Meet Ruby Morales | Dance Artivist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ruby Morales and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ruby, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
My brother and I were both born in Chicago to cumbia-loving parents who migrated from Mexico City, Mexico to the United States. My mother had been to the U.S. a couple times as a young person and then stayed to finish high school. My dad didn’t migrate until he was about 25 years old, leaving his parents, siblings, and friends. They both raised us to be humble, empathetic, hard-working humans. As I witnessed them be in this world I noticed how hard they worked to give us a life that was different than theirs. My mom was determined to be present in our lives in any way she could. She has always known the names of all my friends, showed up to all my dance performances, and thrown me the most creative birthday parties I could have ever imagined. My dad has always worked very hard as a mechanic. Always consistent and making sure he provided for us to eat, play sports, and enjoy the different aspects of life.

When I was about 7 years old we moved to Glendale, Arizona to get away from the expensive life of the city and to be closer to my tio who had moved there to raise his family.

As I got older I began to notice that we lived a different life than those around me. While we had a comfortable middle class life, I started to see how we lived in fear. I remember being young and my mom sitting my brother and I down to let us know that one day they could be taken away, deported. They explained to us that they were undocumented and that while we were born in the United States, they weren’t and that the government could one day take them back to Mexico. She asked us who we would want to live with if that day ever came. Would we want to go with them to Mexico or stay home and move in with our tio, tia, and primo? We chose home. We knew nothing about Mexico other than how to speak Spanish. We had never been because my parents weren’t allowed to leave the U.S.

I began to see how SB1070 chilled our home. The sight of a police car made my dad freeze, sirens worried us all, and this secret became the most important one we had to keep.

I knew it was my responsibility to take advantage of the country I lived in; of the opportunities I had access to because of the many sacrifices my parents made. My mom always reminded me of the power I held within me. That I had the capacity to do whatever I set my mind to and to always be true to who I am. My dad really taught be about living a humble life. That being proud of myself was important but that I should never embdoy pride as a way to put myself before others.

This has all informed who I am today and how I move around in the world. I am a hard worker and a humble being with determination, gratitude, love, creativity, empathy, and power running through my body. I am observant, an intentional listener, and creative problem-solver. I deeply believe that our everyday interactions with one another have the power to change the world.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m really excited to find myself in the rhythm of making work that feels deeply aligned with the ways that I move around in the world and live my everyday life, using the forms and cultures I love most. I was raised dancing cumbia and later fell in love with breaking. These 2 forms and the cultures they thrive in inform the ways in which I make art and what I make art about. That wasn’t always the case though. While in school I went through a phase of making work that I thought everyone wanted me to make. Almost as if my most socialized American reality had precedence over my cultural upbringing. Towards the end of my time in school I started to realize that my lived experiences are knowledge and that I wanted my art to be in relationship with all of who I am, AND I think that’s exciting and also what sets me apart. A lot of us are doing things, making work, and living our lives the ways that other people want us to, or in ways that other people think we should. We start accepting it as a reality and I actually want us to push against that and fully embrace who we are, our cultures, our homes, our loved ones. And so I like to include my family inside of the work that I make and the stories that I make work about. I like to include their voices, their ideas, I like to have them as artistic collaborators. And I think that that’s something that is different than the way that a lot of people are making artistic work these days.

I think the part of my journey that wasn’t easy was continuing to believe that I was on the right path. I believe we are constantly being told how we should live our lives through social media, movies, TV, the news, and other people. Then, when our lives don’t look like that, it feels like we’re doing everything wrong. This makes it hard to continue believing you’re on the right path. I had to make sure to not let other people’s visions of success define my success. It sounds like a small thing, but I think it’s actually really big and what stops people from doing what they want in life and what they really truly love and are inspired by. For example, people will tell you dance isn’t going to make you money or they won’t understand what you are doing. Then they’ll compare you to someone who has the quote-unquote “successful story”, a doctor or an accountant or an engineer. Those are careers people can grasp onto as a success. And when you say you dance, it’s kind of like, “You do what? How do you make money?” There’s so much information coming at you saying that you’re not doing the right thing. And so then it’s really easy to steer away from it. Which is what I’m saying is the hardest part. The easiest part is actually doing what I love. If I was walking in alignment with my passion, my values, who I am as a human being, and doing everything in alignment with love, then it really allowed for things to come my way. It doesn’t mean that I didn’t have to work hard. I’m a hard worker. I was raised that way. My parents are really hard workers. They’re immigrants and for a large part of my life, they were undocumented, and so I was raised to know and understand what hard work looks like, it’s in my blood and has always been the way that I do things. This, paired with being in alignment with what I love and with my values, has invited people to trust me and then, want to work with me. Relationships began to flourish. And so, yeah, the things that I really wanted in life started to make more sense. Part of my story is me moving to LA and joining the professional dance company that I’m a part of, CONTRA-TIEMPO Activist Dance Theater. My mom reminds me that after three months I called her crying ready to move back because living there was hard. I was blessed with amazing roommates but I wasn’t making enough money, I hadn’t been hired as a dancer, I was working a really difficult job, I had zero family around, and everything was expensive. That part was hard, right? The parts that don’t match society is what makes living your dream hard. But really, truly, I was doing what I loved. And so doing what I loved was easy. The successes that came later from sticking to my path of doing what I loved was actually the easiest part and what made the most sense.

What do you want the world to know about you and your brand:
I mean, I think that it’s easy for people to get attached to my story as a “success story”. I think there’s a way that it can be put on a pedestal or viewed as another way to be “successful”. A story that supports the idea if you just work hard then you’ll have it all. But I actually don’t want my story to ONLY be viewed that way. I think that I would want people to really know more about it just being one variety out of many options that are possible. And I would hope that people would focus on the very niche, small details that seem unimportant to most, but are what make stories different and special in their own way. For me, it would be the fact that my story includes having lunch with friends, going to my great grandmother’s birthday party. It includes watching my brother, my mom, and uncles play their recreational volleyball game. It includes going to a B-girls birthday party. All these things of what it means to show up for my people, my friends, community, loved ones–that’s part of my success story. That in living life to its fullest, living life in alignment with love, living life in understanding that we’re all connected, and that we all play a role in each other’s lives, that we impact one another, that we are reflections of one another, that all of those things are the important parts of my story.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would check in with all of my friends and see what events and performances they have going on. I have friends who are visual artists, musicians, dancers, Djs, and artists of all kind. I also have friends who know people or who have other friends who are artists as well. And so I would check in with all those people first to see what they had going on. For example, I know I would hit up my friends Delia, Coley, and Zakiya and ask them if there is a dance event coming up or ask Zakiya, Delia and Mo if they know a musician performing or if they themselves are performing. I would hit up the collective I am a part of, The Pachanga COLLECTIVE, and see if the individuals are attending any events throughout the week. They all are a part of their own art community so I know they would have insight, suggestions, and maybe even events they themselves are a part of. I would ask my friend Shaunté if her work is still up in a local art gallery. I would also ask my best friend Shelley Jackson if there are any social justice events that we can go out and support or local vendor markets. That would be my first and number one step, connecting with my community. I’m positive that would automatically fill up our entire schedule. There would be nothing else that we would need to add.

And then in terms of eating, I mean, I grew up on the West Side so there’s some go-to spots like Don Pancho’s on 67th Ave and Indian School Rd for amazing quesadillas de chicharron prensado. Or getting pambazos from Cristal’s on 67th Ave and Glendale or flour tortillas and pan dulce at La Purisima Bakery, which they also have a location in Phoenix. Or coffee at the family owned coffee shop, Homage in downtown glendale. Now that I live in Phoenix (and don’t get me wrong, if you grew up in Glendale you definitely spent a lot of time in Phoenix) I usually always set myself up at Valentine, Cartel, or Dialogue for a morning coffee and work session. I also might suggest we get coffee at Harlem, the pop-up at Sauvage.
To eat, I would first check in with my favorite local vendors to see if there are any vendor markets happening like Aguas PHX or Bagel Daddies. I would also specifically recommend the baked cauliflower at Rough Riders or I would try to get a reservation at Bacanora. I have really been enjoying local favorites like Sottise and Restaurant Progress as well. For Italian food I would definitely take us to Avantí.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My family for sure, but more importantly, my immediate family, my mom Miriam Zavala, my dad Roberto Morales, and my brother Roberto Morales. My parents raised my brother and I in such powerful ways and have always supported us in following our dreams and interests. My dad instilled in us a humble nature and always reminded us to be good people in this world. My mom always shows up to support me, cheer me on, and witness my work (AND with an invite list of friends and family who love her and love us.) My brother is always willing to help me with my last minute travel mishaps, and if I ever need a last minute favor, he’s always there! As I have furthered in my career I always know that I can lean on them when needed. They love me and have supported me in more ways than I can imagine. I am forever grateful for their grace, support, and love.

Website: https://rubymorales.com/

Instagram: @rubezyo

Facebook: Ruby Morales