Rafael’s memoir, Illegally Yours, is a heartwarming, comical look at how a struggling Ecuadorian immigrant family bonded together to navigate Rafa’s school life, his parents’ work lives, and their shared secret life as undocumented Americans, determined to make the best of their always turbulent and sometimes dangerous American existence.An alternatingly hilarious and touching exploration of belonging and identity, Illegally Yours revolves around one very simple question: What does it mean to be American?
Illegally Yours is out now and will be available wherever books are sold. Order your copy today.
Some of Rafael's Projects
Video and News
Rafael serves as CEO of the Latino Film Institute (LFI), where he oversees the Youth Cinema Project, their project based learning educational film program, the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF), and LatinX in Animation. Thanks to the nomination by Congressman Joaquin Castro, in 2021, Rafael was appointed to the National Film Preservation Board at the Library of Congress.