Elvin E. Ruiz is a writer, researcher, and educator who believes in the power of stories— written, spoken, and staged—to illuminate, question, and transform. He teaches mythology and folklore, creative writing, and literature at Cebu Normal University, where he serves as Chairperson of the Department of Literary and Cultural Studies– Undergraduate Studies while completing his Doctor of Arts in Literature and Communication. He also advises Konseho ng Alab sa Sining, Kultura, at Sports (KASIKAS), the student council of the College of Culture, Arts, and Sports.

His creative work, often exploring queer and marginalized narratives, has appeared in Kabisdak, Bisaya Magasin, Libulan, Kusina ng Talinghaga, and Scholarly Lens. His play Paper Planes, a deconstruction of Marc Camoletti’s Boeing-Boeing, reframes the farce to give agency to its female characters and has been staged in several universities in Cebu and Southern Leyte.

His research bridges literature, folklore, film, language, and cultural heritage, exploring ecological belief systems, feminist discourse in popular music, cinematic portrayals of aging and love, humor in translation, language in activism, and Asian representation in animated films. As founding Editor-in-Chief of Kabílin: Journal of Culture and Heritage Studies and head of the Research Institute for Culture and Heritage Studies, he works to connect creative work, scholarship, and community.

Ruiz also does translation and translation checking from English to Cebuano for research tools, as well as national and local advertisements. Through his work, he seeks to cultivate spaces for learning, creativity, and dialogue—believing that stories, in all their forms, must always be in conversation with the world.