and political theatre during our visit to Berlin, Cami’s ideas about how to utilize theatre arts as a valuable tool to fight against injustice resonated strongly with the entire group,” he said. “I expect Cami to become a serious force in the fields of political theatre and social justice as she continues her education and professional and personal growth.”
Robles Ruiz is interested in pursuing directing in the future and said the exercises she’s learning abroad are giving her ideas for ways to lead a cast in character discovery and exploration. “When I’m in class, I am so inspired as an actor, director, and educator, and I want to find a career that focuses on social justice theatre and Latinx culture,” Robles Ruiz said. “I love theater where you’re feeling every single emotion at once and it takes you days to process. I want to help others experience that.”