Jorge Ruffinelli, the esteemed Uruguayan film scholar, literary critic, and cultural historian whose work shaped the study and appreciation of Latin American cinema and literature across generations, died on February 4 at the age of 82 in San Francisco, where he resided.
Born Jorge Enrique Ruffinelli Altesor in Montevideo, Uruguay, on December 16, 1943, Ruffinelli’s intellectual journey began amid the vibrant literary circles of his homeland. A disciple of the influential critic Ángel Rama, he cut his teeth at Marcha, the seminal Uruguayan weekly, where he contributed incisive cultural criticism before his academic career took him abroad.
Forced into exile during Uruguay’s military dictatorship, Ruffinelli taught Latin American literature at the Universidad de Buenos Aires and later served as director of the Centro de Investigaciones Lingüístico-Literarias at the Universidad Veracruzana in Mexico, where he also founded and directed the journal Texto Crítico.
In 1986, he joined the faculty of Stanford University, where he became a beloved professor in the Department of Iberian and Latin American Cultures and later served as department chair. He also directed the journal Nuevo Texto Crítico for decades and was eventually named Professor Emeritus.
Ruffinelli was a towering figure in Latin American cultural studies. His prolific output included more than twenty books and hundreds of essays and reviews on literature and film. He wrote seminal works on key literary figures such as Juan Rulfo, Juan Carlos Onetti, Mariano Azuela, and Augusto Monterroso, and brought the richness of Latin American cinema to global audiences through landmark texts including América Latina en 130 películas and América Latina en 130 documentales. At the time of his death, he was completing the first Encyclopedia of Latin American Cinema, encompassing thousands of entries — a testament to his encyclopedic knowledge and boundless curiosity. He also wrote monographs on filmmakers Patricio Guzmán, Víctor Gaviria, and Fernando Pérez.
Beyond his scholarship, Ruffinelli served on juries at major international film festivals — including San Sebastián, Havana, and Trieste — and was widely respected for his ability to bridge literary and cinematic worlds. His presence at conferences, his mentorship of students, and his deep engagement with filmmakers and scholars alike made him a cherished figure in academic and artistic communities across the Americas and beyond.
He is survived by his wife, the poet and translator Cristina Meneghetti, his children, grandchildren, and a legacy of students, readers, and colleagues inspired by his passion for storytelling, critical inquiry, and cultural exchange. Those wishing to support his family may do so through a memorial fund established in his honor.
