In his youth Ruffinelli was a disciple of
Ángel Rama and a contributor to the weekly
Marcha. Later he was professor of
Latin American Literature at the
Universidad Veracruzana and
Stanford University. Ruffinelli was considered an expert in
Latin American cinema and participated as a jury member in several international festivals. He died on February 4, 2026, at the age of 82. ==Works==